The mix of fact and fiction in my current project keeps me on my toes. I want to be true to my family history, realistic in the daily life of the time period, but also tell a good story. I believed Suzanne, my great-grandmother and central character of my book, traveled in steerage. Most of the passengers emigrating to the United States traveled below deck, near the steering gear, thus the name. The tickets listed the accommodations as third class.

Bearing in mind the conditions in steerage I struggled with imaging what Suzanne went through. With each article or book I read describing the unsanitary and unsafe conditions I thought I must be true to the facts of her circumstances. Nothing in my research recorded her class of travel, I just assumed – never a good idea.

As I started looking more in depth at the occupations of the passengers and their class of travel I discovered two interesting facts. First, a governess would travel in second class. Because French women were in demand as governess’ in the U.S. that’s the occupation I chose for Suzanne. Second, in the ship’s manifest, passengers were listed according to their class. On page four of sixteen Suzanne Vienot’s name appeared – passenger 177.

Where did that leave her? At first, I felt relief that maybe she traveled in second class. Then I looked at the end of La Bourgogne’s manifest. The passengers totaled 971 – first class seventy-seven, second class forty-two, totaling 119. Suzanne suffered the depravations of steerage in the year 1887. Even though she would be a governess, that was not the case in 1887.

My heart continues to ache for the woman who died 126 years ago.

The above picture was graciously sent to me by the grandson of Suzanne’s daughter Mary. Thank you Greg.

The research continues, as does Suzanne’s story.