Religious Persecution
Laurens(1628), the apothecary, was a sufficiently active protesant to attract the attention of the authorities, and even before the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes(1685), seems to have suffered imprisonment for his faith; and although he was released some time before his death, he was under observation or restraint to an extent which made it impracticable for him to fly the country.
His wife and children did however seek refuge in England, escaping via Calais. The mother, Marguerite with some of the family went first followed by the eldest child Marie(1666) with the two youngest boys, Estienne(1676) and Francois(1680).
Wiblin gives the account of their flight as follows:
"Disguise being essential to avoid molestation and possible capture, she dressed herself as a peasant girl, and placed her brothers in two panniers, covered up with vegitables, and slung on the back of a donkey. The little ones were charged neither to speak nor to move, whatever might happen on the road. A servant, dressed as a farmer, rode on horseback, moving in advance as if unknown to the girl. They travelled by night; but as time was precious, the latter part of the journey had to be taken by daylight. Suddenly a party of dragoons came in sight; they rode up, fixed their eyes upon her, and then on the panniers. 'What is in those baskets?' they cried. Before she could give an answer, one of them drew his sword, and thrust it into the pannier where the younger boy (Francois)was hid. No cry was heard, not a movement was made; the soldiers concluded that all was right, and galloped off. As soon as they were out of sight the sister knocked off the inanimate contents of the pannier, the little boy lifted his arms towards her, and she saw he was covered with blood from a severe cut on one of them. He had understood that if he cried his own life and the lives of his brother and sister would be lost, and he bravely bore the pain and was silent."
The date of the flight is uncertain. Wiblin examines all the evidence but concludes it was between 1682 and 1688 with the balance of probability inclining towards the earlier years.
However in 1998 I received advice from Olga Perier who has researched the renunciations after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685)as listed at the town hall at Pont-Audemer.
20th November 1685
Marguerite Langlois 35 years, wife of Laurens Roussel, pharmacist.
28th November 1685
Marie Roussel 16 years, daughter of Laurens Roussel
Marie Courcicaut 48 years, wife of Francois Roussel
Francois Roussel Roussel 18 years, her son
Marie-Anne Roussel 20 years, her daughter
21st January 1686
Esther Roussel 85 years, widow of Jacques Guiffard
Isaac Roussel 11 years, son of Francois Roussel
Marguerite Roussel 13 years, daughter of Francois Roussel
Olga writes "The dragoons had been terrible in this region; the soldiers lived with (were billetted with) the "religionnairs" and forced them to renounce their faith. It was almost impossible to flee to another country without first having renounced."
From the list above it appears that both Marguerite and her daughter Marie were still in Pont-Audemer in 1685 which narrows the date of the flight to the three years 1685 - 1688.
Later Trials
Wiblin relates a strange disaster that befell the family when they were living in London. Laurens(1670), the second son who escaped with his mother, when in his early teens, was kidnapped from the streets of London and taken to America as a slave. He was there 15 years but returned to marry the girl who was with him the day he was kidnapped.
Top of Page
