Population of Graffigny-Chemin, 1843 - 1952

How has the population of Graffigny-Chemin changed from 1840 to 2010. From 1975 to today, the population has dropped from 329 to 211. Population Graffigny.


We will start with the modern day premise that there are about 19 births per year per 1,000 people. Birth Rate, Wikipedia. Let's see if we can go back in time to the 1840's.

Detail of birth records of Graffigny-Chemin 1845

The Archives de la Haute-Marne 1843 - 1852 record the marriages, births and deaths of the little village of Graffigny-Chemin. In 1843 the register recorded 22 births (page 6 and 9). Using the ratio of 40 births per 1,000 inhabitants, suggested by Fernand Braudel in The Structures of Everyday Life page 71, it is possible that 880 inhabitants lived in Graffigny in 1843. Elisa Constance Emma Chevallier, daughter of Alexander Chevallier, (age 33, lumber merchant), and Marie  Genevieve Roucher, was born that year on May the 4th.

The following year, 1844, 21 births are recorded (page 15). There are no Chevalliers, but there are 3 Collins, another family name. In 1845, 25 births are recorded without a Chevallier listed (page 25). In 1846, only 17 births are recorded (page 29).

On the 4th of April, 1847, Paul Constant Chevallier (my great great grandfather) married Anne Marie Richier. Paul was the child of Hilaire Chevallier and Anne Collin, ages 76 and 65. Paul Constant Chevallier is listed as the oldest son and without a profession, "garcon majeur et sans profession". Anne, his spouse was born in 1829 and is 18 years old at the date of the marriage.She is the daughter of Jean Thomas Richier (deceased) and Jeanne Morel.

Back to the lists of births. In 1847, it is 20 births (page 36). In 1848, it is 25 births including Paul Erneste Chevallier, born on the 17th of February, first son of Paul Constant Chevallier, age 26, proprieter, and Anne Marie Richier , (pages 41 and 44).

In 1849, it is 25 births. In 1850 there are 20 births including Marie Alexandune ? Elmire Chevallier, child of Paul Constant Chevallier and his wife Anne Marie Richier (pages 54 and 59). Aunt Elmire later figures in correspondence with my grandmother Marguerite just after the First World War.

In 1851, it is 28 births (page 68). And in 1852, it is back down to 14 births including Camille Oreste Chevallier, another daughter of Paul and Anne (pages 69 and 72).

Estimating populations from birth records is an inexact science. The number of births in Graffigny for the ten years ranged from a low of 14 births to a high of 25 with 20 births as a statistical norm.

The birth rate today is about 20 births per 1,000. But, I assume the 1840's experienced a higher birth rate with more children per family than today. With that in mind, we need to take a little off the top. And so we can guess at 800 souls in Graffigny in 1840.

Note to self. The list of marriages starts on page 73 of the Archives.

Missing Person: Elmire Chevallier

My mother's first name was Elmire. She was named after her aunt Elmire Chevallier.

I only learned of the existance of Elmire Chevallier a month ago. I learned of her existence in letters my sister Kathy gave to me. Elmire Chevallier was until then a missing person - missing to me at least and those in my family who did not know of her existence.

The name Elmire is not common. I have never been introduced to another Elmire in my lifetime. I never asked my mother the origin of her name, I just thought it pretty. My father shortened the name Elmire to El, and I thought that pretty too. At first I assumed the name origin as Spanish,  translated as"the sea". I have no basis for saying this other than it sounds poetic. I also fancy that my mother was named for Claude Debussy's beautifully then modern composition La Mer, which was composed in 1903, three years after the birth of my very French grandmother Marguerite Chevallier Meine Pearon.

An etymologist would dispute this interpretation, correcting me by saying that "el mar" is the proper Spanish translation for 'the sea', and that "elmire" translates better as "the view". Further, the word doctor would point out, Elmire is derived from the arabic, Elmira, and means aristocratic lady or princess. With this in mind, I conjure up images of  Arab Moors who swept through Spain in the 11th and 12th centuries and set up castles aand kngdoms in Cordoba, Seville, and Granada. Don't parents always dream images of faraway places and romantic persons when selecting the names of their children?

The name Elmire itself is obscure. The one reference to Elmire I can find is from a character in Moliere's play Tartuffe. The play was written in 1664 and was soon banned by King Louis XIV perhaps because of its racy subject, adultery, but also because the Catholic Church found it was not portrayed favorably. In the play Elmire is the virtuous wife and object of lust by the main character Tartuffe.

My mother's mother was French, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that she was a fan of Moliere. But, the reality is that my mother was named after an aunt, Elmire Chevallier, who lived in Graffigny as did my grandmother. Elmire Chevallier would have been sister to my great grandmother. There still exist several letters between my grandmother Marguerite and her aunt Elmire. Translating them is difficult, not only because of the cursive writing, but also because the long sentences which Elmire was prone to write.

Letters often reveal facts about families that are better left hidden. In letters we reveal our complaints and misfortunes. Keep this in mind for sentences written in haste can be exaggerated or taken out of context.

What I can pick out so far from the letters from Elmire to Marguerite is that there was some dispute as to the family home in Graffigny. So far, I have not found any letters from my great grandmother Laura to her daughter Marguerite. Correspondence seems to have been directred from Marguerite through Elmire to Laura, but whether this correspondence was returned I do not know.

What follows is my translation of a letter from Elmire Chevallier to my grandmother, Marguerite Chevallier Meine Pearson postmarked October 5, 1924. The translation obviously needs improvement and in the future I will photograph and post the actual letter. I will update translation as time allows:


M chere M'ite

Hier apres avoir mise a la porte la lettre que j'adressais a la mere, Marc est entre, comme sa femme m'avais apporte la, fameuse que tu lui a envoyee

My dear Marguerite

Yesterday after having put on the door the letter that I adressed to your mother, Mark came, as his wife had me brings, famous as you sent him