ANTECEDENTS
The Stories of Us!
"Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands.”
― Linda Hogan, Dwellings: A Spiritual History of the Living World
The Fitzgerald Connection
Hermine's Story
Meet Hermine
Hermine Dubrule at 21 years, 1897
Hermine married just shy of her 21st birthday to Louis Niquette MD, who practiced in Northampton MA. She’d be the first of his 3 wives and gave birth to 6 of his 13 children, one of whom was our father’s father. What is disconcerting is that she died leaving a 3 year old who in turn would have a son, our father, who’d lose his mother at 4. Tragedy runs in our family and we know all too well the sadness of losing loved ones too young.
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Look at this beautiful woman. Her name is Marie Hermine Dubrule, called Hermine. She was born in 1858 and lived for 33 years.
Hermine Dubrule with her Mother and Sister
Hermine Dubrule at 21 years
Hermine's Ancestry
But her story does end on March 11, 1891 with her death from pneumonia. In her ancestral bloodline runs royalty, kings, and famous nobility of Europe. We have mentioned being related to Charlemagne previously, and we know half of Europe is related to him. So are we, through Hermine. Also many of the kings of England, the Plantagenets, Tudors, and many other nobility that we can date from 1100s to present day. All through her. Look at this women and don’t you see that nobility in her visage.
Dr. Louis Niquette & Hermine Dubrule Niquette
Her story continues, almost serendipitously through the ages. She’s a Dubrule who married a Niquette. The Niquette-Dubrule ancestral journey took them from Aquitaine in France, to the Quebec area of Canada, to Winooski in northern Vermont, and finally to Northampton MA where Hermine’s raised her family and is now her final resting place.
But journeying back in time, it wasn’t from England that her nobility descends. It’s from Ireland. Enter Hermine’s direct ancestor, Juliana Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald. And journeying back further we learned that Juliana’s ancestry (b. 1263, Dublin Ireland) stems from Gerald of Windsor who married Nesta Ap Rhys, Princess of Deheubarth South Wales, progenitors of the Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald descendants.
You can read more about Nesta Ap Rhys, Princess of Deheubarth South Wales, THE FUTURE IS FEMALE here.
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Collision with History
Anglo-Norman Invasion
How Hermine connects to momentous events in Irish history namely the conquest of Ireland is fascinating! The Norman, Richard de Clare, the Earl of Pembroke also known as Strongbow, invaded Ireland during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1168-70. Maurice, the son of the first Fitzgeralds, Gerald de Windsor and Nesta of Wales and antecedent of Juliana Fitzgerald, was with Strongbow during this invasion, serving as one of his main noblemen in the conquest of Ireland.
Anglo Norman Invasion of Ireland Painting by Angus McBride
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But Hermine’s story doesn’t really end here either. Here’s our father, losing his mother at 4. He’s adopted by the Richard and Katie Fitzgerald and takes their name and becomes their life. Ironic, isn’t it? He has ‘Fitzgerald’ ancestry from his grandmother Hermine, and he didn’t even know it was already running through his veins.
Look at her pictures—beautiful, isn’t she?
Fitzgerald Legacy
