Audubon the Naturalist: A History of His Life and Time. Vol. 1 (of 2)

by Francis Hobart Herrick

[Signed] Tardiveau, priest of Saint-Similien,
of the town of Nantes.

The act of adoption was drawn at a time when Captain Audubon could have had little leisure to consult records had he been disposed to do so, but the dates of birth which he then gave for these two children were correct both as to the year and month. Fougère, however, was born on the twenty-sixth, instead of the twenty-second of April, and Muguet, on the twenty-ninth, instead of the twenty-sixth, of that month. Audubon's mother's name is indicated in numerous legal documents of later date, and, as will appear, in every instance her son's identity is clearly established.

Young Audubon, who disliked the names of Fougère and Rabin, and naturally wished to be rid of their early associations, adopted the fanciful name of "La Forest,"[45] but used it only sporadically and for a short time. Some of his drawings of birds made at Nantes or Couëron as early as 1805, and in New York in 1806 and 1807, and possibly others of slightly later date, are signed "J. L. F. A.," or "J. J. L. Audubon."[46]

Jean Audubon and his wife are said to have settled some property upon "Jean Rabin, créole de Saint Domingue," which he refused to accept, saying, "my own name I have never been permitted even to speak; accord me that of Audubon, which I revere, as I have cause to do."[47] The reference in this instance was, I believe, to the final will of Lieutenant Audubon,[48] according to which his property, after being held in usufruct by his wife during her lifetime, was to be equally divided between their two adopted children. In his first will the son was referred to as "Jean Audubon," but in the second and last document, executed in 1816, two years before the testator's death, he appears as "Jean Rabin." Madame Audubon drew four wills; in the first, dated December 4, 1814, her adopted son is called "Jean Audubon"; in the next, of 1816, he is "Jean Rabin, créole de Saint-Domingue," while in a draft written December 26, 1819, he is styled simply "Jean Rabin"; finally, in her fourth and last testament of July 16, 1821, the wording is "Jean Audubon, called 'Jean Rabin.'" It is thus very plain that Audubon's foster parents considered it advisable to have his identity clearly set forth in legal documents. In one of his autobiographical sketches Audubon remarked that his own mother was said to have been as wealthy as she was beautiful, and if this were true, such caution might be explained and a key found to certain other enigmatical conditions which seemed to hedge his early life. But to such possibilities it will be necessary to revert at a later point of our story.[49]

AUDUBON'S SIGNATURE AT VARIOUS PERIODS FROM 1805 TO 1847.

The first, fourth and sixth are from early drawings; the second from Audubon and Rozier's "Articles of Association"; the fifth from a release given to Rozier; and the remainder from letters.

This dual personality was set forth by the naturalist himself, but in a more curious form, in a power of attorney[50] executed at Henderson, Kentucky, on July 26, 1817, in favor of his brother-in-law, Gabriel Loyen du Puigaudeau. This measure was taken more than a year after Audubon's father had drawn up his last will, in which the son was referred to as "Jean Rabin," and was evidently designed to facilitate any settlement of this will which events in France might render necessary. The naturalist was then engaged in his famous but disastrous financial enterprises on the Ohio River,[51] but whether any intimation had come to him of possible legal troubles, which later actually ensued in France, cannot be stated.

In reading the published accounts of Audubon's early life many have been puzzled by the absence of definite dates, as well as by the numerous contradictions in which they abound. It is needless to burden this narrative with a tedious reference to all these errors or to attempt to trace their origin, which no doubt had many sources, but since we have given the first true account of the naturalist's birth, we cannot pass these matters without a word of comment. The situation is somewhat involved, since we should possibly differentiate between what Audubon at different times believed to be true, and what he wished to make known to his family or to the public; possibly also we should discriminate between what he actually published over his own signature during his lifetime and the material which has appeared since his death, even though originally written by his own hand.