Esther Wheelwright

Esther Wheelwright was born in 1696, the fourth of eleven children, to John Wheelwright and Mary Snell. John Wheelwright served as a tavern keeper and justice of the peace of the province. He built a garrison and was licensed to "keep a house of public entertainment", where they served alcoholic beverages. It became a common stopover for influential men (governors, judges, ministers, generals, lords) as well as common travelers and traders. Esther's was a deeply religious Puritan family where Sabbath rules were strictly followed. Esther's father led the family service on Saturday night. On Sunday, the family walked in a procession to the meetinghouse for a full day service. The Wheelwright household at the turn of the eighteenth century included the Wheelwright parents and their children, as well as Anglo-American indentured servants and at least a few enslaved African Americans. Esther's grandfather Samuel Wheelwright owned slaves in the 1690s, and both her father and mother continued to own slaves in the 1740s and 1750s, which they bequeathed to free family members. Slavery was common in New England even in rural places like southern Maine, and it could be just as abusive as life in plantations in the southern Anglo-American colonies. The murder of Rachel, an enslaved woman in Kittery, illustrates the isolation and brutality of New England slavery. Capture by the Wabanaki During the late summer and early fall of 1702 there was talk of an imminent attack by the Indians and French. By the spring of 1703, French and Indian forces were stationed along the borderlands preparing for their attack. On 21 August 21, 1703 the two-day attack ensued. The only Wheelwright among the seven kidnapped was Esther, who was taken captive by the Wabanaki. After only a few months with the Wabanaki, Esther had probably shed so much of her former identity that she would have barely been recognized by her English family. While there is no direct evidence that Esther was renamed following her conversion to Catholicism, there is evidence that many Catholic Wabanaki women who were baptized were named Catherine or Marie. It is possible that Esther was renamed "Mali," (pronounced as "Molly" in General American English), which is a Wabanaki corruption of the name "Marie." Life at the Chateâu St. Louis Esther's birth family eventually learned about her new religion and, using their ties through the government of Massachusetts, petitioned the General Governor of New France, Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil, to get her back. Wartime conditions meant that it was difficult to act on Esther's return to Wells. Vaudreuil himself was denouncing the "deplorable state" of New France's economy to his superiors and had to carefully plan his moves. In order to negotiate a better deal with New England, Vaudreuil started to spread the idea that the young girl was the daughter of an important English man. Esther had known life as a Puritan, then as a Wabanaki, and now she experienced a taste of life as a French aristocrat in New France. Of the various societies and environments Esther lived in, the transition from living among the Wabanaki and life with the Vaudreuil family in the Chateau St. Louis was the most stark. Esther, who had previously been accustomed to living in intimate close quarters with her adopted Wabanaki family, would have found the Chateau St. Louis to be large and luxurious in comparison. She would likely have been introduced to imported luxuries such as chinaware, and attended events such as lavish balls and banquets. However, her time at the Chateau St. Louis was brief. By January 1709, she was enrolled as a boarding student at the Ursuline boarding school. == Life as an Ursuline ==

Beginning with the Ursulines On 18 January 1709 Esther was enrolled as a boarding student in the Ursuline boarding school. and, in June 1711, she was sent to the Hôtel-Dieu, where she spent several months. Although Esther was eventually sent to Trois-Rivières, Her connections with Father Bigot and the Marquis de Vaudreuil allowed Esther to have an impressive career as an Ursuline nun. Most women of modest backgrounds like Esther who were joining the Ursulines were only permitted to become lay nuns, meaning they were relegated to the back of the procession and were forbidden to sing in church. Esther, however, was allowed to become a choir nun despite not being able to afford the full dowry. As the great-granddaughter of a Protestant minister, who was raised by the Wabanaki then converted to Catholicism and embraced French culture, Esther's story was a symbol of the future of French superiority in the New World. For one year as a novice, Esther was trained for monastic life by observing a strict routine and following the Rules of the Quebec Ursulines. She performed daily activities in obedience to superiors and learned to sacrifice all luxuries. During her time as a novice, the Wheelwrights frequently wrote to Esther asking her to return. The letters did have an effect on Esther and she later admitted that they caused her "infinite trouble", but she remained committed to her religious life. After the Treaty of Utrecht was signed on 11 April 11, 1713, Esther was at risk of being reclaimed by English officers. As an Ursuline nun, Sister Esther Marie-Joseph Wheelwright de l'Enfant Jésus had no contact with her family, and over time lost her connections with most people from her previous life. Those who had been instrumental in her joining the Ursulines, including the Marquise de Vaudreuil and Father Bigot, died in the succeeding years. In 1724, the Wabanaki were attacked by an English force led by a friend of the Wheelwrights, Captain Johnson Harmon, and many of the people with whom Esther grew up were killed. Life inside the Ursuline Convent remained shuttered from the outside world. Some practices that were routinely practiced by Ursuline nuns during this period included self-mortification, which included flagellation. These practices were voluntary, but it is possible that Esther may have engaged in them. In 1747 Esther received correspondence from her mother stating that her father had died. In his will he left money for Esther and instructions for her brothers to take care of her should she ever return to Wells, indicating her parents' enduring hope for her return, even after many decades of religious commitment. After her parents' deaths, Esther's brothers maintained correspondence with their sister in Quebec, acknowledging the benefits that might come with having a contact in New France. In 1759, English forces attacked New France in the Battle of Quebec. The nuns were evacuated from the convent and Esther was sent to the Hôpital Général as a nurse. General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm's army was overwhelmed by the English army, and Montcalm died on 14 September 1759. He was buried in the convent's chapel. == Mother Superior and later life ==

During the war, Wheelwright had been assistant superior as the Ursulines nursed both French and British soldiers in the convent. and the Ursulines feared that the British might close the convent. Nevertheless, it had frequent contact with and visits from the community. The Mother Superior's threefold British, French and Indigenous ties made her a strong political symbol, and it was in the interest of the English to claim her as one of their own. As Mother Superior, Esther functioned as a diplomat, maintaining good relations with the British Governors of Québec, Amherst and Murray, as well as with France. Descriptions of both Esther and the Québec Ursuline convent are present in The History of Emily Montague, the first novel written in Canada. The Ursulines being in great debt, Wheelwright established much-needed financial stability for the Order, primarily by encouraging the nuns to pursue Amerindian embroidery, using Native materials of birch bark, deer skin, and moose and porcupine hair to create images of saints. This was an arduous task, because the moose hair requiring constant rethreading, but the art became a commercial success, and many embroideries were sold to English soldiers and tourists. The Ursulines' economic self-sufficiency helped provide for their community services to French and Native inhabitants, and contributed to their independence from reform-minded bishops. The convent was marked by internal turmoil during Esther's final term as Mother Superior, due to a lack of new recruits, British opposition to the convent, and an increase in Catholic women converting to Anglicanism to marry. The remaining nuns were increasingly critical of Esther and the state of the school. The Ancien Régime was in its decline and they endured yet another military conflict in The Battle of Quebec and the ensuing siege. In 1772 Esther became assistant superior, and from 1778 until her death she served as an overseer and advisor. Esther Wheelwright died in Québec City on 28 November 1780 at the age of 84, without suffering illness. == See also ==