Sentimental Sunday: "...Wise unto Salvation"

Inscription in bible by
Catherine O'Grady Perrotin
to her grandson, Edward Bennett, 1893

The small bible pictured here was a gift from my great-great grandmother, Catherine O'Grady, to her three-year-old grandson, Edward Bennett, eldest child of Maria Dolores Perrotin and Timothy Bennett. 

Cover of bible given to Edward Bennett.  The bible has
been passed down to my cousin, Dorothy (Meek) Stephens, 
daughter of Jane Bennett, Edward's sister and 
the youngest child of 
Maria Dolores and Timothy Bennett

Edward also was Francois and Catherine Perrotin's first grandchild. He was born in Orizaba, Veracruz, on October 21, 1891, just a few months after Francois' death.   His birth must have been quite a comfort and source of joy to Catherine, who was grieving for her beloved husband.

The inscription reads,

Edward W. Bennett

by his Grandmother

Catherine with Love

Search the Scripture

which is able to

make you wise

unto Salvation.

1893

Catherine would have sent this to Edward, now in Ruardean, Gloucestershire, England, with his parents, from her own home in Orizaba, Mexico.   Two years later, she would leave Mexico forever to join Maria Dolores, Tim, and their family in Ruardean.  Surely Edward and his brothers and sisters must have enjoyed the blessing of their sweet and loving grandmother Catherine.  As she was now widowed, the children must have been blessings in return to her.  

Graveyard at Saint John the Baptist Church (also known as Ruardean Church). The family graves are located  just behind the church, along with quite a few graves of the Bennett family, many of whom lived in the area.  The graves at center are those of Timothy and Maria Dolores (Perrotin) (rectangular grave at front)  and Catherine (O'Grady) Perrotin and two of her grandchildren, Edward and Mary Clements Bennett (rear).  Rose Marie Bruton, the widow of Catherine's great-grandson, Leonard Fisher, still lives in  Ruardean Woodside and regularly brings flowers to the graves.

Edward Bennett died in Ruardean on June 3, 1899.  He was only eight years old.   Catherine is buried with him and with his younger sister, Mary Clements Bennett, who died at two-and-a-half years old in 1895. 

The marker on the left side of the grave reads,
 "Catherine Perrotin  1840 - 1901"

The marker in the center (front) of the grave reads,
"Edward Bennett 1891 - 1899"
The marker on the right of the grave reads,
"Mary Clements Bennett 1892 - 1895"

At the invitation of our English Bennett cousins, my husband and I travelled to Gloucestershire and the Forest of Dean in August of 2011.  We visited Ruardean a couple of times with Jennie and Don Murray and Dorothy, Bob, Tim, and Peter Stephens, who graciously endured our endless questions and my non-stop photography.  We also met new Bennett cousins:  Eileen, Linda, Susanne, Pearl, Marlene, Rebecca, and Joanne, among others.  It was such a wonderful feeling to know there were so many of this branch of our family, when at one time we thought there were none.

Rear view of Saint John the Baptist Church, Ruardean, Gloucestershire

It is one thing to see a picture of where your ancestors are buried.  It is another thing altogether to actually be able to stand next to the graves and touch them, knowing these same ancestors worshipped at this church, they walked the grounds at one time, that their remains are there now, and that generations of descendants like Rose Bruton (Jennie's mother) and Jennie and Dorothy have tended them and visited them over the years.  It overwhelms the senses.

I felt incredibly close to my great-great grandmother Catherine at that moment and still do.  The love of this family truly endures.  I feel so blessed - and grateful - to be a part of it.

Copyright ©  2012  Linda Huesca Tully

Did you know, or are you a member of the Perrotin, O'Grady, or Bennett families?  If so, share your memories and comments below.

Marriage Record of Charles Jacques François Perrotin and Catherine O'Grady

26 January 1860

Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana

This week marks the 152nd anniversary of the marriage between Charles Jacques  François Perrotin and Catherine O'Grady (also known as Catherine Grady), on January 26, 1860, in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Here is a copy of their Certificate of Marriage.  A transcription follows, along with a short background of a legendary Catholic priest who united the couple in Holy Matrimony.

Transcription

State of Louisiana   }

Parish of Caddo      }

I hereby certify that on the 26^th day of Jany 1860, I being a minister of the Gospel and authorized to celebrate the bonds of matrimony have celebrated the marriage between François Perrotin and C. Grady in the presence of the undersigned witnesses.

Nancy Petters                                                                         François Perrotin

A Cook                                                                                                 

J P. Brinck                                                                                Catherine Grady

                                                                                                       X her Mark

                                                (illegible)

Recorded 9^th

(illegible) 1860

            Shreveport the 26th of January 1860, I the undersigned J. Pierre, Catholic parish of Shreveport have joined in holy and lawful wedlock after license of the Court has been obtained Mr. F. Perrotin and Wife Catherine Grady.  In testimony thereof its parties François Perrotin, Catherine O'Grady, N. (illegible)     A. G. Cook, Prof. Dr. Casiez Cte, Beaumont have hereunto affixed their names. 

                                                                                                J. Pierre

                                                                                                C. V.

Father John Pierre, French Missionary

"J. Pierre" was Father John Pierre, the founding pastor of Holy Family Church, the first Catholic church in Shreveport.  As a seminarian in France, Pierre had been recruited by Bishop Augustus Martin of the then-new Diocese of Natchitoches, to do missionary work.  He arrived there in 1854.  On his ordination date one year later, Bishop Martin appointed Father Pierre as pastor of the first parish of the diocese, Holy Apostles.  When he became aware that the Catholic families in the nearby city of Shreveport had no priests or places to worship,  Father Pierre persuaded the bishop to let him expand his missionary work. He bought land on the corner of Fannin and Marshall Streets in Shreveport, where he built a small wood frame church (the first in Shreveport) in 1856.  He replaced it with a larger brick church three years later.  This was Holy Family Church and most likely is where he married François and Catherine.

Father John Pierre, center

Thirteen years later (and long after  François and Catherine had departed Shreveport), the beloved Father Pierre died of yellow fever, one of five Catholic priests to be stricken during a tragic epidemic.  It was a sad day for the people of Shreveport, who had known Father Pierre as a tireless evangelizer for the Church and a devoted minister to the sick.  Another priest of the time, Father Joseph Gentille, wrote of Father Pierre, "His death was a public calamity.  He was loved and esteemed by all."

In a fateful coincidence, yellow fever would go on to claim the life of the Perrotin's only son, Francisco, some 26 years later in Orizaba, Mexico.


Copyright (C) 2012  Linda Huesca Tully

Are you a member of the Perrotin, O'Grady, or Pierre families?  If so, share your own thoughts and stories below.