ACADIA
Pierre Allain de La Motte, from the
village of Mamers in the Maine region of France, arrived at Port-Royal in c1685
and served as the King's clerk in the colony. The name of his wife, whom
he married in the year of his arrival, is unknown. They had three children
at Port-Royal: Pierre, fils, François, and Marie, who
married into the Guestre family, place unrecorded, in May
1729. Pierre, fils, who became a merchant at Port-Royal,
evidently did not marry. Probably after the British captured Port-Royal
in August 1710, the family moved to Île Royale, today's Cape Breton Island, and
settled at Louisbourg.
.
Louis Allain, a blacksmith, born in c1654,
probably not
kin to Pierre the King's clerk, also arrived at Port-Royal in c1685. In
July 1687, Louis was given permission by the
seigneur of Port-Royal, Alexandre Le Borgne de Bélisle, to build a
sawmill near the settlement, which he also operated. A tributary of
lower Rivière-au-Dauphin,
on which Port-Royal was located, took its name from Louis--Rivière Allain. Around 1690,
Louis married Marguerite, daughter of Antoine
Bourg and Antoinette
Landry. Louis died
at Annapolis Royal in June 1737, in his early 80s. His only daughter married into the Gauthier
dit Bellaire family. His son-in-law, Joseph-Nicolas, called
Nicolas, Gauthier dit Bellair,
became a wealthy Annapolis valley merchant whose estate on haute rivière,
Bellaire, provided his dit.
During King George's War of the 1740s, Nicolas joined the Acadian resistance
against the British, for which Marie and their son Nicolas, fils,
spent time in the Fort Anne dungeon. In 1749, his fortune gone, Nicolas
took Marie and their children to Île St.-Jean, where the French compensated
him with two pieces of property on Rivière-du-Nord-Est. He died there in
April 1752, age 63. Marie did not remarry.
Louis's only son Pierre married
Marguerite, daughter of
Antoine LeBlanc and
Marie Bourgeois, probably at Annapolis Royal in
c1717 and settled at
Minas. Pierre's oldest son Louis le jeune moved to Petitcoudiac,
but his younger sons--Pierre, fils, Joseph-Antoine, Benjamin, and
Jean-Baptiste--remained at Minas.
[For more of this family in
pre- and post-dispersal Acadia and Canada, see
Book Three]
.
Charles Allain, born in c1700,
not kin to Pierre or Louis, married Renée Mercier in c1721 and settled the next year on
Île St.-Jean, today's Prince Edward Island. In 1725, he took his wife and two daughters to the French
fortress of Louisbourg on Île Royale.
.
Pierre, fils,
son of Pierre Alain and Françoise Le Perchoix,
born at St.-Pair, bishopric of Coutances, Normandy, in c1710, was not kin
to the other Allains of greater Acadia. Pierre,
fils married Thérèse Bornic, widow of Philobert
Le Coudy dit Lafontaine, in August 1734 probably
on Île Royale. They settled at Lorembec, near Louisbourg, where two
of their children were born: Jeanne in c1736 and Pierre-Louis in
c1740. Daughter Jeanne married into the Destroismaisons
dit Picard family at Berthier, Canada, in January 1765.
LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT
[For the family's travails
during the Great Upheaval, see
Book Six]
LOUISIANA: RIVER SETTLEMENTS
Pierre, fils and his family, along with
two related Hébert families, came to Louisiana with other Acadians
from Maryland in the
summer of 1767. The Spanish governor, Antonio de Ulloa, sent the new
arrivals upriver to St.-Gabriel d'Iberville, where the Spanish had just built
a new fort; the community also was called Manchac for the bayou that formed
the district's northern boundary. Living at St.-Gabriel placed the new
arrivals close to the first contingent of Acadians from Maryland who had come
to the colony the year before. Those Acadians had settled at Ascension
and Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, just downriver from St.-Gabriel.
Pierre Allain, fils, age 44, and
his wife Catherine Hébert, age 39, brought five children with them to
the colony--Jean-Baptiste, age 16, Marguerite, age 15, Simon, age 7, Pierre
III, age 3, and infant Bibianne. Pierre,
fils and Catherine had two more children at St.-Gabriel, both
daughters--a second Marguerite, born in October 1771, and Marie-Madeleine,
called Madeleine, in March 1774. Oldest daughter Marguerite married Pierre dit Pitre, son of fellow Acadian Abraham Landry
of Ascension, at St.-Gabriel in January 1773. Bibianne married Moïse, son of fellow Acadians
Jean-Baptiste Foret and Marguerite-Bibianne Richard, at St.-Gabriel in 1790. Youngest
daughter Madeleine married cousin Bénoni, son of Francois Hébert, at
St.-Gabriel in December 1793; church authorities granted the couple a
"dispensation ... for kinship" in order to marry. All
three of Pierre, fils's sons married fellow Acadians and created
families of their own. Pierre, fils died at St. Gabriel in December 1807; he was 85 years old.
Some historians believe that he was the Acadian
exile who brought to Louisiana the Grand-Pré church registers that survived Le
Grand Dérangement; today, the precious volumes are housed
in a climate-controlled room in the archives of the Baton Rouge diocese.
Descendants of Jean-Baptiste
ALLAIN (c1751-1791; Louis, Pierre)
Jean-Baptiste, called Baptiste, eldest son of Pierre Allain,
fils and Catherine Hébert, born at Grand-Pré in
c1751, soon after his parents married, followed them into exile in Maryland,
came with them to Louisiana in July 1767, and settled with them at
St.-Gabriel d'Iberville, on the river above New Orleans, where he married Marguerite,
daughter of fellow Acadians René Blanchard and Marguerite
Thériot, in c1780. All of
their children were born at St.-Gabriel. Their daughter married into the
Rivas family. Jean-Baptiste died at
St.-Gabriel in March 1791, age 40. The St.-Gabriel
priest who recorded his burial noted that he was "major domo" of the
church.
1
Oldest son Pierre le jeune,
born at St.-Gabriel in October 1782, married Victoire, daughter of fellow Acadian Isaac LeBlanc
and Félicité Melançon, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in May 1807. Their son Pierre
Ursin, called Ursin, was born in Iberville Parish in April 1811.
Ursin married cousin Emilie, daughter of his uncle Jean Baptiste Allain,
fils and Marguerite Céleste Guidry and widow of Pierre Miremont, probably in Iberville Parish,
date unrecorded. Ursin died at the home of Célestin Roth,
Iberville Parish, in December 1858; the priest who recorded his burial said
that Ursin was "a local person" and was age 51 when he died,
but he was 47. He seems to have fathered no sons, so his line of the
family died with him.
2
Landry, born at St.-Gabriel in May 1787,
died at St.-Gabriel, age 3, in August 1790.
3
Bernard-Sosthène, also called
Sosthène-Bernard, born at St.-Gabriel in
September 1789, married cousin Apollonie, daughter of fellow Acadian Victor Blanchard
and Marie Madeleine Richard, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in February 1817; Apollonie's father was a nephew
of Bernard's mother. Their son Bernard, fils was born in
Iberville Parish in August 1821, and Jean
Zenon in April 1823 but died the following November. Their daughters married into the Arceneaux
and Blanchard
families.
Bernard, fils married
Euphémie, daughter of Louis
Édouard Guitteau and Joséphine Pignoux, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in November 1842, and
remarried to Marie Élodie, called Élodie, daughter of fellow Acadians Antoine Dupuy
and Sophie Daigle, at the St. Gabriel church in August 1846. Their son Sosthène Bernard
le jeune was
born in Iberville Parish in July 1847, and Antoine Roger in December
1848. In August 1850, the federal census taker in Iberville Parish
counted 18 slaves--10 males and 8 females, 16 blacks and 2 mulattoes, ranging
in age from 55 to infancy--owned by "Blanchard Allain," which
was probably Bernard Sosthène and his wife Apollonie. At age 39, Bernard, fils remarried--his
third marriage--to Henrietta Anne, daughter of Trasimond
Richard and Uranie Pujol, at the St. Gabriel church in May 1861.
Sosthène Bernard le jeune,
by his father's second wife, married Ann Amelie, daughter of fellow
Acadians Joseph Arvillien Breaux and Anne Selina Hébert, at the St. Gabriel church,
Iberville Parish, in January 1868.
4
Youngest son Jean-Baptiste,
fils, born posthumously at St.-Gabriel in July 1791, married Marguerite Céleste, called
Céleste or Célestine, daughter of fellow Acadian Firmin Guidry and
Marguerite Landry, at St. Gabriel
in August 1806. Their son Jean Derosin, called Derosin
or Drauzin, was born in
Iberville Parish in April 1807. Jean Baptiste, fils remarried to
Marie Carmelite, called Carmelite, daughter of fellow Acadian Firmin Landry
and Ludevine Babin, at the St.
Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in February 1811. Their son Jean Baptiste Aimé
was born in Iberville Parish in September 1825. Their daughters married
into the Allain, LeBlanc, and Miremont families. Jean Baptiste, fils died in Iberville Parish in
January 1834; the priest who recorded his burial said that Jean Baptiste was
age 55 when he died, but he was 43.
4a
Derosin, by his father's first wife, married Marie Dartille, called
Dartille, daughter of fellow Acadian Abraham Hébert and Ludevine
Landry, at the St. Gabriel church,
Iberville Parish, in May
1826. Their son Jean de Valcourt was born in Iberville Parish in
June 1827 but drowned in Bayou Plaquemine at age 15 in July 1842. Their
daughter married into the Picou family. Derosin remarried to
Clémence, daughter of fellow Acadian Auguste Landry and Clémence
Richard, at the St. Gabriel church in
December 1837. Their son or daughter, J.G.W., died at age 4
months in February 1838, and son Jean Baptiste Sosthène was born in
Iberville Parish in November 1842. Derosin, at age 45, remarried again--his third
marriage--to Victorine, daughter of
fellow Acadian Olivier LeBlanc and Madeleine Breaux, at the Paincourtville church, Assumption Parish, in
May 1852. In July
1860, the federal census taker in Bruly St. Martin Ward 11, Assumption Parish,
counted a single slave--a 17-year-old mulatto female--on Wm. Drauzin Allain's
farm.
4b
Jean Baptiste Aimé, by his
father's second
wife, married Odile,
daughter of Alexander Étienne Reine of St. James Parish, at the St.
Gabriel church in July 1844. Jean Baptiste Aimé died in Iberville
Parish in June 1848; he was only 22 years old and fathered no sons.
Descendants of Simon ALLAIN
(c1760-1809; Louis, Pierre)
Simon, second son of Pierre Allain,
fils and Catherine Hébert of Grand-Pré, born at Baltimore,
Maryland, in c1760, followed his parents to Louisiana in July 1767 and settled
with them at St.-Gabriel d'Iberville, where he married Marguerite, daughter of fellow
Acadian Jean-Baptiste Babin, in July 1785. All of their children
were born at St.-Gabriel. Their daughters married into the Hébert
and LeBlanc families. Simon died at St. Gabriel in October 1809,
age 49.
1
Oldest son Jean-Baptiste le
jeune died at St.-Gabriel 2 days after his birth in August 1786.
2
Janvier, born at St.-Gabriel in January
1790, married Elise Mary, Marie Elizabeth, or Mary Eliza, called Elizabeth, daughter of
Jean Louis Bouche, Boush, or Bush and Hélène
Hamilton, at
the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in January 1817. Their son Joseph
Clément, called Clément, was born in Iberville Parish in
November 1817 but died at age 2 in October 1819, Albert was born in
April 1819, another Clément in November 1821 but died at age 3 in
January 1825, Louis Sylvain, called L. S., was born in February 1827, Louis
Sylvestre in December 1832, Simon Ernest, called Ernest, in
January 1835, Victor Amédée, called Amédée, in March 1837, and Faustin Alcée,
called F. Alcée and F. A., in October 1844. Their daughters married into the Comeaux, Daigre,
and Gallaugher families. Janvier died in
Iberville Parish in June 1852; he was 62 years old. In June 1860, the
federal census taker in Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge parish, counted 7
slaves--4 males and 3 females, 2 blacks and 5 mulattoes, ranging in age from
46 to 4--on Janvier Allain's farm. One, perhaps two, of his
sons settled on Bayou Lafourche.
2a
Albert married Marie Elisa or
Eliza, called Eliza, daughter of fellow Acadian Lazare Landry and his
Creole wife Marie Céline Lambremont, at the St.
Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in February 1842. Their son Albert Numa was born
in Iberville Parish in November 1842, and Louis Dustine or Dutisne in November
1845 but died at age 4 in April 1850. Albert remarried to Arzelia, daughter of Joseph Barthélemy Ramouin
and his Acadian wife Amelie Hébert, at the St. Gabriel church in January 1852.
Their son Joseph Guy was born in Iberville Parish in October 1852 but
died at age 7 months the following May. In July 1860, the federal
census taker in Iberville Parish counted a single slave--a 38-year-old black
female--on Albert Allain's farm.
2b
Louis Sylvain married Clara E.,
daughter of Henri Knobloch and his Acadian wife Rosalie Guidry
of Lafourche Interior Parish, at the
Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in November 1851. They remained on Bayou Lafourche.
2c
During the War of 1861-65,
Ernest
served as a sergeant in Company E of the 4th Louisiana Infantry, so he, too, probably settled on
Bayou Lafourche.
2d
Victor
Amédée married Virginia Carmelite, daughter of Acadian Denis Daigre and
his Anglo-American wife Geneviève Buckner, "at" the Baton Rouge church,
East Baton Rouge Parish, in November 1863.
2e
After serving as first
sergeant of Company H of Ogden's Regiment Louisiana Cavalry, which fought in Louisiana and Mississippi, Faustin
Alcée, married Ernestine, daughter of fellow Acadian Gilbert Comeaux
his wife Adeline Gallaugher, at the Baton
Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in November 1865. F. Alcée,
as the recording priest called him, remarried to Léontine,
daughter of fellow Acadians Frédéric Arbour, fils and Adeleine
Daigre, at the Baton
Rouge church in June 1868. Their son
Frédéric Vincent was born near Baton Rouge in August 1870.
3
Simeon, born at St.-Gabriel in September
1797, died in Iberville Parish in June 1837, age 39, and
probably did not marry.
4
Jean-Julien, called Julien,
born at St.-Gabriel in June
1802, married Marie Alphonse Hortense, called Hortense, daughter of fellow Acadians Isaac LeBlanc
and Félicité Melançon, at
the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in March 1827. Their son Julien, fils was born in
Iberville Parish in October
1832, an infant son, name unrecorded, died in April 1835, and Alphonse
was born in August 1846 but died at age 15 months in December 1847.
Their daughter married into the Redditt family from Tennessee.
Julien, père died in Iberville Parish in August 1849; he was 47 years
old. In July 1860, the federal census taker in Iberville Parish
counted 3 slaves--a male and 2 females, all black, ages 35, 20, and 5--on
Hortense Allain's farm; this was Julien, père's widow, Hortense
LeBlanc.
Julien, fils married Marie Dina,
called Dina, daughter of Foreign Frenchman
François Dupuy and his wife Françoise Rose Desbains, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in September 1858.
Their son Antoine Arthur was born near Plaquemine in
May 1861, and Joseph Charles in February 1869. During the War of
1861-65, Julien,
fils served as first sergeant of Company D of the 27th Regiment
Louisiana Infantry, raised in Iberville Parish, which fought
at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
5
Youngest son Victor, or Victorin,
born
at St. Gabriel in April 1807, married Marie Françoise Aimée, called Marie Aimée
and Aimée, daughter of fellow Acadians Arsène Braud and Marie
Geneviève Daigre, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in June 1830. Their son Victorin,
fils was born in Iberville Parish in April 1834, and Simon Émile
in July 1839. Their daughters married into the Hébert, Landry, and
Rivière families. Victorin, père died in Iberville Parish in July 1845 and was buried in
St. Raphael's cemetery, age 38.
5a
Victorin, fils
married distant cousin Armina, daughter of Rosémond Lambremont and his
Acadian wife Clementine Braud, at the
St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in November 1856.
Their son Victorin Antoine was born in Iberville Parish in September
1857, Rosémond Nemours in July 1859, and twins Joseph Olivier
and Pierre Marcellin in August 1861. In July 1860, the federal
census taker in Iberville Parish counted a single slave--a 22-year-old black
female--on "Victorian" Allain's farm. During the War of
1861-65, Victorin,
fils served as a courier in Company I of the 2nd Regiment Louisiana
Cavalry, raised in Iberville Parish, which fought in
Louisiana. According to family tradition, he visited his home near Bayou Goula as often as he could and was nearly captured by Yankee patrols on at
least two of these visits.
5b
Simon Émile married Mary Josephine, daughter of Ulger Baugnon
and Lavinia Marionneaux, at the St. Gabriel church in November 1867.
Descendants of Pierre ALLAIN
III (c1764-c1790; Louis, Pierre)
Pierre III, youngest son of Pierre Allain,
fils and Catherine Hébert of Grand-Pré, born at Baltimore,
Maryland, in c1764, followed his parents to Louisiana in July 1767 and settled
with them at St.-Gabriel d'Iberville. He married Geneviève-Anne, called Anne,
daughter of fellow Acadians Amand-Paul Gautreaux and Marie
Landry, at nearby Ascension in
February 1786. Their children were born at St.-Gabriel.
Pierre III died by July 1792, when his wife remarried at St.-Gabriel; he would
have been in his late 20s.
1
Older son Pierre IV, born at
St.-Gabriel in
February 1787, died in St. Gabriel Parish March 1818, age 31, and
probably did not marry.
2
Younger son Pierre Landry,
called Landry, born at St.-Gabriel probably in the early 1790s, married fellow
Acadian Rosalie Templet, probably
in the early 1810s. Their son Célestin was born near Baton
Rouge in September 1813. Their daughters married into the Bourque
and Lejeune families. Landry remarried to Marie, daughter of
fellow Acadian Édouard Daigre and Marie Henry, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville
Parish, in June 1818. Their son Apollinaire was born in Iberville
parish in January 1822. Their daughter married into the Thibodeaux
family.
Célestin married Marie Constance, daughter of
fellow Acadian Joseph Braud and his Creole wife Jeanne Le
Tullier of West Baton Rouge Parish, probably in
West Baton Rouge Parish in March 1836. Their daughter married into the Tuillier
family. Célestin died in West Baton
Rouge Parish in September 1837, age 24. He fathered no sons,
so his line of the family may have died with him.
~
Other ALLAINs on the River
Area church records make it
difficult to link some Allains on the river with known Acadian
lines of the family there:
Pauline Allain
died near Baton Rouge, age 25, in October 1850. The priest who
recorded the burial did not give her parents' names or mention a husband.
Héloise Allain married
Anglo American John Ellsworth at the Pointe Coupee church, Pointe
Coupee Parish, in January 1869. The priest who recorded the marriage
did not give the couple's parents' names.
Marie Amelie Allain married
Anglo American Joseph Ellsworth at the Pointe Coupee church, Pointe
Coupee Parish, in January 1870. The priest who recorded the marriage
did not give the couple's parents' names. Was Joseph a
brother of John?
Célestine Allain married
French Creole Paul Ricard at the St. James church, St. James Parish,
in May 1870. The priest who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names.
LOUISIANA: LAFOURCHE VALLEY
SETTLEMENTS
An Acadian Allain from
Iberville Parish settled on Bayou Lafourche during the early 1850s, creating
a new center of family settlement:
Descendants of Louis Sylvain
ALLAIN (1827-1878; Louis, Pierre, Pierre, fils, Simon)
Louis Sylvain, also called L. S. and
Sylvain,
fourth son of Janvier Allain and Marie Elizabeth Boush of Iberville
Parish, born in Iberville Parish in February 1827, moved from the river to Lafourche Interior Parish when he came of
age. He married Clara E., daughter of Henri Knobloch and his
Acadian wife Rosalie Guidry, at the
Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in November 1851. In June 1860, the federal census taker in Ward 7,
Lafourche Parish, counted 7 slaves--3 males and 4 females, 5 blacks and 2
mulattoes, ranging in age from 38 years to 3 months, living in 1 house--on L.
S. Allain's farm. During the War of 1861-65, Louis
Sylvain served as a corporal in Company E of the 4th Regiment Louisiana
Infantry, raised in Lafourche Parish, which fought
in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. His younger brother Simon Ernest
also served in that company. Louis Sylvain may have remarried to Amanda,
daughter of Louis Bush and Hélène Hamilton, at the Thibodaux church in January 1866; she
would have been his maternal aunt! Louis Sylvain died in Lafourche Parish in 1878,
age 51.
1
Older son Louis Hamilton, by his
father's first
wife, was born in Lafourche Parish in February 1860.
2
Ernest, by his father's second wife,
was born near Baton Rouge in October 1869.
~
Other ALLAINs in the
Lafourche/Terrebonne Valley
Area church and civil records make
it difficult to link a few Allains in the Bayou Lafourche/Bayou
Terrebonne valley with known Acadian lines of the family there:
Marie Cecelia, daughter of
Célestina Allain, was born in Assumption Parish in July
1855. The Plattenville priest who baptized the girl the following
October did not give the father's name.
Rebecca Allain married
Anglo American Joshua Stewart in a civil ceremony in Terrebonne
Parish in March 1870. The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did
not give the couple's parents' names.
NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA
The Allains of Acadia were not the only, nor the first, Allains to come to Louisiana. Others came decades
before them and lived at Old Biloxi, Old Mobile, and New Orleans during the colonial period:
Pierre Allain
or Alain, a Canadien who came to Louisiana with Iberville, was on the roll of the first recruits at
Fort Maurepas, Biloxi, dated 25 August
1699, so he was among the very first "settlers" of French Louisiana.
He worked as a taillandier or edge-tool maker in the colony and married Marie-Catherine
Philippe, one of the "Pélican girls" from France, at Old
Mobile, then part of French Louisiana, in the early 1700s. Their
daughter Marie was born in late August 1709 but died soon after her birth.
"For the 1724-1725 winter expedition from New
Orleans to this rich lowland [on the St. Francis River of Arkansas],
Guillaume Allain hired himself to an experienced Canadian hunter
named Sieur Lefebvre. His wages consisted of 200 francs cash, forty
pounds of tallow, fifty pounds of meat, four pots of bear grease, and half
of the pecans that he could gather. When he fell sick on the journey
and replaced himself with François Le Moyne, however, Allain's
employer refused to pay the terms of their agreement."
A 35-year-old Alain, first name
unrecorded, native of Plouvaux, Brittany, France, died in the "hospital
for the poor" at New Orleans in January 1773.
A "very young child," son of Baliriano Alain
and Céleste Dural, "residents of this city," died at New Orleans in
April 1803.
.
A prominent Allain family came to the colony
several decades before Pierre Allain, fils
of Grand-Pré arrived from Maryland in 1767. These French-Creole Allains
settled at
Pointe Coupée and Baton Rouge, not far from
where their Acadian namesakes would put down roots.
Descendants of Jean-François
ALLAIN, fils (c1703-1782)
Jean-François, fils, born
in c1703, son of Jean-François Allain,
pére and Marie Certain of La Tortinière, Touraine, France, came
to Louisiana by July 1738, when he married Marie-Augustine Aussy or Haussy,
widow of Antoine Anotiaux,
at Pointe Coupée. Most of their children were born at Pointe Coupée.
Their daughters married into the Avert, Gerard, and Trenonay
families. In late 1769, Spanish Governor Ulloa appointed Jean-Francois, fils
as commandant of the Pointe Coupée District and captain of the district's
militia; sons Jean-Francois III and Augustin served as militia lieutenants before
also becoming captains. Jean-Francois, fils
died at Pointe Coupée in April 1782, age 79. He received the signal honor of being buried inside the
church, near the baptismal font, of St.-Francois of Pointe Coupée. Only
his two older sons survived childhood, but they married and had sons of
their own who perpetuated this line of the family. One line
remained in Pointe Coupee Parish, while the other line settled just downriver in
West Baton Rouge Parish, where several of its members owned large plantations
during the antebellum period.
1
Oldest son Jean-François III, called François
or Fois, born at Pointe Coupée in March 1739, married Marie-Françoise,
also called
Anne, daughter of Pierre Ricard, at Pointe Coupée in October 1761. Their
son Pierre was born at Pointe Coupée in September 1762, Zenon,
also called Zeno, was
baptized at Pointe Coupée in December 1775, and Sosthène
was born in January 1792. Their
daughters married into the Allain, Dubroca, Morgan, and Patin
families; one daughter married an Allain first cousin!
François, called Fois by the priest who recorded his burial, died at Pointe Coupée in November 1805,
age 67.
1a
Pierre married French Creole Marie Pauline Duplessis probably early in the 1800s. Their son Fergus Duplessis
was born in East Baton Rouge Parish in October 1808, and Pierre Théophile,
called Théophile, in June 1810. Their daughters married into the Lobdell
and Verret families.
Pierre Théophile, called Théophile, married Aspasie, daughter of French Creole Joseph LeBlanc
de Villeneuve, in a civil
ceremony probably in West Baton Rouge Parish in the late 1830s. Their
son Villeneuve François was born in West Baton Rouge Parish in
October 1838, Alexandre Pierre in March 1844, Daniel Albeo,
called Albeo, in July 1848 but died at age 4 in April 1853, daughter
Marie Lise born in October 1848[sic], Olivia baptized at the Pointe
Coupee church, age 4 months, in May 1852, son Pierre
Théophile, fils born near Brusly, West Baton Rouge Parish, in November 1854, and Charles
James in October 1855. Their daughter married into the Freret
family. In August 1850, the federal census taker in West Baton Rouge
Parish counted 39 slaves, ranging in age from
60 to 2, on Théophile Allain's plantation.
During the War of 1861-65, Villeneuve
François served in the 5th Company of the Washington Battalion Louisiana
Artillery, raised in New Orleans, which fought in
Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, and Alabama.
During the War of 1861-65, Alexandre
Pierre served in the same unit as older brother Villeneuve.
Fergus married cousin Adèle, daughter of Étienne Grandpré, at the
Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in April 1838; Adèle's mother was
a daughter of Paulin Allain; they had to secure a dispensation
for third degree of consanguinity in order to marry. Their
son Jules Duplessis was born near Brusly, West Baton Rouge Parish, in October 1845, Henry
Fergus near Baton Rouge in March 1848, and Guillaume Louis near
Brusly in December 1856. In August 1850, the federal census taker in
West Baton Rouge Parish counted 12 slaves--6 males and 6
females, all black, ranging in age from 80 to 2--on Furgus Allain's
farm. In July 1860, the federal census taker in West Baton Rouge Parish counted 22 slaves, ranging in age from 60 to 3, living in 8
houses, on P. Fergus N. Allain's plantation. The same census
taker counted 18 more slaves--ranging in age
from 60 years to 4 months, living in 8 houses--on Fergus Allain's
farm.
1b
Zénon married Félicité, daughter of French Creole
Alexandre Coussotte of New Orleans, at the Baton Rouge church, East
Baton Rouge Parish, in November 1810, and remarried to Marie
Adélaïde, daughter of Louis Charles L'Oiseau and widow of Jean Jacqueneau
of Haiti, at the Baton Rouge church in May 1815. Their son Zénon,
fils was born probably in West Baton Rouge Parish in June 1816.
They may have had a son named François Ricard, born in c1817. Zénon, père died probably in West Baton Rouge Parish in June 1856,
age 80.
Zénon, fils married Marie Evelina
or Eveline, called Evelina, daughter of Acadian Magloire LeBlanc, at the Baton Rouge church,
East Baton Rouge Parish, in August 1835. Their
son François Edgar was born probably in West Baton Rouge Parish in
April 1838, Louis Adolphe was baptized at the Baton Rouge church, age
4 months, in January 1840, twins Augustin and Augustine were born near Brusly, West Baton Rouge Parish, in March
1842, Félix Adam Sauveur in February 1848, and Camille Octave in
November 1849. Their daughter married into the Bernard du Montier
(French Creole, not Acadian)
family. In August 1850, the federal census taker in West Baton Rouge
Parish counted a single
slave--a 50-year-old black male--on Zénon Allain's farm; this was
probably Zénon,
fils, whose farm was next to his father-in-law Magloi LeBlanc's
farm, which held only 2 slaves. Zénon, fils remarried to
Zéolide, daughter of Augustin Seguin and his Acadian wife Marie Rose
Longuépée, at the Brusly church in May
1854, and remarried again--his third marriage--to Augustine, another daughter of Augustin Seguin
and Marie Rose Longuépée, at the Brusly church in April
1857.
Augustin
married first cousin Marie Ludivine or Udivine, daughter of French Creole Agricole Bernard du Montier, at
the Brusly church, West Baton Rouge Parish, in February 1866; Ludivine's
mother was Augustin's paternal aunt, Augustine Allain, so they
had to secure a dispensation for second degree of consanguinity in order
to marry. Their son Augustin Louis was born near Brusly in
September 1870.
Camille Octave married Acadian
Joséphine Emérante Landry. Their son Arture Emil,
probably Arthur Camille, was born near Brusly, West Baton Rouge
Parish, in November 1870.
François Ricard married Pauline Lofiton,
probably at Baton Rouge in the 1830s.
Their son Pierre Émile was born near Brusly, West Baton Rouge
Parish, in April 1847. Their daughter married into the Dubroca
family. In August 1850, the federal census taker in West Baton Rouge
Parish counted 6 slaves--all females, 5 blacks and 1 mulatto, ranging in age from 44 to
14--on F. R. Allain's farm; this was François Ricard. In July
1860, the federal census taker in West Baton Rouge Parish counted 13 slaves, ranging in age from 50 to 2, living in 6 houses, on Francois Allain's
farm. François Ricard may have died in West Baton Rouge Parish in November
1867; the priest who recorded his burial noted that François was about age 60
when he died.
1c
Sosthène married Delina Decuir probably in the 1820s. Their son Evariste was born probably
in West Baton Rouge Parish in the 1820s. In
August 1850, the federal census taker in West Baton Rouge Parish counted 113
slaves, ranging in age from 65 to infancy, on Sosthène Allain's
plantation. In July 1860, the federal census taker in West Baton
Rouge Parish counted 158 slaves, ranging in age from 80 years to 2 months,
living in 30 houses, on Sosthène Allain's plantation.
Evariste married Apolline, Dellina, or Pauline, daughter of Thomas Giddens
or Guidene,
at the Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in September 1844. Their son Paul
Telesphore was born near Baton Rouge in June 1845, and Hippolyte
was baptized at the Baton Rouge church at age 2 months in April 1848. Evariste remarried to Adeline Céleste, daughter of Jean Jacques L'Official,
at the Baton Rouge church in July 1853. Their son Prosper was
born near Baton Rouge in January 1855 but died at age 3 1/2 in July 1858, and Joseph
Levinsky, also called Evariste, was born in October 1856 but
died at age 18 months in March 1858. Evariste, in his 40s, remarried again--his third
marriage--to
Mary P. Bird at the Baton Rouge church, or at least by a Baton Rouge
priest, in July 1863. Their son Joseph
Sosthène
was born near Baton Rouge in November 1864.
2
Augustin, born in September 1742, married Charlotte Julie, another daughter of Pierre Ricard, at Pointe
Coupée in April 1766. Their son Victorin was born at Pointe Coupée in December 1768 but died at age 8 in September 1776, Augustin-Paulin-Florentin,
called Paulin, was born in September 1773, Valérien in November
1775, Evariste in December 1777 but died in June 1778, Terence
was born in February 1788, an infant son, name and age unrecorded, died in October
1789, and Sosthène was born in November 1792. They also had a son
named François le jeune. Their daughters
married into the LeBlanc de Villeneuve (French Creole, not Acadian), Hopkins, and Perrin families.
Augustin died in Pointe Coupee Parish in November 1808, age 65.
2a
Paulin married first cousin
Hedwige, daughter of
his uncle Francois Allain, at Pointe Coupée in October 1793.
Their son Valérien le jeune was born at Pointe Coupée in October 1794,
and they may have had a son name Valéry born in c1798. Their daughters married into the Grandpré
and Patin families. Paulin died in Pointe Coupee Parish in October 1812,
age 39.
Valérien le jeune died near Baton Rouge in
October 1859, age 65. He may not have married.
Valéry, perhaps their son, died in Pointe
Coupee Parish in July 1843, age 45. One wonders if he married.
2b
Valérien married Céleste or Célestine, daughter of
Frenchman Martin Duralde of Cambo-les-Bains,
France, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in July 1798;
Céleste was a native of St.-Louis, Illinois, now Missouri. Their son
Valérien,
fils was born at Atakapas, later St. Martin Parish, in October 1799, a son, a "very young
child," name unrecorded, was buried at New Orleans in April 1803,
and Angel died in East Baton Rouge Parish at age 18 months in August
1813. Their daughter married into the Dubroca family.
Valérien remarried to Helen Asure probably at Baton Rouge in the late
1810s.
Their child, name and age unrecorded, perhaps a son, died in August 1823.
Valérien, père died in
France in August 1844 and was buried at Baton Rouge the following November;
the priest who recorded his burial noted that Valérien died "at a
very advanced age," age 68.
Valérien, fils married Brigitte Decuir, place and date
unrecorded. Their daughter married into the Thomas family.
Valérien, fils died in Pointe Coupee Parish in July 1843, age 44.
He probably fathered no sons.
2c
François le jeune married Perrine Louis probably in Pointe Coupee Parish in
the 1800s or 1810s. Their son François, fils was born in Pointe
Coupee Parish in c1815, and Preval François also in the 1810s. In September 1850, the
federal census taker in Pointe Coupee Parish counted 6 slaves--4 males and 2
females, all black, ranging in age from 55 to 1--on François Allain's
farm. In
July 1860, the federal census taker in Pointe Coupee Parish counted 5
slaves--3 males and 2 females, all black, ranging in age from 48 to 5--on
François Allain's farm.
Preval François married Caroline Dormeneau
in a civil ceremony probably in Pointe Coupee Parish in the early 1830s.
Their son François Preval was born in Pointe Coupee Parish in July
1835, Joseph Albert in January 1838 but died at age 6 in December 1843,
a child, name unrecorded, died 2 days after
its birth in October 1845, Joinville
was born in c1846 but died at age 4 in August 1850.
François, fils
married Eugénie, daughter of François Honoré, in a civil ceremony in
Pointe Coupee Parish in December 1835, and sanctified their marriage at the
Pointe Coupee church, Pointe Coupee Parish, in April 1862 . Their son François Alceste was born in
Pointe Coupee Parish in March 1837, and Hubert in November 1842. François, fils died in Pointe Coupee Parish in May 1865, but his burial
services were not held until December 1866; the priest who recorded his burial
noted that François was about age 50 when he died.
Hubert married Virginie, daughter of Jean Baptiste
Tounoir, at the Pointe Coupee church, Pointe Coupee Parish, in May 1866. Their son François
Arthur was born in Pointe Coupee Parish in February 1867, and Joseph
in March 1869.
2d
Sosthène married cousin Azélie Allain probably
in Pointe Coupee Parish in the 1820s. Azélie died near Baton
Rouge, age 50, in July 1863. Was her death war-related?
2e
Terence died in Pointe
Coupee Parish in May 1858. The priest who recorded his burial said that
Terence was age 48 when he died, but he may have been 70 and still a
bachelor.
3
Pierre-Joachim, born at New Orleans in
December 1750, died in Pointe Coupée at age 4 in September
1754.
4
Youngest son René-Francois, born at
Pointe Coupée in November 1755, died at age 5 months in May
1756.
.
During the antebellum period, Allains
from river parishes probably were descendants of Jean-Francois, fils,
but church and civil records obscure the relationship:
Césaire, fils, son of
Césaire Allain, père, whose surname also was spelled Holenne, Olengue,
and Olin, from Pointe Coupee,
married Azélie, called Zélie, daughter of French Creole Joseph Bergeron, at the Grand
Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in December 1831. Césaire, fils
died by January 1839, when his succession was filed at the Opelousas
courthouse.
Joseph Preval Allain
died in Pointe Coupee Parish, age 7, in December 1843. The priest
who recorded the boy's burial did not include the parents' names.
Édouard, also called Maximilien, Allain
married Célanie or Cydalise Barras probably
was in Pointe Coupee Parish in the 1840s. Their son Édouard, fils
was born in Pointe Coupee Parish in November 1848, and Valantine,
perhaps a son, was baptized at the Pointe Coupee church, age 10 months, in May
1856.
Hélène, daughter of Joseph Allain
and Désirée Marie Marthe, married Laurans, son of William Julien, at the Pointe Coupee
church, Pointe Coupee Parish, in June 1859.
Marie Georgina
Allain gave birth to son Victor Adonis in Pointe Coupee Parish in c1859. The priest who recorded
the boy's
baptism in February 1867 did not give the father's name or the mother's
parents' names.
Louisa Allain
died near Baton Rouge, age 17, in May 1860. The priest who recorded
her burial did not give her parents' names.
Auguste Allain married
Cornelie Lilles, place and date unrecorded, and settled near Plaquemine, Iberville Parish, by the
mid-1860s.
Héloise Allain
married John Ellsworth at the Pointe Coupee church in
January 1869. The priest who recorded the marriage did not give any
parents' names.
Marie Amélie Allain
married Joseph Ellsworth at the Pointe Coupee church in
January 1870. The priest who recorded the marriage did not give any
parents' names.
~
Other Allains who lived in
South Louisiana during the antebellum and immediate post-war periods cannot be linked
by church and civil records to either
the French-Creole or Acadian branches of the family:
Jean Allain died in Ascension Parish in October 1841.
The Donaldsonville priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that Jean died at "age
58 yrs."
Charles LaClair Allain or Alin married Catherine Bethune,
place and date unrecorded. Their son Joseph William was born near Charenton, St.
Mary Parish, in August 1850, and Daniel Thomas in March
1860.
Joseph, son of Joseph Allain
and Claire Carlin, married Louise, daughter of Antoine Mendoza,
at the Charenton church, St. Mary Parish, in April 1850.
In July 1850, the federal census taker in Ward 4,
Municipality 1, Orleans Parish, counted a single slave--a 15-year-old male mulatto--in V. Allain's
household
In August 1850, the federal
census taker in Ward 3, Municipality 1, Orleans Parish, counted 8 slaves--2
males and 6 females, 5 blacks and 3 mulattoes, ranging in age from 60 to 4--in
V. Allain's household. The census taker in Ward 5 of the same
municipality counted a single slave--a black female, age 31--in Valery Allain's
household.
In August 1850, the federal census taker in St. Charles Parish
counted 9 slaves--1 male and 8 females, 2 blacks and 7 mulattoes, ranging in
age from 40 years to 1 month--on Dr. P. Allain's farm.
In September 1850, the census taker
in Ward 7, Municipality 1, Orleans Parish, counted 3 slaves--a male and 2 females, all
mulattoes, ages 33, 6, & 3--in a Widow Allain's household, and 5 slaves--2
males and 3 females, 3 blacks and 2 mulattoes, ranging in age from 40 to 4--in
another Widow Allain's household.
In June
1860, the federal census taker in New Orleans's Ward 4 counted 5 slaves--1
male and 4 females, ranging in age from 48 to 17, both of whom had run
away--owned by Rosine Allain. The federal census taker in the
city's Ward 6 counted 2 slaves--both female, both mulatto, ages 4 & 1--in
Augustin Allain's household, 3 slaves--2 females, 1 male, all black,
ages 50, 17, and 6--in D. Allain's household, a single mulatto female
slave, age 18, who had run away, owned by Marek Allain, and 6 slaves--2
males and 4 females, all mulatto, ranging in age from 60 to 6, all of whom had
run away--owned by V. Allain.
Hélène Alain gave birth to
son Timoléon Marie near Eunice, St. Landry Parish, in December 1870.
~
Other Allains who lived in
South Louisiana during the antebellum were a result of the family's
participation in the South's peculiar institution:
Marie Louise Allain of Pointe
Coupée, a quarte libre, daughter of Marie-Anne Duchesne,
married Hildervert Le Melle, also a quarte libre, at Opelousas
in July 1802.
Augustin Allain freed François, a mulatto slave,
"for his
services" in September 1803; François was age 36. By 1819, François himself
had become a slave holder. In that year, he sued Colonel Robert Young
in a Feliciana Parish court for "illegally and wrongfully" killing
the 30-year-old male "griffe" Regis, of whom, according to the court record, François was "the true
and sole owner." François asked for $2,000 in compensation for his loss. François lost
the suit and appealed the ruling, but lost the appeal as well. François
married Josine Doumamelle, place and date unrecorded. Their son Jean married quatre
libre Calixte, daughter of Jean Baptiste Guillory, at the
Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in January 1811. Jean and Calixte's
daughters married into
the Frette or Verret and Renin families. Jean and Calixte's son Auguste
Jean married Elisa or Élizabeth, daughter of Louis Ardoin,
Jardoin, or Jodouin, at the Opelousas church in June 1842.
Their daughters married into the Guillory and Gaubert families. Jean and Calixte's son Aurelien
married cousin Marie
Anne, daughter of Evarsite Guillory and Nancy Ford, at
the Opelousas church in August 1845. Their son Aurelien, fils
married double cousin Marceline Guillory at the Opelousas church in January 1867.
Meanwhile, in November 1850, the federal census taker in St. Landry Parish
counted 5 slaves--1 male and 4 females, all blacks, ranging in age from 62 to
1--on the Widow Jean Allain's farm; this was Calixte Guillory.
Adrien, son of Jean
Alain and Léonore Guillory, was born in St.
Landry Parish in May 1856. Were they members of the
Allain/Guillory clan of that parish?
Mary Fanny, daughter of Joe
Allain and Célestine ____, was born "at Louis
Hébert's" near Baton Rouge in October 1858 and died there at age
4 months in March 1859.
CONCLUSION
When a family of Acadian Allains from
Grand-Pré came to Louisiana from Maryland in July 1767, an Allain
family was well established in Pointe Coupée, a French-Creole enclave on the river above New Orleans. Jean-François Allain, fils
of Touraine, France, was appointed commandant of the Pointe Coupée District
in February 1770. His two older sons, Jean-François
III and Augustin, who married sisters from the prominent Ricard
family, also served as officers in the Pointe Coupée militia.
Jean-François III and Augustin went on to create sturdy branches of their
family tree. Jean-François III's sons moved downriver to West Baton
Rouge Parish, while Augustin's sons remained in Pointe Coupee Parish.
Jean-François III's youngest son, Sosthène, held 113 slaves on his West Baton
Rouge Parish plantation in 1850. Ten years later, the federal census
taker counted 158 slaves in 30 houses on Sosthène's holdings in the
parish. Two of Jean-François III's grandsons also owned dozens of slaves
on their West Baton Rouge plantations in the decade before the War of 1861. Augustin's sons and grandsons owned only a hand full of slaves
on their humble Pointe Coupee farms.
The Acadian Allains who arrived in 1767
settled at San Gabriel, downriver from Pointe Coupée, in what became
Iberville Parish. Pierre Allain, fils and his wife,
Catherine Hébert, brought five children with them from Maryland--two
daughters and three sons. Like his Pointe Coupée namesake, Pierre, fils
of Grand-Pré was a shaker and a mover in his community. A dozen years
after British forces attempted to destroy all vestiges of Acadian life in Nova
Scotia, Pierre, fils still carried with him two of the precious Grand-Pré
church registers, which the Acadians gave to the San Gabriel priest. All
three of Pierre, fils's sons created
families of their own, but only the lines of his two older sons survived the test of time; the line of the youngest
son seems to have ended in the late 1830s.
With few exceptions, Pierre, fils's
grandsons remained in Iberville Parish, on both sides of the river. On
the eve of the War of 1861-65, one of his grandsons held 18
slaves. Other grandsons owned fewer slaves on their humble Iberville
farms. Two grandsons moved upriver to the Baton Rouge area. Two
more left the river and moved to Bayou Lafourche,
where one of them held seven slaves on the eve of the war. Many members
of the family, however, held no slaves at all.
At least 20 members of both the French-Creole and
Acadian branches of the Allain family served Louisiana in uniform during the War
of 1861-65. None of them served as
officers, but a number of them were corporals and sergeants. Two great-grandsons of Pierre, fils the Acadian served as first sergeants of
their companies, one while still in his teens. Extant
military records show that all of the Allains in the Confederate army survived the
war.
The war took a terrible toll on
the families' economic standing. Even before Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation
went into effect in January 1863, Federal commands controlling the lower
Mississippi freed the slaves on every plantation their forces could reach. This included the Allain holdings in West Baton
Rouge and Iberville parishes. Union gunboats shelled and burned
dozens of plantation houses along the river. Successive Federal
incursions in the Bayou Lafourche valley devastated that region, and
Confederate foragers also plagued the area when the Federals were not
around. ...
The family's name also is spelled Alain, Alin,
Aling. The Acadian and French-Creole Allains should not be confused with the Anglo-American Allens
who lived in their communities. [See
Book Ten
for the Acadian family's Louisiana "begats"]
Sources: 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave
Schedules, Iberville, Orleans, Pointe Coupee, & West Baton Rouge parishes; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules,
Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Lafourche, Orleans, Pointe Coupee, & West
Baton Rouge parishes; Arsenault, Généalogie, 391,
1081-86, 1535-38, 1997, 2054, 2401; BRDR, vols. 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5(rev.), 6,
7, 8, 9, 10, 11; De La Roque, "Tour of Inspection," Canadian Archives 1905,
2A:88; Fortier, Louisiana, 1:53; Harrison
Thomas LaTour Genealogical Collection; Hébert,
D., South LA Records, vols. 3, 4; Hébert,
D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A, 1-B, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9;
Higginbotham, Old Mobile, 365, 382, 390; Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 158;
Kinnaird, "The Revolutionary Period, 1765-81," 157,
159;
NOAR, vols. 1, 2, 3, 7; "Ristigouche, 24 Oct 1760; "Usner, Lower Miss. Valley before 1783,
174-75, source of quotation; White, DGFA-1, 12-14; White,
DGFA-1 English, 3-4.