Our Historic Site
Esther Wheelwright (1696-1780)
or Soeur Esther-Marie-Joseph de l'enfant Jésus
or Soeur Esther-Marie-Joseph de l'enfant Jésus
In 1703, a group of Abenakis and French attacked the town of Wells, Maine and took many people captive. One of these was 7-year-old Esther Wheelwright. She was marched north to an Abenaki encampment, where she was raised by French Catholic missionaries. Esther later studied at the Ursuline boarding school in Quebec City. Although her parents tried to persuade her to return to home on numerous occasions, she chose to stay in Quebec and became a nun. She was later elected mother superior of the community at the time of the British conquest. Through her efforts, the Ursulines developed a good relationship with the British authorities. Esther also worked hard to re-establish the community's affairs in France and to put it on firm financial ground.
© 2010  Literary and Historical Society of Quebec All rights reservedPhoto: The Prison in 1830 (James Pattison Cockburn, ANC) Contact: info@morrin.org |