The Arrest of Etienne Parent - Part VII

In the editorial in Le Canadien on December 28, 1838, it was clearly stated that the journal would continue publication. That was a brave statement, but how does a journal continue publication when both the publisher and editor of the journal are in jail? The solution was clear to Etienne Parent and Jean - Baptiste Fréchette , they must continue working in spite of being in prison. Just how did they accomplish that? 

I first came across a reference to how Etienne Parent and Jean - Baptiste Fréchette accomplished this feat in the article by Jean - Charles Falardeau, "PARENT, ETIENNE," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography published in 2003. Jean - Charles Falardeau mentioned that "a young messenger, Stanislas Drapeau" brought information, editorial drafts , etc.that were hidden inside "a faked tart" and took away corrected proofs. I wanted to find out more about this subterfuge used by Etienne Parent to continue running his newspaper while he languished in jail. And who was this young messenger, Stanislas Drapeau.

Either by luck or simple persistence of research I came across a biography of Stanislas Drapeau. "Biographie de Stanislas Drapeau, Auteur des 'Études sur des développement de la Colonisation du Bas - Canada,' et Promoteur des Sociétés de Secours 'pour venir en aide aux colons défricheurs,' par Chas. Thibault, Ottawa, A. Bureau & Freres, Imprimeurs, 1891.

Stanislas Drapeau was born on July 28, 1821 in Quebec, Lower Canada. In 1891, two years before Stanislas Drapeau's death, his friend, Charles Thibault, lawyer, author and journalist published the above mentioned biography of Stanislas Drapeau. Although fifty - two years had passed since the event that Stanislas Drapeau had participated in it seems that Stanislas had a clear recollection of the events as I imagined that Drapeau provided much of the information for Thibault's biography.

In 1838, Stanislas would have been seventeen years old. In 1837, Stanislas became the typographic apprentice for Napoleon Aubin's paper, Le Fantasque. When Napoleon Aubin and Adolphe Jacquies were arrested on January 2, 1838, Stanislas went to work for Etienne Parent and Jean - Baptiste Frechette at the Le Canadien. Everything was probably ordinary enough until December 26, 1838 when Etienne Parent and Jean Baptiste Frechette were arrested. Stanislas was left alone in Le Canadien. I you recall, there was an editorial in Le Canadien on December 28, 1838 that stated that Le Canadien would continue publication. How was this going to be accomplished when the only one left was a seventeen year old typographic apprentice? 

When Etienne and Jean Baptiste were incarcerated it was decided that the families of the  inmates would take turns taking meals to the prison for them. Stanislas Drapeau was appointed as the delivery person. The wife of Adolphe Jacquies was the first to cook for the seven political prisoners; Etienne Parent, Jean Baptiste Frechette, Adolphe Jacquies, Napoleon Aubin, Dr. Edouard Rousseau, Barthelemi Lachance, and Pierre Chasseur. 

After the first two weeks of incarceration it was Jean Baptiste's wife's turn to cook for the political prisoners. Not only did she prepare delicious meals for the group but she also made it possible for 
documents to be smuggled in and out of the prison. 

According to the biography by Charles Thibault there was a large toast or 'tartine' in the basket that was hollowed out. Inside the tartine there was a space in which articles, drafts and other information could be secreted and smuggled into the prison. After Etienne read and revised the material that was spirited into the prison, he removed the corrected drafts safety stored inside the tartine. Even though this subterfuge was known only to a small number of people, some of the guards must have been in on the ruse. To me, it seems impossible that they would not have known. This clandestine operation continued, as far as I know, for the entire period that Etienne Parent was incarcerated; until April 12, 1839.

I am not willing to go so far as to say that this story is apocryphal, this is a ring of truth about this story. It may not have happened exactly the way that it was described in the biography of Stanislas Drapeau. There is a slightly different telling of this story in the novel by Sylvie Chaput,  Les cahiers d'Isabelle Forest (1996). The main character, Isabelle recounts the story as it was told to her by Napoleon Aubin who was one of Etienne Parent's cell mates. 

Isabelle describes Aubin as being amusing and 'gesticulating' as he described the 'method by which Etienne Parent continued to direct the operations of Le Canadien from his prison." Stanislas Drapeau is still the key person who enables the subterfuge. The mechanism is slightly different, Stanislas "passed through to him (Etienne Parent) hollowed out pie dishes containing messages, news, and proofs." The exit strategy is the same, Stanislas smuggles the corrected material back out of the prison which is then used in the next edition of Le Canadien. The passage goes on to say that the 'subterfuge' must have been known by at least a few people including 'sympathetic guards' or else this ruse would not have gone on as long as it did.

There are other references to this story but these two examples are the most detailed in their description of the events.The point is that this story celebrates the courage and determination of Etienne Parent to go to any length to ensure that his newspaper, Le Canadien, would continue to be the voice of les Canadiens even though he is sequestered in prison. You had to admire the man for this if nothing else.
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Joseph Joachim Ulric Voyer and Marie Louise Alice Bedard

Image
I have written about my parents and I have written about my father's parents. It would only be reasonable and fair to write about my mother's parents.  There is so much to write about that I will actually have to consider what I want to include and what I want to leave out. Let's start with the basic facts. Joseph Joachim Ulric Voyer was born on July 5, 1892 in Quebec City. According to the 1891 Census of Canada for 1891 , the year before Ulric was born, his father and mother, Napoleon Voyer and Marie Rose Delina Dion were living in St. Roch at number 542. It is interesting to note that the Bedard family was living next door at 541. Ulric was the fifth of seven children. He had two brothers and two sisters who were born before him. My grandfather was a polymath if there ever was one. He was a composer of operas, a playwright, a professor of piano, church organist, court clerk, shorthand instructor, publicity manager for J.B. Renaud (a commercial company started
Read more

Francois Parent (1774 - 1851)

I ended the last post on François Voyer (1774 - 1851) with the death of Madeleine Vandal on July 9, 1815. At that time François was a resident of L'Ancienne Lorette and as a 'cultivateur' or farmer, he had a farm in the seigneury of Gaudarville. In just over a year after the death of Madeleine Vandal, François married Judith Bertrand on July 30, 1816. They were married in Quebec City  at the Notre-Dame-de-Quebec. In the marriage record François and Judith's residence was in Quebec City. In the document that I will discuss in a little while François' residence is stated as L'Ancienne Lorette. I cannot explain this discrepancy. At the time of their marriage Judith parents were deceased. Her father, Jean Bertrand was a 'journalier' or 'labourer'. and Judith's mother was Félicité Trépanier. Judith Bertrand was born on September 27, 1779 in Neuville. Judith was 37 years old when she married François Voyer. Considering the time period, 37 was o
Read more

The Parent Family in New France

 Étienne Parent (1802 - 1874) was descended from Pierre Parent and Jeanne Badeau. Pierre Parent arrived in New France around 1650. He had been contracted as an indentured worker to spend four years working on the Jesuit's seigneury. After his term of work he would be granted land to work. In 1651 the Jesuits ceded land to Pierre Parent and Jacques Badeau, his future father-in-law.  In 1654 Pierre married Jeanne Badeau. His father-in-law, Jacques Badeau died in 1658. In 1660 the Jesuits ceded the quarry to Pierre Parent. This quarry was located on the land that had belonged to his father-in-laws. By 1670 Pierre Parent was delivering limestone from his quarry to building sites in Quebec City to construct houses. In 1675 Pierre Parent supplied the the door jambs and corner joints for the construction of the Seminary in Quebec. Pierre Parent was well on his way to becoming a wealthy man. Jeanne Badeau was Pierre Parent's wife and partner. She actively participated in the family bus
Read more