APPENDICES

Acadians Who Found Refuge in Louisiana, February 1764-early 1800s

DUBOIS

[doo-BWAH, DOO-bwah]

ACADIA

Dubois is a common surname in France, so it is no wonder that a  number of Dubois families lived in greater Acadia before Le Grand Dérangement:  

Julien Dubois dit Voyer, born in c1658, married Marie Deschamps at Port-Royal in c1687.  They had two children.  Their son Joseph, born at Port-Royal in c1688, did not live long enough to start a family of his own.  In 1701, Julien dit Voyer, his wife, and two children were living on Rivière-de-l'Ascension in the Minas area.  By 1714, they had moved up to Pigiguit; both of their children were dead by then.  

~

Jean Dubois, probably no kin to Julien, married Marie, daughter of Jean Bourg, at Port-Royal in c1690.  Jean died three years later, before he fathered any children.  Marie remarried to Charles Robichaux dit Cadet, a widower, at Port-Royal in June 1703.

~

Francois Dubois, a master tailor born at Dinan, Brittany, France, probably no kin to the other Duboiss, married Marguerite, daughter of Francois Dufaux of Plaisance, Newfoundland, probably at Plaisance in c1710.  They had two children, including a son, Francois, fils, who did not survive to create a family of his own.  Francois, père died by 1716, when Marguerite remarried to Francois Dardy dit Chaufournier.  In January 1733, Marguerite remarried again--her third marriage--to Jean Simonet dit Berry at Louisbourg on Île Royale, today's Cape Breton Island.

~

Jean Dubois, probably unrelated to the other Duboiss, born in France in c1700, reached Acadia by 1721, the year he married Anne, daughter of Michel Vincent, at Grand-Pré.  They settled on the Petitcoudiac and had at least eight children, including a son, Honoré, born probably at Petitcoudiac in c1739, who married Marthe, daughter of Charles Bélanger, at L'Islet, Québec, in May 1764 during Le Grand Dérangement.

~

Didier, a gardener, son of Nicolas Dubois and Marie Primeau of Bénon, La Rochelle, France, born in c1699, married Jeanne, daughter of Francois Abelin, at Port-Lajoie, Île St.-Jean, today's Prince Edward Island, in July 1722.  Didier was probably no kin to the other Duboiss of Acadia.  He left no record of having fathered any children.  

~

Alexis-Bertrand, son of Alexis-Guillaume Dubois and Jeanne-Marguerite LaFontaine Gaillard of St.-Malo, France, born in c1744, married Marguerite Lacroix on Île St.-Pierre, an island off the southern coast of Newfoundland, in July 1771.  His relationship to the other Duboiss of greater Acadia is anyone's guess.

~

Jean-Baptiste dit Dumont, son of René Dubois, a carpenter, was born at Montréal between 1683 and 1688.  He married Marie, daughter of Acadian André Simon dit Boucher, at Port-Royal in May 1710.  They moved to Minas, where Jean-Baptiste died at Grand-Pré in November 1713, in his late 20s.  Jean-Baptiste dit Dumont and Marie had two children, including a son, Joseph dit Dumont, born at Port-Royal in March 1712.  Joseph dit Dumont married Marie-Madeleine, daughter of Jean-Baptiste Vecot, at St.-Pierre-du-Nord, Île St.-Jean, in February 1739.  Joseph dit Dumont chose as his surname not Dubois but his father's dit, Dumont.  His daughter Hélène, who came to Louisiana in July 1785 aboard one of the Seven Ships from France, called herself a Dumont, not a Dubois.  

~

Joseph Dubois, a seaman, born in c1725, married Anne Michel in 1756, perhaps on one of the Maritime islands.  

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

Le Grand Dérangement of the 1750s scattered the Duboiss of greater Acadia to the winds. ...

LOUISIANA:  RIVER SETTLEMENTS

The two Acadian Duboiss who made it to Louisiana came as exiles from France in 1785 on two of the Seven Ships.  Like all known passengers on the Seven Ships expedition, they are listed on the Wall of Names at the Acadian Memorial in St. Martinville, Louisiana.  This researcher, however, has not been able to link either of them to a Dubois family in Acadia:

Marguerite-Ange Dubois, age 31, widow of Jean Daigle, came to Louisiana aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships from France, with son Jean-Louis, age 10.  They followed the majority of their fellow passengers to Baton Rouge, where Marguerite-Ange remarried to fellow Acadian Charles Granger in the late 1780s.  In January 1792, Marguerite-Ange remarried again--her third marriage--to fellow Acadian Marin Gautreaux, widow of Gertrude Bourg, at Ascension, below Baton Rouge.  By the mid-1790s, they had moved to the upper Bayou Lafourche valley.  

Jacques-Olivier Dubois, age 20, a sailor, came to Louisiana aboard L'Amitié, the fifth of the Seven Ships, in November 1785 with his mother, stepfather, and a stepbrother.  Within days of Jacques-Olivier's arrival, he married Marie-Madeleine, daughter of fellow exile from France Joseph-Francois Michel, at New Orleans  Jacques-Olivier and Marie settled at Ascension with his mother and stepfather.  By the late 1790s, Jacques and Marie also had moved to upper Bayou Lafourche.  

LOUISIANA:  LAFOURCHE VALLEY SETTLEMENTS

During the late 1780s and early1790s, Spanish officials were counting Acadian Duboiss on upper Bayou Lafourche:

Marguerite-Ange Dubois, widow of Marin Gautreaux, died in Assumption Parish in June 1817, age 60.  

Descendants of Jacques-Olivier DUBOIS (1766-?)

Jacques-Olivier, called Jaco or Jacos, son of Olivier Dubois and Marguerite Vallois, was born at Cherbourg, France, in January 1766.  His mother was French, not Acadian.  After his father died, his mother remarried to Acadian Étienne Térriot and then to Acadian Zacharie Boudrot of Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit at St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, a suburb of Nantes, France, in September 1782.  Jacques-Olivier followed his mother and stepfather, along with a younger stepbrother, to Louisiana aboard L'Amitié, the fifth of the Seven Ships, in 1785.  He married Marie-Madeleine, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph-Francois Michel, at New Orleans in late November 1785, soon after he reached the colony.  Marie was a native of St.-Servan, near St.-Malo, and had come to Louisiana aboard Le St.-Rémi, the fourth of the Seven Ships, with her widowed mother and a sister; Jacques may have known her in France, or perhaps they met in New Orleans soon after he reached the city.  They followed their families to Ascension, where Spanish officials counted them on the right, or west, bank of the river in 1788 and 1791; they probably lived on upper Bayou Lafourche.  They must have lived for a time in New Orleans, where two of their children were baptized in the early 1790s, before settling on upper Bayou Lafourche.  Their daughter married into the Pinel family.  Their three youngest sons moved to the western prairies in the 1820s; his older sons remained on the Lafourche.  

1

Oldest son Joseph, baptized at Ascension, age unrecorded, in December 1788, married Marguerite Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Boudreaux and widow of Guillaume Aucoin, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in May 1810.  Their son Prudent Théodule was born in Assumption Parish in April 1812, and Antoine Valéry in October 1816. 

Prudent died in Lafourche Interior Parish in June 1833.  He was 21 years old and did not marry.  

2

Louis-André, born probably at Ascension in c1791, married Ursule, daughter of fellow Acadian Charles Henry and widow of Jean Constant Boudreaux, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in January 1813.  Their daughter married into the Hébert family.  Louis-André remarried to Anastasie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Thibodeaux, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in August 1823.  Their son Louis Landry was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in June 1828, Olivier Leufroi in September 1830, a 2-year-old child, perhaps Olivier, died in Assumption Parish in September 1833, Sylvain was born in c1832, and Zephirin or Zephir Théodule in August 1833.  In December 1827, Louis André sold land in Terrebonne Parish to the widow of Governor Henry Schuyler Thibodaux.  Louis André died in Assumption Parish in May 1834; the priest who recorded his burial said that Louis was 46 years old when he died, but he was closer to 43.  

2a

Sylvain, by his second wife, died in Lafourche Parish in August 1853.  He was only 21 years old and did not marry.  

2b

Zephir, by his second wife, married Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Boudreaux, at the Thibodeaux church, Lafourche Parish, in May 1855.  Their son Louis Valfroi was born near Labadieville, Assumption Parish, in July 1856 but died the following November.  Zephir remarried to Adeline, daughter of French Creole Édouard Pelletier, at the Labadieville church in September 1858.  During the War Between the States, Zephir may have served in Company C of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in Assumption Parish that fought gallantly at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Zephir remarried again--his third marriage--to Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Zephirin Hébert, at the Labadieville church in January 1865.  

3

Joseph-Antoine, called Antoine, born in September 1792 perhaps at Ascension and baptized at New Orleans the following November, married Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Michel Aucoin, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in February 1822.  Their son Zenon Joseph was born in Assumption Parish in March 1826, and Zenon Zedéon in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1836.  Their daughters married into the Arceneaux and Dubois families. 

During the War Between the States, the younger Zenon served in Company B of the 1st Regiment Louisiana Heavy Artillery, a front-line unit that included many conscripts from Assumption Parish, including Zenon.  The experience proved fatal.  He died at Vicksburg, Mississippi, in April 1863.  

4

Narcisse-Olivier, called Olivier, born at Assumption in February 1798, married Rosalie, daughter of fellow Acadian Francois Jean Thibodeaux, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in August 1819.  They lived for a time on the western prairies but returned to the Lafourche.  Their son Frédéric was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 8 months, in August 1828, Aurelien Florentin was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in August 1831, Ulysse Noël in December 1836, Drosin Zephyr in December 1840, and Jean Baptiste in May 1843.  They also had a son named Fergus O. born probably in the early 1820s.  Their daughters married into the Darce, Hébert, and Trahan families. 

4a

Fergus's succession inventory was filed at the Houma courthouse, Terrebonne Parish, in January 1846.  Judging by the names of his heirs--his father and two sisters--he probably did not marry.  

4b

Aurelien married married first cousin Melasie, daughter of his uncle Antoine Dubois, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in August 1853.  Their son Joseph Aurelius was born in Assumption Parish in May 1854, and Sylvere Patrice in March 1857.  During the War Between the States, Aurelien served in Company C of the 1st Regiment Louisiana Heavy Artillery, a front-line unit that included many conscripts from Assumption Parish, including Aurelien.  The experience proved fatal.  He died at City Hospital, Vicksburg, Mississippi, in February 1863.  

4c

Ulysse married Mathilde, daughter of French Creole Romaine LeBoeuf of Terrebonne Parish, at the Houma church, Terrebonne Parish, in April 1861; Mathilde's mother was an Hébert.  They settled near Chacahoula after the War Between the States.  

4d

Jean Baptiste married Osceana or Otiana, daughter of fellow Acadian Auguste LeBlanc of Lafourche Parish, at the Houma church, Terrebonne Parish, in October 1863.  During the War Between the States, Jean Baptiste served in Company F of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in Terrebonne Parish that fought gallantly at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  

5

Paul was born in February 1800 perhaps at Assumption and baptized at New Orleans the following May.  His succession inventory was filed at the Houma courthouse, Terrebonne Parish, in January 1846; he would have been 46 years old that year; his succession record was filed at the Houma courthouse in May 1847.  Judging by the names of his heirs--a brother and a niece--he probably did not marry.  

6

Marcellin, born at Assumption in August 1801, followed his brothers to Lafayette Parish and married Elise, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Mire, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in February 1825.  They settled in Lafayette Parish.

7

Sylvain Célestin, born at Assumption in September 1805, followed his older brothers to Lafayette Parish, where he married Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Dugas, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in October 1826.  They settled in Lafayette Parish.  

8

Youngest son Hubert Zenon, called Zenon, born in Assumption Parish in the early 1810s, followed his older brothers to Lafayette Parish, where he married Euphémie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Pierre Landry, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in March 1827.  They settled in Lafayette Parish before moving to lower Bayou Teche.  

Other DUBOISs in the Lafourche Valley

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link at least one Dubois in Lafourche/Terrebonne valley with known family lines in the area:

Louis Dubois married Acadian Adele Guidry.  Their daughter married into the Naquin family in 1861.  

LOUISIANA:  WESTERN SETTLEMENTS

In the 1820s, Dubois brothers from the upper Bayou Lafourche valley settled in Lafayette Parish and created a western branch of the Acadian family:

Descendants of Marcellin DUBOIS (1801-)

Marcellin, sixth son of Jacques-Olivier Dubois and Marie-Madeleine Michel, born at Assumption in August 1801, married Elise, called Lise, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Mire, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in February 1825.  Their daughter married into the Babineaux and Kiggs families.  Marcellin, père may have remarried to French Creole Elinese Missonier in Lafayette Parish in the 1840s.  Their daughter married into the Boudreaux family.  One of his sons settled near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, but the others remained in Lafayette.  

1

Oldest son Marcellin, fils, baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 4 months, in March 1826, married Alzire, 17-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Don Louis Broussard, at the Vermilionville church in February 1844.  Their son Émilien was born in Lafayette Parish in December 1844, Jean Clerville in August 1846, Louis in August 1849, Hubert in June 1858, and Marcellin III near Youngsville, Lafayette Parish, in February 1861. 

2

Clerville, baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 4 months, in August 1827, married fellow Acadian Carmelite Hébert probably in Lafayette Parish in the late 1840s or early 1850s.  Their son Louis O'Neil was born near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in May 1859.  

3

Clémile was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 6 months, in May 1832.  During the War Between the States, Clémile, with brothers Aladin and Désiré, served in Company A of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in Lafayette Parish that served gallantly at Vicksburg, Mississippi. 

4

Aladin was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 6 months, in March 1836.  During the War Between the States, Aladin, with brothers Clémile and Désiré, served in Company A of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in Lafayette Parish that served gallantly at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  According to once source, Aladin "died at home, on Furlough, fall of 1862."  The same source, however, shows him wounded at Vicksburg on 27 June 1863.  Aladin survived the war and married Acadian Julie Comeaux, widow of John Bell, at the Youngsville church, Lafayette Parish, in October 1865.  

5

Youngest son Désiré was born in Lafayette Parish in March 1842.  During the War Between the States, Désiré, with brothers Clémile and Aladin, served in Company A of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in Lafayette Parish that served gallantly at Vicksburg, Mississippi. 

Descendants of Sylvain Célestin DUBOIS (1805-)

Sylvain Célestin, seventh son of Jacques-Olivier Dubois and Marie-Madeleine Michel, born at Assumption in September 1805, married Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Dugas and widow of Jean Pierre Landry, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in October 1826.  Their daughter married into the Broussard family.  

Aurelien was born in Lafayette Parish in June 1830. 

Descendants of Hubert Zenon DUBOIS (1810s-1856)

Hubert Zenon, called Zenon, eighth and youngest son of Jacques-Olivier Dubois and Marie-Madeleine Michel, born probably in Assumption Parish in the early 1810s, married Euphémie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Pierre Landry, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in March 1827.  They moved to lower Bayou Teche probably in the late 1840s.  Zenon died near New Iberia, then in St. Martin but now in Iberia Parish, in August 1856; the priest who recorded his burial said that Hubert Zenon was 42 years old when he died, but he probably was older; his succession record was filed at the Franklin courthouse, St. Mary Parish, in May 1859. 

1

Older son Drosin, baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 4 1/2 months, in July 1832, married Valérie, daughter of fellow Acadian Louis Boudreaux, at the Vermilionville church in May 1852.  Their son Césaire was born in Lafayette Parish in February 1853.  Drosin remarried to Spanish Creole Ophelia Dartes.  Their son Pierre Neuville was born near New Iberia, then in St. Martin but now in Iberia Parish, in March 1861.  

2

Younger son Joseph Homere was born near New Iberia, then in St. Martin but now in Iberia Parish, in October 1850. 

Other DUBOISs on the Western Prairies

Local church and civil records make it difficult to link some Dubois's in the western parishes with known lines of the family there:

Désiré Dubois married Acadian Céleste Broussard in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in November 1825. 

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

Many of the Duboiss of South Louisiana are descended not from Jacques-Olivier but from French Creoles who lived in Louisiana during the colonial period.  The first of them reached the colony, in fact, over half a century before Jacques-Olivier arrived.  Most settled at New Orleans:

Joseph Dubois died at New Orleans in July 1724.  He was only about 14 years old.  The priest who recorded his burial did not give his parents' names.  

Francois Dubois, a master cooper from Daubord near Rochfort, France, died at New Orleans September 1725.  He was 62 years old.  

Marie-Jeanne Dubois, wife of former sergeant of Swiss troops N. Jacquet, died at New Orleans in May 1733.  The priest who recorded her burial did not give her parents' names, her birthplace, or her age at the time of her death.  

Francois Dubois married Jeanne ____ and settled at Pointe Coupée.  Their daughter Augustine married Pierre, son of Jacques LePorche of Pluneret, Vannes, France, at Pointe Coupée in September 1737.  

Jean-Baptiste Dubois of Issoudon, Berry, France, was a soldier when he came to New Orleans in 1741.  After his discharge from the army in 1747, he moved to Natchitoches Post on Red River, where he married fellow Issoudon native Marie-Jeanne-Josèphe Clairemont in 1751.  They settled at Grand Écore, above the post, where two of their sons--Jean-Baptiste-Francois and Antoine-Philippe--remained.  A third son, Valentin-Jean-Baptiste, married to Rose Chelette of the German Coast, settled downriver near Rapides Post, now Pineville, across from Alexandria, in the late 1780s.  In April 1815, a few months after the Battle of New Orleans, Jean Baptiste, son of Francois Dubois of the Natchitoches area, died from illness "at the home of Michel Prudhomme ... near the church" at Opelousas.  Jean Baptiste was on his way home from military service; he was only 18 years old.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in Rapides Parish counted 13 slaves on Valentine Dubois's farm.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in Winn Parish counted 16 slaves living in 2 houses on Valentine Dubois's farm.  In October 1860, the federal census taker in Natchitoches Parish counted 7 slaves living in 3 houses on Samuel P. Dubois's farm. ...

Gabriel-Joseph Dubois, a broker, married Louise-Élisabeth, called Élisabeth, Bonnier probably at New Orleans in the 1740s.  He served as a militia officer and burgher of the city.  Their son Nicolas-Gabriel was born at New Orleans in December 1750.  Their daughters married into the Carriere, Delalande de Ferrieres, and Oro families.  

An unnamed male infant whose Dubois father was a mason died at New Orleans in 1773.  The priest who recorded the boy's burial did not give the father's first name or the mother's name.  

An unnamed male infant, surname Dubois, died at New Orleans, age 8 months, in April 1785.  

Basile Dubois married ______.  Their son Jean-Baptiste was baptized at New Orleans, age unrecorded, in April 1785.  

Pierre, native of New Orleans, son of Antoine Dubois of Mobile and Jeanne Martin, married Madeleine, daughter of  Jean-Francois or Francois-Jean Ardi of Burgundy, France, probably at New Orleans by the early 1790s.  Madeleine also was a native of the city.    

Charles Dubois of Illinois died at Charity Hospital, New Orleans, in September 1794.  He was only 22 years old and still a bachelor.  

Pierre Dubois married Marie LeBlanc probably at St.-Jacques.  Their daughter married into the Primeaux family and settled in the Atakapas District.  

Francoise of Fort Pitt, later Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, daughter of Jean Dubois, died at New Orleans in September 1799.  The priest who recorded her burial did not give her age at the time of her death.  

Guillaume-Germain, son of Guillaume Dubois and Louise Durel of Briquebet, Normandy, France, and living at Baton Rouge, married Esther, daughter of Acadian Bonaventure LeBlanc and widow of Pierre Longuépée, at St.-Gabriel d'Iberville in May 1801.  Their daughter married into the Hébert and Morales families.  Guillaume Germain died near St. Gabriel, Iberville Parish, in December 1815; he was 50 years old.  

.

Two French Dubois, one from Paris, the other from Brittany, settled not at New Orleans or on the river above the city but in the Lafourche/Terrebonne valley and on the western prairies.  Many of their children and grandchildren married Acadians:

Descendants of Francois DUBOIS (?-)

Francois, son of André Dubois and Marguerite Mothe of Paris, married Madeleine-Marguerite, daughter of Acadian Eustache Bertrand and widow of Moïse LeBlanc, at Ascension in August 1792.  They settled at Assumption on upper Bayou Lafourche.  Their daughters married into the Boudreaux and Duroche families.  ...

1

Older son Jean-Baptiste, born at Assumption in July 1793, probably died young.  

2

Younger son Francois-André, born at Ascension in January 1798, married Geneviève Derocher or Durocher in the early 1820s.  Their son Francois Urbin was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in May 1821, Jean Maxime Isidore in December 1822, Étienne Telesphore, called Elese or Ellis, in December 1827, Joseph Apollinaire Léon, called Apollinaire, in July 1829, Pierre in April 1832, and Gabriel Abraham in February 1843.  Their daughters married into the Boudreaux, Chiasson, Henry, LeBoeuf, and Rodrigue families.  Their sons settled in Terrebonne Parish.  

2a

Jean married Adeline, 14-year-old daughter of Acadian Charles Bourg, in a civil ceremony in Terrebonne Parish in June 1847.  Their son Joseph Francois Augustin was born in Terrebonne Parish August 1850, and Joseph Dominique in August 1859. 

2b

Ellis married Eulalie, daughter of German Creole Auguste Pichoff, at the Houma church, Terrebonne Parish, in March 1856.  Their son Célestin Euphrosin was born in Terrebonne Parish in May 1858, and Ludger Briel in March 1861. 

2c

Apollinaire married Celina, daughter of Damien Martin, at the Houma church, Terrebonne Parish, in August 1858.  Their son Lubin Sylvanie was born in Terrebonne Parish in March 1861. 

2d

Gabriel married Susanne Nede probably in Terrebonne Parish in the late 1860s.  They settled near Montegut.  

Descendants of Pierre DUBOIS (c1768-)

Pierre, age 29, resident of Atakapas for 4 years and of Louisiana for 12 years, with no family in the colony, son of Vincent Dubois and Jeanne Gourdel of Lo, Vanes, Brittany, France, married Julienne, daughter of French Creole Jean Dartes of Castres, Bordeaux, at Atakapas in April 1797.  They settled on lower Bayou Teche and then on the lower Vermilion in the 1810s.  Their daughters married into the Broussard, Pivauteau, and Trahan families.  Pierre's succession records were filed at the St. Martinville and Vermilionville courthouses in October 1822 and June 1823; he would have been in his early 50s.  His sons took Acadian wives.  Some of his grandsons moved south to Vermilion Parish; another grandson settled near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish.  

1

Oldest son Pierre, fils, born at Atakapas in March 1802, married Acadian Adeline Adélaïde Trahan in the 1820s.  Their son Pierre III was born in Lafayette Parish in September 1829, Ursin le jeune was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 22 months, in October 1835, Lessin at age 6 months in June 1836, and Adrien was born in January 1844.  Their daughters married into the Bourg and Montault families. 

1a

Ursin le jeune married French Canadian Célanie Istre in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in April 1855.  Their son Jules was born near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in March 1859.  

1b

Pierre III married Acadian Elise, called Lise, Landry at the Abbeville church, Vermilion Parish, in February 1858.  Their son Ulgere was born near Abbeville in December 1859, Eugène in March 1860, Oscar in December 1861, and Théogène in July 1862. 

1c

Lessin married fellow French Creole Rosalie Dronet at the Abbeville church, Vermilion Parish, in November 1859. 

2

Ursin, born at Atakapas in May 1804, died at the home of Nestor Tesanier in St. Martin Parish in November 1826.  Ursin was only 22 years old and did not marry.  His succession record was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse the following January.  

3

Philemon, born in St. Martin Parish in December 1808, married Sylvanie, daughter of Acadian Pierre Paul Thibodeaux, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in July 1834.  Their son Lasty was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 5 months, in April 1838, and Alcide was born in July 1841.  Their daughters married into the Broussard and Landry families.  

Lasty married Acadian Emma Landry at the Abbeville church, Vermilion Parish, in January 1859.  Their son Joseph Amédée was born near Abbeville in December 1863.  During the War Between the States, Lasty served in Company A of the 7th Regiment Louisiana Cavalry, a front-line unit raised in the southwestern parishes that fought Jayhawkers in Louisiana late in the war.  

4

Lucas, born in St. Martin Parish in February 1811, married Angélique, daughter of Acadian Éloi Landry, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in March 1832.  Their son Delma was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 4 months, in March 1834, Justilien was born in Lafayette Parish in June 1836, and Lucas, fils in August 1842.  Their daughter may have married a Landry cousin.  

5

Alexis, born in St. Martin Parish, in June 1816, died in St. Martin Parish in June 1852.  He was only 36 years old.  The priest who recorded his funeral called him "Mr. Dubois."  Alexis evidently did not marry.  

6

Youngest son Rosémond, born in St. Martin Parish in March 1819, married Melite, daughter of Acadian Francois Primeaux, in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in November 1841.  

~

Duboiss, called Foreign French, came to Louisiana during the antebellum period.  Many remained at New Orleans, but some settled in predominantly-Acadian communities on the river and on the prairies:  

Louis Dubois of Paris died near Convent, St. James Parish, in August 1812.  He was only 38 years old.  The priest who recorded his burial did not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  

Pierre Dubois married Cécile Demouchet or Desmouchelles.  Their son Joseph was born near Convent, St. James Parish, in September 1810.  Later in the decade, they were living in Assumption Parish on upper Bayou Lafourche.  

J. F. Dubois, a 33-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Mississippi out of Bordeaux, France, in February 1823.  

____ Dubois, no first name recorded, a 20-year-old Frenchman, occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Jerome out of Bordeaux in February 1823.  

____ Dubois, no first name recorded, a 40-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Corinne out of Bordeaux in December 1825.  

James Duboist, a 36-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Messenger out of Havana, Cuba, in January 1829.  

Sophie Dubois, a 30-year-old Frenchwoman, occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Josefa out of Campeche, Mexico, in April 1829.  

M. Dubois, a 21-year-old Frenchwoman, occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Ernest Hynard out of Le Havre, France, in December 1836.  With her was 3-year-old Ch. Jos. Dubois, probably her son.  

A. Dubois, a 37-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Republican out of Le Havre in October 1838.  On the same ship was Jean Dubois, a 25-year-old farmer from France.  

____ Dubois, no first name recorded, a 40-year-old laborer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Vaillant out of Bordeaux in November 1838.  

Jean Bapte. Dubois, a 19-year-old Frenchman, occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Andrew Scott out of Le Havre in December 1838.  

Octave Dubois, a 17-year-old rentier from Toulouse, France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Cardinal de Cheveruse out of Bordeaux in February 1839.  

Virginia Dubois, a 28-year-old Frenchwoman, occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Oceana out of Le Havre in June 1841.  

P. Dubois, a 23-year-old tailor from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Bordeaux Packet out of Bordeaux in February 1843.  

Jean Dubois, a 28-year-old Frenchman, occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Echo out of Le Havre in March 1843.  

Magdalena Dubois, a 57-year-old spinster from France, occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Oregon out of Le Havre in May 1843.  

Charles Lemichel Dubois married German Creole Marie Louise Malbrough.  Their son Charles Guillaume was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in March 1845.  

Const. Dubois, a 30-year-old seamstress from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Mary out of Matagorda, Texas, in May 1845.  

_____ Dubois, no first name recorded, a 22-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Ferrière out of Bordeaux in June 1847.

Nicolas Dubois married Acadian Marie Rosella, called Rosella Godin.  Their son Vincent Nicolas was born in Ascension Parish in July 1847, and Bernard Dorisini in August 1850.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in Ascension Parish counted a single slave--an 11-year-old black female--on Nicolas Dubois's farm.  In 1860, the federal census taker in Ascension Parish again counted only a single slaves--a 28-year-old black male--on Nicolas Dubois's farm in the parish's Ward 7.  

Auguste Dubois married Madeleine Grandpré probably at Baton Rouge in the late 1840s.  

Paul Vincent Duboi, a 49-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Pie IX out of Havana in February 1849.  

Octave Dubois, a 27-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Alkinaar out of Le Havre in February 1849.  

Richard Dubois, a 42-year-old cooper from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Laure out of Bordeaux in April 1849.  

Richard Dubois of Libourne, Department of La Gironde, France, died in Ascension Parish in June 1849.  The priest who recorded his burial did not give his age, his parents' names, nor mention a wife.  One wonders if he was the Richard Dubois who arrived in New Orleans the previous April.  

L. Dubois, a 30-year-old Frenchwoman and farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Pyramid out of Liverpool, England, in June 1850.  

Mme. Eliza Dubois, a 46-year-old Frenchwoman, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Union out of Vera Cruz, Mexico, in August 1850.  

Pierre Dubois, a 38-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Zanons or Zazons out of Le Havre in December 1851.  He was heading for Texas.  

Claude Dubois, a 27-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Windsor Fay out of Le Havre in May 1852.  

Théophile Dubois's succession record was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in June 1852.  

Céleste Dubois died near Baton Rouge in October 1856.  She was 50 years old.  The priest who recorded her burial did not give her parents' names or mention a husband and children.  

Marie Louise Sophie, widow of Laurent Dubois, died at New River, Ascension Parish, in July 1858.  She was 83 years old.  

Constantin Furrate, called Furrate, Dubois married Marie Azema Rodrique.  Their son Émile died near Convent, St. James Parish, age 10, in October 1858.  Their daughter Marie Constance Furrate, called Constance Furrate, married Augustin, son of French Creole Justin Fontenot, at the Convent church in April 1859; Augustin's mother was a Cormier.  Their daughter Marie Louise married Louis Joseph, son of Jean Francoise Balot, at the Convent church in June 1865.  

Auguste, son of Olivier Dubois and Célestine Pintado, married Mary, daughter of Innocentio Bulnez, at the Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in March 1864.  Both Auguste and Mary were natives of East Baton Rouge Parish.  Their son Auguste, fils had been born near Baton Rouge in September 1857, Joseph in May 1859, Martin Davis had been baptized at the Baton Rouge church, age unrecorded, in June 1861, and Jean Marie Ulysse was born in June 1865.  

Jean Dubois married Acadian Hélène Gaudin.  Their son David Joseph, called Joseph, was born in Ascension Parish in September 1866 but died at age 9 months, 9 days, in July 1867.  

CONCLUSION

The presence of both Acadian and non-Acadian Duboiss in many South Louisiana communities created a complex genealogical mix for this family.  Duboiss came to Louisiana as early as the 1720s, but their Acadian namesakes did appear until late in the colonial period.  

The only male Acadian Dubois who came to the colony was a young bachelor who arrived aboard one of the Seven Ships from France in 1785.  He married a fellow Acadian exile from France soon after he reached New Orleans and settled on upper Bayou Lafourche.  All Acadian Duboiss of South Louisiana are descended from Jacques-Olivier of Cherbourg, France, and his many sons, who either remained on the Lafourche or moved to the western prairies in the 1820s.  By the 1850s, Jacques-Olivier's descendants in the western parishes rivaled in numbers their Acadian cousins in the Lafourche/Terrebonne valley.  None of his descendants settled on the river before the War Between the States.

Many of the Duboiss of Louisiana, however, are not Acadian but French Creole or Foreign French, most of whom lived at New Orleans.  One family settled along the Cane and Red rivers near Natchitoches early in the colonial period.  Others chose predominantly-Acadian communities around Baton Rouge, along the Acadian Coast, in the Lafourche/Terrebonne valley, and on the western prairies.  Many of these French Creoles, especially on the prairies, married Acadians.  

Judging by the number of slaves they owned, the Duboiss of South Louisiana, both Acadian and French Creole, with one exception, participated only peripherally in the South's antebellum plantation economy.  No Acadian Dubois appears on the federal slave schedules of 1850 and 1860.  The family's only substantial slaveholder in Louisiana was French Creole Valentine Dubois, who held 13 slaves in Rapides Parish in 1850 and 17 slaves in Winn Parish a decade later.  

Dozens of Duboiss, both Acadian and French Creole, served Louisiana in uniform during the War Between the States.  At least five of them died in Confederate service. ...

The war took a heavy toll on the Duboiss' economic status, no matter where they settled.  Union gunboats shelled and burned dozens of houses along the lower Mississippi.  Successive Federal incursions in the Bayou Lafourche valley devastated that region, and Confederate foragers also plagued the area when the Federals were not around.  On the western prairies, Federal armies marched three times through the Teche/Vermilion country and burned and pillaged many farms, some of them no doubt owned by Duboiss.  Confederate foraging parties and cutthroat Jayhawkers also plagued the area, adding to the family's misery. ...

The family's name also is spelled Dobois, Duboid, Duvois

Sources:  1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Ascension & Rapides parishes; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Ascension, Natchitoches, & Winn parishes; Arsenault, Généalogie, 524, 534-35, 1561, 2088, 2189, 2475; Brasseaux, Foreign French, 1:173-74, 2:98, 88-89; BRDR, vols. 1a(rev.), 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5(rev.), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; Hall, 26th LA Infantry, 162, 164; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 121-22; Hébert, D., South LA Records, vols. 1, 2, 3, 4; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A, 1-B, 2-A, 2-B, 2-C, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; NOAR, vols. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Robichaux, Acadians in Chatellerault, 28-29, 67; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 27; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 283; West, Atlas of LA Surnames, 61-62, 163; White, DGFA-1, 553-55; White, DGFA-1 English, 117.  

Settlement Abbreviations 
(present-day parishes that existed during the War Between the States in parenthesis; hyperlinks on the abbreviations take you to brief histories of each settlement):

For a chronology of Acadian Arrivals in Louisiana, 1764-early 1800s, see Appendix.

The hyperlink attached to an individual's name is connected to a list of Acadian immigrants for a particular settlement and provides a different perspective on the refugee's place in family and community. 

NOTES

01.  Wall of Names, 39 (pl. 10L), calls him Jacques DUBOIS fils a la femme [of Zacarie BOUDROT], & lists him with his stepfather, mother, & a stepbrother; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 212, his birth/baptismal record, calls him Jacques-Olivier DUBOIS, calls his father Olivier DUBOIS, matelot, which was a sailor, & Marguerite VALLOIS, & says his godparents were Jacques DE LAUNE & Dorothée GODET; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 27, Family No. 49, calls him Jacques DUBOIS, gives his stepfather & mother's names, & details his family's voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 68-69, calls him Jques DUBOIS, fils à la femme [of Zacarie BOUDREAU], age 14, on the embarkation list, does not include him on the debarkation list, calls him Jacques DUBOIS, son of the wife [of Zacharie BOUDROT], age 14, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 13th Family aboard L'Amitié with his stepfather, mother, & a stepbrother; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile, 62-63, under Lista parcial de vientitres casamientos acadianos arregalados par Navarro, 20 novembre 1785 [Partial List of 23 marriages Navarro arranged on 20 November 1785], A. Marriages celebrated on 20 November 1785, calls him Jacques DAVOIR, says he was from L'Amitié, calls his wife Marie MICHEL, says she was in the 60th Family aboard Le St.-Rémi, &, calling him Jacobo DUBOIS, native of Normandy, France, details his marriage, calls his wife Maria MIGUEL of St.-Malo, & gives his & her parents' names; NOAR, 4:104, 210 (SLC, M5, 43), his marriage record, calls him Jacobo DUBOIS, native of Normandy in France, calls his wife Maria MIGUEL, gives his & her parents' names, calls his parents Olivier DUBOIS & Margarita VALO, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Vicente LLORCA & Josef MARTINEZ.  See also Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1777-98, 47, 135, 160. 

If he was Acadian, where did his father live in greater Acadia before Le Grand Dérangement?  Was his mother Acadian?  The birth/baptismal record of one of Jacques DUBOIS's daughters, Escolastica Melania, or Scholastique-Melanie, in BRDR, 2:249 (ASM-1, 74), dated 13 September 1796, calls her paternal grandparents Olivier DUBOIS & Margarita VALOIS, Acadians.  But where did they live in Acadia? 

His estimated birth year is taken not from the passenger list of L'Amitié but from the LA census records in which he is found.

The dit Jaco or Jacos can be found in his son Sylvain's second marriage record, dated 31 Oct 1826, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-C:253 (Laf.Ch.: v.1, #54; Laf.Ct.Hse.: Notatrial Acts: v.5, #701).

02.  Wall of Names, 34 (pl. 8R), calls her Margueritte-Ange DUBOIS veuve Jean DAIGRE, & lists her with a son; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 283, Family No. 346, calls her Marguerite-Ange DUBOIS, says she was born in c1757 but gives no birthplace, gives her parents' names, calls her father Joseph DUBOIS, details her first marriage, says "On July 1, 1768, Joseph DUBOIS, Anne MICHEL, his wife and their children: Marguerite, Louis-Marie and Marie-Blanche DUBOIS arrived at St.-Malo from LeHavre on the ship, Le Joseph," & that her father's family resided at St.-Servan from 1768-70; Robichaux, Acadians in Chatellerault, 67, Family No. 135, calls her Marie-Blanche DUBOIS, gives her mother & stepfather's names, & details her family's participation in the Leigne-les-bois settlement in Poitou in the early 1770s; Robichaux, Acadians in Chatellerault, 28-29, Family No. 58, calls her Marguerite-Ange DUBOIS, says she was born in c1754 but gives no birthplace, gives her parents' names, details her first marriage, including her first husband's parents' names, includes the birth/baptismal record of son Jean-Louis DAIGLE, baptized 25 Oct 1774, Pouthume, Châtellerault, & details the family's participation in the Leigne-les-bois settlement in Poitou in the early 1770s, noting that in the convoy to Nantes her husband was "absent"; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 38-39, calls her Margueritte-Ange DUBOIS, veuve Jn DAIGRE, age 29, on the embarkation list, calls her Margarita Angela DUBOI, que queda en el Hosp, on the debarkation list, calls her Marguerite-Ange DUBOIS, widow of Jean DAIGLE, age 29, on the complete listing, says she was in the 34th Family on the embarkation list & the 35th Family on the debarkation list of Le Beaumont with a son, & details her first marriage, including her & her husband's parents' names, says they married in 1770 but gives no place of marriage; BRDR, 2:250, 320 (ASC-2, 43), the record of her third marriage, calls her Margarita Angel DUBOIS, does not give her or her husband's parents' names, says "all natives of Bayou Lafourche," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Joseph GRANGER & Luc LANDRY; BRDR, 3:279 (ASM-3, 125), her death/burial record, calls her Marguerite-Ange DUBOIS, age 60 yrs., wid. of Martin GAUDREAUX, but does not give her parent's names or other husbands' names.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 501; Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 57.  

The birth/baptismal record of son Charles-Auguste GRANGER, date 25 Apr 1790, in BRDR, 2:332 (ASC-5, 39), calls her Marguerite-Ange DUBOIS, res. Valenzuéla, which was Assumption.  The marriage record of son Jean-Louis DAIGLE, dated 26 Aug 1799, in BRDR, 2:216 (ASM-2, 43), calls her Margarita ANGEBOIS of Poitou, France.  

Where did her father live in greater Acadia before Le Grand Dérangement?  Unless other sources prove otherwise, she will be considered Acadian & remain on this list.  

Was her first husband a sailor?  Why else would he have been absent when she & her son convoyed from Châtellerault to Nantes in Dec 1775?

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