During a quick research stint on Charles Bosseron Chambers (blog entry to come later) the Artist, I discovered the will and probate papers relating to his Grandmother, Therese (Brazeau) Bosseron. The following was extracted from her granddaughter’s newspaper obituary in 1907 (Mrs Ella Leontine (Bosseron) Chambers, daughter of Theodore Bosseron).
St Louis Globe-Democrat, Missouri, 11 Aug 1907, page 38: “Mrs Chambers [Theresa’s granddaughter] was a descendant of one of the oldest French families. Her paternal ancestor, Chevalier Francois Morgan de Vincenne, from whom Vincennes, Indiana, derives its name, was in the service of the king of France as early as 1720, and coming from Canada, was commandant of the post by the Wabash in 1737. He was taken prisoner by the savage Chickasaws, in company with the knightly D’Artagnette–St Ange fils–and the heroic Jesuit Senat, who was burned at the stake. The two daughters of Vincenne were Marie Delisle, and Marie Francois de Vincenne. These two sisters married two brothers Brazeau–Louis and Joseph. Mrs. Chambers had many rare old manuscripts and curios. Many are now in the possession of Charles la Salle Bosseron, who is the last survivor of the Bosseron family, and at the age of 93 resides at Logansport, Ind. Among them a rare old fob of peculiar workmanship, containing three huge topazes, which was given to Charles [sic, Russell] Farnham, an uncle [sic] of Mrs Chambers, by the czar, at his presentation after his memorable walk from St Louis to St Petersburg, when he carried important dispatches from this government to the Russian Court, which is now a matter of important and interesting history.”
Mrs Therese Bosseron died the day after Christmas, on 26 Dec 1873. Her given age on available records has a 20-year range, and there don’t appear to be any documented birth dates online right now. (Emphasis on the “documented”.) Her estate was probated at a worth of $17,225, with very little debt.
Full details of the dispostion of her will and probate can be had on Ancestry (Missouri, U.S., Wills and Probate Records), but I couldn’t resist sharing the contents of the Undertaker’s bill.
St. Louis, No. 608 Olive Street, between Sixth and Seventh
GEORGE N. LYNCH, Dr.
UNDERTAKER
December 29th 1873 [the date of her burial]
To the Estate of Therese Bosseron Deceased
Metallic Casket, satin lined, 8 plated bar handles, plated cross and engraving, rosettes and box = $225
Hearse ($12) and 15 Carriages ($6/each) to Calvary Cemetery = $102
18 pairs of Silk Gloves ($14 total), 3 pieces of Crape ($7.50 total), Door Badge ($2) = $23.50
Black Cashmere Shroud = $15
Fine Wreath & Cross = $30
Brick grave ($50) and delivery of box at Calvary Cemetery ($3) = $53
12 yards of Muslin and covering pictures = $4
Cash for funeral notices in two newspapers = $7.50
Cash for colored Pall Bearers = $35
On 3 Mar 1874, this total of $495 was paid to the Undertake by her Executor! According to several of the online calculators available for historic purchasing power of the USD, each dollar in 1874 was the equivalent of about $25 in 2022. That brings her estate to a value nowadays of $430,625 and the cost of her funeral to about $12,375! Not bad for a “Catholic woman from one of the oldest French families), eh?!
DIGGING DEEPER
I assume that the “covering pictures” (which must have been many or large, since they needed 12 yards of Muslin to do it) was similar to the lesser-known practice of turning the pictures over, face to the wall, but I’ve previously only really read about covering mirrors. That last expense was new to me, but I found reference of the custom in the US and UK with a little looking through old newspapers. In Peru, they still practice the custom.
There’s an interesting little tidbit in her death notice found in a Connecticut newspaper: “In 1790 she was taken, when a mere child, to the site of St Louis on horseback, there being then no wheeled vehicles so far west.” She’d been born in Illinois (let’s assume Vincennes, for the sake of argument), and that’s a straight 154 miles from St Louis. At anywhere from 2 to 7 miles per hour, that is a long trip.
Therese’s will has an interesting bequest to her granddaughter Ella Leontine Bosseron (later Mrs Chambers): “… all my right, title, interest and estate in that certain lot of ground, owned by me and used for a burial lot, in Calvary Cemetery, near the northern boundary of the City of St Louis.” According to cemetery records reviewed in 1930, the only person buried in that plot was Ella’s father, Theodore.
All in all, an interesting read for me. I hope you’ve enjoyed our digging expedition!