Cotton Mills and our French Canadian Ancestors

On a recent trip to the east coast, I visited Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the home of great grandparents Arthur Noel Morin and Azilda Desroches Morin. I was joined by cousin Cassie in a visit to American-French Genealogy Society library We also toured the Museum of Work and Culture.  The interactive exhibits at the museum included the type of farm our Quebecois ancestors would have left behind to find work in the states. Our great great grandparents made a transition from a barter economy to one of cash. They were enticed by the textile manufacturers to leave everything for this new industrial life. We learned that 70% of the citizens in Woonsocket were of French Canadian ancestry in 1980. The Morin family spoke French.

Main Street with Bienvenue (Welcome in French)

Other exhibits included the Church of the Precious Blood built in 1892 as well as a typical school room. This church was of interest because our great grandparents lived one block from the actual church and attended mass there. In fact, Arthur's cousin, Father Ernest Morin was a pastor in 1919 for several years. We did visit the actual church and the Cemetery of the Precious Blood.

We watched a short film which depicted the history of our ancestors and the work in the textile mills. It was astonishing to learn that children were working ten to twelve hours a day in harsh conditions. We were told that the mill owners preferred to hire women because they were more submissive and brought their children to work. Eventually many of the textile mills moved to the south and today this industry is thriving in China and other countries where labor is cheap. It gives me pause to think about the clothing I wear ...

Barefoot boy working in a cotton mill

When I look at the census records and city directories to learn more about the Morin family, I pay special attention to their occupations. In the 1870 census, Magloire (our second great grandfather) was a baker and lived in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. His sons Napolean and Arthur were machinist operators and Joseph was a farm hand. Josephine, Eliza and Jean Baptiste (aka Cleophas) all worked in the cotton mills.

Magloire's children attended school. Napolean worked as a baker, a sewing machine agent and a carpenter. Arthur worked as a baker, a tin peddler, a carpenter, and finally a real estate and insurance agent in Woonsocket. Joseph Nere lived in Pawtucket and worked as a blind maker. Cleophas also lived in Pawtucket and worked as a carpenter.

 In 1880, Magloire's son Arthur (our great grandfather) is married to Azilda Desroches and working as a baker. They and their young son George are living with or near Azilda's parents, Joseph and Elise Desroches in Danielson, Connecticut. Azilda's sister Alphonsine, age 17, is working as a mill hand and her brother Felix, age 7, attends school. In 1900, Azilda's aunt Celina Desroches Guillet is widowed and working as a mill hand with her children in Vermont.

In 1891, Magloire's grandson Arthur, the son of Joseph Nere, dies tragically at the age of 15.