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In 1719, a ship named La Mutine (the mutinous woman), sailed from the French port of Le Havre, bound for the Mississippi. It was loaded with urgently needed goods for the fledgling French colony, but its principal commodity was a new kind of export: women. Falsely accused of sex crimes, these women were prisoners, shackled in the ship’s hold. Of the 132 women who were sent this way, only 62 survived. But these women carved out a place for themselves in the colonies that would have been impossible in France, making advantageous marriages and accumulating property. Many were instrumental in the building of New Orleans and in settling Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, and Mississippi. My ancestral grandmother Anne Francoise Roland was one of those 62 survivors who settled in New Orelans.  This is her story and a big part of early Bordelon, New Orleans and Louisiana history!

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Anne Francoise Roland, born in c1699 in Paris, France, was the daughter of Jean Baptiste Ambroise Roland and  Jeanne  Bonnet.  Her mother apparently died at a young age, upon which time her father remarried.

Anne became rebellious in her teenage years, possibly due to an overly-strict father and jealous stepmother. By 1719, her father had lost all patience with his headstrong daughter and had no idea as to how to deal with her. He sent a petition to De Machault, the Chief of Police in Paris reporting her behavior. She was considered what would now call a "juvenile delinquent" and, as a result, was jailed in the infamous La Salpêtrière Prison (pictured below) in Paris and charged with debaucheries and public prostitution. Ironically, the crimes for which Anne was charged would probably be considered very minor by today's standards. According to an article that appeared in the Imperial St. Landry Genealogical & Historical Society publication (Volume IV, #2)entitled "Anne Francoise Rolland", there "never was any concrete evidence in her file to show that the charge of prostitution was valid".

Thirza Vallois in a September 1998 issue of the Paris Kiosque writes that La Salpêtrière was originally a gunpowder factory set up in the 1600's to house "the tramps and vagabonds of Paris, its rascals and rogues, whores and cut-throats, charlatans and crooks - 40,000 in all out of a total population of 400,000!" Vallois quotes a royal edict dated 1656 that clearly states that the objective of La Salpêtrière was to "clear the streets of vice whilst providing shelter for this wretched portion of humanity" as well as "put an end to beggary and idleness, as being the source of all disorder".

Conditions at La Salpêtrière apparently deteriorated dramatically after 1680, when, following a new royal edict, it became a jail for prostitutes arrested on the authority of a sealed letter from the King. Vallois writes: "Caught in the net on the streets of Paris, they were driven in carts through crowds of jeering Parisians to La Salpêtrière, where they were paired off with hardened convicts and shipped off to the New World to populate its newly conquered territories".

Duc de La Rochefoucauld reported after a visit to La Salpêtrière: "Everything is in a state of neglect to a degree as inconceivable as it is distressing. All categories of madness are confounded; chained-up mad women (and there are many of them) are united with peaceful ones. The latter have to put up permanently with the horrific spectacle of the contortions and fury of their enraged inmates, which they accompany with perpetual screams, and never enjoy a moment of rest... Here, there is no gentleness, no consolation, no remedy." Vallois states that Duc de La Rochefoucauld failed to mention that voracious rats overran the building!

(Note: La Salpêtrière is now the largest hospital in Paris and is the hospital at which Princess Diana died.)

We can only assume that Anne Francoise Roland was subject to these deplorable conditions during her stay at La Salpêtrière, so it is possible that she welcomed the forced deportation to the New World in June of 1719. At that time, she was deemed suitable to be sent to the islands and placed aboard the ship "La Mutine" by order of the King, along with approximately 100 other women of "questionable character".  

Anne arrived in the New World in 1719 aboard the ves sel, "Mutine". According to Albert J. Robichaux, Jr. in German Coast Families: European Ori gins and Settlement in Colonial Louisiana, the vessel La Mutine carried five private passeng ers and ninety-six females sent from Paris by order of the King. The ship was commanded by M . de Martonne and sailed from Le Havre after October 20, 1719, arriving at Dauphin Island o n February 28, 1720.

Shortly after her arrival in the New World, Anne married Nicolas Sarrazin. It is evident that she was married to Sarrazin as early as 8/10/1721 based on the baptismal record of Anne Francoise Desberge recorded at Mobile in which Anne Francoise Roland, wife of Sarrazin" is listed as the godmother.

Anne does appear on the 1726 New Orleans Census with her husband, Nicolas.

Nicolas and Anne Francoise had several children but records are sketchy. Some of the children below may not be the children of Nicolas and Anne:

1. Antoine: possibly born c1721.

Later married Marie Colon in Pointe Coupee in 1747;

2. Michel: born c1728

Buried at Pointe Coupee at the age of 18 in 1746;

3. Francois: Child not confirmed. Killed by the Chickasaw Indians about 20 May 1763. A mass was said for him in July 1763 and

recorded in Pointe Coupee.

4. Francoise: Child not confirmed. There is a Francoise listed on Anne Francoise Roland's marriage contract to her third husband.

5. Pierre: Child not confirmed. There is a burial record in New Orleans dated 1731 for a 3-year old child named "Pierre Sarasin".

6. Nicolas: In the 1730 "List of Those Persons Who Were Baptized in the Parish of New Orleans", there is a baptism dated 1/15/1730

for a Nicolas Roland, son of Anne Roland. He died shortly thereafter and was buried on 2/5/1730. I suspect that this child was the s/o Nicolas Sarrazin who was obviously deceased by this time.

It is unclear when or where Nicolas Sarrazin died but it is suggested that he died in the later part of 1729 or 1730 based on the fact that a "Nicolas Roland", son of Anne Francoise Roland was born on 1/15/1730 and buried on 2/5/1730 in New Orleans. I

Interestingly, Anne Francoise Roland married her second husband, Gabriel Laurent Bordelon only fifteen days after the death of her son. Their marriage on 2/20/1730 was recorded in New Orleans. Although unconfirmed, it appears that Anne and Gabriel moved to Natchez shortly after their marriage, where Anne gave birth to their son, Nicolas Bordelon.

In 1732, they were living in New Orleans again. A "Madame Bordelon" is listed on the January 1732 Census of the Inhabitants of New Orleans/Chartres Street, which is still in the French Quarter. She is listed as having 4 children and 2 negroes. The homeowner is listed as "Bordelon" but resident is listed as "Madame Bordelon". This seems to suggest that husband Gabriel had left her and/or went to Pointe Coupee Post, Louisiana. She is not listed as a widow on the document. Gabriel and Anne's second son, Antoine (my ancesteral grandfather) was born in New Orleans c1733.

Although Anne's marriage to Gabriel was brief, it produced these two sons who became the progenitors of the Bordelon family in Pointe Coupee and Avoyelles.

Anne married Jean Stephan dit Roquancourt for the third time. The marriage took place on 2/22/1737 in Pointe Coupee Parish. This indicates that Gabriel had died by this time.

Anne and Jean had, at least, two children:

Perrine who married Nicolas Degrande De La Mathe in 1757. She is probably the child listed in a 1742 baptism record as "Petronille".

Anne, baptized in 1738 in Pointe Coupee, married Jacques Desautels in 1755. Anne and Jean appeared in the 1745 Pointe Coupee Census: 

1745 Census of Pointe Coupee, Louisiana

Jean Stephan, called Rocancourt - Age 47 

Anne Francoise Rolland, his wife - Age 46 

Nicolas Bordelon - Age 15

Antoine Bordelon - Age 12

Anne and Perine Rocancourt, their daughters 7 & 4 years

Slaves:  2 Black men, 2 Black women, 1 Black boy, 1 Black girl, 

Horses - 2; Cattle - 11; Muskets - 4; Powder - 4; Lead & Balls - 8; Corn - 60; Beans - 4; 

Tobacco - 4; Land Cultivated - 28

Anne Francoise died and was buried on 1/8/1758 in Pointe Coupee. Her husband, Jean, died in 1776 and was also buried in Pointe Coupee.

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A best-selling book was written on the plight of these women and mention Ann Roand as one of the passengers.  Click below to learn more!

Mutinous Women: How French Convicts Became Founding Mothers of the Gulf Coast