Historical Reenactors to Perform in Medfield as French Neutrals

The following provided by David Temple, Medfield Historical Society.

Historical Reenactors to Perform in Medfield as French Neutrals

In period costumes, Steve and Bronya Joanis will present a story of French neutrals
at the Monday, March 4, meeting the Medfield Historical Society. The meeting will start at 7:30pm and is free and open to the public at the Old Meetinghouse, aka Unitarian Church, 26 North Street, Medfield.

The French neutrals were people of French descent who were living in Nova Scotia during
the French and Indian War (1754-63), a time when France and Great Britain were also at war in Europe. The British regarded the French neutrals in English-speaking Nova Scotia as potential British adversaries in Canada, so the British forcibly relocated them Medfield and other New England towns during the French and Indian War.

About his presentation, Steve writes, “Bronya and I will be presenting in period clothing. We have been working on the presentation and have developed it into a sort of “life story” for Joseph Robichaud. He is a specific French Neutral for which I have been able to find many facts (I knowwhere and when he was born, I know who his parents were, his wife, his children, etc. He is a very interesting person. Although he started life as an exiled “French Neutral”, he was a soldier during the American Revolution, and he died in a ship wreck in Boston Harbor.

“From there we have broken the presentation into “the facts as they have come to me” and “suppositions". Bronya will be interjecting “likely suppositions” to create a story around the
facts that I have. It seemed like a fun and interesting way to weave the larger historical picture into stories that I hope listeners can relate to.”

The March 4 presentation is free and open to the public.