1. Gregoire and Helene Doiron were expelled from Acadie (Nova Scotia) during the Grand Derangement and journeyed to France. (I am afraid that is a very sterile summary of the atrocities that attended this chapter of history.)
2. Their daughter, Francoise, was born in France. At the age of 17, she and her mother (and other relatives) traveled to Louisiana on the ship L'Amitie.
3. Jean Louis Bodin, a crewman on the ship Le Bon Papa, also traveled to Louisiana that same year.
4. "The story goes" that they met and fell in love on the way here. *chuckle* Well, it was a good story.
5. They did meet and marry eventually! Their son, Gregoire Bodin, was my paternal grandmother's great-grandfather.
6. Gregoire Bodin was a big man. My grandmother was a little woman. Check this out -- my grandparents with Gregoire's pants! Haha!
So what does this have to do with my trip to France? ;-)
Jean Louis Bodin was born on 28 December 1761 at Noirmoutier, France.
Because of this, I must acquire an international driver's license! @@
