Nicolas Legrand, Modern Trimarder - Ancestor History
Nicolas Legrand, stonemason in Roudouallec, is one of the precursors of Breton emigration to North America, back on its history
Stone tailor in Roudouallec…
On July 3, 1852, Nicolas Mathurin Legrand was born in Roudouallec, a small village in Morbihan. His father, Paul, is stone tailor and his mother, Marie Josèphe Legoff is a seamstress. He is the third child out of the five that the couple will have. Nicolas spent all his childhood in Roudouallec, to help his parents in work and in everyday life in the black mountains.
At his 20th anniversary, when he is also a stonemason, Nicolas is called to military service. It is there that he will meet a life that will change his life. Indeed, as he tells in The January 24, 1927 edition of La Dépêche de Brest, it is a regiment's comrade, from the 72nd to Tours, who during the five years of his service praises him the advantages of a trip to the United States. Back in Roudouallec in September 1877, Nicolas married December 26, 1877 with Marie Françoise Bouedec, the same day as her brother Toussaint. Very quickly, they will have two children, Marie Josèphe born May 26, 1879, then Marie Louise born on September 2, 1880. But life was not easy in Roudouallec, the wages are low. Marie Françoise, his wife, accumulates jobs: seamstress, housewife and ironing ...
Nicolas declares:
« Bientôt après, marié, puis père de deux enfants, je vivais misérablement d’un salaire quotidien de douze sous. Cette situation était bien faite pour me rappeler les récits si souvent entendus. »
… To emigrant worker in America
In 1881, Nicolas left for Le Havre to embark on the liner that took him to North America. He leaves behind his wife and two daughters, but it will only be temporary. He leaves with Loeiz Bourhis, a Breton, of whom he will no longer have news and Job Dauphars, a peasant from Gourin, who will die on his return to Brittany. They then arrive in Canada, and our Breton peasants turn into loggers. Some time later, they head to the south, to the United States to work in factories or farms.
Nicolas tells:
« Là j’ai continuellement voyagé. Dans le Connecticut, je gagnais 20 francs par jour. Dans une usine de fer, en Pennsylvanie, 450 francs par mois. »
At the time, hiring was easy to find and the pay is good; And what advantages for Breton peasants! After putting money, accumulated a little savings, the three friends decided to return to the country in 1884.
On his return to Roudouallec, Nicolas finds his wife and daughters. Very quickly, from their reunion, born Mathurin Guillaume on July 22, 1885. Some time later, it was Louis Marie (January 16, 1888) then Marie Françoise (September 6, 1889) who will fill the small family. His wife is merchant, cabaretière and shopping. Nicolas' departure for the new world is seen as an example to follow in the village. He left poor, easy and happy income. What boon!
America's call
Nicolas tells in the same newspaper article:
« Un soir, en 1890, une douzaine de voisins, qui partaient le lendemain pour l’Amérique, se trouvaient réunis chez moi pour faire la fête. Ils me pressaient de les accompagner pour les guider. Quelqu’un voulu parier que je partirais. […] Enfin, ces clients là me déclarèrent qu’ils ne paieraient les consommations que lorsque j’embarquerais avec eux au Havre. »
Although his wife protests, Nicolas returns to America with the group. He will stay there three years before regaining his home, but he said he did not regret it, the group paid for it. He is now safe from need. Back in 1893, three babies came to expand the family, Jean Pierre (January 2, 1894), Louise (March 15, 1896) and Anne Marie (February 3, 1904), he was 53 years old. From his trips across the Atlantic, Nicolas brought back a lot of money. Enough to have a house and fields to cultivate in the modest town of Roudouallec.
Nicolas' audacity and his courage paid. It is seen as an example of success, an example to follow. In Gourin, Guiscriff, Leuhan, we swear by America, we only dream of crossing the Atlantic to make a fortune. Nicolas Mathurin Legrand is definitely one of the pioneers of Breton immigration to the United States. The figures speak of 115,000 Bretons which would have emigrated to North America between 1880 and 1970. The Breton heritage in the United States is still very present today ...