Pierre Thibodeau b. 1631 Poiters, Poitou, Deux Sevres, France d. 26 Dec 1704 Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada)

1631 - 1704 (73 years)

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Name	Pierre Thibodeau [1]
Name	General Infomation on Pierre: + JEANNE PIERRE THIBODEAU THÉRIAULT "Born in France to 1631. were said Martaizé native parish of the lordship of Aulnay in Loudunais, Haut Poitou, province of Vienna or St. Etienne de Marans, near La Rochelle. It could also come from the Vendée, around St-Jacques the Moutiers Mauxfaits. March 25, 1654, Emmanuel THE BLIND OF BELLE ISLE, charters a ship, Châteaufort, ship armed for war with another merchant of La Rochelle, the Sieur Guibeau and controlled by the latter. Pierre was hired by THE BLIND as stable colon. Sometimes in Canada at the end of May 1654. THE BLIND, Senior creditor of Charles d'Aulnay, a leading colonizers of Acadia and died two years ago, seizes several establishments and takes possession of the same year, Port Royal. (Peter Vincent, the ancestor of Clement, husband Yvette Thibodeau, was, according to the Father Lanctôt omi on the same ferry.) Here I must mention the father Lanctôt: ".... Châteaufort, armed for war, made ??available by Le Borgne partner, the Duke of Vendôme, from La Rochelle March 25, 1654. It carries on board some new settlers, Pierre Vincent and Michel Richard, laborers, and Pierre Thibodeau, miller. It is also loaded with supplies, weapons and ammunition, which is valued at 75,000 pounds ($ 15,000). The yacht of 300 tons arrived at Port-Royal in mid-May 1654. " "Two months after the arrival of Peter" (Thibodeau) "in Canada, July 31, 1654, although one is in full-time peace, an English fleet, commanded by Major Robert Sedgwick, appeared before Port Royal: it is composed of three warships and a ketch (two masts sailboat) carrying 500 soldiers. Sedgwick arrives Fort St. John River, which he seized and where he was taken prisoner Charles de Saint-Étienne de La Tour, governor of Acadia, after two weeks of stubborn resistance, despite its small garrison 120 men, Germain Doucet dit La Verdure, commander of Port-Royal, to capitulate. The French garrison and its commander and Le Borgne, are returned to France aboard Châteauford. After the departure of the French garrison, the British also left Port Royal, leaving no garrison people govern themselves by a Board chaired by a trustee, Guillaume Trahan. " Pierre Thibeaudeau acquires a wide land grant "in-the-top of the Dauphin River", near Port Royal. The site is called Pree-Ronde or "Village Thibeaudeau." It is located ten miles from the mouth of River Port Royal, in the heart of the valley of the same name. The site is now known as Round Hill, Nova Scotia. He set a house with farm buildings and a grist mill and boards, powered by near rivers called "Des-Loups-Marins." title miller of Pree-Ronde is renowned. 1659, Pierre married Terriau Joan, daughter of Jean and Perrine BOURG. Joan was born in 1644 Port-Royal. His father, born in 1601, hails from Martaizé. He married in France in 1635 and arrived in Canada around 1637. Their son Pierre, brother of Joan, is the origin of the establishment of the Grand Pré (Saint-Charles les Mines and St. Joseph River Duck). Marchand furs, colonizer, farmer, miller, and sawyer opener establishment Pierre Thibeaudeau founded with his son, the village of Chipoudie (now Riverside-Albert, New Brunswick). They erected a church on the site known today as the Church creek and a flour mill where now stands Mill creek. They also participate in the development of Trois-Rivières or region Chipoudie, Peticoudiac and Memramcouche. Pierre would have obtained the Governor of New France, M. de Frontenac, June 20, 1695, a grant of the lordship of Kaouaskagouche ( Vraskagache) between Desires and Majois Mountains in Acadia (now in Maine). This area is located along the Kennebec River and is 2 miles (8 km) deep and 1 mile (2 km) on each side of the river, including the islands. In 1699, Peter bought a sawmill that he brought from Boston. He moved in 1700 to Chipoudie. The dealership he claims in this area is 2.5 km on each side of the river and 10 km depth. Difficulties with the lord of Beaubassin, M. de la Valliere will ensure that it will never get the titles and privileges of that territory. M. de la Valliere claims the place and has more influence with the French royal authority. the census of 1671, Peter is 40 years old and Joan 27. They have six children: Mary Elder, age 10, the youngest Marie, 9, the youngest Marie, 7, Anne-Marie Elder, 6, Catherine, 4 years and Peter Senior, 1 year. They have 12 cattle and 11 sheep. Their arable land measuring 7 acres. Census 1686, Peter aged 55 and Joan 43. Their 14 children live with them: Mary Elder, 25, the youngest daughter Marie, 23 years old, the youngest Marie, 21, Anne-Marie Elder, 20, Catherine, 19, Peter Senior, 16 years, Jeanne, 14, Jean-Pierre, 13, Anthony, 12, Peter the youngest, aged 10, Michael, 8, Cecilia, 6 years, Anne-Marie Louise, 4 years, Claude, 2 years. They have one rifle, 10 acres arable, 14 cattle and 5 sheep. . the census of 1693, Pierre was 62 and Joan 50. They have seven children at home: Antoine Pierre Cadet, 15, Michael, 13, Cecilia, 11 years, Anne-Marie-Louise, age 10, Claude, 8, Catherine Joseph, 7 years and Charles, 7 years. They have 20 cattle, 30 sheep, 12 pigs, 2 guns and 30 acres tillable. Spring 1698, accompanied by his son Jean-Pierre Antoine, Pierre Cadet, Michel and his friend Pierre Gaudet, Pierre Thibeaudeau goes up 'at the eastern end of the Chignecto Bay in search of new lands to create Acadian settlements. They enter the basin Chipoudie, then go up the river Petitcoudiak exploring the banks. They make up even later Memramcouk the river. Returning Basin Chipoudie, they set up camp on the present site of Shepody, NB In July 1698, Peter left two of his son to Chipoudie Naxouat and goes to the top of the St. John River in the governor 'Then Mr. Villebon. He wants permission to establish new settlements in the region explored. returned to Port Royal, he organized a group of people willing to settle in the new region. Guillaume Blanchard and his two son, François Broussard, André and Jacques Martin, Jehan and Pierre Pitre are the number. Pierre wins flour for six months, tools, seeds, 2 oxen and 1 horse. late July 1698 upon arrival at Chipoudie, we organize the new facility by building a house, a barn and a barn in which are piled hay. Maliseet Indian, long Thibeaudeau partners in the fur trade, participate in the exploration of the hinterland in order to find a place to build a flour mill powered by the river . It works until late autumn. Buildings are closed. Maliseet settled on the spot for the winter. All Acadians returned to Port-Royal. Census In 1698, Pierre is 67 years old and Joan, 55. Children attending the Pree-Ronde: Jean-Pierre, 24, Anthony, 22, Pierre Cadet, 21, Michael, 19 years, Claude, 13 years, Catherine Joseph, 11, and Charles, age 7 . They have 20 cattle, 20 sheep, 8 pigs, 32 acres arable, 20 fruit trees and four guns. During winter 1698-1699, preparations are well underway to complete the foundation Chipoudie. Following spring, fresh start with his son and his companions to Chipoudie. It brings new provisions, four oxen and a herd of cows and sheep. Maliseet are still on site. It is plowing and sowing. Clearing and construction of buildings, the ditch and the sluice was continued. In the fall, we are preparing to fly to Port-Royal. Three of the son of Pierre Antoine, Pierre Michel and the younger, remain Chipoudie with Malecite trap. Upon arrival at Port-Royal, Peter learns that M. de la Valliere, seigneur of Beaubassin, claiming ownership of the territory newly discovered. Peter Nelson merchant buys Boston, the mechanisms of a flour mill and a sawmill. He returned to Chipoudie in the spring with his family. His companions the first time accompanying and 6 other boys committed to pay for 2 years. Three son are still there in the company of Maliseet. They carry ammunition and supplies of all kinds, the mechanisms of the two mills and a full backyard horses, cows, bull, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks, and? It is plowing and sowing and ditches and dikes is completed. The construction of another dam at the top of a waterfall is carried on a small rapid river which flows into the basin Chipoudie. This dam is designed to hold water and create a reservoir to supply the mills. It also builds locks to regulate the flow of water to the mills. In the fall of 1700, the two mills are in working order. Buildings are completed. Grasslands are bordered by 1,400 meters of ditches and dikes. To keep moving, it was planted young willow. Pierre returned to Port Royal with his wife and younger children. His son Antoine, Pierre and Michel Cadet remain on site as well as Pître and 6 men engaged brothers. the census of 1700, Peter and Joan 69 57. Children living with them are: Anne-Marie-Louise, 17, Catherine Joseph, 14, Claude, 13 and Charles, 11. They have 20 cattle, 28 sheep, 32 acres arable and 3 guns. Peter and Joan have 31 grandchildren son and 21 granddaughters. In nearly 60 years, the clan Thibeaudeau is composed of 70 people. Pierre overwinter next to the Pree-Ronde. In spring 1701, he sends supplies to Chipoudie through the brothers André and Jacques Martin and Jean Pitre, from marriage to Port Royal and returning with their wives to settle. On December 28, 1704, death of Pierre Thibeaudeau the Pree-Ronde at the age of 73 years. June 2, 1705, the State Council confirms ownership by Mr. de la Valliere land in question and still protects the rights of Acadians who settled there. On 12 July 1707, Joan Terriau donated all his property to his children (document in the Archives of France and its colonies). At the census of 1714, Joan is 71 years old and lives in Pree-Ronde with his son Charles, 25. Joan has at least 48 small-son, 52 granddaughters, 15 great-grandchildren and 10 great-son granddaughters. Several of his children died. Terriau Joan died at Port-Royal, December 8, 1726, at the age of 83. September 1, 1755, the British burned Chipoudie. More than 80 homes and 100 other buildings were burned. Women and children (30) were taken prisoner. NB The foregoing was written by Maurice Thibodeau which I added an excerpt from the work of the Father Lanctôt. I wanted to show that our ancestors had two traveled together in 1654. Mr. Thibodeau is the author of an excellent documentary on "internet", concerning the family of Pierre Thibodeau.
Birth	1631	Poiters, Poitou, Deux Sevres, France [2]
Gender	Male
Death	26 Dec 1704	Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) [3]
Burial	27 Dec 1704	Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) [1]
Person ID	I33023	Laval+
Last Modified	1 Mar 2014

Father	Mathurin (Rhibauoa) Thibodeau, b. abt. 1594, Les Moutiers-Hubert, Basse-Normandie, France
Mother	Marie Debeau, b. 1609, France
Marriage	Bef 1630	Isere, Rhone-Alpe France [4]
Family ID	F17455	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Jeanne Théotiste Therriot, b. 1644, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) d. 07 Dec 1726, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) (Age 82 years) [5]

Marriage 1672 Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) [2]

Type: Catholic

Notes

CHAN12 Sep 2001

Children

+	1. Marie (2) Thibodeau, b. 1661, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) d. 1710, Rivieres des Habitants, Grand Pre, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) (Age 49 years)
	2. Marie (1) Thibodeau, b. abt. 1662, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada)
+	3. Jeanne Marie Thibodeau, b. 1664, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) d. 7 Apr 1741, Louisbourg, Isle Royale (Age 77 years)
	4. Anne Marie Catherine Thibodeau, b. 1665, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) d. Bef 1712 (Age < 47 years) [Father: Natural]
	5. Catherine Josephe Thibodeau, b. 1667, Grande Pre, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) [Father: Natural]
+	6. Jeanne Thibodeau, b. 1672, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) d. 07 Apr 1741 (Age 69 years)
+	7. Pierre Thibodeau, b. 1673, Round Hill Pre Ronde, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) d. 09 Dec 1746 (Age 73 years)
	8. Antoine Thibodeau, b. 1674, Round Hill Pre Ronde, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) d. Round Hill Pre Ronde, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) [Father: Natural]
	9. Pierre Thibodeau, b. 1676, Round Hill Pre Ronde, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) [Father: Unknown]
+	10. Michel Thibodeau, b. 1678, Round Hill Pre Ronde, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) d. 27 Nov 1734, Round Hill Pre Ronde, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) (Age 56 years)
	11. Cecile Thibodeau, b. 1680
	12. Anne Marie (1) Thibodeau, b. abt. 1662, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada)
	13. Claude Thibodeau, b. 1684
	14. Charles Thibodeau, b. 1689, Round Hill Pre Ronde, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada)
	15. Pierre Thibodeau, b. 1670, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) d. 1722, Pisiquit, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) (Age 52 years) [Father: Natural]
+	16. Marie(3) Thibodeau, b. abt. 1666, Port Royal, Acadia, (Maritime Provinces, Canada) [Father: Birth]

Family ID F10082 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 30 Mar 2014

Notes

His house #39 listed on page 26 of history blue book still stood in 1995. Pierre Thibodeau arrived between 1632 & 1636 (Research): On july 20 1695 Gov. De Frontenac granted him on Kennebec river in Maine two leagues deep and a league on each bank a seigniory, he also traded with indians. Pierre Thibodeau, of the Province of Poitou, France, was about 23 years old when he came to Acadia, (Nova Scotia, Canada) in 1654. He was indentured to Emmanuel Leborgne, a merchant from La Rochelle, France. Thibodeau sought his fortune in the new land. After his indenture was completed, he married Jeanne Terriot, whose family had come to Acadia, (Nova Scotia, Canada) much earlier. The census of 1671 lists Thibodeau, as a "ploughsman," age40, as having moved from Port Royal to Pre Ronde. He and his wife had five daughters and one son. In time he added a grist mill to his marshland farm and a sawmill to his brookside holdings. His family grew to 16 children, seven sons and nine daughters. He had 159 grandchildren, more than half of whom were descendents of the seven Thibodeau brothers. Four of the boys Pierre l'Aisne, Pierre, Michel and Charles were part of the "Grand Derangement" or deportation of the Acadians in 1755. They eventually settled in the Bayou LaFourche area and the Opelousas in Louisianna.

Pierre Thibodeau & Jeanne Theriot had 20 children. In 1704 Pierre's occuption was Miller at Pree Roude.
Info/Bio of Pierre Thibodeau:

Today THIBODEAUX is among the more common surnames of French origin in L ouisiana. The name is not uncommon in French Canada, where it occurs es pecially in and around Montreal and in the Maritime Provinces; it is al so frequent in New England, chiefly in Maine and New Hampshire, reflect ing immigration from French Canada. In both Louisiana and Canada the na me may stem principally from Thibodeaux families who settled in Acadia i n the seventeenth century.

Pierre Thibodeaux was born in 1631 in Poitou (Poirou), France. He was t he son of Mathurin "Rhibauda" and Marie Debeau. He came to Port Royal, A cadia, in 1654 where he married in 1660 Jeanne Terriot, daughter of Jea n Terriot and Perrine Bourg (Reau). The census of 1671 shows Pierre and J eanne had six sons

* Pierre,
* Jean,
* Antoine,
* Pierre, Michel, and
* Claude
* and eight daughters.

Pierre was the founder of Chipody, Acadia, known today as Shipody, New B runswick. He died at Port Royal on December 26, 1704. Marie Thibodeaux, d aughter of Pierre and Marie, was born at Port Royal in 1661. She marrie d Antoine Landry in 1681 at Grand Pre', Acadia.
List of ACADIAN CENSUS 1700

E-Link can be located at:
http://www.acadian.org/census1700.html
E-link to information from:
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North America for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760 may be located at following link-
http://www.mocavo.com/ajax/datasets/view/371664/160

Excerpt:
E-Link from:

Step 1-http://www.memoirenf.cieq.ulaval.ca/information/information.html

Step 2; Clink on Poiteau-Charentes

3.Click on: - Les Acadiens dans la région Poitou-Charentes (1759-1785). (2004)

4. Click on Rechercher

5. Input thibaudeau in search flied

(1631-1704) Pierre naît au Poitou en 1631. Il arrive en Acadie en 1654 et épouse Jeanne Terriot vers 1660. Meunier, il s'établit et bâtit un moulin près de Port-Royal (Annapolis-Royal, N.-É.), dans un canton appelé Préé-Ronde, et devient bientôt prospere. Au printemps 1698, il s'établit avec ses fils à Chipoudy. Or le domaine réclamé par Pierre Thibaudeau serait compris dans le fief de Sébastien de Villieu. Le litige est donc soumis à Paris. Pendant ce temps, Pierre et les siens poursuivent leurs travaux d'installation. Pierre meurt le 26 décembre 1704 à la Prée-Ronde. En 1705, un verdict reconnaît que les terres de cette seigneurie appartiennent à Sébastien de Villieu. Pierre Thibaudeau demeure toutefois le fondateur de Chipoudy et l'ancêtre de la plupart des Thibodeau de la Louisiane et des provinces des Maritimes. (Cormier, C., DBC II, 1991)

Monument Pierre Thibaudeau 1761-1704

Adresse:Annapolis Royal / Annapolis County / Nouvelle-Écosse / Canada

Localisation : A 12 kilomètres à l'ouest de Bridgetown, sur la route 201
Round Hill
E-link:

http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/tibaudeau_pierre_2E.html

TIBAUDEAU (Thibaudeau, Thibodeau), PIERRE, miller, settler, founder of the Acadian family of that name; b. 1631 in the province of Poitou; d. 26 Dec. 1704 at Prée-Ronde.

Tibaudeau arrived in 1654 in Acadia and married Jeanne Terriot around 1660. Being a miller, he settled and built a mill near Port-Royal (Annapolis Royal, N.S.), in a canton called Prée-Ronde, and soon became prosperous.

Tibaudeau is noteworthy particularly as the founder of Chipoudy (Shepody, N.B.). At an advanced age, he decided to acquire a seigneurial domain, and in the spring of 1698, with four of his sons and a comrade, he chose his site at Chipoudy. Guillaume Blanchard and two of his sons accompanied them there, then settled on the Petitcodiac.

A legal dispute arose which threatened his plan when an officer from Port-Royal, Claude-Sébastien de Villieu, asserted that the domains claimed by Tibaudeau and Blanchard formed part of the fief belonging to his father-in-law, Michel Leneuf de La Vallière (the elder). The case was referred to Paris, but this did not stop Pierre Tibaudeau from carrying on with the task of beginning a settlement. The final verdict did not reach Acadia until after the pioneer?s death. A decree of the Conseil d?État dated 2 June 1705, defining more precisely that of 20 March 1703, confirmed La Vallière?s claims. The dream of a seigneury at Chipoudy was dispelled. Nevertheless, the pioneers retained possession of their ?lands and inheritances,? and the settlement was able to develop: the 1706 census listed 55 persons at Chipoudy, and that of 1752, 359.

A daughter of the founder, Jeanne, had married the Sieur Mathieu de Goutin, naval commissary at Port-Royal and civil administrator; he wrote several letters or reports about the litigation between La Vallière and the Chipoudy settlers, and they constitute a valuable source of documentation concerning Pierre Tibaudeau.

Clément Cormier

[Historians have used as one of their main sources for this period Rameau de Saint-Père?s work, Une colonie féodale, which contains an interesting chapter on Pierre Tibaudeau. After years of genealogical research Placide Gaudet pointed out some errors in the family relationships described in the chapter in question. In a letter to Msgr Louis-A. Richard of Trois-Rivières, he stigmatized them as ?pure invention concerning the old miller?s children.? Gaudet attributed these errors to the fact that Rameau had only the censuses to guide him. In preparing this biography and that of Jean-François Brossard errors in Rameau have been indicated, for example the two alleged marriages of Brossard?s daughters, the first one with Pierre Tibaudeau, the other with Jacques Martin, neither of which took place. c.c.]

AN, Col., B, 27, f.153; C11D, 2, f.126; 3, ff.225?26; 4, ff.178?83; 5, ff.81?83; Section Outre-Mer, G1, 466 (Recensements de l?Acadie, 1671, 1686, 1693, 1698, 1700, 1703). PANS, MS docs., XXVI (parish register of Port-Royal, 26 Dec. 1704). P.-G. Roy, Inv. concessions, IV, 108. Placide Gaudet, ?Notes généalogiques? (preserved in PAC and Archives de l?Université de Moncton). Arsenault, Hist. et généal. des Acadiens, I, 518. Geneviève Massignon, Les parlers français d?Acadie, enquête linguistique (2v., Paris, 1962). E. C. Wright, The Petitcodiac: a study of the New Brunswick river and of the people who settled along it (Sackville, N.B., 1945), 6?14. Ganong, ?Historic sites in New Brunswick,? 308, 316. Placide Gaudet, ?Les ancêtres de feu l?honorable Sénateur Joseph Rosaire Thibaudeau,? Moniteur Acadien (Moncton), 8 juillet 1909. L. Jore, ?Mes ancêtres acadiens,? SGCF Mémoires, VI (1955), 270?71. P.-G. Roy, ?La famille Thibaudeau,? BRH, XXXVIII (1932), 65?67.

Reference:
Cite This Article

Clément Cormier, ?TIBAUDEAU, PIERRE,? in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 2, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003?, accessed March 26, 2015, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/tibaudeau_pierre_2E.html.
The citation above shows the format for footnotes and endnotes according to the Chicago manual of style (16th edition). Information to be used in other citation formats:

Permalink: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/tibaudeau_pierre_2E.html
Author of Article: Clément Cormier
Title of Article: TIBAUDEAU, PIERRE
Publication Name: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 2
Publisher: University of Toronto/Université Laval
Year of publication: 1969
Year of revision: 1982
Access Date: March 26, 2015
Thibodeau's help to settle Acadia

Chipoudy was founded by poitevin Pierre Thibaudeau. He founded the village in 1698, with his four sons and a friend. After that, his friend, Guillaume Blanchard and his two sons, founded and established themselves in Petitcodiac. Deportation In August of 1755, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Monckton sent Captain Sylvanus Cobb to deport the population of Chipoudy. The English soldiers were sent to Beaubassin, Petitcodiac, Chipoudy, and Memramcook to take the Acadiens prisoners. However, through guidance by the local missionary, Father LeGuerne, the Acadians hide in the woods. Then, on August 26th, Lieutenant Boishébert of Miramichi and 125 soldiers and a group of Micmacs, surprised 200 Englishmen, under the command of Major Frye. The English had set fire to the church of Chipoudy and 181 homes, as well as 250 houses in Petitcodiac. Boishébert gave the order to attack at the moment that the English were setting fire to the church of Petitcodiac. After three hours of fierce fighting, the English retreated, leaving behind 50 dead, and around 60 wounded. It was thus that 200 families were able to escape the

Sources

[S569] Ronalda Sinclair, Ronalda Sinclair Genealogical Research, power_agent@yahoo.com.
Date of Import: Aug 13, 2003
[S160] Dupuis Genealogical Research.
Date of Import: Apr 17, 2003
[S569] Ronalda Sinclair, Ronalda Sinclair Genealogical Research, power_agent@yahoo.com.
[S229] Gloria Carr, Gloria Carr Genealogical Research.
Date of Import: Oct 17, 2004
[ACADIAN & FRENCH CANAD] 6 Sep 2014, http://www.acadian-home.org/acadian-origins.html (Reliability: 3).
It is well known that there is very little original documentation that provides data regarding the places of origin of the earliest settlers of the French colony of Acadia. None of the colony?s parish registers for the seventeenth century survive, except one slim record book containing the sacramental entries for Beaubassin from 1679 to 1686. Additionally, there are but a couple of extant notarial records from the same period. And, unfortunately, the various Acadian censuses, beginning in 1671, make no mention of places of origin, unlike the detailed enumeration made in the small neighbouring colony of Plaisance in Newfoundland in 1698. (For more information about the early records of Acadia and Plaisance, see the bibliography of the present writer?s Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes, Première partie, 1636 à 1714 [hereinafter DGFA-1] [Moncton: Centre d?études acadiennes, 1999], Vol. I, pp. xvii-xxv, xxxix-xl, xlv-l.)
Until quite recently Acadian genealogical research was focused rather narrowly on trying to trace the precise places of origin of the early colonists. Of late, however, questions have been raised with increasing frequency regarding the racial origins of certain members of those colonists? families. In particular, there has been an upsurge in interest in trying to establish genealogical ties between those families and the Amerindian tribes who had inhabited the area for untold centuries before the arrival of the first Europeans. In this context, the lack of precision is of little import, as all that is really desired is a basis for determining who among the members of the pioneer families came from France or other European countries, and who might have been born in Acadia of mixed parentage.

On the level of racial origins, there is a source that provides a considerable amount of information. This is the series of fifty-eight depositions of the heads of the Acadian families that were taken down on Belle-Île-en-Mer between February 15th and March 12th, 1767, pursuant to an order from the parliament of Brittany at Vannes. The deponents were required to provide under oath, in the presence of witnesses including other Acadians, the local parish priests, and the Abbé Jean-Louis LeLoutre, former Vicar General of the diocese of Québec and ?director? of the Acadian families settled on Belle-Île, all the details they could regarding their own civil status and that of their immediate families, plus their direct-line genealogies back to their first ancestors who came from Europe, ?with indication of the places and dates as much as they can remember.? The depositions were intended to take the place of the registers of the parishes in Acadia that had been lost ?during the persecution by the British.? In practical terms, they would also furnish the French authorities a means of identifying those who, as refugees from said persecution, were entitled to the King?s bounty and protection.

Two sets of the depositions were made up in 1767. One set of copies was left on Belle-Île, and the other was sent to the district court at Auray. Both sets have been carefully preserved, the latter of the two being now housed in the departmental archives at Rennes.

The importance of these records to Acadian history and genealogy was recognized long ago. As early as the 1880's, Father H.-R. Casgrain obtained a full transcription of them and had it published in the Collection de Documents inédits sur le Canada et l?Amérique publiés par le Canada-français (Québec: Imprimerie de L.-J. Demers & Frère), Vol. II (1889), pp. 165-194 and Vol. III (1890), pp. 5-134. In what follows, all references are made to this version of the depositions, using the abbreviated form ?Doc. inéd.? An English translation of Father Casgrain?s publication was prepared and published by Milton P. and Norma Gaudet Rieder in their The Acadians in France, Vol. II, Belle Isle en Mer Registers, La Rochette Papers (Metairie, Louisiana: the compilers, 1972), pp. 1-85. This English translation includes an index to all the personal names in the volume (pp. 122-134), so references to it have not been deemed necessary.

Father Casgrain?s version of the depositions is accompanied by a series of commentaries by Edmé Rameau de Saint-Père regarding fifteen families whom the latter identified as being among the very first settlers of Acadia (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 135 et seq.). Many of M. Rameau?s conclusions and deductions are still considered valid, but certain errors in three of the depositions led him astray. The present writer identified these errors and explained the faulty deductions they caused in his article ?Corrections aux ?Notes explicatives, sur les Déclarations des Acadiens conservées à Belle-Isle-en-Mer, et les Établissements des premiers colons de l?Acadie? de Edmé Rameau de Saint-Père,? Cahiers de la Société historique acadienne (hereinafter SHA), Vol. XV (1984), pp. 116-121. The errors in question and others will be dealt with in the appropriate places in the following material.

The depositions provide information regarding the European origins of the male progenitors of forty-six families from whom the Acadians at Belle-Île directly descended, and of those of four collateral families. They give as well similar information regarding the female progenitors of those same families who bore twelve different surnames.

It is evident from the repetition of certain phrases and expressions in the various depositions that the information they contain was produced by and large through a collaborative effort among the members of certain families. There are nevertheless some inconsistencies between some statements dealing with the same ancestors.

The depositions also contain a certain number of outright errors. The majority of these concern the first names of some twenty of the first ancestors for whom places of origin are specified, sixteen men and four women. And for three of these four, their family names are wrong as well. Most of these errors concern the grandparents, or more remote forebears, of the spouses of the deponents. They may thus be understood as arising from problems in communication and the normal process of forgetfulness in oral tradition. After all, even today not many people who do not have a special interest in genealogy can readily name their own great-grandparents, and even fewer know the names of their forebears of any earlier generations. Some may even have problems recalling the names of their own grandfathers and grandmothers.

Oral tradition does tend to preserve quite accurately information regarding the number of generations that have elapsed since a family migrated from one place to another, as well as the knowledge of where its forebear had originated. In the following, only one error regarding the number of generations in a lineage has been found; that concerns the Thibodeaus and may in fact merely be a clerical error. With regard to origins, the various deponents who were related to the Melansons could not agree on whether the family had come from England or Scotland, six declaring it was the former, and two the latter. The husbands of two sisters thought that the Pellerins had come to Acadia from Québec, but the latter had in fact moved to Québec from Acadia. Pierre Boudrot mistakenly thought that his wife?s brother?s wife?s father Jean Ozelet had come from France, whereas that worthy had in fact been born in Newfoundland, but it is easy to see how Pierre might have been misinformed about a relative so many times removed.

It must be noted that there are some peculiarities regarding the phrasing of the depositions. In many instances they use the expressions ?issued of? or ?descended from? as a rather poetic way of saying that one person was the ?child of? another. This poetic terminology does not, however, mean that any links have been left out of the family line. The depositions also often speak of a first ancestor as having come from France ?with his wife,? but, as Father Archange Godbout pointed out (in his article ?Daniel Leblanc,? in the Mémoires de la Société généalogique canadienne-française [hereinafter SGCF], Vol. V, pp. 4-9, published as long ago as 1952), one should not necessarily interpret this as meaning that the two came together, and at the same time. Rather, the expression may be taken to mean simply that both the husband and the wife had come from France. Ironically, in at least a couple of cases where there is a substantial likelihood that a couple did indeed come together (Martin Benoit and his wife Marie Chaussegros, Jean Doiron and his first wife Marie-Anne Canol) the phrasing is quite different, saying that ?both of them? were from France.

The families and individuals whose origins are mentioned in the depositions are presented in alphabetical order in the following listing. As already mentioned, all references to the depositions are to the version of them that was published by Father Casgrain.

APRENDESTIGUY de MARTIGNON, Martin d?, came from France, according to his great-grandson Jean LeBlanc, who named his forebear simply as the Sieur de Martignon (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 42). Other documents show that the Sieur de Martignon was born at Ascain, in the province of Guyenne, France (see DGFA-1, p. 21). Nothing is said in the deposition about his wife, but it is known from her appearance as a godmother in the parish register of Beaubassin (June 2, 1681), that she was Jeanne de Saint-Étienne de La Tour, a Métisse daughter of Charles de Saint-Étienne de La Tour (see DGFA-1, p. 1433). As mentioned above, the depositions were ordered drawn up for the purpose of providing information about the European ancestry of the deponents, so any mention of mixed-blood ancestors appears to have been deliberately omitted. One must not presume solely from the omission of an ancestor?s name, however, that the individual was other than European.
AUCOIN, Jeanne, came from France with her husband François Girouard, according to two depositions, one made by her great-grandson Pierre Richard (Doc. inéd., Vol. II, p. 191), and another made by Louis Courtin, husband of her great-great-granddaughter Marie-Josèphe Martin (ibid., Vol. III, p. 27). Jeanne?s baptismal record (November 26, 1630) has been traced in the records of the parish of Ste-Marguerite at La Rochelle in France.

AUCOIN, Michelle, came from France with her husband Michel Boudrot, according to four depositions, two made by her great-grandsons, Félix Boudrot (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 39) and Pierre Boudrot (ibid., p. 120), one made by a great-great-grandson, also named Félix Boudrot (ibid., p. 36), and another made by Pierre LeBlanc, husband of her great-great-granddaughter Françoise Trahan (ibid., p. 41). Dispensations in the marriage records of several of Michelle?s descendants who married descendants of Jeanne Aucoin and the ages attributed to Michelle and Jeanne in the Acadian censuses show that Michelle was Jeanne?s older sister (see DGFA-1, p. 40).

AUCOIN, Martin, came from France , according to the deposition made by his grandson Alexandre Aucoin (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 106). Five others, all made by widows or widowers of other grandchildren of Martin Aucoin, include statements to the same effect (ibid., Vol. II, pp. 181, 193; Vol. III, pp. 22, 29, 127-128). All six of these depositions indicate that Martin Aucoin married Marie Gaudet, only one, that of Claude Pitre (ibid., Vol. III, p. 29), adding the detail that their marriage took place at Port-Royal.

BABIN, Antoine, came from France with his wife Marie Mercier, according to his grandson Claude Babin?s widow, Marguerite Dupuis (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 51). The widow?s son Laurent Babin?s deposition says the same thing (ibid., p. 131), as does that of Joseph LeBlanc dit Le Maigre, whose son Joseph was the widower of one of Antoine Babin?s great-granddaughters (ibid., Vol. II, p.177).

BARRIEAU, Nicolas, came from France, along with his wife Martine Hébert, according to his grandsons Alexis and Jean Doiron (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 16). While this appears to be true with respect to Nicolas Barrieau, it is evidently inaccurate regarding his wife Martine Hébert, because nine other depositions (ibid., Vol. II, p. 182; Vol. III, pp. 8, 11, 30, 45, 90, 92-93, 93-94, and 110-111) all agree that it was Martine?s parents, Étienne Hébert and Marie Gaudet, who had immigrated to Acadia from France.

BASILE, Perrine, came from France with her husband André Célestin dit Bellemère, according to Claude-Joseph Billeray, husband of her granddaughter Brigitte Forest (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 95), and Jean-Baptiste LeBlanc, husband of another granddaughter, Marguerite Célestin dit Bellemère (ibid., p. 119).

BENOIT, Martin, married Marie Chaussegros, and both of them were from France, according to their grandson PierreTrahan (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 8). As might be expected, the depositions of Pierre?s son Pierre (ibid., p. 110) and nephews Joseph and Simon-Pierre Trahan (ibid., p. 123) agree, as does that of Jean Doiron, who was married to Martin and Marie?s granddaughter Anne Thibodeau (ibid., p. 17).

BERNARD, Marie, came from France with her husband René Landry, according to nine depositions. One of these depositions was made by Marie?s granddaughter Marguerite Dupuis (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 51), and another by Jean LeBlanc, husband of another granddaughter Françoise Blanchard (ibid., p. 43). Three more came from great-grandsons (ibid., pp. 48, 123, 132), three from the husbands of great-granddaughters (ibid., Vol. II, pp. 176-177, 181; Vol. III, p. 118), and one from two great-great-grandsons (ibid., Vol. II, p. 189). This affirmation that Marie Bernard came from France means that her mother Andrée Guyon must have come from there as well (see DGFA-1, p. 125).

BLANCHARD, Jean, came from France with his wife, according to Jean LeBlanc, husband of his great-granddaughter Françoise Blanchard (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 43). The deposition of Françoise?s nephews Joseph and Simon-Pierre Trahan is to the same effect (ibid., p. 123). Both depositions mistakenly give Guillaume as the ancestor?s given name. Jean LeBlanc?s makes an additional error regarding the name of Jean Blanchard?s wife, calling her Huguette Poirier. The censuses of 1671 and 1686 meanwhile clearly show that she was named Radegonde Lambert (see DGFA-1, pp. 143-144). The source of these errors is probably a simple confusion arising from the fact that Jean LeBlanc?s wife?s grandfather Martin Blanchard had a brother Guillaume who was married to a woman named Huguette, as this writer explained in an article published in 1984 (SHA, Vol. XV, pp. 116-117). This Huguette was not named Poirier, however, but Gougeon, although her mother, Jeanne Chebrat, had married a man named Jean Poirier before she wed Huguette?s father Antoine Gougeon, and all her male-line descendants in Acadia were Poiriers. Unfortunately, we do not know just what questions Jean LeBlanc asked in trying to establish the Blanchard lineage, but he might certainly have had the impression that Huguette was a Poirier from the fact that so many of her relatives were Poiriers, including her grandnephew Joseph, who was also on Belle-Île in 1767 (see Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 13-15).

BODART, François, came from France, according to Guillaume Montet, husband of his granddaughter Marie-Josèphe Vincent (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 97). Montet?s deposition erroneously calls his wife?s grandfather Pierre, and provides no information whatsoever regarding François Bodart?s wife, who we know from the parish register of Grand-Pré (October 4, 1710) was named Marie Babin (see DGFA-1, pp. 161-162). Additionally, the censuses of Port-Toulouse in Île Royale for the years 1724, 1726, and 1734, show that François Bodart was actually born at Brussels (see ibid.), which was still at that time in the Spanish Netherlands. These lapses may be due to the fact that Montet had never lived in Acadia, and had only been married to Marie-Josèphe Vincent for a little less than four years.

BONNIÈRE, Pierre, was born in Brittany, married Madeleine-Josèphe Forest, and died at Plymouth, in England, according to the deposition taken from his son-in-law Pierre Deline (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 95-96). La Roque?s census in 1752 specifies that Pierre Bonnière was born at ?Raquiel,? in the diocese of Vannes. He was a relative late-comer to Acadia, being first mentioned in Acadian records as a witness at a marriage at Grand-Pré on June 26, 1730 (see DGFA, Seconde partie, 1715 à 1780 [in preparation], s.n. Bonnière).

BOUDROT, Michel, came from France with his wife Michelle Aucoin, according to four depositions, two made by his great-grandsons, Félix Boudrot (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 39) and Pierre Boudrot (ibid., p. 120), one made by a great-great-grandson, also named Félix Boudrot (ibid., p. 36), and another made by Pierre LeBlanc, husband of his great-great-granddaughter Françoise Trahan (ibid., p. 41).

BOURG, Antoine, came from France, according to Joseph LeBlanc dit Le Maigre, widower of Antoine?s great-granddaughter Anne Bourg (Doc. inéd., Vol. II, p. 175). Another deposition, that of Jean Melanson, who was a grandson of Antoine?s son Bernard, mistakenly indicates that it was Bernard who came from France (ibid., Vol. III, p. 22).

BOURGEOIS, Jacques, came from France with his wife, according to his great-grandson Jean LeBlanc (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 42). It is known from the various seventeenth-century censuses of Acadia that his wife was named Jeanne Trahan (see DGFA-1, pp. 251-253) . She arrived in Acadia in 1636 aboard the Saint-Jehan (A. Godbout, ?Le rôle du Saint-Jehan et les origines acadiennes,? SGCF, Vol. I [1944], pp. 19-30), and Jacques Bourgeois came to the colony five years later, aboard the Saint-François (J.-M. Germe, ?Rapport du Saint-François,? Le Messager de l?Atlantique, No. 13 [April 1991], pp. 13-18).

BRASSEAU, Pierre, came from France and married at Port-Royal Gabrielle Forest, according to Claude LeBlanc, widower of Pierre?s granddaughter Marie-Josèphe Longuépée (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 47). Claude LeBlanc erroneously called his late wife?s forebear Jean, but the censuses in Acadia from 1693 onward show that his given name was in fact Pierre (see DGFA-1, pp. 267-268).

BREAU, Renée, came from France with her husband Vincent Brun, according to her great-grandson Claude Pitre (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 28). The baptismal records of Renée and Vincent?s daughters Madeleine (January 25, 1645) and Andrée (August 21, 1646) are in the registers of the parish of La Chaussée, in the present department of Vienne (see DGFA-1, p 289).

BRUN, Vincent, came from France with his wife Renée Breau, as is mentioned in the last paragraph. Claude Pitre gave the family name as LeBrun, which is a variant used by some descendants.

CANOL, Marie-Anne, married Jean Doiron, and both of them were from France, according to Pierre Trahan, husband of her granddaughter Madeleine Vincent (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 111). Marie-Anne?s family name is not provided in this deposition, but it is known from the 1686 census and the marriage records of three of her children in the registers of Port-Royal and Grand-Pré (see DGFA-1, pp. 513-514).

CÉLESTIN dit BELLEMÈRE, André, came from France with his wife Perrine Basile, according to Claude-Joseph Billeray, husband of his granddaughter Brigitte Forest (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 95), and Jean-Baptiste LeBlanc, husband of another granddaughter, Marguerite Célestin dit Bellemère (ibid., p. 119). Both of these depositions mistakenly call the ancestor Jacques, instead of André, but the 1693 census of Acadia and the marriage records of five of his children in the registers of Grand-Pré show that the latter was in fact his given name (see DGFA-1, pp. 325-326).

CHAUSSEGROS, Marie, married Martin Benoit, and both of them were from France, according to their grandson PierreTrahan (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 8). As might be expected, the depositions of Pierre?s son Pierre (ibid., p. 110) and nephews Joseph and Simon-Pierre Trahan (ibid., p. 123) agree, as does that of Jean Doiron, who was married to Martin and Marie?s granddaughter Anne Thibodeau (ibid., p. 17).

COMEAU, Pierre, came from France, according to five depositions: one from Pierre Trahan, husband of Pierre Comeau?s granddaughter Madeleine Comeau (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 8), another from Pierre and Madeleine?s son Pierre (ibid., pp.110-111), a third from Madeleine?s nephews Sylvestre and Simon Trahan (ibid., p. 30), and the other two from her grandnephews Laurent Granger (ibid., p. 32) and Félix Boudrot (ibid., p. 36). None of these give Pierre Comeau his correct first name, four calling him Jean, while Laurent Granger offered no given name at all for his ancestor. The confusion between the name Jean and Pierre probably arose from Madeleine Comeau?s inability to recall her grandfather?s first name?he had after all died some years before her birth, so she had never known him personally?and the presumption that her own father Jean had been named after his father before him. There is no mention in any of the depositions of Pierre Comeau?s wife Rose Bayon, who is known to Acadian genealogy only through her appearance in the 1671 census (see DGFA-1, pp. 369-370).

DAIGRE, Olivier, came from France and married at Port-Royal Marie Gaudet, according to eight depositions: four from his great-grandsons Honoré, Paul, and Olivier Daigre (Doc. inéd., Vol. II, pp. 179-180), Simon-Pierre Daigre (ibid., Vol. III, p. 34), Charles Hébert (ibid., p. 94), and René and Pierre Trahan (ibid., p. 108), three on behalf of or from his great-granddaughters? husbands Joseph LeBlanc (ibid., Vol. II, pp. 177-178), Joseph-Simon Granger (ibid., p. 185), and Charles Granger (ibid., Vol. III, p. 115), and one from Jean-Baptiste LeBlanc, on behalf of Olivier?s great-great-grandson Joseph Daigre, who was Jean-Baptiste?s first cousin and ward. All of these depositions mistakenly call the first Daigre ancestor in Acadia Jean, rather than Olivier, which is shown to have been his true name by the censuses of 1671 and 1678, as well as by his son Olivier?s marriage contract (see DGFA-1, pp. 446-447).

DAROIS, Jérôme, came from Paris and married at Port-Royal Marie Gareau, according to his son-in-law Claude Pitre (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 29).

DOIRON, Jean, married Marie-Anne Canol, and both of them were from France, according to Pierre Trahan, husband of his granddaughter Madeleine Vincent (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 111). Another Pierre Trahan, who was a nephew of Jean Doiron?s second wife, Marie Trahan, mistakenly attributes the given name of Charles to him (ibid., p. 8), as do three other depositions: one from Jean Doiron?s grandson Jean Hébert (ibid., p. 11), one from his great-grandson Félix Boudrot (ibid., p. 39), and the last from Marie-Madeleine LeBlanc on behalf of her son-in-law Miniac Daigre, another of the ancestor?s great-grandsons (ibid., p. 25). Miniac Daigre?s uncles Alexis and Jean Doiron in their joint deposition likewise call their grandfather Charles, but do not mention his place of origin (ibid., p. 16). The 1693 census shows clearly that the same man who was listed as the husband of Marie-Anne Canol in 1686 had remarried Marie Trahan, and both those censuses and various other records in Acadia uniformly call the Doiron forebear Jean (see DGFA-1, pp. 513-516).

DOUCET, Marguerite, came from France with her husband Abraham Dugas, according to her great-grandson Alain LeBlanc (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 50). This deposition does not name her, but Marguerite is identified as Abraham?s wife and ultimately widow by four Acadian censuses between 1671 and 1700 and by her burial record in the register of Port-Royal (see DGFA-1, p. 526).

DUBOIS, Jean, came from France and married at St-Charles-des-Mines Anne Vincent, according to Pierre Trahan, husband of Anne Vincent?s niece Marguerite Vincent (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 112). St-Charles-des-Mines was the official name of the parish at Grand-Pré. The fact that the marriage records of four of Anne Vincent?s siblings are still to be found in the surviving registers of Grand-Pré corroborates Pierre Trahan?s declaration regarding where she married, even though her own record has not been discovered (see DGFA-1, pp. 1577-1578).

DUGAS, Abraham, came from France with his wife, according to his great-grandson Alain LeBlanc (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 50). This deposition does not name Abraham?s wife. She is identified as Marguerite Doucet by four Acadian censuses between 1671 and 1700 and by her burial record in the register of Port-Royal (see DGFA-1, p. 526).

DUON, Jean-Baptiste, came from Lyon in France and married at Port-Royal Agnès Hébert, according to his son Cyprien Duon (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 104). A second depositon, from Pierre Trahan, second husband of Cyprien?s brother Jean-Baptiste?s widow, also says that the Duon ancestor came from France, but without specifying his city of origin (ibid., p. 113). Jean-Baptiste Duon and Agnès Hébert?s marriage record in the register of Port-Royal shows that their son Cyprien?s information is completely accurate (see DGFA-1, p. 582).

DUPUIS, Michel, came from France, according to his granddaughter Marguerite Dupuis, widow of Claude Babin, who erroneously called him Martin Dupuis (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 51). The widow also declared that her grandfather married Perrine Thériot, but various records in Acadia show that his wife was named Marie Gautrot (see DGFA-1, pp. 596-597). Not surprisingly, Marguerite?s son Laurent Babin?s deposition contains the same information and misinformation as his mother?s (ibid., pp. 131-132). Honoré Daigre, widower of Marguerite?s grandniece Françoise-Osite Dupuis, meanwhile maintained that it was his late wife?s grandfather Martin Dupuis, rather than her great-grandfather, who had come from France (ibid., Vol. II, p. 180).

GAREAU, Dominique, came from France and married at Port-Royal Marie Gaudet, according to Claude Pitre, husband of his granddaughter Madeleine Darois (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 29). Sylvestre Trahan, husband of Madeleine?s sister Ursule, swore to the same thing (ibid., p. 31). Both mistakenly called Dominique Gareau?s wife Anne Gaudet, but the 1686 census shows that her first name was Marie (see DGFA-1, pp. 665-666).

GAUDET, Françoise, came from France with her husband Daniel LeBlanc, according to ten depositions: five from her great-grandsons (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 42, 48, 50, 88, 117), four from her great-great-grandsons (ibid., Vol. II, p. 189; Vol. III, pp. 55, 115, 120), and one from the husband of one of her great-great-granddaughters (ibid., Vol. III, p. 54). An eleventh, from her great-grandson Honoré LeBlanc, but in which her grandson Joseph LeBlanc dit Le Maigre seems to have collaborated (ibid., Vol. II, p. 170), adds that she was Daniel?s second wife, and that she and her husband had brought with them Marie LeBlanc, the daughter of Daniel?s first marriage. Father Archange Godbout proved through an analysis of various marriage dispensations in an article published in 1952 (?Daniel Leblanc,? SGCF, Vol. V, pp. 4-9) that the first marriage was actually Françoise Gaudet?s, and that while her daughter was indeed named Marie, she was Marie Mercier, and not Marie LeBlanc. Unfortunately, none of the eleven depositions that speak of her French origin mentions Françoise?s name, but she is shown to have been Daniel LeBlanc?s wife by four Acadian censuses (see DGFA-1, p. 666).

GAUDET, Marie, came from France with her husband Étienne Hébert, according to nine depositions: one from her grandson Jean Hébert (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 11), one from Pierre Trahan, husband of her granddaughter Madeleine Comeau (ibid., p. 8), one from Pierre and Madeleine?s son Pierre Trahan (ibid., pp. 110-111) and one from their nephews Sylvestre and Simon Trahan (ibid., p. 30), two from husbands of Marie?s great-granddaughters (ibid., Vol. II, p. 182; Vol. III, p. 90), one from a great-great-grandson (ibid., Vol. III, pp. 93-94), and two from husbands of her great-great-granddaughters (ibid., pp. 45, 92-93). Seven of these depositions name Marie Gaudet; only those of the two Pierre Trahans, father and son, do not. Marie was a younger sister of Françoise Gaudet, who appears in the preceding paragraph. As Marie Gaudet was also younger than her brother Denis, it may be presumed that he too came to Acadia from France (see A. Godbout, ?Jean Gaudet,? SGCF, Vol. XI [1960], pp. 50-53).

GAUTROT, Anne, came from France with her husband Joseph Prétieux, according to her great-grandson Joseph LeBlanc (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 44-45). Unfortunately, this particular Joseph LeBlanc was not well-informed about his ancestors? names, although he was correct in his statement regarding their origin. He declared that his maternal grandmother was Madeleine Lavergne, but she was in fact named Anne Prétieux, according to the record of Joseph?s own parents? marriage in the register of Grand-Pré (July 18, 1730). The record of his grandmother Anne Prétieux?s marriage is also still extant, in the register of Port-Royal (November 24, 1710), and it shows that Anne Gautrot and her husband Joseph Prétieux were originally from the Charente region in France.

GIROUARD dit LA VARANNE, François, came from France with his wife Jeanne Aucoin, according to two depositions, one made by his great-grandson Pierre Richard (Doc. inéd., Vol. II, p. 191), and another made by Louis Courtin, husband of his great-great-granddaughter Marie-Josèphe Martin (ibid., Vol. III, p. 27). Both of these depositions erroneously call the Girouard ancestor Jacques, instead of François, probably because the deponents presumed that he had borne the same first name as his elder son, to whom they were both connected. François is the name that one finds, however, in three Acadian censuses and in his younger son?s marriage record in the register of Beaubassin (see DGFA-1, pp. 718-719).

GRANGER, Laurent, came from Plymouth in England and married at Port-Royal Marie Landry, according to nine depositions: six from his great-grandsons (Doc. inéd., Vol. II, pp. 180, 184; Vol. III, pp. 32, 34, 97-98, 115) and three from husbands of his great-granddaughters (ibid., Vol. III, pp. 21, 124, 125). All nine of these deponents were the grandsons or the husbands of the granddaughters of Laurent?s son René Granger.

GUÉRIN, François, came from France and married Anne Blanchard, according to Claude Pitre, widower of his granddaughter Isabelle Guérin (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 28-29). Claude made a mistake in his statement regarding his first wife?s grandparents, calling them Jérôme and Marie, instead of François and Anne. He apparently presumed that his father-in-law Jérôme Guérin had been named after his father before him. The correct given names appear in the 1671 census (see DGFA-1, pp. 775-776).

HÉBERT, Étienne, came from France with his wife Marie Gaudet, according to nine depositions: one from his grandson Jean Hébert (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 11), one from Pierre Trahan, husband of his granddaughter Madeleine Comeau (ibid., p. 8), one from Pierre and Madeleine?s son Pierre Trahan (ibid., pp. 110-111) and one from their nephews Sylvestre and Simon Trahan (ibid., p. 30), two from husbands of Étienne?s great-granddaughters (ibid., Vol. II, p. 182; Vol. III, p. 90), one from a great-great-grandson (ibid., Vol. III, pp. 93-94), and two from husbands of his great-great-granddaughters (ibid., pp. 45, 92-93). Seven of these depositions name his wife as Marie Gaudet; only those of the two Pierre Trahans, father and son, do not.

LALANDE dit BONAPPETIT, Pierre, came from France, served as a soldier at Port-Royal and married there, according to his grandson Joseph LeBlanc (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 44-45). Joseph omits his grandfather?s given name and mistakenly calls his grandmother Madeleine Lavergne, but her name was in fact Anne Prétieux, according to his own parents? marriage record in the register of Grand-Pré (July 18, 1730). Pierre Lalande and Anne Prétieux?s marriage record also still exists, in the register of Port-Royal (November 24, 1710). It shows that Pierre was from Viriat en Bresse, in the province of Auvergne, France, and confirms that he had been a soldier.

LAMBERT, Radegonde, came from France with her husband Jean Blanchard, according to Jean LeBlanc, husband of her great-granddaughter Françoise Blanchard (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 43). The deposition of Françoise?s nephews Joseph and Simon-Pierre Trahan is to the same effect (ibid., p. 123). Both depositions mistakenly give Guillaume as the ancestor?s given name. Jean LeBlanc?s makes an additional error regarding the name of Jean Blanchard?s wife, calling her Huguette Poirier. The censuses of 1671 and 1686 meanwhile clearly show that she was named Radegonde Lambert (see DGFA-1, pp. 143-144). The source of these errors is probably a simple confusion arising from the fact that Jean LeBlanc?s wife?s grandfather Martin Blanchard had a brother Guillaume who was married to a woman named Huguette, as this writer explained in an article published in 1984 (SHA, Vol. XV, pp. 116-117). This Huguette was not named Poirier, however, but Gougeon, although her mother, Jeanne Chebrat, had married a man named Jean Poirier before she wed Huguette?s father Antoine Gougeon, and all her male-line descendants in Acadia were Poiriers. Unfortunately, we do not know just what questions Jean LeBlanc asked in trying to establish the Blanchard lineage, but he might certainly have had the impression that Huguette was a Poirier from the fact that so many of her relatives were Poiriers, including her grandnephew Joseph, who was also on Belle-Île in 1767 (see Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 13-15).

LANDRY, René, came from France with his wife Marie Bernard, according to nine depositions. One of these depositions was made by René?s granddaughter Marguerite Dupuis (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 51), and another by Jean LeBlanc, husband of another granddaughter Françoise Blanchard (ibid., p. 43). Three more came from great-grandsons (ibid., pp. 48, 123, 132), three from the husbands of great-granddaughters (ibid., Vol. II, pp. 176-177, 181; Vol. III, p. 118), and one from two great-great-grandsons (ibid., Vol. II, p. 189).

LAPIERRE, François, married Jeanne Rimbault, and both of them came from France, according to Joseph Poirier, husband of their granddaughter Ursule Renaud (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 14). This is yet another deposition in which the given names are inaccurate; Joseph Poirier calls his wife?s grandparents Jacques and Marie, rather than François and Jeanne, which is how they are listed in the Acadian censuses. What?s more, in this case it can be shown that François Lapierre and Jeanne Rimbault must have been married in Acadia, because she appears in the 1671 census at the age of only eleven years, and their marriage took place only some eight or nine years later, about 1680 (see DGFA-1, pp. 961-962, 1397-1398).

LE BLANC, Daniel, came from France with his wife, according to ten depositions: five from his great-grandsons (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 42, 48, 50, 88, 117), four from his great-great-grandsons (ibid., Vol. II, p. 189; Vol. III, pp. 55, 115, 120), and one from the husband of one of his great-great-granddaughters (ibid., Vol. III, p. 54). An eleventh, from his great-grandson Honoré LeBlanc, but in which his grandson Joseph LeBlanc dit Le Maigre seems to have collaborated (ibid., Vol. II, p. 170), adds that this wife was Daniel?s second, and that she and her husband had brought with them Marie LeBlanc, the daughter of Daniel?s first marriage. Unfortunately, none of the eleven depositions that speak of her French origin mentions this wife?s name, but Françoise Gaudet is shown to have been Daniel LeBlanc?s wife by four Acadian censuses (see DGFA-1, p. 666). Father Archange Godbout proved through an analysis of various marriage dispensations in an article published in 1952 (?Daniel Leblanc,? SGCF, Vol. V, pp. 4-9) that the first marriage was actually Françoise Gaudet?s, and that while her daughter was indeed named Marie, she was Marie Mercier, and not Marie LeBlanc.

LÉGER dit LA ROSETTE, Jacques, was a soldier and drummer from France who married Madeleine Trahan, according to Madeleine?s nephew Pierre Trahan (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 8). Pierre mistakenly called his aunt Anne, and simply named her husband ?La Rozette,? but the censuses and parish records of Port-Royal clearly show that Jacques Léger married Madeleine Trahan (see DGFA-1, pp. 1043-1044). The nickname La Rosette appears from time to time in records concerning Jacques and Madeleine?s children and grandchildren.

LEJEUNE, Pierre, came from France, according to Claude Pitre, husband of Madeleine Darois, whose first husband Alexis Trahan was Pierre Lejeune?s great-grandson (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 29). There is reason to believe that this Pierre Lejeune was married to a Doucet (see DGFA-1, pp. 1048-1049).

LONGUÉPÉE, Vincent, came from France and married at Port-Royal Madeleine Rimbault, according to Claude LeBlanc, widower of his granddaughter Marie-Josèphe Longuépée (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 47). Claude?s father-in-law was Louis Longuépée, and he unfortunately seems to have presumed that his wife?s grandfather bore the same first name. The censuses of Les Mines in Acadia from 1693 through 1714 show that her grandfather was called Vincent, however (see DGFA-1, pp. 1098-1099).

MARTIN, Barnabé, came from France and married at Port-Royal Jeanne Pelletret, according to Louis Courtin, husband of his great-granddaughter Marie-Josèphe Martin (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 27). Here again there are errors concerning the names of the first forebears in Acadia. Louis Courtin calls his wife?s great-grandfather René Martin, and René?s wife Marguerite Landry. It is particularly easy in this instance to understand how the deponent came to be so misinformed. In the first place, Louis Courtin was not an Acadian, but a surgeon from the diocese of Blois, who had married his Acadian wife at Cork, in Ireland. Secondly, as this writer explained in an article published in 1984 (SHA, Vol. XV, p. 119), Marie-Josèphe Martin was only fourteen years old at the time of the Deportation in 1755, and she had lost her father eight years before that, when she was only six. By 1767, with her mother also dead, the only persons on Belle-Île upon whom Marie-Josèphe could have called for help with her genealogy were her two younger sisters, who were certainly not likely to know more than she did. So it is not surprising that there should have been some confusion in Louis Courtin?s information about his wife?s ancestors. The substitution of the given name René for Barnabé probably came about because Marie-Josèphe?s grandfather Étienne Martin had an older brother by that name. Meanwhile, the confusion of the family names Pelletret and Landry likely occurred because Jeanne Pelletret?s mother Perrine Bourg was married twice, and her second husband was René Landry l?aîné. Perrine Bourg had no male offspring from her Pelletret marriage, but she had two Landry sons who had a considerable number of descendants (see DGFA-1, pp.915-916, 1283-1284).

MELANSON, Charles, came from England and married at Port-Royal Marie Dugas, according to his grandson Jean Melanson (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 22).

MELANSON, Pierre, came from England and married at Port-Royal Marguerite Mius, according to six depositions: one from the widow of his grandson Pierre Melanson (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 24), one from his great-grandson Louis-Athanase Trahan (ibid., p. 38), two from the widower of one and the husband of another of his great-granddaughters (ibid., Vol. II, p. 181; Vol. III, p. 118), one from the stepfather of the husband of another great-granddaughter (ibid., Vol. III, p. 113), and one from the husband of one of his great-great-granddaughters (ibid., p. 125). All of these depositions mistakenly call Pierre Melanson?s wife Anne-Marie, rather than Marguerite, but various records in the registers of Port-Royal, Grand-Pré, and Beaubassin, as well as several censuses, all provide the latter given name (see DGFA-1, pp. 1148-1150). A seventh deposition, that of Pierre Melanson?s great-great-grandson Jean-Baptiste LeBlanc (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 55), gives Anne, rather than Anne-Marie, as her first name, and states that Pierre came from Scotland, instead of England. This Scottish origin is seconded by Joseph LeBlanc dit Le Maigre, widower of Pierre?s granddaughter Anne Bourg, who also changes Pierre?s wife?s name to Françoise de La Tour, adding that she was of noble extraction (ibid., Vol. II, p. 175). It might be thought that this means that Pierre Melanson had been married twice, but Joseph LeBlanc?s wife?s mother was some ten years younger than her brother Philippe, the ancestor of all the other Melanson descendants on Belle-Île, who was obviously named after their maternal grandfather Philippe Mius d?Entremont, and it can likewise be shown that Marguerite Mius was the mother of at least four of their younger siblings, so she must have been the mother of all of Pierre Melanson?s known children (see DGFA-1, loc. cit.). As for the noble extraction of Pierre Melanson?s wife, that is attested by the fact that her father was a baron, and Joseph LeBlanc may have attributed to her the name de La Tour because her father had been closely associated with Charles de Saint-Étienne de La Tour (see ibid., pp. 1201-1202).

MERCIER, Marie, came from France with her husband Antoine Babin, according to her grandson Claude Babin?s widow, Marguerite Dupuis (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 51). The widow?s son Laurent Babin?s deposition says the same thing (ibid., p. 131), as does that of Joseph LeBlanc dit Le Maigre, whose son Joseph was the widower of one of Marie Mercier?s great-granddaughters (ibid., Vol. II, p.177).

OZELET, Jean, came from France and married Jeanne Moyse of Tatamagouche, according to Pierre Boudrot, whose brother-in-law Claude Boudrot was Jean Ozelet?s son-in-law (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 121-122). As is mentioned in the introduction to this list, Pierre was wrong about his wife?s brother?s wife?s father having come from France, because that worthy had in fact been born at Petit-Plaisance in Newfoundland, but it is easy to see how Pierre might not have been correctly informed about a relative so many times removed who had come to Acadia from another French colony (see DGFA-1, pp. 1262-1263).

PELLERIN, François, came from Québec and so did his wife Andrée Martin, and the two were married at Beaubassin, according to Joseph LeBlanc, husband of his great-granddaughter Marie-Modeste Hébert (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 45-46). John Tierney, an Irishman originally from Limerick who had married Marie-Modeste?s sister Madeleine-Pélagie Hébert at Liverpool in England shortly before the repatriation of the exiles in 1763, swore to exactly the same thing (ibid., p. 93). Both of these depositions contain errors regarding the Pellerins, and these errors show that the deponents misunderstood their wives? forebears? history. First, they said that the first Pellerin in this line was Jacques, instead of François, and then they mistakenly thought that François?s wife was named Marie Colbec, rather than Andrée Martin. The name Colbec (originally Caudebec) was actually the nickname borne by Andrée Martin?s second husband, Pierre Mercier, so Andrée had become Madame Colbec, but that was not her maiden name. It is not known where Andrée Martin married François Pellerin, but it was probably at Port-Royal, because she and François were living at Port-Royal six years afterwards, at the time of the 1671 census, which was taken before the settlement of Beaubassin began. It was at Beaubassin, however, that Andrée married Pierre Mercier, as is attested by their marriage record in the register of that parish (April 24, 1679). And there is a Québec connection, but it was to what is now the province of Québec, and not from there, that Andrée and her second husband moved, between the time of the 1703 census in Acadia and the marriage of their daughter Madeleine-Michelle at Montmagny in 1706. The Merciers settled on the Rivière du Sud, in back of Montmagny (see DGFA-1, pp. 1174-1175, 1277-1278). Interestingly, in 1767 the Acadians would normally have continued to call the country in which Montmagny and the Rivière du Sud are situated Canada, but John Tierney was a British subject, and the British had begun to call the whole country by the name of its chief city.

PESSELEY, Marie, came from Paris and married Jean Pitre, who was originally Flemish, according to her grandson Claude Pitre (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 28). Marie?s father, Isaac Pesseley, was a passenger aboard the Saint-Jehan, which left La Rochelle bound for Acadia April 1, 1636. Prior to that he and his family had lived at Piney, in Champagne. Isaac?s wife Barbe Bajolet and their children who were then living did not accompany him in 1636, but it is known from the contract of her second marriage that his widow returned to France from Port-Royal in 1646 (see DGFA-1, pp. 1034, 1288-1289). It consequently appears more likely that Isaac and Barbe?s daughter Marie was born in Acadia, rather than at Paris, although as has been seen it is certain that both of her parents came from France.

PITRE, Jean, was originally Flemish and married Marie Pesseley, who came from Paris, according to his grandson Claude Pitre (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 28), as is mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The Parisian origin of Marie Pesseley is quite doubtful, and Father Clarence d?Entremont questioned the Flemish origin of Jean Pitre, because he had found mention of a blacksmith named John Peters in Acadia who came from England (Histoire du Cap-Sable [Eunice, Louisiana: Hébert Publications, 1981], Vol. III, p. 1050), and the 1671 census does show that Jean Pitre was a specialized sort of metalworker, an edge-tool maker (see DGFA-1, pp. 1318-1319). While there is no proof that the blacksmith and the edge-tool maker were one and the same, there is no real contradiction in supposing that they might have been, inasmuch as there were many Flemish artisans in England during the middle part of the seventeenth century, and one of them might have chosen to emigrate to Acadia sometime after the English capture of the colony in 1654.

POIRIER, Michel, came from France and died at Beaubassin, according to his grandson Joseph Poirier (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 14). The deponent makes no mention of his forebear?s wife, but it is known from several censuses and the parish records of Beaubassin that she was Marie Boudrot (see DGFA-1, pp. 1328-1329). The 1671 census refers to Michel Poirier as the son of ?the late? Jean Poirier, which indicates that his father had also lived in Acadia. There is reason to believe that this Jean Poirier was the same man who came to the colony in 1641, aboard the Saint-François (J.-M. Germe, ?Rapport du Saint-François? and ?Le départ de Jehan Poirier en 1641?? Le Messager de l?Atlantique, No. 13 [April 1991], pp. 13-14, 19). It is also believed that Jean Poirier married Jeanne Chebrat, who appears in the 1671 census as the wife of Antoine Gougeon, because of the confusion between the names Poirier and Gougeon in the depositions of Jean LeBlanc and his wife?s nephews (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 43, 123). As the Poirier-Chebrat marriage only occurred around 1647, it is entirely possible that the offspring from that marriage, including Michel Poirier, were actually born in Acadia, rather than in France.

PRÉTIEUX, Joseph, came from France with his wife, according to his great-grandson Joseph LeBlanc (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 44-45). Unfortunately, this particular Joseph LeBlanc was not well-informed about his ancestors? names, although he was correct in his statement regarding their origin. He declared that his maternal grandmother was Madeleine Lavergne, but she was in fact named Anne Prétieux, according to the record of Joseph?s own parents? marriage in the register of Grand-Pré (July 18, 1730). The record of his grandmother Anne Prétieux?s marriage is also still extant, in the register of Port-Royal (November 24, 1710), and it shows that Joseph Prétieux and his wife Anne Gautrot were originally from the Charente region in France.

RENAUD, Louis, came from France and married Marie Lapierre, according to his son-in-law, Joseph Poirier (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 14). These facts are attested by the record of Louis Renaud and Marie-Madeleine Lapierre?s marriage, in the register of Grand-Pré (October 10, 1718), which shows that Louis Renaud came from Marseille.

RICHARD dit SANSOUCY, Michel, came from France and married at Port-Royal Madeleine Blanchard, according to Pierre Doucet, husband of his great-granddaughter Marie-Blanche Richard (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 53-54). Pierre mistakenly called his wife?s great-grandmother Anne, instead of Madeleine, but the 1671 census shows her true given name (see DGFA-1, pp. 1373-1374). Three other depositions confirm the French origin of Michel Richard dit Sansoucy, although two of these attribute the given names of René to him and Marie to his wife, one from his great-grandson Pierre Richard (Doc. inéd., Vol. II, p. 191) and the other from Joseph LeBlanc dit Le Maigre, on behalf of his son Joseph, whose wife Angélique Daigre was another great-grandchild of the ancestor (ibid., p. 178). The last deposition, from Pierre Trahan, whose father-in-law?s first wife was Michel Richard?s daughter, provides no given name for the ancestor and does not mention his spouse at all (ibid., Vol. III, p. 111).

RIMBAULT, Jeanne, married François Lapierre, and both of them came from France, according to Joseph Poirier, husband of their granddaughter Ursule Renaud (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 14). This is yet another deposition in which the given names are inaccurate; Joseph Poirier calls his wife?s grandparents Jacques and Marie, rather than François and Jeanne, which is how they are listed in the Acadian censuses. What?s more, in this case it can be shown that François Lapierre and Jeanne Rimbault must have been married in Acadia, because she appears in the 1671 census at the age of only eleven years, and their marriage took place only some eight or nine years later, about 1680 (see DGFA-1, pp. 961-962, 1397-1398).

ROBICHAUD, Étienne, came from France with his wife, according to his great-great-grandson Pierre Doucet (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 53). Pierre erroneously attributed the first name of Charles to his forebear, probably because his great-grandfather Prudent Robichaud had an older brother by that name. He does not mention the name of his great-great-grandmother, but she was Françoise Boudrot, according to several early censuses (see DGFA-1, pp.1403-1404). Despite his deposition, it is quite unlikely that Françoise came from France. She was the eldest daughter of Michel Boudrot and Michelle Aucoin (ibid., p. 184). It is well established, by no fewer than four depositions (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 36, 39, 41, 120) that both of them came from France, but other documentation showing that Michel Boudrot was already in Acadia by 1639, three years before Françoise?s birth, suggests that she must have been born in the colony (see DGFA-1, pp. 184-186).

SEMER, Jean, came from Ireland, and married Marguerite Vincent, according to Pierre Trahan, husband of Marguerite?s niece Madeleine Vincent (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 112). The record of Jean and Marguerite?s marriage, in the register of Grand-Pré (November 22, 1717), on the other hand, states that Jean was a native of Guernsey, in the English Channel.

THÉRIOT, Jean, came from France, according to three depositions: one from Marie-Josèphe Dupuis, widow of his great-grandson Pierre Thériot (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 127), and two others from the second husbands of the widows of that same Pierre?s brothers Cyprien (ibid., Vol. II, p. 181) and Simon-Joseph (ibid., p. 193). None of these depositions mentions Jean Thériot?s wife Perrine Rau, who is only known to Acadian genealogy through her appearance in the 1671 census (see DGFA-1, pp. 1483-1484).

THIBODEAU, Pierre, came from France, according to Charles LeBlanc, husband of his granddaughter Élisabeth Thibodeau (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 90). There is one generation too many in the Thibodeau lineage as laid out in Charles LeBlanc?s deposition. As it seems rather unlikely that Charles?s wife, whose father was named Jean Thibodeau, would have added a second Jean in her own ancestry, it may be that the error was made by the clerk charged with writing out the information by the sénéchal of Auray, who had the overall supervision of the taking of the depositions. Charles LeBlanc apparently did not mention Pierre Thibodeau?s wife. She was Jeanne Thériot, daughter of the Jean Thériot mentioned in the preceding paragraph (see DGFA-1, p. 1508).

TRAHAN, Guillaume, came from France and married at Port-Royal Madeleine Brun, according to twelve depositions: one from his grandson Pierre Trahan (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, pp. 7-8), six from or on behalf of great-grandsons (ibid., Vol. III, pp. 13, 30, 41, 108, 110, 123), four from husbands of great-granddaughters (ibid., Vol. II, p. 182; Vol. III, pp. 41, 45-46, 93), and one from the second husband of the widow of a great-grandson (ibid., Vol. III, p. 29). The similarity of expression among all these depositions suggests that there was a good deal of collaboration in their preparation, which one would expect because of the near relationships among the various deponents, who nonetheless descended from all three of Guillaume Trahan?s sons. The Trahan family?s origins are very well documented. Guillaume Trahan?s first marriage has been traced at Chinon (J.-M. Germe, ?Mariage de Guillaume Trahan et de Françoise Corbineau,? Le Messager de l?Atlantique, No. 12 [January 1991], p. 27), and he and his first family appear on the passenger list of the Saint-Jehan in 1636, which states that they had been living at Bourgueil, in Touraine (A. Godbout, ?Le rôle du Saint-Jehan et les origines acadiennes,? SGCF, Vol. I [1944], pp. 19-30). As for Guillaume?s second wife, Madeleine Brun, her baptismal record (January 25, 1645) has been found in the register of La Chaussée, in Poitou.

TRAHAN, Jeanne, came from France with her husband Jacques Bourgeois, according to her great-grandson Jean LeBlanc (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 42). Jeanne is not named in this deposition, but it is known from the various seventeenth-century censuses of Acadia that Jacques Bourgeois?s wife was named Jeanne Trahan (see DGFA-1, pp. 251-253) . She arrived in Acadia with her father, mother, and one sibling in 1636 aboard the Saint-Jehan (A. Godbout, ?Le rôle du Saint-Jehan et les origines acadiennes,? SGCF, Vol. I [1944], pp. 19-30), and Jacques Bourgeois came to the colony five years later, aboard the Saint-François (J.-M. Germe, ?Rapport du Saint-François,? Le Messager de l?Atlantique, No. 13 [April 1991], pp. 13-18).

VINCENT, Pierre, came from France, and married at Port-Royal Anne Gaudet, according to his granddaughter Madeleine Vincent?s husband Pierre Trahan (Doc. inéd., Vol. III, p. 111).

© Stephen A. White, Genealogist
Centre d'études acadiennes
January 17, 2005
Updated September 6, 2014