Mary Becker Weiss remembers her Canadian foremothers
Stories of the courage, sacrifice, and resilience of women are embedded in so many of our family lineages. When I put out the call for stories, Mary responded with this deeply affecting remembrance of her foremothers. Interestingly, Mary’s ancestry goes back to the town of Trois-Rivieres and Montreal in Quebec, Canada. The image, below, is a painting that represents the arrival of the young girls who were brought over from France between 1663 and 1673 to help populate the new land.
Mary’s 10th Great-Grandmother Gillette Banne
Mary writes, “When I was a young girl my grandmother Lillian Becker showed me what maternal devotion looked like. Years later by her example a family friend Jamel Shapley inspired in me fearlessness and unconditional love. Most recently Joanne Arnold taught me renewed perception and gratitude.” She continues, “It is my 10th great grandmother who has inspired me most passionately. In 1672 she sacrificed her own life to protect her young daughter from harm. History labeled her a villain. Some called her a saint. I see her as having passed down through several generations of her descendants an example of uncompromising courage, devotion, and unconditional love. I am most grateful to Gillette Banne for having given us life.”
Mary Becker Weiss, Brunswick Maine Artist, Assemblage and Collage www.marybeckerweiss.blogspot
Stories of Our Foremothers is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts https://mainearts.maine.gov/