Aurore: My Franco-American Mother

Aurore was the youngest of nine children of French–Canadian parents who immigrated to Lewiston, Maine, in the 1890s. The loss of her mother when Aurore was two years old affected her throughout her life; and for her nine children and two stepsons, she became the mother she always wished she’d had. At times unconventional, always devoutly Catholic, Aurore triumphed in an environment that was economically difficult and often lonely. French-Canadians, who became known as Franco-Americans, brought a distinct culture to Lewiston, Maine, and to other New England cities. Aurore’s story provides a surprising glimpse into the lives of those families who came to work in New England textile mills at the end of the nineteenth century.