Eugène de Bouton

Eugène de Bouton is a character in the Melisende Dulac Series.

Biography

Eugène de Bouton is the first member of the Bouton family to arrive in Barlow County. He traveled to Oregon with a group of settlers in 1869, originally intending to settle in the Willamette Valley. However, while encamped in the area of Shatter Hill he was shot by an intemperate member of the wagon train and forced to end his journey. After recovering from his injury, which cost him his left leg below the knee, he spent several years unsuccessfully seeking his attacker before settling for good in Barlow County.

As a skilled carpenter and craftsman, he worked for county residents and businesses building furniture, tools, and equipment—as well as coffins. In time, his work as an undertaker became the basis for the family business, Bouton Funerary Service, formally established with his son Anton de Bouton in 1905. The business would remain in the family to the present.

Vital Statistics

Date of Birth: 29 April 1839
Date of Death: 30 April 1919

Appearances

• Crossroad (mentioned only)
• Memory Garden (mentioned only)