WILLDEN FAMILY-------ROCHETTE, A BRAVE FAMILY OF FAITH AND DARING

     Jean and Marie ROCHET had a problem in the early 1680's......their religious faith was under attack in the familiy's homeland of France, let alone the fact that the Seminary School for the controversial faith was in their own hometown of Sedan, in the Province of Champagne. What was their controversial faith that had the King of France himself in a tirade? Protestantism........those pesky believers who had left the Catholic Church, which had been the "go to" religion for centuries. Jean and Marie's parents had been Protestants since they were kids, and in 1598 the King's "Edict of Nantes" had allowed the Reformed Church of France to worship openly with a few exceptions....they could not meet in public in Paris or other large cities, they still had to pay Catholic tithes, respect Catholic Holy days, and obey the marriage laws of the Church.  But at least they could worship without fear of reprisal from the King's officials, or the Catholic clergy's watchful eyes....for a few years.

Built in 1424, this Sedan castle would have been a common site for the Rochet family

     In 1685, the Edict of Nantes that had allowed the Protestants to worship, was revoked. King Louis XIV had decided that there should be only one religion in France, and the Catholic Church amazingly agreed with him. The Protestants could no longer meet anywhere, much less in public. Protestant schools were closed. Protestant church buildings were destroyed....and the children of Protestant families were baptized into the Catholic Church. There were even Catholic "investigators" who went into Protestant homes and quizzed the children to see if the parents were teaching them the Catholic religion properly....and if not, the children were taken away from them, or the parents arrested, or both. French Protestants had not forgotten the last time the Catholics wanted them out, in 1572, when a time called "The St. Batholomew's Day Massacre" saw 25,000 Protestant men, women, and children murdered in Paris alone in a matter of months.  Jean and Marie ROCHET had three teenage daughters now, and they knew they must make some difficult choices...and they did.
     King Louis XIV had ordered guards along the borders of France to keep the Protestants from escaping to eventually Holland, which had become the haven for the religious rebels.  An escape attempt could be punishable by prison or death.  Some Protestants disguised themselves as cattle herders, or as Catholics on a pilgrimage, to get by the King's network of guards.  On a dark night in Sedan, the ROCHET parents said a tearful goodbye to their two oldest daughters, and a niece with an infant in her arms, as they watched them go into the woods with an escort of men called "Night Walkers" to protect and guide them on their journey to leave France.
All went well for the escape party, until the niece stumbled on a rock while crossing the creek at a Mill site. She fell and her infant began to cry, alerting Catholic workers at the Mill, who promptly turned them over to the authorities. Some were arrested and imprisoned, but the daughters of Jean and Marie ROCHET managed to find their way home and temporary safety.

Huguenot trails on the border of France

      The two oldest ROCHET daughters made another attempt a few months later, and this time were guided to Holland with only a minor incident while suffering illness at an Inn along the way. Once in Amsterdam, Holland, the girls wrote a letter to their parents, asking them to please send them the "little night cap" that they had left in France.......a coded phrase meaning for them to send their younger sister Susanne LaRoche ROCHET to Holland next. On October 8, 1685, the time had come once again for Jean and Marie to test their faith, and send their teenage daughter Susanne on a daring adventure. Jean Rochet knew the underground Protestant network that was used to aid the mass exodus from France to Holland, and found a ship's Captain that would smuggle Susanne out of the country for a nice bribe. The deal was done, and young Susanne, the "little night cap" went off into the night protected by her faith and surrounded by "Night Walkers". Upon reaching the coast, she was willingly, although I am certain fearfully, sealed inside of a "hogshead".....a wooden barrel used to transport wine, or sugar, or any needed product safely by ship. The "hogshead" was the cardboard box of the 17th Century. We do not know what size the barrel was, but wine was shipped in 63-gallon barrels, and sugar in either 64 or 128 gallon barrels. Whatever the size, Susanne ROCHET quietly remained inside while the barrel was sealed on the ship, until they were safely out of the range of the King's guard boats, and then she was set free.  She joined her sisters in Amsterdam in a great reunion, celebrating the Faith and Family that had triumphed over the tyranny of a King and his Church.

Imagine hiding in a hogshead like Susanne Rochet

   

Being rolled onto a boat must have been "interesting" for Susanne

        Jean and Marie would visit their daughters at least once while they were in Holland, smuggling money hidden in Marie's hairstyle.  Eventually, the two oldest daughters married and moved to the West Indies where they remained. Meanwhile in Amsterdam, Holland, Susanna ROCHET took work in a factory making lace, and met another refugee in the factory, also from Sedan, France, who worked weaving gauze.  She and Abraham MICHAUX were married July 13, 1692, in the Dutch Reformed Church in Amsterdam, Holland.
Next post, we will read of their future in America.  Susanna ROCHET is the 7th great grandmother of Tonya Kim WILLDEN MARTINI.