Reborn in America: French Exiles and Refugees in the United States and the Vine and Olive Adventure, 1815-1865

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

Reborn in America Atlantic Crossings Rafe Blaufarb, Series Editor Reborn in America French Exiles and Refugees in the United States and the Vine and Olive Adventure, 1815–1865 Eric Saugera Translated by Madeleine Velguth The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa Copyright © 2011 The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-­ 0380 All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Typeface: Adobe Caslon ∞ The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of Ameri­ can National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-­ 1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Saugera, Eric. Reborn in America : French exiles and refugees in the United States and the vine and olive adventure, 1815–1865 / Eric Saugera ; translated by Madeleine Velguth. p. cm. — (Atlantic crossings) Based on the author’s thesis written in French in 2007, entitled “Renaître en Amérique.” Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8173-1723-2 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8173-8511-8 (electronic) 1. Vine and Olive Colony. 2. French Americans—Alabama—History—19th century. 3. French Americans—Land tenure—Alabama—History—19th century. 4. Agricultural colonies—Alabama—History—19th century. 5. Alabama—History—19th century. I. Title. F335.F8S28 2011 976.1′05—dc22 2011002960 Publication of this book was made possible in part through the generous support of Bradley and Anne Hale. The maps are based on original cartography by Jean-­ Pierre Rousseau. Cover: Detail of a panoramic wallpaper painted in France in the 1820s depicting scenes from the French settlement of Aigleville, in Marengo County, Alabama. Courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama. Design by Robin McDonald. This book is for Marie-­ Madeleine Guesnon (1916–2005) and Gwyndolyn (Gwyn) Collins Turner, who, an ocean apart, worked so diligently to preserve the memory of their remarkable towns, Sainte-­Foy-­la-­Grande,on the banks of the Dordogne,in Gironde, and Demopolis, Alabama, on the white bluffs of the Tombigbee. My heartfelt thanks to them for permitting me to write of the ex­ ploits of these French people exiled to the United States of America after 1815. ...