Tags
Angelica NY, Chenango County NY, d'Autremont, France, French Revolution, Madame d'Autremont, Reward in Gold, Tallyrand, The French Asylum, Train Robery
She first came to the wilderness of New York.
After four years it was enough.
Then she went to an asylum in Pennsylvania; a political asylum.
And finally, back to New York; however, this time, in a genteel society.
That is the whole story of Madame d’Autremont; well – – – almost all of the story.
There was trouble in France in the 1790’s. Madame d’Autremont was part of the royal court.
She decided, along with several other families, to purchase land in the new United States. Several thousand acres were purchased in the County of Chenango, New York. A road was cut and a village of sorts established. However the life was a little rough for these effete.
An escape from the hell of the wilderness appeared.
Another group from France had established an asylum, supposedly for the Queen of France, for a place to escape from the revolution.
Madame d’Autremont and her cohorts in Chenango county bought a few boats, followed the current of the Chenango River to where it met with the Susquehanna River in the new village of Binghamton.
From there they, once again, followed the current downstream. They passed Tioga Point where the river turned southward to Towanda. A few miles farther and they were relieved to reach the asylum.
Due to a series of legal and human disasters Madame d’Autremont lost her thousands of acres in Chenango County.
At “Asylum” they stayed for a period of time. The French Diplomat Talleyrand traveled to the asylum and met with Madame d’Autremont and her sons.
Talleyrand took Louis Paul d’Autremont back to France with him. That son was able to reclaim his mother’s land in Chenango county.
Madame d’Autremont sold that land and repaired to Angelica, New York were she and her sister lived out their lives.
I hope that was the end of the story but recently I am beginning to wonder.
OK, OK. It is another railroad story. So sue me.
waldotomosky 