APPENDICES

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

GRAVOIS

[grav-WAH]

ACADIA

Joseph Gravois, born in c1670, place unrecorded, reached Port-Royal by c1691, when he married Marie, daughter of André Mignier dit La Gassé and Jacquette Michel.  They had one child, a son, Joseph, fils, born at Port-Royal in c1692.  Joseph, père seems to have died at Port-Royal soon after the birth of his son.  By 1693, Marie was already remarried to René Martin dit Barnabé, so Joseph, fils would not have remembered his father.  Joseph, fils settled at Chignecto, where he married Marie, daughter of Pierre Cyr and Claire Cormier, in October 1718.  They had at least nine children, five daughters and four sons, at Chignecto.  Joseph, fils died during exile by August 1763, in his late 60s or early 70s.  Three of his daughters married into the Haché dit Gallant and Hébert families.   All of his sons also created their own families. 

Oldest son Pierre, born in c1730, married Marie-Rose, called Rose, daughter of Claude Bourgeois and Anne Blanchard, probably at Chignecto in c1750 and died during exile. 

Jean, born in c1735, married Marie-Anne Bugeaud in c1757 during exile. 

Joseph III, born in c1739, married Marie-Madeleine, daughter of Michel Bourg and Jeanne Hébert of Grand-Pré, at St-Suliac, near St.-Malo, France, in August 1763. 

Augustin, born in c1748, married Françoise Jeanson in c1770 during exile.  

[For more of this family in pre- and post-disperal Acadia and Canada, see Book Three]

In 1755, descendants of Joseph Gravois could be found at Chignecto and perhaps at Minas. 

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

[For the family's travails during the Great Upheaval, see Book Six]

LOUISIANA:  RIVER SETTLEMENTS

Descendants of Joseph Gravois, père were among the earliest Acadians to seek refuge in Louisiana, and also some of the last to get there:  

Marie-Rose Bourgeois, widow of Pierre Gravois of Chignecto, reached Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue, today's Haiti, in 1765.  With her were three young sons--Paul, age 14, Joseph le jeune, age 12, and Jean le jeune, age 10.  They settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where Marie-Rose remarried to fellow Acadian Philippe Saint-Julian de Lachausée, widower of Marguerite Belliveau and Francoise Godin and a surgeon, in October 1766.  Two of her Gravois sons married and settled at St.-Jacques and Ascension, but only the line of her youngest son survived:

Paul GRAVOIS (c1751-?; Joseph, Joseph, fils)

Paul, eldest son of Pierre Gravois and Marie-Rose Bourgeois, born at Chignecto in c1751, followed his family into exile on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore in 1755 and to a prisoner of war camp at Halifax in the early 1760s.  As a teenager, he followed his widowed mother and two younger brothers to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue and settled with them at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where Spanish officials counted him with his mother and stepfather on the right, or west, bank of the river in 1769.  Ten years later, still a bachelor, he was living at St.-Jacques with his mother, stepfather, and stepsiblings.  He probably did not marry.  

Descendants of Joseph GRAVOIS le jeune (c1753-c1790; Joseph, Joseph, fils)

Joseph le jeune, also called Simon, second son of Pierre Gravois and Marie-Rose Bourgeois, born at Chignecto in c1753, followed his family into exile on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore in 1755 and to a prisoner of war camp at Halifax in the early 1760s.  He followed his widowed mother and two younger brothers to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue and settled with them at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where Spanish officials counted him with his mother and stepfather on the right, or west, bank of the river in 1769.  Joseph married Louise-Francoise, daughter of fellow Acadians Philippe Saint-Julien Lachaussée, who also was his stepfather, and and his first wife Rosalie Godin, at St.-Jacques in June 1777.  They settled at St.-Jacques.  Their daughters married into the Prejean and De Roussel families.  One of his daughters settled on Bayou Lafourche, and another died in St. Martin Parish in the late 1860s.   Joseph died by January 1791, when his wife remarried at St.-Jacques; he would have been in his late 30s that year.  Only one of his two sons survived childhood and married but had no sons of his own.  As a result, this family line, except for its blood, did not survive in the Bayou State.  

1

Older son Auguste or Augustin, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in October 1779, married cousin Marie-Madeleine, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Bourgeois and Marie Bergeron, at St.-Jacques in April 1802.  Auguste died in St. James Parish in July 1815, age 35.  Did he father any sons?    

2

Younger son Joseph Simon, born at St.-Jacques in August 1786, died at St.-Jacques, age 9, in September 1795.  

Descendants of Jean GRAVOIS le jeune (c1755-1844; Joseph, Joseph, fils)

Jean le jeune, third and youngest son of Pierre Gravois and Marie-Rose Bourgeois, born probably at Chignecto in c1755, followed his family into exile on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore in 1755 and to a prisoner of war camp at Halifax in the early 1760s.  As a teenager, he followed his widowed mother and two younger brothers to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue and settled with them at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where Spanish officials counted him with his mother and stepfather on the right, or west, bank of the river in 1769.  Jean le jeune, at age 35, married Bibianne, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Bourg and his second wife Marie LeBlanc, at St.-Jacques in June 1790.  They settled at Ascension, just upriver from St.-Jacques.  Their daughters married into the Gautreaux, LeBlanc, and Mollere families.  Jean died in Ascension Parish in November 1844; the priest who recorded his burial said that Jean was age 95 when he died, but he was closer to 90.  Four of his seven sons created families of their own, but one of their lines died out.  Most, if not all, of the Gravoiss of South Louisiana are descended from Jean and three of his sons.  

1

Oldest son Joseph le jeune, born at Ascension in November 1791, married cousin Rosalie, daughter of fellow Acadians Marcel LeBlanc and Marie Madeleine Bourgeois, at the Donaldson church, Ascension Parish, in April 1810.  Their son Joseph Désiré, called Désiré, was born in Ascension Parish in January 1823, and Pierre Telesphore, called Telesphore, in December 1828.  Their daughters married into the Landry, LeBlanc, Moore, and Rousseau families, and perhaps into the Guilfou family as well.  Daughter Rosalie gave birth to son François Théodule probably in Ascension Parish in February 1840; the priest who recorded the boy's baptism at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in March 1841, notes only that he was a grandson of Joseph Gravois and Rosalie LeBlanc but did not give the boy's father's name.  Daughter Elesille, who married George W. Moore, gave birth to son Théodore Bienvenu in Ascension Parish in June 1862; the priest who recorded the boy's baptism called him a Gravois, not a Moore, and did not give the father's name.  Joseph died in Ascension Parish in October 1847, age 55.  

1a

Désiré married cousin Émilie, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Baptiste LeBlanc and Marie Cléonise Gaudin, in a civil ceremony probably in Ascension Parish, date unrecorded, and sanctified the marriage at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in May 1844; they had to secure dispensation for fourth degree of consanguinity in order to marry.  Their son Joseph Renaud was born in Ascension Parish in March 1847, and Joseph Lazare, called Lazare, in September 1848 but died at age 5 in September 1853.  Their daughters married into the Breaux and Thibodeaux families.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in Ascension Parish counted a single slave--a 40-year-old black female--on Désiré Gravois's farm.   Désiré died in Ascension Parish in June 1870; the Donaldsonville priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that Désiré died at "age ca. 43 years," but he was 47. 

1b

Telesphore married cousin Elmire, another daughter of Jean Baptiste LeBlanc and Marie Cléonise Gaudin, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in December 1847.  Their son Jean Baptiste was born in Ascension Parish in October 1848, Joseph Théophile, called Théophile, in October 1852 but died at age 11 months in September 1853, Joseph was born in April 1864, and Georges in November 1865.

2

Amédée, born at Ascension in October 1793, probably died young.  

3

Hippolyte-Valéry, called Valéry, baptized at Ascension, age unrecorded, in October 1795, married Marie, daughter of fellow Acadians Simon Richard and Scholastique Mire, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in February 1818.  Valéry died in Ascension Parish in 1830; the priest who recorded his burial said that Valéry was age 37 when he died, but he was 35.  His line of the family may have died with him.  

4

Michel, born probably at Ascension in c1799, died in Ascension Parish in October 1819, age 20, and did not marry.  

5

Édouard-Donat, called Edward, born at Ascension in December 1801, married Marie Marthe Eurasie, called Eurasie, daughter of fellow Acadians Donat Landry and Marie Marthe Lanoux, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in October 1821.  Their son Amédée le jeune was born near Convent in September 1822 but died at age 18 months in May 1824, Jean Elphége, called Elphége, was born in September 1824, Constant in March 1830, and Dourado in September 1840 but died at age 13 in September 1853.  Their daughters married into the Bourg, Chauvin, Dugas, Louvière, and Thomassel families.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 5 slaves--2 males and 3 females, all black, ranging in age from 40 to 8--on Edward Gravois's farm in the parish's Eastern District.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 4 slaves--2 males and 2 females, all black, ages 50 to 18--on Édouard Gravois's farm in the parish's Left Bank District 4 near Drauzin and Constant Gravois.  

5a

Elphége married Marie Coralie, called Coralie, daughter of fellow Acadians Onésime LeBlanc and Joséphine Blanchard, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in January 1852.  Elphége died near Convent in September 1853; the priest who recorded the burial said that Elphége was age 26 when he died, but he was 29.  Did he father any sons? 

5b

Constant married Marie Marine, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Melançon and Carmelite LeBlanc, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in July 1854.  Their son Joseph Constant was born near Convent in September 1855.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 5 slaves--all females, all mulattoes, ranging in age from 35 to 10, living in 2 houses--on Constant Gravois's farm in the parish's Left Bank District 4 near Drauzin and Édouard Gravois.   

6

Sylvain, born at Ascension in September 1803, may have died young, unless he was the Simonet Gravois who died near Convent, St. James Parish, in August 1863, age 58.  He probably did not marry.  

7

Youngest son Joseph Drosin, called Drosin, born in Ascension Parish in May 1810, married Apolline or Pauline, another daughter of Donat Landry and Marie Marthe Lanoux, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in September 1832.  Their son Drosin, fils was born near Convent in January 1838 but died at age 7 1/2 in July 1845, and Donat Célestin was born in Ascension Parish in April 1842.  Their daughters married into the Brasseaux and Mire families.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 6 slaves--4 males and 3 females, all black, ranging in age from 40 to 10--on Drauzin Gravois's farm in the parish's Eastern District near Simonet Gravois.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 14 slaves--9 males and 5 females, all black, ages 48 to 1, living in 5 houses--on Drauzin Gravois's farm in the parish's Left Bank District 4 near Constant and Édouard Gravois.  

Donat Célestin married Madeleine Alphonsine, daughter of fellow Acadian Zénon Arceneaux, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in September 1860. 

~

One of the last recorded groups of Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana, and perhaps the only Acadians who came to the colony directly from greater Acadia, was the extended family of Pierre Gravois's younger brother, Joseph III of Chignecto.   Joseph, age 49, reached New Orleans in December 1788 aboard the schooner La Brigite, his own ship, which he sailed all the way down from Ile St.-Pierre off the southern coast of Newfoundland.  With him was wife Marie-Madeleine Bourg of Grand-Pré, age 42, and eight children--Angelique-Marguerite, age 24, Marie-Félicité, age 22, Victoire, age 13, Marie-Tarsile, called Tarsile, age 8, and Jean-Hébert, Joseph-Frédéric, Madeleine-Blanche, and Marie-Susanne, ages unrecorded--plus another family of relatives led by Marine LeBlanc, widow of Joseph Babin--18 people in all. 

Descendants of Joseph GRAVOIS III (c1739-1790s; Joseph)

Joseph III, son of Joseph Gravois, fils and Marie Cyr and uncle of Paul, Joseph, and Jean, was born at Chignecto in c1739.  Somehow he was deported to Virginia in 1755, sent on to England in 1756 with other Acadians who had been sent there, and, in May 1763, was repatriated to France aboard the vessel La Dorothée with other Acadians in England.  He married Marie-Madeleine, called Madeleine, daughter of fellow Acadians Michel Bourg and his first wife Jeanne Hébert, at St.-Suliac, near St.-Malo, France, in August 1763.  Joseph became a mariner.  He settle with his family at nearby St-Servan until 1767, when he took them, along with his in-laws, to England; they were at Windsor, England, in 1770.  The next year, they were living on Baie St.-Marie, Nova Scotia, an Acadian refuge on the Atlantic Ocean southeast of Annapolis Royal.  From 1775 to 1784, Joseph and his extended family were living at Carleton, present-day Québec Province, on the north shore of the Baie des Chaleurs.  They moved to Île St.-Pierre, an island off the southern coast of Newfoundland, in the mid-1780s, after the British again surrendered that island and nearby Miquelon to France.  In October 1788, aboard Joseph's schooner Brigitte, they left for Louisiana, reaching New Orleans in December.  They settled at Ascension, not far from their Gravois cousins at St.-Jacques.  Joseph and Marie-Madeleine had no more children in Louisiana.  Their daughters married into the Bertrand (French Creole, not Acadian), Braud, Frederick, and Mulford families.  One daughter settled at New Orleans, and three followed their husbands to the Attakapas District west of the Atchafalaya Basin.  Neither of Joseph's two sons created a family of his own, so this line of the family, except for its blood, did not survive in the Bayou State.  

1

Jean-Hébert did not marry. 

2

Joseph-Frédéric did not marry either. 

~

Other GRAVOISs on the River

Area church records make it difficult to link some Gravoiss on the river with known Acadian lines of the family there:

Joseph Gravois died in Ascension Parish in August 1827, age nine months.  The priest who recorded the boy's burial did not give the parents' names.  

In August 1850, the federal census taker in Ascension Parish counted 2 slaves--a 28-year-old black males, and an 18-year-old black female--on Melite Gravois's farm.  Was she a descendant of Jean le jeune of that parish?  

In September 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 7 slaves--4 males and 3 females, all black except for 1 mulatto, ranging in age from 40 years to 2 months--on Simonet Gravois's farm in the parish's Eastern District near Drauzin Gravois.  Simonet Gravois died near Convent, St. James Parish, age 58, in August 1863.  The priest who recorded the burial gave no parents' names nor mentioned a wife.  Was Simonet's death war-related?  Was his name actually Sylvain, sixth son of Jean Gravois le jeune, and was he an older brother of  Drauzin/Drosin Gravois

Sosthène Gravois married Léonise Alleman, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Raphaël François Eugène was born in Ascension Parish in September 1862.  

Angèle, daughter of Louisa Gravois, married Bastien, son of Jean Baptiste Jean Baptiste, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in June 1867.  Were Louisa and Angèle Acadians?  Were they even white? 

Azéma, daughter of Fetin Gravoie, died in Ascension Parish, age 3 1/2, in June 1867.  The Donaldsonville priest who recorded the burial did not give the mother's name. 

Marie Élisabeth Ozémé Gravois died near Vacherie, St. James Parish, age 3 months, in January 1868.  The priest who recorded the burial did not give the girl's parents' names. 

Victor Gravois married Frances Landry at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in June 1868.  The priest who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

Joseph Gravois died near Vacherie in February 1870.  The priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that Joseph died at "age 40 years." 

LOUISIANA:  WESTERN SETTLEMENTS

The only Acadian Gravoiss who settled west of the Atchafalaya Basin were female descendants of Joseph Gravois of Port-Royal:

Marie-Tarsile, called Tarsile, Gravois, wife of Charles Breaux, fils and daughter of Joseph Gravois of Chignecto, died "at her home" on Bayou Vermilion, St. Martin Parish, in April 1818, age 38. 

Marie-Victoire, called Victoire, Gravois, wife of French Creole Vincent Bertrand and sister of Tarsile, died in Lafayette Parish in September 1841, age 65. 

A succession for Céleste Gravois, wife of Nicolas de Rousselle, whom she had married at St.-Jacques in January 1800, was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in July 1866.  Born at St.-Jacques in March 1778, she would have been age 88 that year.  She was a cousin of Tarsile and Victoire. 

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

Church records show no non-Acadian Gravoiss living in Louisiana during the colonial period.  A Gravois family settled on the old German Coast during the antebellum period before moving upriver to the Acadian Coast.  One wonders if this family was French Creole or Foreign French:

Descendants of Pierre-Armand GRAVOIS (?-)

Pierre-Armand, called Armand, Gravois married German Creole Élisabeth Webre and settled in St. John the Baptist Parish.  Two of his sons married sisters and settled upriver in St. James Parish near their Acadian namesakes.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in St. John the Baptist Parish counted 57 slaves--38 males and 19 females, all black, ranging in age from 70 to 1--on Armand Gravois's plantation along the river.  The same census taker counted 21 slaves--10 males and 11 females, all black, ages 50 to 10--on the plantation of Pierre Gravois & Co. next to Sylvestre Webre.  Was Pierre a son of Armand, or was this Pierre actually Pierre Armand, and the larger slave holder was the son?  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. John the Baptist Parish counted only 12 slaves--5 males and 7 females, all black, ages 50 to 2, living in 4 houses--on Armand Gravois's farm.  One wonders what happened to the rest of the many slaves he, or his father, owned a decade earlier.  The same census taker counted 24 slaves--14 males and 10 females, all black, ages 60 years to 8 months, living in 8 houses--on Widow A. Gravois's plantation, which may explain what happened to some of Armand's other slaves, and 3 slaves--all males, all black, ages 40 and 26, living in 1 house--on T. Gravois's farm next to Widow A. Gravois.  How was T. kin to Armand and the Widow Gravois?

1

Older son Sylvestre married Emelina, daughter of French Creole François Sevin of Lafourche Parish, at the Vacherie church, St. James Parish, in June 1856.  Their son Pierre Silvestre was born near Vacherie in May 1866 but died at age 1 1/2 in January 1868.  

2

Younger son Joseph Ernest, called Ernest, married Marcellite Antoinette, called Antoinette, another daughter of François Sevin, at the Vacherie church, St. James Parish, in February 1862.  Their son Joseph Ernest, fils was born near Vacherie in August 1863, and François Armans, probably Armand, in January 1866 but died at age 2 in January 1868. 

.

Gravoiss, probably non-Acadians, appeared on bayous Lafourche and Terrebonne during the late antebellum and early post-war periods.  They may have been descendants of Pierre Armand Gravois; the church records make it difficult to see who is related to whom:

Séraphin Gravois married Marie Myrsa, called Myrsa, Keller, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Jean George was born in Terrebonne Parish in February 1861, and Joseph Rodolphe in Ascension Parish in March 1870.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in Terrebonne Parish counted a single slave--a 14-year-old black female--on Séraphin Gravois's farm in the parish's Fourth Ward next to Victorin Keller.  Was Victorin his father-in-law or a brother-in-law?  

Michel Gravois married Marie Angelitte ______, place and date unrecorded.  Their daughter Marie Angelitte married François Harri at the Paincourtville church, Assumption Parish, in August 1867.  

~

A Gravois, perhaps Foreign French, lived in the New Orleans area during the late antebellum period:

In August 1850, the federal census taker in Orleans Parish counted 2 slaves--a 32-year-old black female, and a 12-year-old black female--in J. B. Gravois's household in the Second Ward of Municipality 3, New Orleans.  

CONCLUSION

Gravoiss settled fairly early in Acadia, and they were among the earliest Acadians to seek refuge in Louisiana.  The widow of Pierre Gravois of Chignecto came to the colony from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765 and settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, on what became known as the Acadian Coast.  With her were three Gravois sons--Paul, Joseph, and Jean.  Joseph and Jean created families of their own, but only Jean's line survived, in Ascension and St. James parishes. 

Meanwhile, a large Gravois family, that of Pierre's younger brother Joseph III, came to Louisiana from Île St.-Pierre, an island off the southern coast of Newfoundland, 22 years after Pierre's family had reached the colony.  Joseph and his family were some of the last Acadians to emigrate to Louisiana and perhaps the only ones who went there directly from greater Acadia.  Three of Joseph's daughters settled on the western prairies, but neither of his sons produced a family of his own.  So Joseph's line, except for its blood, did not survive in the Bayou State.   

Only a single line of Acadian Gravoiss, then, survived in the Bayou State.  No Acadian lines appeared on the western prairies or along Bayou Lafourche before the War of 1861-65. 

Non-Acadian Gravoiss do not seem to have come to Louisiana during the colonial period.  During the antebellum period, however, a Gravois, perhaps a Foreign Frenchman, settled in St. John the Baptist Parish on the old German Coast.  Two of his sons moved upriver to Vacherie in St. James Parish and settled near their Acadian namesakes, somewhat complicating the genealogical picture there.  It may have been a member of the St. John the Baptiste family who settled in the Lafourche/Terrebonne valley late in the antebellum period.  Otherwise, the Gravoiss of South Louisiana are descendants of Acadian Jean le jeune of Ascension Parish.  

Judging by the number of slaves they owned during the late antebellum period, some of the Gravoiss lived comfortably on their farms and plantations along the river.  In 1850, Armand Gravois, a non-Acadian living in St. John the Baptiste Parish, held enough slaves (over 50) to qualify as a great planter--he owned 57.  His Acadian namesakes in St. James and Ascension parishes owned fewer slaves. ...

The family's name also is spelled Grabois, Gravua, Gravoa, Gravoi, Gravoire, Gravoix, Gravua.  [See Book Ten for the Acadian family's Louisiana "begats"]

Sources:  1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Ascension, Orleans, St. James, & St. John the Baptist parishes; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, St. James, St. John the Baptist, & Terrebonne parishes; Arsenault, Généalogie, 587, 982-83, 1659; 2498-99; Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia, 105, 208; BRDR, vols. 2, 3, 4, 5(rev.), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; Hébert, D., South LA Records, vols. 3, 4; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A, 2-A, 4, 8; Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 251; NOAR, vol. 7; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 369; White, DGFA-1, 770-71; White, DGFA-1 English, 157. 

Settlement Abbreviations 
(present-day civil parishes that existed in 1861 are in parenthesis; hyperlinks on the abbreviations take you to brief histories of each settlement):

Asc

Ascension

Lf

Lafourche (Lafourche, Terrebonne)

PCP

Pointe Coupée

Asp

Assumption

Natc

Natchitoches (Natchitoches)

SB San Bernardo (St. Bernard)

Atk

Attakapas (St. Martin, St. Mary, Lafayette, Vermilion)

Natz

San Luìs de Natchez (Concordia)

StG

St.-Gabriel d'Iberville (Iberville)

BdE

Bayou des Écores (East Baton Rouge, West Feliciana)

NO

New Orleans (Orleans)

StJ

St.-Jacques de Cabanocé (St. James)

BR

Baton Rouge (East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge)

Op

Opelousas (St. Landry, Calcasieu)

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. 

Name Arrived Settled Profile
Angélique-Marguerite GRAVOIS 07 Dec 1788 Asc, Atk born & baptized 16 May 1764, St.-Servan-sur-Mer, France; daughter of Joseph GRAVOIS III & Marie-Madeleine BOURG; sister of Jean-Hébert, Joseph-Frédéric, Madeleine-Blanche, Marie-Félicité, Marie-Susanne, Marie-Tarsile, & Victoire; at St.-Servan 1764-67; left for England, 24 Feb 1767, age 2 1/2; at Windsor, England, 1770; at Baie Ste.-Marie, NS, 1771-74; at Carleton, Gaspésie, Québec, 1775-84; moved to Île St.-Pierre, mid-1780s; arrived LA Dec 1788, age 24, aboard schooner La Brigite from Île St.-Pierre, captained by her father; married, age 31, Charles, son of Nicolas FREDERICK & Christine-Pétronille RICARD of Stockholm, Sweden, 14 Jul 1795, St.-Jacques; moved to Attakapas District; depicted in Dafford Mural, Acadian Memorial, St. Martinville, with her family
Jean GRAVOIS 01 1765 StJ, Asc born c1755, probably Chignecto; son of Pierre GRAVOIS & Marie-Rose BOURGEOIS; brother of Joseph & Paul; on list of Acadian prisoners at Halifax, Aug 1763, unnamed, with parents & siblings; arrived LA 1765, age 10; in Cabanocé census, 1769, right [west] bank, called Jean, age 14, with mother, stepfather surgeon Philippe LACHAUSSÉE, 2 brothers, & 1 stepsister; in St.-Jacques census, 1777, right [west] bank, called Jean, age 22, with family of stepfather surgeon Philippe LACHAUSSÉE, his mother, 1 full brother, 1 half-brother, 1 half-sister, & 1 stepsister [soon to be his sister-in-law]; in St.-Jacques census, 1779, unnamed, with stepfather, mother, & others; married, age 35, Bibianne, daughter of Joseph BOURG & his second wife Marie LEBLANC, 21 Jun 1790, St.-Jacques; died [buried] Ascension Parish 16 Nov 1844, age 95[sic], buried next day
Jean-Hébert GRAVOIS 02 Dec 1788 Asc born c1781, perhaps Carleton, Gaspésie, Québec; son of Joseph GRAVOIS III & Marie-Madeleine BOURG; brother of Angélique-Marguerite, Joseph-Frédéric, Madeleine-Blanche, Marie-Félicité, Marie-Susanne, Marie-Tarsile, & Victoire; arrived LA Dec 1788, age 7, aboard schooner La Brigite from Île St.-Pierre, captained by his father; depicted in Dafford Mural, Acadian Memorial, St. Martinville, with his family
Joseph GRAVOIS 03 1765 StJ born c1753, probably Chignecto; son of Pierre GRAVOIS & Marie-Rose BOURGEOIS; brother of Jean & Paul; on list of Acadian prisoners at Halifax, Aug 1763, unnamed, with parents & siblings; arrived LA 1765, age 12; in Cabanocé census, 1769, right [west] bank, age 16, with mother, stepfather surgeon Philippe LACHAUSSÉE, 2 brothers, & 1 stepsister; in St.-Jacques census, 1777, right [west] bank, age 24, with family of stepfather [soon to be father-in-law] surgeon Philippe LACHAUSSÉE, mother, 1 full brother, 1 half-brother, 1 half-sister, & 1 stepsister [soon to be his wife]; married, age 24, Louise-Françoise, called Françoise, daughter of his stepfather Philippe Saint-Julien de LACHAUSSÉE & his first wife Rosalie GODIN, 2 Jun 1777, St.-Jacques; in St.-Jacques census, 1779, with 3 unnamed whites, 1 black, 0 qts. rice, 40 qts. corn; died by Jan 1791, when his wife remarried at St.-Jacques
Joseph GRAVOIS III 04 Dec 1788 Asc born c1739, Chignecto; son of Joseph GRAVOIS, fils & Marie CYR; uncle of Jean, Joseph, & Paul; exiled to VA 1755, age 16; deported to England 1756, age 17; repatriated from England to France aboard La Dorothée, arrived St.-Malo 23 May 1763, age 24, with family of aunt Brigitte MARTIN, second wife of Michel BOURG; married, age 24, Marie-Madeleine, called Madeleine, daughter of Michel BOURG & his first wife Jeanne HÉBERT of Grand-Pré, 8 Aug 1763, St.-Suliac, France; at St.-Servan-sur-Mer, France, 1764-67; left for England Feb 1767; at Windsor, England, 1770; at Baie Ste.-Marie, NS, 1771-74; at Carleton, Gaspésie, Québec, 1775-84; moved to Île St.-Pierre, mid-1780s; arrived LA Dec 1788, age 49, aboard schooner La Brigite from Île St.-Pierre, which he captained; died by Jan 1798, in his late 50s, when he was listed in a daughter's marriage record as deceased; depicted in Dafford Mural, Acadian Memorial, St. Martinville, with his family
Joseph-Frédéric GRAVOIS 05 Dec 1788 Asc born c1772, perhaps Baie Ste.-Marie, NS; called Frédéric; son of Joseph GRAVOIS III & Marie-Madeleine BOURG; brother of Angélique-Marguerite, Jean-Hébert, Madeleine-Blanche, Marie-Félicité, Marie-Susanne, Marie-Tarsile, & Victoire; arrived LA Dec 1788, age 16, aboard schooner La Brigite from Île St.-Pierre, captained by his father; depicted in Dafford Mural, Acadian Memorial, St. Martinville, with his family
Madeleine-Blanche GRAVOIS 06 Dec 1788 Asc born perhaps c1770, Windsor, England; daughter of Joseph GRAVOIS III & Marie-Madeleine BOURG; sister of Angélique-Marguerite, Jean-Hébert, Joseph-Frédéric, Marie-Félicité, Marie-Susanne, Marie-Tarsile, & Victoire; arrived LA Dec 1788, aboard schooner La Brigite from Île St.-Pierre, captained by her father; depicted in Dafford Mural, Acadian Memorial, St. Martinville, with her family
Marie-Félicité GRAVOIS 08 Dec 1788 Asc, NO born & baptized 21 Apr 1766, St.-Servan-sur-Mer, France; called Félicité; daughter of Joseph GRAVOIS III & Marie-Madeleine BOURG; sister of Angélique-Marguerite, Jean-Hébert, Joseph-Frédéric, Madeleine-Blanche, Marie-Susanne, Marie-Tarsile, & Victoire; at St.-Servan 1766-67; left for England, Feb 1767; at Windsor, England, 1770; at Baie Ste.-Marie, NS, 1771-74; at Carleton, Gaspésie, Québec, 1775-84; moved to Île St.-Pierre, mid-1780s; arrived LA Dec 1788, age 22, aboard schooner La Brigite from Île St.-Pierre, captained by her father; married, age 34, Samuel, son of Charles MULFORD & Anne ROSS of NJ, 18 Apr 1800, New Orleans; depicted in Dafford Mural, Acadian Memorial, St. Martinville, with her family
Marie-Susanne GRAVOIS 09 Dec 1788 Asc born c1784, Carleton, Gaspésie, Québec, or Île St.-Pierre; called Susanne; daughter of Joseph GRAVOIS III & Marie-Madeleine BOURG; sister of Angélique-Marguerite, Jean-Hébert, Joseph-Frédéric, Madeleine-Blanche, Marie-Félicité, Marie-Tarsille, & Victoire; arrived LA Dec 1788, age 4, aboard schooner La Brigite from Île St.-Pierre, captained by her father; depicted in Dafford Mural, Acadian Memorial, St. Martinville, with her family
Marie-Tarsile GRAVOIS 10 Dec 1788 Asc, StJ, Atk born c1780, probably Carleton, Gaspésie, Québec; called Tarsile; daughter of Joseph GRAVOIS III & Marie-Madeleine BOURG; sister of Angélique-Marguerite, Jean-Hébert, Joseph-Frédéric, Madeleine-Blanche, Marie-Félicité, Marie-Susanne, & Victoire; arrived LA Dec 1788, age 8, aboard schooner La Brigite from Île St.-Pierre, captained by her father; married, age 18, Charles, fils, son of Charles BREAUX & Esther BREAUX, 23 Jan 1798, St.-Jacques; moved to Atakapas District; died "at her home" on Bayou Vermilion, St. Martin Parish, 21 Apr 1818, age "about 38 years," buried next day "in the parish cemetery"; depicted in Dafford Mural, Acadian Memorial, St. Martinville, with her family
Marie-Victoire GRAVOIS 12 Dec 1788 Asc, StJ, Atk born c1775, probably Carleton, Gaspésie, Québec; called Victoire; daughter of Joseph GRAVOIS III & Marie-Madeleine BOURG; sister of Angélique-Marguerite, Jean-Hébert, Joseph-Frédéric, Madeleine-Blanche, Marie-Félicité, Marie-Susanne, & Marie-Tarsile; arrived LA Dec 1788, age 13, aboard schooner La Brigite from Île St.-Pierre, captained by her father; married, age 23, Vincent, son of Antoine BERTRAND & Anne-Barbe DERVIN of St.-Charles des Allemands, & widower of ____, 25 Feb 1798, St.-Jacques; moved to Atakapas District & settled on Bayou Vermilion; died Lafayette Parish 1 Sep 1841, age 65; depicted in Dafford Mural, Acadian Memorial, St. Martinville, with her family
Paul GRAVOIS 11 1765 StJ born c1751, probably Chignecto; son of Pierre GRAVOIS & Marie-Rose BOURGEOIS; brother of Jean & Joseph; on list of Acadian prisoners at Halifax, Aug 1763, unnamed, with parents & siblings; arrived LA 1765, age 14; in Cabanocé census, 1769, right [west] bank, called Paul, age 18, with mother, stepfather surgeon Philippe LACHAUSSÉE, 2 brothers, & 1 stepsister; not in St.-Jacques census, 1777, with the rest of his family; in St.-Jacques census, 1779, unnamed, with stepfather, mother, & others?; never married?

NOTES

01.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Jean Paul GRAVOIS; Arsenault, Généalogie, 983, 2498; BRDR, 2:129, 334 (SJA-2, 11), his marriage record, calls him Juan GRAVOIX (GRAVOIS), calls his wife Viviana BOURG, gives his & her parents' names, says his parents were "of Acadia," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Pedro BOURGOIS, Angela LEBLANC, & Joseph BOURGOIS; BRDR, 6:283 (ASC-11, 34), his death/burial record, calls him Jean GRAVOIS, age 95 yrs., but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  See also Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 251; Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 173.

Wall of Names seems to be saying that Jean & Paul were a single person named Jean-Paul, but the Cabanocé/St.-Jacques census of 1769 & many other sources hint that they were separate people.  No church record calls him anything but Jean or Juan, though in one record he is called Juan Baleri, or Jean Valéry, which is a stretch for Jean Paul.  See BRDR, 2:334 (ASC-5, 97). 

All of the Acadian GRAVOISs of South LA descend from Jean & 3 of his 7 sons. 

02.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Jean-Hébert GRAVOIS.

What happened to him in LA?  Her family was supposed to have settled at Ascension after they came to LA from Île St.-Pierre in Dec 1788.  See Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia, 105, 208. 

03.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Joseph GRAVOIS; BRDR, 2:334, 404 (SJA-1, 40), his marriage record, calls him Joseph GRAVOIS "of Acadia," calls his wife Louisse Francoise LA CHAUSSÉ "of Acadia," gives his & her parents' names, says his father was deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to his marriage were Jean BOURGOIS, Bonaventure GODIN, & Jean ROGER.  See also Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 251; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 445.

04.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Joseph GRAVOIS; Arsenault, Généalogie, 983; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 369, Family No. 456; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 1117, his marriage record. 

His family was supposed to have settled at Ascension after they came to LA from Île St.-Pierre in Dec 1788.  See Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia, 105, 208.  He died by Jan 1798, when he & his wife were listed as deceased in daughter Marie-Tarsile's marriage record, dated 23 Jan 1798, in BRDR, 2:143, 334 (SJA-2, 41).

05.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Joseph-Frédéric GRAVOIS.

What happened to him in LA?  His family was supposed to have settled at Ascension after they came to LA from Île St.-Pierre in Dec 1788.  See Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia, 105, 208. 

06.  Wall of Names, 17, calls her Madeleine-Blanche GRAVOIS.

What happened to her in LA?  Her family was supposed to have settled at Ascension after they came to LA from Île St.-Pierre in Dec 1788.  See Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia, 105, 208. 

07.  Wall of Names, 17, calls her Marguerite-Angélique GRAVOIS; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2498, which provides her birth year, says that Charles was a native of Germany & calls his mother Christine-Petronille RICHARD; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 369, Family No. 456, her birth/baptismal record, calls her Angélique-Marguerite GRAVOIS, gives her parents' names, says her godparents were Mathurin BOURG & Madeleine BRAUD, & says her family resided at St.-Servan from 1764-67 before going to England "On February 24, 1767"; BRDR, 2:298-99, 333 (SJA-2, 31), her marriage record, calls her Angelica GRAVOI, calls her husband Carlos FREDERICK, gives her & his parents' names, says his parents were "of Stockholm, Sweden," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Santiago CANTRELLE & Gil LEBLANC.  

Her family was supposed to have settled at Ascension after they came to LA from Île St.-Pierre in Dec 1788.  See Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia, 105, 298. 

08.  Wall of Names, 17, calls her Marie-Félicité GRAVOIS; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 369, Family No. 456, her birth/baptismal record, calls her Marie-Félicité GRAVOIS, gives her parents' names, says her godparents were Michel BOURG & Brigitte MARTIN, & says her family resided at St.-Servan from 1764-67 before going to England "On February 24, 1767"; NOAR, 7:157, 234 (SLC, M5, 128), her marriage record, calls her Maria GRAVOIS, "native of Bois[sic, Baie?] de Chaleur," calls her husband Samuel MULFORD, "native of New Jersey in North America, former adherent to Presbyterian Sect, abjured his errors before Rev. Thomas HASSET, canon of this cathedral who was commissioned by the bishop," gives her & his parents' names, says the witnesses to her marriage were Roberto JONES, José WOODARD, & Carlos FEDERICO.  

Despite what her marriage record says, she was born in France, not Acadia.  She lived on the Baie des Chaleurs, at Carleton, but she was not born there. 

Her family was supposed to have settled at Ascension after they came to LA from Île St.-Pierre in Dec 1788.  See Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia, 105, 208.  Three of her sisters settled on the western prairies, but she did not.  She & her husband settled probably at New Orleans.  She appears in none of the church records of the predominantly Acadian communities along the river, on the prairies, or on Bayou Lafourche/Terrebonne. 

09.  Wall of Names, 17, calls her Marie-Susanne GRAVOIS.

What happened to her in LA?  Her family was supposed to have settled at Ascension after they came to LA from Île St.-Pierre in Dec 1788.  See Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia, 105, 208. 

10.  Wall of Names, 17, calls her Marie-Tersile GRAVOIS; BRDR, 2:143, 334 (SJA-2, 41), her marriage record, calls her Tersilla GRAVOIS, calls her husband Carlos BRAUX (BRAUD), gives her & his parents' names, says her parents were "decd. of Canada," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Carlos BRAUX [probably her father-in-law] & Carlos FREDERIQUE [her brother-in-law]; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:441 (SM Ch.: v.4, #1181), her death/burial record, calls her Marie Tarsille GRAVOIS, "native of Halifax, spouse of Charles BRAUD, inhabitant at Vermillion[sic]," but does not give her parents' names, says she died "at age about 38 years at her home," that she was buried "in the parish cemetery," & that her burial record was signed by Joseph DUGAT [probably her son-in-law] & Constant BRAU. 

Her estimated birth year, c1780, is taken from the age found in her burial record.  In c1780, her family was living at Carleton, Québec, on the north shore of the Baie des Chaleurs.  No record has them living at Halifax.  Her family was supposed to have settled at Ascension after they came to LA from Île St.-Pierre in Dec 1788.  See Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia, 105, 208. 

11.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Jean Paul GRAVOIS; Arsenault, Généalogie, 983, 2498.  See also Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 251; Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 173.

Wall of Names seems to be saying that Jean & Paul were a single person named Jean-Paul, but the Cabanocé/St.-Jacques census of 1769 & other sources hint that they were separate people.  

Why is he not in the St.-Jacques census of 1777 with the rest of his family?  See De Ville, St. James Census, 1777, 8.  

There is no evidence in the church records that he ever married.  

12.  Wall of Names, 17, calls her Victoire GRAVOIS; BRDR, 2:88, 334 (SJA-2, 42), her marriage record, calls her Victoria GRAVOIS, calls her husband Vincente BERTERENT, a widower, gives her & his parents' names, says her parents were "of Canada" & his were "of St. Charles Parish," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Juan Bautista VERRET, Santiago GUESNON, & Joseph Lorenzo FABRE; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 4:216 (Laf.Ch.: v.3, p.155), her death/burial record, calls her Marie Victoire GRAVOIS m. Vincent BERTRAND, says she died "at age 65 yrs., but does not give her parents' names.

Her estimated birth year, c1775, is taken from the age found in her burial record.  In c1770, her family was living at Carleton, Québec, on the north shore of the Baie des Chaleurs.  No record has them living at Halifax.  Her family was supposed to have settled at Ascension after they came to LA from Île St.-Pierre in Dec 1788.  See Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia, 105. 

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