Edme in Sacy

Edme in Sacy: The Peasant as Hero (Part II)

The Village of Sacy
(Monsieur Nicolas, 1802)

In Sacy Edmond worked like a dog to please his father in law and help support his mother and three sisters, who remained in Nitry after Pierre went to an early grave.

In the short span of seven years time Edmond and Marie had seven children, two sons and five daughters.

In 1722, in the seventh year of their marriage, Marie died, worn out by work and childbearing. So greatly did Edmond respect his departed wife that he remained a widower for seven years.

Despite this loss, Edmond’s continuing devotion to hard work, agricultural improvements, and the amelioration of village life generally brought him not only material success but the respect of all who knew him.

In addition to being a successful and innovative farmer, he occupied important positions of authority. As a notary, he drew up the required legal documents for the transmission of property, the settlement of debts and inheritances, and agreements governing a marriage. As the steward of the three lords of the parish (1728), he administered their domain lands and served as judge in the seigneurial court.

The Widower's Problems and Remarriage

As a widower, however, our hero’s home life was not without its problems. With numerous children, most too young to work and lacking proper supervision, the domestic sphere fell into disorder, as Edmond’s unkempt appearance made all too plain.

Farmer and Spade (Giancomo Ceruti, ca. 1750)

Knowing that a good man needs a good wife, the village priest moved to fill the void. Thus, in 1733, Barbe Ferlet, a young widow hand-picked by the priest, accompanied Edmond to the alter, each for the second time.

The village church at Sacy (choir)

The result was the restoration of an exemplary household, in which Edmond governed as the enlightened patriarch while the worthy Barbe fulfilled the duties of affectionate wife and mother.

It was also a household of increasing size.

The first child of the second union was Nicolas Edmond, who went on to become a writer and, in 1779, the worshipful author of My Father’s Life.

Nicolas was not to be the last, for in the next 12 years, as the author later wrote, six "other children followed almost without interruption." So it was that in 1745 "Edmond had fourteen children, eight girls and six boys, all of whom were living. And when the young [son of Barbe’s first marriage] was at home, there were fifteen of us who could address them as mother and father." [98]

Agriculture:
"The Art of Arts"
(La Vie de Mon Père)

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