Eugenie Jaussaud

Ann Marks wrote: https://vivianmaierbio.wordpress.com/

Eugenie was born into the large Jaussaud family of the French Haute Alpes. Her forbearers resided in the area for centuries, working as farmers, sheepherders, and builders. Eugenie Jaussaud was raised in St. Julien, in the ancestral home called Beauregard, one of the village’s largest residences. Her family farmed in an idyllic mountain setting, living a simple life.

Comparatively colorful circumstances drove Eugenie to leave her bucolic life in France. As a teenager she was impregnated by Nicolas Baille, a young laborer hired to work the family fields. Unwilling to recognize paternity, Baille left Eugenie a marked woman when on May 11, 1896, she gave birth to Marie Jaussaud, the future mother of Vivian Maier. By 1901, with still no claim of paternity, Eugenie (20) fled to New York in shame. She traveled with a cousin of famed photographer Jeanne Bertrand, who had immigrated earlier and would soon be featured on the front page of the Boston Globe. Eugenie was sponsored by Bertrand’s Uncle Cyprian Lagier, and this circle of French friends would provide a lifeline in America.

• Reference: Geneanet Genealogy - SmartCopy: Oct 21 2018, 8:13:12 UTC