Who were Mme Florion, the war widow who taught my grandmother to sew, and Loulou Gratieux, my mother’s godmother? I started researching these two family mysteries a few years ago, but it was a message last month from a stranger on Geneanet that finally solved them.

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Mystery #1: Mme Florion

I had always heard growing up that Mme Florion was the lady who taught my maternal grandmother, “Mamie Lu,” to sew. I heard that name so many times all my life, mostly from my grandmother, who was very fond of her. For years, whenever I would watch my grandmother sew, she would inevitably talk about Mme Florion.

Mme Florion was obviously an excellent teacher: my grandmother was an amazing seamstress all her life. I used to love watching her choosing a fabric, cutting it, and turning it into a beautiful dress, skirt, shirt, or suit… She made my mother’s wedding dress. She could thread a needle without even looking, while carrying on a conversation! (I can’t even sew a button on without pricking my fingers!)

One story I heard was that one day, just before WWII, my grandmother (about 16-17 years old at the time), Mme Florion, and other seamstresses were sewing together in the same room. At some point, a very tall and handsome young man walked right past the window facing the street. One of the women asked my grandmother, “How about this man?”

My grandmother replied, “Absolutely not! He is way too tall.”

That young man turned out to be… my beloved grandfather!!

Mystery #2: Loulou Gratieux

I knew that my mother’s godmother was a certain “Loulou Gratieux”. My mother didn’t know much about her, just that she was working for Mme Florion in her sewing workshop, and that she was not from our family. My mother had lost track of her years ago. 

Obviously, Loulou must have been close enough to my grandmother to be chosen as the godmother of my grandparents’ first child. 

So, a few years ago, I decided to track down Mme Florion and Loulou Gratieux.

The Hunt

I spoke to my mother, her cousin Jacky, my aunt, and my grandmother’s cousin Denise to gather the maximum information. Nobody could tell me more than:

Mme Florion	Loulou Gratieux
* Florion was her married name. Nobody knew her maiden name or her first name.	* Her first name was Mathilde.
* She was “veuve de guerre”—a war widow.	* She was not from our family, but a woman who worked for Mme Florion’s sewing workshop.
* She lived in Sézanne, Marne département.	* She lived in Sézanne, Marne département.

That’s it. Not too much to go on, but better than no information at all!

So I added Mme Florion and Loulou Gratieux to my Geneanet tree and started my research in the dark, but you have to start somewhere. 

I first looked for a “Mr. Florion” who would have died during the Great War, “Mort pour la France.” Unfortunately, there were several, and in different départements. I didn’t know where and when he died, nor his first name. I still kept the two “Mr. Florions” that I found as potential husbands of Mme Florion.

Then I looked at censuses, figuring that Mme Florion, Loulou Gratieux and my great-grandparents probably lived close to each other. But Sézanne was already a decent-size town, and their census records contain a lot—a lot—of pages. Still. I gathered notes on the very little information I could find, coupled with some estimates of a timeframe.

Because Mme Florion was acquainted with some members of the Gratieux family, I pieced together as much information as I could about that family, again using census records, creating individual profiles for people, adding my sources and links between individuals so they would be easier to find later.

After a while, there were still too many uncertainties surrounding both Mme Florion and the Gratieux family, so I put my research aside and moved on to other things.

And then came the part I was referring to in my post, “The Power of Collaboration in Genealogy”:

I had written:

“Perhaps you discover the birthplace of an ancestor and publish it online. Years later, someone else recognizes the surname, connects another family branch…”

Well… indeed, years later…

Last month, a woman I didn’t know by the name of Jacqueline contacted me via Geneanet. She had seen the individual profile I had created for my mysterious Loulou Gratieux and wrote:

“I see you have this person on your tree. My mother-in-law was her sister. I would like to know how we are connected.”

Aaaaaaah!!!! Finally!!!

Oh, the joy of sharing information online so we can all connect and put the puzzle pieces together! 

Jacqueline was not only able to give me information about my mother’s godmother and her family, but she also solved the mystery of Mme Florion! After having wondered about them for so long, I finally know who they both were—and how they fit into my family’s story.

Loulou Gratieux was Mme Florion’s niece! Jacqueline said that she became the owner of the workshop after Mme Florion’s death, in 1961. As for Mr. Florion, his name was Georges Séverin “Élisée” Florion. He belonged to the 48e RIT (Régiment d’Infanterie Territoriale), and died on December 5, 1916.

Two mysteries solved. One unexpected family connection made. This is exactly why I love genealogy.

And the best part? Jacqueline and I are now exchanging emails. She sent me the following two pictures of Loulou Gratieux. It was so special to finally put a face to my mother’s godmother!

Jacqueline has also contacted her cousin to see if she would have a photo of Mme Florion and her sewing workshop. So we will see. It would be so nice to meet Mme Florion as well! I might update this post later with a new photo!

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This is one of the reasons I add people to my Geneanet tree even when they aren’t directly related to me. I never know who might be looking for them someday.

I did the same thing with a photo album my husband found years ago. We rediscovered it while packing last November when we moved, and I decided to see what I could find about the people identified in the photographs. I researched them, found information about their families, and added the individuals to my Geneanet tree, leaving this note: 

“FYI: I have a photo album that belongs to your family—If you see this, please feel free to contact me.”

I’m still waiting for someone to contact me. But after what happened with Mme Florion and Loulou Gratieux, I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time.