Resettlement

The Phantom of the French Shore documentary celebrates Alice Dower’s family history, amongst many. Alice was asked to participate in the Tapestry Project by the Coordinator, Joan Simmonds. To Alice, this was a personal project as it revisited her family’s resettlement story, while commemorating her husband’s great grandfather, James Herbert Dower. 

Alice Dower

James Herbert Dower and his crew arrived in Conche in 1816 from England, and he decided to settle in Conche in 1817 with his family. By 1857, Conche was a thriving fishing settlement with the Irish immigrants working peacefully alongside the seasonal French fishermen. In 1861, John Dower, the son of James Dower was awarded a gold medal by the French government for saving three French seamen who were in danger of drowning on June 24, 1860. 

John Dower's medal

  

Alice, moved to Conche in 1968 where she met her husband Austin Dower, is proud of her community's history.