In a July 1872 letter Felix writes to Adelaïde in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, that their youngest child, Adelaïde, has finally finished at the “pension Marie LePeine”—likely referring to a girls’ boarding school where French was the preferred language. Paul Grima, writing while fighting for the Confederacy in Virginia, advised in 1864 that “my sisters [Louise, Marie, and Adelaïde] should…extend their knowledge of the English language, against which our Creole women have always had a distaste.” An advertisement for a Young Ladies’ Academy in an 1855 Daily Picayune boasts that every subjects is taught in “both languages.”

Enslaved Mothers and Family Life

Of the women known to be enslaved by the Grimas, none were identified as a child nurse, but enslaved or free women of color may have assisted Adelaïde in caring for her nine children.

The engraving below shows two women and a child of color, the central woman strolling what may have been the child of her enslaver.

Juggling the needs of their own children, enslaved mothers reared their enslavers’; children from infancy through adulthood, and generational enslavement was not uncommon. Children born of enslaved women also were enslaved and could be sold away from their families as young as age ten.

At least seven enslaved families lived and worked for the Grimas between 1840 and 1865. Sophie, enslaved by Adelaïde’s mother-in-law, Marie Anne Filiosa Grima, was emancipated between 1838 and 1840. While Sophie became employed by the Grimas, her three children--Charles, Agathe and Marie--remained enslaved on the property. Three of Agathe’s four children--Henry, Felicie and Eugène--were emancipated in adulthood by Felix Grima. The last record of her daughter Amelie is a death certificate stating that she died in the Grima home in 1851.

While it is impossible to confirm the number of matriarchs enslaved by the Grimas, due to the illegality of literacy for the enslaved, below are those of whom the Hermann- Grima + Gallier Historic Houses have a record: Sophie and her children Agathe, Charles and Marie; Agathe and her children Eugène, Félicie, Amelie and Henry Beaurepaire; Suzanne and her children Anaïs, Odile, Angela, Henry, Pauline and Albert; Jane and her unnamed child; Mathilde, pregnant, and her children Marguerite, George, Clara and Virginia; Sally and her son, George; Justine, her daughter, Emma, and an unnamed infant; Mary Ann Butler and her unnamed baby.

Written by Virginie Hermann’s first husband, Dr. Joseph Ursin Landreaux (1808-1852), this journal begins with personal anecdotes and describes their 1835 nuptials at her family home as well as the birth of their four children. As a doctor, Landreaux paid particular attention to medical events, like Virginie’s labor, writing, “On Wednesday, 25 January 1837, at 2:45 a.m., after three hours of labor, my wife brought into the world a son [Robert]…Mme. Frémaux was absent; it was Mme. Giguel the midwife who delivered my son.” Robert was the second of their four children Virginie would have in as many years. Quick succession of births was the norm in 19th-century Creole families; if a woman did not enter the convent, motherhood was seen as the essential alternative.

A mother’s duties in 19th-century Creole New Orleans households were wide-ranging. If her family enslaved people, her tasks would include fewer responsibilities such as cooking and cleaning, washing, and ironing; however, in many upper-class Creole households, mothers instructed their own children in etiquette, reading and writing. Such books as this one by “Miss Leslie,” which was advertised for sale in New Orleans newspapers, promoted “encouraging [girls] in the love for books; but do not set them at any other branch of education ‘til they are eight...little girls may begin to sew at 4 or 5, but only as an amusement, not as a task.”

The Ladies’ Work-Table Book

Creole mothers would have been instrumental in teaching their daughters how to sew; it was a skill fundamental to their mastery of the domestic sphere. One of many period books instructing women on needlework, this volume connects a woman’s ability to sew to her satisfaction and usefulness: “Never is beauty and feminine grace so attractive, as when engaged in the honorable discharge of household duties, and domestic cares.” When, in the case of more affluent women, needlework skills were not necessary for fabricating articles for one’s family, they were considered useful to make items “for the aid and comfort of the deserving poor”.

The Imitation of Christ

The Imitation of Christ, first printed in Latin in the 15th century, is the mostly widely read devotional work after the Bible and is considered the most important work in Catholic Christianity. A French-speaking Catholic Creole family like the Grimas undoubtedly would have consulted this book on a regular basis. The Hermann, Grima, and Gallier families were members of St. Louis Cathedral.

Godey’s Lady’s Book Vol. LXXXV

Between 1825 and 1850, the number of magazines and journals in the United States increased from one hundred to six hundred. Female-centric periodicals, like Godey’s Lady’s Book, manuals of “domestic economy”, guides to politeness, respectability, and cookbooks, instructed women on cooking as well as how to set their tables, clean silver, make candles, and eliminate odors. In addition to needlework patterns and fashion plates, Godey’s offered comedic and romantic literature, and illustrations like this one.

Music

Learning to play music was an integral part of an upper-class Creole woman’s education, and her skill level marked her social status and upbringing. Girls received private instruction from local schools and tutors, but their primary training in instrumental music, singing, and dancing took place at home under the direction of their mother, and sometimes their father. Local music publishers and vendors retailed sheet music for polkas—like this one dedicated to New Orleans native Louis “Moreau” Gottschalk—waltzes, and polonaises for the piano forte. Musical performances in the home provided opportunities for a young woman to display her talents, be courted by young men, and entertain her family and their guests.