Claude Alexandre THOUVENIN et Victorine Henriette MANGEOT of Bezaumont, Lorraine, France

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Claude et Henriette THOUVENIN and their three daughters.

A new family was born: a father, a mother, a house in Bezaumont. They only lacked children to complete this new home. The first was Marie Eugénie born September 21, 1888, then her sister Marie Aline born September 26, 1890. One can easily suppose that Claude would have like to have a boy but it took them another 5 years to have another girl, Jeanne Clemence born May 6, 1895. She was probably named Clémence after aunt Clémence Wannesson wife of Nicolas Mangeot, brother of Henriette. Nicolas Mangeot and Clémence had no children. They wanted so much to have at least one. According to Aline, they asked Claude and Henriette to give them one of their three daughters, to raise them as their own, to give her and education and a dowry. But Claude and Henriette, as all good parents loved their children and there never was a question in their mind about giving one of their daughters to Henriette’s brother. Thus the three sisters who are the purpose of this writing, grew up together in Bezaumont, very close to each other. Like among all children, sometimes they had their little quarrels: when there was need to tend the little sister Jeanne, Aline told Eugénie: “you wanted her, then you tend her.”

Their mom Henriette Mangeot, had a lot of talents. She could knit some long stockings with pretty designs. The handkerchiefs that she mended were literally an embroidery work . Her granddaughter Geneviève remembers the “delicious brioches” she made for the feast in Bezaumont and each family took some home. Her grandson Claude remembers the wonderful breakfast with fried eggs that grandmother served us. First the fire needed to be lit which caused the kitchen to be full of smoke which stung our eyes. The door to the attic was opened for the smoke to escape.

Fresh eggs were plentiful with hens in the chicken coop. Two eggs fried with bacon, fresh cream and a trickle of vinegar for each person was worthwhile after going through the ordeal of a smoky kitchen. All of Henriette’s grandchildren remember her biscuit “lozanges” made with flour, eggs, sugar, milk and grated orange peel.

Grandmother (Henriette) had a nice garden and many flowers which made the joy of the young ladies of the village when they wanted to decorate the church. Grandmother would take her pruning shears and go with them around the garden, letting the young ladies chose the nicest flowers. Nothing was nice enough to decorate the house of the Lord.

Grandmother was the bone-setter of the village. She would take a hand full of grease and massage the sprain until it disappeared. She also knew the plants and their medical qualities. She dried all sort of plants to make tea. She always had some dried licorice roots for children’s cold or sore throats. Or it was a bowl of hot milk with honey. Or the children could suck the honeycombs that she harvested from her bees. Fruits were dried in the attic for the winter season. There was a quince tree in the garden Maitre Aubert and Henriette used the fruits to make quince paste marked with the fork and it was a delicious treat for the children who ate it like candies. She also made quince jam or jelly.

At that period of time we only knew butter to spread on bread. The cream from the milk was preserved regularly then it was churned by hand in a bucket until it turned into butter. The “little milk” (left over from the cream after the butter was made) was given to the pig.

In those days, even the small farmers were self sufficient: they harvested hay and grain, a field of potatoes, they raised a cow, a pig, some chickens and rabbits. They had a big oven to bake the bread. They had vegetables, peas, beans, potatoes, apples, pears, nuts, etc... They could eat the year around with the produce from the farm. This is how Henriette fed her family and she taught her daughters to do the same. There was a mill in Griscourt where Henriette took the wheat to be ground. At that time bread was made at home every week. Leaven bread was passed daily from one house to another.

Henriette raised sheep and even had a spinning wheel even though I never saw her use it. But the wool from the sheep was washed and served to make quilt “couvertures piquées.”

Sometimes it was necessary to go to the city to buy things that were manufactured. There was need for thread, needles. Pont à Mousson was the town where Henriette went for such purchases and later when Henriette was too old for the trek, aunt Eugénie took over. It took a whole day to go and return from Bezaumont to Pont à Mousson. Later some items for the farm could be purchased at the Serpenoise in Dieulouard and that was not as far.

Life in Bezaumont was peaceful except during times of war. Bezaumont which was 1 kilometer away from the battle field of Sainte Geneviève during the war of 1914 -1918 had it’s part of military activity since soldiers from the front would come from the battle field to rest in Bezaumont while others were going up to the battle field.