The Vincent Tradition (1800– 1979)
By family tradition, the Vincent family originally came from Lorraine (France), residing somewhere near Nancy. Philibert Vincent
married Marianne Noel by 1824, in France, and the first four of their ten children were born there.
Philibert and his family arrived in the U. S. on April 14, 1834, aboard the ship François I, from Havre to New York. The Vincent’s were part of a relatively large group of France families on the ship, several of whom settled in or around Frenchtown, PA*.
Philibert petitioned for U. S.citizenship in CrawfordCounty court in 1840; this was granted on Oct 8, 1844, a little more then ten years after his arrival.
The Vincent’s settled on 32 acres of land in Mead Twp., Crawford Co., PA, first appearing on the tax rolls there in 1835. Philibert
formally signed an indenture for this acreage on Jan 21, 1840, agreeing to pay $91 for the land. They remained there for many years, and Philibert and Marianne had an additional six children while living on this small farm.
By 1850, several of the older children had left home. Daughter Rose had been married, about 1848, to Ephrain Wotring; she and her husband were living in Woodcock Twp. Daughters Fannie and Ellen were both living and working (probably in some domestic capacity) in Meadville, Fannie in the household of G. L. Stevens, a Baptist minister, and Ellen in that of William A. Magaw. Fannie and Ellen both appear to have married within the year. Ellen was married at Meadville on Nov 6, 1850, to Michael Hexamer.
(Although they were not married at St. Hippolyte’s –probably because Hexamer was a non-Catholic – their first child was baptized there in 1852.) Although church records have not survived, Fannie was most likely married at St. Hippolyte’s, to Louis Xavier Nageotte, oldest son of Michel and Marianne (Prenat) Nageotte. Louis had been born at Villars-le-Sec, Territory of Belfort, France, and had emigrated with his parents in 1833 (see Nageotte history).
Marianne died on Jan 1, 1854, at the age of 50. Although the older children were adults with children of their own at the time of her death, Philibert was still left with a household of several young children, ranging from seventeen-year-old Mary to seven-year-old James. In a relatively short period of time, following Marianne’s death, two of their sons died, at surprisingly young age. Jule, the oldest son, died in the latter half of 1859, at 31 years of age. He had never married, and left everything he had to five of his siblings. He died owning 67 acres of land in Randolph Twp., one gun valued at $10, clothes, one iron kettle, and 1/7 part of 50 acres of land in Randolph Twp. His estate was insufficient to pay his debts, and his land was sold to cover them. Among his debts was a $39 bill from Ephraim Wotring, his brother-in-law, for board during his “last sickness”, and a $10 bill for a coffin. Gustavus followed, dying in 1862 at the age of twenty. He left his estate to his sister Mary.
In the 1850’s and 1860’s, the Vincent household underwent considerable upheaval. Following the death of Marianne in 1854, Philibert officially paid off the remaining debt on his 32-acre farm, and immediately sold it for $960. He appears never to have owned land in his name again. On July 10, 1855, the seven Vincent children remaining at home jointly purchased 50 acres in Wayne Township. Philibert was not included in this purchase. However, he and several of the children farmed this land into the 1870’s**.
Also, it would appear that Philibert married again during this period. On Aug 22, 1866, “Mrs. Susan Vincent” and “Philip” Vincent of Wayne Twp. Sold land that had been hers in Mead Twp. The deed definitely refers to the couple as husband and wife. The new Mrs. Vincent had been, at least until 1864, Susan Bandlier, widow. What happens to Susan is a bit of a mystery. By 1870, the Vincent household consisted of Philibert, youngest son James, daughter Julie Stine, who was “keeping house”, and her two children. They were residing immediately next to Michael Hexamer and his motherless family (Ellen Vincent Hexamer having died in 1867). There is, however, no trace of Susan.
Philibert died on July 8, 1875, in Wayne Twp. At this point, no one seems to know where Philibert, or Marianne, were buried. The best possibility would seem to be St. Hippolyte’s Cemetery at Frenchtown, but no headstone remains, nor do any church records from the period.
* Among those on board ship with the Vincent’s were: John B. Montagne, Nicolas Didelot (also alleged to be from the Nancy [France] area), John Didelot, Francis Mason, Louis Richard, and Jean B. Wagner. One wonders if their traveling together was by chance or design.
** By a series of quit claims, this farm eventually fell in its entirely to Alexander Vincent. (Mildred [Vincent] Enlow stated in 2003 that the land finally ended with Julian Vincent farming it for many years till selling it to the Miller family.)
Annette Lynch, 271 Prospect St., Meadville, PA