History in Our Everyday Lives

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 15.03.04

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Rationale
  3. Content Objectives
  4. Other French Pioneers in Santa Clara Valley
  5. Teaching Strategies
  6. Activities
  7. Resources
  8. Appendices
  9. Notes

French History in Your City: San Jose, California - the Pellier Brothers

Glenn Davis

Published September 2015

Tools for this Unit:

Activities

The Spread of the French Language: Worksheet and Timeline

In the first week of the project, the students will begin with a quick research exercise to understand better where French is spoken around the world and little of how it spread through exploration and colonization.

I will begin the project with asking the students where French is spoken in the world. As they give answers, I will write them down, in columns. I will have a map of the world out, so they can see where, exactly, the region / country is located. When they have exhausted their own knowledge, then I will give them a worksheet / timeline to fill out blanks for countries or entities, as well as dates that the French language arrived in that area. (see Appendix) We will do a historic overview of French imperialism and migration across the last five centuries. This will help them to learn about the vastness of the francophone world.

These will be the columns:

  • French is the only official language
  • French is a co-official language
  • French is the official language of a Dependent entity
  • French is spoken in this area

Then they will individually research one country at a time to find out when French was used or officially used in that area. When someone verifies the facts with me, I will give them a candy, put it on the board, and assign them another area. When all the areas are completed, we will then have all the information we need to make a timeline and a map with pins in each area.

See the Appendix for a list of countries.

See Appendix for a chronological list of countries according to when French arrived.

French readings of California Pioneers

While one of the objectives of this unit is to have students read resources in the French language, they will find much on-line that is only available in English. Therefore I will supplement their reading with some handouts from French authors. One resource is a French newspaper from San Francisco called Echos du Pacifique, Jan. 12 and 14, 1853. Unfortunately, the print is not very clear from the picture I took of the pages at Yale University Library. I will show them a few pictures in order to look at some of the headings and discuss them.

Daniel Lévy’s book Les Français en Californie, 1884, has some great pages to look at and discuss. On pages VIII and IX in the Preface, Levy talks about why he wrote this book, “…j’ai essayé de reconstituer le passé de notre colonie et de l’exposer, de mon mieux, dans cette série d’esquisses, imparfaites sans doute, mais tracées avec une scrupuleuse bonne foi.”27  On pages 14-16, Lévy writes about the “other side of the coin” for those who found gold. He is talking about the exorbitant prices of some of the necessary thing needed, such as food, transport, blankets, bottles in which to put gold powder, etc. He describes the difficult existence of the miner: bad food, nights out in the elements, fatigue, excessive work, and sickness.28

In his conclusion, Lévy talks about how French immigration can succeed: to have a useful profession, the strong will to use it, and to learn the language of the country. In public life, the French identify themselves with the American population. But in their private life, if you penetrated into the interior of their homes, it’s like you would find yourself in France itself: furniture, books, newspapers, etc.29

In Edwin Bryant’s book Voyage en Californie, on pages 39-43, he describes San Jose in detail during a trip in 1846. He talks about the fertile plain, population, buildings, animals, orchards, cabarets, playing cards, weather, the Santa Clara Mission, etc.30

Also the students will be discovering primary documents written in French in the 1800’s, which have been archived at Santa Clara University and San Jose State University. These letters or notes can be the most direct and reliable link to an earlier time. Sometimes the only traces of events or individuals are found in photographs or cemetery markers.31

The French Pioneers of San Jose - Worksheet

Using computers in class, the students will then begin their research on the French in San Jose. We will also touch on the history of San Jose, as well as the economics, labor and immigration in the area. They will share their discoveries near the end of the first week, such as names of French settlers and good websites used to find the information. It could be interpreted as a sort of competition to see who can find good websites quickly, as we share our findings with one anther, after giving everyone enough time to find something.

After about a half dozen names have been listed, I will guide them to focus in on the Louis and Pierre Pellier, Pierre de Saisset, Pierre Sainsevain and Charles Lefranc. The students will turn in their top choices of what topic they want to study, then I will pair them up. At this point, I would give them a worksheet with some fairly specific facts to research concerning “their immigrant.” For example, I would like them to find out about who they were, where they came from, why they came, their family, their work, how they have been memorialized, and any interesting stories behind any of these facts. The students would finish off the second week by writing up a first draft, including a list of the resources that they used, plus other resources that they have seen cited, but that they couldn’t find. This would allow me to see what they have been able to find and not find, and also to see what kind of help they need in writing.

Class visit by historian and Pellier descendent combined with City tour

The second week of the project would include a city tour, including a visit by a historian to come in to share with the students about primary source documents and how to find them, and to answer any questions that they might have. A second visitor that I would have come in would be an actual descendent of the Pellier brothers. Ideally, this would be a descendent who speaks French, so that the students would have the opportunity to hear more French and work on their listening skills. The plan would be to have the students meet a local historian, Charlene Duval, and a Pellier descendant at the Sourisseau Academy, next to the California Room in the King Library at San Jose State University.

The tour would include a trip to the Calvary Catholic Cemetery to see where the Pelliers and other French pioneers are buried, a visit to the Archives and Manuscripts at the Santa Clara University Library to mainly see 19th century French letters of the de Saisset family, visiting Pellier Park, where the Pellier brothers used to live and work, seeing where Louis Pellier has been painted at the entrance to the San Pedro Square Market, and the California Room and the Souriseau Academy in the San Jose State University King Library, where students can research old documents and photographs of the French pioneers of San Jose, as well as meet a historian and a Pellier descendant.  The students will see how the pioneers have been memorialized as we take a tour around San Jose. Reflecting on commemorating and preserving the past will also be a part of this unit. Students will critique how the Pelliers have been remembered.

We will use the local bus system to visit the following places:

  • Calvary Catholic Cemetery on Alum Rock Rd
  • Santa Clara University Library Archives and Special Collections
  • Pellier Park
  • San Pedro Square entryway
  • San Jose State University King Library Sourisseau Academy / California Room

Translation of a Document

It is my hope that my students will not only develop a deep desire to learn through this unit, but also understand that they could play a role in preserving history through some physical means, such as writing, recording, photographing, building a monument, etc. With their knowledge of French, they could actually help the local historians translate the many documents that have been left to the historical societies. This would help many people who do not understand French, to understand what has been communicated in these documents.

Students will research French letters and documents from other French pioneers in California that have been archived in the libraries at San Jose State University and Santa Clara University. They will each photograph one, study it and try to translate it into English. This will show them how they can use their French knowledge right here in their own city to help the community understand about life in the 19th century.

Research Paper

Another objective for the unit will be for the students to write a 3-page double-spaced typed paper on the results of their research. The contents will include the arrival of the French in California, their search for gold, their settlements, etc. Students will read some 19th century French texts to learn about life in that era for the French. This could be an insight into cultural differences and the French way of life.

They will turn in a first draft after two weeks of preliminary research, noting resources that they have used, and others that they have learned about, but not physically found. Seeing their work early will help me to guide them to resources and also help them with their writing skills, such as using the past tenses of the “passé composé” and the “imparfait”, as well as other grammar issues that come up.

Pellier Family

The students will have split up to research different topics in more detail. Some will study the Pellier family, studying Census records, books, web sites, and some primary texts to make a family tree for Louis and Pierre Pellier. I will explain to them, in French, how I grew to have a love for history research through what I discovered about my grandmother while in Antwerp, Belgium. The family history research skills that I show them will be useful as the students try to research the Pellier family and how one could actually find descendants of historical figures. This would include the family relationships and how they got along.

Pellier Origins

Others will study Louis’s tombstone, gleaning information from that. They should discover the spelling error, then research the actual origin of Louis Pellier, where Saint Hippolyte is actually located in France. The students will learn the geographical terms such as: “region”, “department”, “arrondissement”, “canton”, and “commune”. They will create maps to clarify the locations. This would include the story of the tombstones.

Prune Industry

Others will research the plum / prune industry, learning from French videos about the process of growing, harvesting, treating, testing, and preparing the prune for consumption. This will include the work that Louis and Pierre did in San Jose in the 19th century.

Pierre Mirassou

Another pair of students will study the son-in-law of Pierre Pellier, Pierre Mirassou. They could focus on the Mirassou family and their winery, the oldest family winemaking business in the country.

Pierre de Saisset

A fifth pair of students will study the French pioneer Pierre de Saisset. They will be able to use the primary sources found in the Santa Clara University Library Archives.

Pierre Sainsevain

A sixth pair of students will study the life of the French pioneer Pierre Sainsevain. This could include some of his activities outside of San Jose, since they were many.

Charles Lefranc

Another pair of students will study the work of winemaker Charles Lefranc and his business partner Etienne Thée. They established the Almaden Winery in the Evergreen area of East San Jose. They will research the origins of the winery, as well as the recent history, trying to discover how the old winery has been or has not been memorialized.

Oral Report

Throughout the unit, the students will be hearing and listening to French as I speak to them as a group and individually. The speaking piece of the project will be worked on often. Over many weeks, they will be practicing describing pictures, including historic photographs of the Pellier family and of San Jose, so that when they present their research to the class, they should not have too much difficulty talking about what they are showing. They will be speaking for at least four minutes, using 10 slides or pictures or a family tree, etc.

The fourth and final week would be for the students to finish up their projects and to present their discoveries, using visuals, such as posters, power point presentations, bulletin board displays, family trees, etc.

With a bit of research, I am sure this unit can be easily adapted to many other high school contexts. Immigrants from France, Germany, Spain, Vietnam and other areas have made important contributions to their new homeland. Not only can it be adapted in other World Language classes, but I’m sure that history classes around the country, perhaps the world, could make good use of this unit, particularly as they study immigration.

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