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Hedwige de la Rochefoucauld

1896–1986

Born
15 Feb 1896, 7th arrondissement of Paris
Country of birth
France
Died
7 May 1986, 7th arrondissement of Paris
facts
8
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · 7th arrondissement of Paris

    Birth, 7th arrondissement of Paris

  2. Child born: Princess Isabella of Bourbon-Parma

    Birth, 7th arrondissement of Paris

  3. Died · 7th arrondissement of Paris

    Death, 7th arrondissement of Paris

What was it like?

The world around 7th arrondissement of Paris, 1896: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Hedwige was born the same year as André Breton, Tristan Tzara, and Antonin Artaud.

Born the same year

  • André Breton

    French writer and poet, co-founder of Surrealism (1896–1966)

  • Tristan Tzara

    Romanian-French poet (1896–1963)

  • Antonin Artaud

    French-Occitanian poet, playwright, actor and theatre director (1896-1948)

  • Dziga Vertov

    Russian-Soviet documentary/avantgarde filmmaker (1896-1954)

  • Mamie Eisenhower

    First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961

  • Uberto de Morpurgo

    Italian tennis player (1896–1961)

Fashion

Alsatian folk dress used on political parades

In Alsace, traditional Tracht was tied to religious occasions like weddings and first communions, but it later became common at political rallies; when Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Strasbourg in 1877, women were greeted in Tracht. The text also describes how the costume’s symbolism shifted with politics over the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Quimper workers kept festal clothes apart

In Quimper (Brittany), rural workers could keep their everyday work clothes separate from festival clothing, sometimes commissioned for weddings. This made clothing a visible marker of identity and social position.

Music

Large regional music competitions drew thousands

Musical societies frequently performed at regional competitions, such as one in 1891 in Aurillac that brought together over 1,000 performers to parade and compete.

Rural brass bands were popular musical associations

In the late 19th century, rural French brass bands often consisted of about 25 members, with many musicians starting as young as 8 or 9 years old.

Getting around
Around 1891–1891

Steam trains replaced horse carriages

By 1891, a steam train began connecting Annemasse to the Giffre valley in three hours, replacing an old horse-drawn carriage that required seven hours to cover the same distance.

Poor conditions for train passengers

During the late 19th century, trains were often poorly lit, forcing passengers to bring portable candles to read, and heating was only provided in first-class carriages using hot water bottles.

Daily life

Mandatory primary education reform

Following the Ferry laws of the 1880s, primary education became free, compulsory, and secular for children aged 7 to 13.

Protective headgear for children

Children often wore protective headgear called a bourrelet, a thick tress of straw designed to shield them from bumps and falls.

Food

Tax-free home distillation privileges

Between 1875 and 1914, French peasants had a legal privilege to distill part of their own wine, cider, or fruit harvest into spirits without paying any taxes or needing declarations.

The Ordinary Worker Lunch: Ordinaire

A typical working-class lunch, known as an ordinaire, consisted of boiled beef, broth, vegetables, cheese, bread, and wine for about one franc. Many workers saved money by eating only the broth and vegetables at lunch and taking the beef home for dinner.

Prices and wages
Around 1900–1900

Parisian Food Prices in 1900

In Paris in 1900, bread cost 38 centimes per kilogram, while beef was priced at 1.80 francs per kilogram and a liter of milk cost 30 centimes.

Work

Memorable details of mining and daily diet

Lamp trimmers in mines were often young women responsible for maintaining and distributing lamps, which could contain over one hundred individual parts. At home, working-class families frequently relied on dried chestnuts boiled for four hours as a cheap, nutritious meal staple.

The grueling routine of Parisian water carriers

A Parisian water carrier transported water in two 20-liter buckets, making 35 to 40 trips daily while climbing up to the top floors of houses. This physically demanding work was often supplemented by wood sawing or moving furniture to earn extra income.

News and letters

Pneumatic tube mail delivery in Paris

In Paris, ordinary people could send messages via an underground pneumatic tube network using pre-stamped blue forms called petits bleus, which typically arrived in under an hour.

Railways transformed mail transport in France

By the late 19th century, mail transport in France was dominated by railways, with special ambulatory sorting offices on trains replacing horse-drawn postal coaches.

During their lifetime

  1. 1900

    Paris Metro opens in 1900

    The first Paris metro line opened on July 14, 1900, allowing travel across the city in half an hour for 20 to 25 centimes.

  2. 1921

    Public radio broadcasting starts in 1921

    Public radio broadcasting officially began in France in 1921, with regular programs transmitted from an antenna atop the Eiffel Tower.

  3. 1944

    Women gain voting rights in 1944

    In October 1944, a government ordinance finally granted women the right to vote in France.

  4. 1950

    Creation of the minimum wage

    In 1950, the government established the minimum wage (SMIG) to improve workers' purchasing power.

  5. 1956

    Third week of paid vacation

    In 1956, French workers were granted a third week of paid vacation, significantly increasing their leisure time.

  6. 1967

    Legalization of the contraceptive pill

    The 1967 Neuwirth Law legalized the contraceptive pill, allowing women greater control over family planning.

Family

Parents

Spouses

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.