APPENDICES

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

POIRIER

[PWAH-ree-ay]

ACADIA

Jean Poirier came to Acadia from France in 1641 aboard the St.-François with his wife Jeanne, daughter of Antoine Chebrat and Françoise Chaumoret of La Chaussée, in the Loudounais region of the Loire valley, to work in the fisheries established by Nicolas Denys.  Jean died in the colony in c1654, in his late 20s, after fathering a son and a daughter.  His daughter married into the Caissie family, and his son married a Boudrot.  Jeanne remarried to Antoine Gougeon the year Jean died.  She died sometime in the late 1670s, probably at Port-Royal, in her early 50s. 

Jean and Jeanne's son Michel, born at Port-Royal in c1650, took up farming and married Marie, daughter of Michel Boudrot and Michelle Aucoin, at Port-Royal in c1673.  In the late 1670s or early 1680s, Michel and his family moved from Port-Royal to Chignecto.  They had 11 children, including nine sons and two daughters, most of whom created families of their own.  One of their daughters married into the Pothier family. 

Oldest son Michel, fils, born at Port-Royal in c1674, married Madeleine, daughter of Germain Bourgeois and Madeleine Dugas, probably at Chignecto in c1698.  They had 13 children, including seven sons who married into the Arseneau, Brun, Savoie, Gaudet, Bourg, Cyr, Nuirat, and Belliveau families.  Their five daughters married into the Arseneau, Cyr, Cosset, and Vigneau dit Maurice families. 

Pierre, born in c1680 at Port-Royal or Chignecto, married Agnès, daughter of Thomas Cormier and Marie-Madeleine Girouard, pioneers of the Chignecto settlement, in c1705.  They had 10 children, including nine sons who married into the Nuirat, Michel dit La Ruine, LeBlanc, Forest, Girouard, Dugas, Breau, Hébert, Arseneau, Doiron, and Carret families.  Their daughter married into the Bugeaud family.  Pierre died at Chignecto in July 1744, in his mid-60s.

Jean-Baptiste, born at Chignecto in April 1682, married Marie, another daughter of Thomas Cormier and Marie-Madeleine Girouard, at Chignecto in c1706.  They had nine children, including three sons who married into the Doiron, Gaudet, and Richard families.  Their six daughters married into the Chiasson, Hébert, Doiron, Landry, and Léger families.  Jean-Baptiste died probably at Chignecto in late 1748, age 66.

Louis, born at Chignecto in January 1784, married Cécile, daughter of Jean-Aubin Mignot dit Aubin and Anne Dugas and widow of Pierre Gaudet, probably at Chignecto in c1708.  They had seven children, including two sons who married into the Arseneau, Chiasson, and Vigneau families.  Three of their daughters married into the Caissie dit Roger, Mouton, and Arseneau families.  Louis died probably at Chignecto in late 1747, age 63.

François, born at Chignecto in c1691, married Marie, daughter of Michel Haché dit Gallant and Anne Cormier, at Chignecto in November 1715.  François died at Chignecto in early 1728, age 37.

Jacques, born probably at Chignecto in c1693, married Anne, daughter of François Cormier and Marguerite LeBlanc, at Chignecto in January 1716.  Jacques died probably at Chignecto in c1728, in his mid-30s.

Youngest son Joseph, born probably at Chignecto in c1695, married Anne, daughter of René Bernard and Madeleine Doucet, at Chignecto in October 1719.  Joseph died in early 1762, in his late 60s, during exile.  

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

~

Jean Poirier's nephew, Michel dit de France, born in France in c1667, reached Acadia by c1692, when he married Marie, daughter of Guyon Chiasson dit La Vallée and Jeanne Bernard.  They also settled at Chignecto amongst Michel dit France's many cousins.  Michel dit de France and Marie had 12 children, including five sons, all born at Chignecto, who created families of their own.  Their four daughters married into the Doucet, Caissie, Buote or Buhot, and Comeau families. 

Oldest son Michel, fils, born in c1693, married Jeanne, daughter of Charles Bourgeois and Marie Blanchard, at Chignecto in February 1718.  Michel, fils died at Pointe-aux-Trembles, Québec, in January 1758, age 65, during exile.  

François, born in c1698, married Marguerite, daughter of Louis Doucet and Marguerite Girouard, probably at Chignecto in c1727.  François died probably at Chignecto in the early 1750s, in his mid-50s.

Joseph married Jeanne, daughter of Abraham Arseneau and Jeanne Gaudet, probably at Chignecto in c1730.  He, too, died probably at Chignecto in the early 1750s.

Pierre, born in c1710, married Louise, daughter of Michel Caissie and Madeleine Gaudet, at Chignecto in October 1733.  He died in Très-Ste.-Trinité Parish, Cherbourg, France, in October 1760, age 50, during exile.

Youngest son René, born in October 1718, married Anne, daughter of Denis Gaudet and Anne Doucet, at Chignecto in November 1740.  He also died in France, in St.-Nicolas Parish, Nantes, in March 1766, age 48, during exile.

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

~

Jacques Poirier, born in St.-Malo, France, was a master builder and navigator.  In 1713, at Louisbourg, Île Royale, today's Cape Breton Island, he married a woman whose name has been lost to history.  Their daughter, name unrecorded, was born at Louisbourg in 1715.  They had moved to Port-Toulouse, Île Royale, by 1734.  One wonders if Jacques was kin to Jean and Michel Poirier. 

~

In 1755, descendants of Jean Poirier and his nephew Michel dit de France Poirier could be found at Annapolis Royal, Minas, in the French Maritimes, and especially at Chignecto. 

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

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

LOUISIANA:  RIVER SETTLEMENTS

Poiriers were among the very first Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana.  Four Poiriers, with three related families, the Cormiers, Landrys, and Richards, 21 persons in all, left Savannah, Georgia, on 21 December 1763 aboard the Savannah Packet and sailed to Mobile, "from which place they are to go to New Orleans," proclaimed an article in the Georgia Gazette the following day.  After a short stay in Mobile, which now belonged to the hated British, they  reached New Orleans in February 1764--the first recorded group of Acadians to settle in present-day Louisiana.  French authorities, who still controlled the colony in February 1764 even though it had been ceded to Spain in a secret treaty 15 months earlier, had not expected these new arrivals.  The Acadians' reputation for hard work and loyalty to France and the Roman Catholic faith having preceded them, however, the colonial leaders welcomed the Poiriers et al., gave them rice, corn, and other necessities, and pondered where to send them.  After overseeing the baptism of several of their children at New Orleans--including Jean-Baptiste Poirier III and Joseph Poirier--and consulting with authorities, the Poiriers and their kinsmen moved upriver to the recently-established concession of Cabanocé, later called St.-Jacques, where they settled on a bend in the Mississippi along the right, or west, bank of the river, in "the area of the vacant lands between [Nicolas] Verret's plantation and [Jacques] Jacqueline's cow ranch," at present-day Lagan, St. James Parish.  Cabanocé thus became the first Acadian community in Louisiana, predating the Bayou Teche settlement by a full year:  

Jean-Baptiste Poirier, fils, called Jean, age 27, came with wife Marie-Madeleine Richard, age 22, and two young sons--Jean-Baptiste III, age 3; and Joseph, age 1 1/2, whom they baptized in New Orleans.

Also with the party from Georgia was Jean's cousin, Cécile Poirier, age 41, wife of Olivier Landry, who came with two sons, ages 14 and 3.  Cécile remarried to Jean-Baptiste, son of fellow Acadian Jacques Leger and widower of Marie-Madeleine Sonnier, at St.-Jacques in April 1774.  Cécile died at St.-Jacques in January 1800, a widow again, age 75. 

Descendants of Jean-Baptiste POIRIER, fils (1733-1785; Jean, Michel)

Jean-Baptiste, fils, called Jean, third son of Jean-Baptiste Poirier and Marie Cormier, born at Menoudie, Chignecto, in February 1733, was exiled to Georgia in the fall of 1755 in his late teens.  He followed relatives back to greater Acadia via boat in the spring of 1756 and got no farther than Long Island, New York.  He married cousin Marie-Madeleine, called Madeleine, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Baptiste Richard and Marie-Catherine Cormier of Nappan, Chignecto, in c1759, place unrecorded, perhaps in New York.  Two sons were born in 1760 and 1762, perhaps in New York, where the couple evidently had been held since 1756.  They and their sons followed Madeleine's older brother and sister and his cousin Cécile to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1763, followed them back to Georgia, and followed three other closely related families from Chignecto--the Cormiers, Landrys, and Richards--to Mobile in December 1763.  Their marriage was blessed by a priest there in late January 1764, on the eve of their departure for New Orleans.  Their older sons were baptized at New Orleans soon after their arrival--among the first Acadian baptisms in the colony.  Between 1760 and 1797, Madeleine gave Jean at least nine children, five sons and four daughters, born in exile and Louisiana:  Jean-Baptiste III in May 1760 and baptized at New Orleans in February 1764; Joseph in June 1762 and baptized at New Orleans March 1764; François in New Orleans in March 1765; a daughter, name obscured in the church record, perhaps Marie, at Cabahannocer in 1767 and baptized there in January 1783; Marguerite baptized at Cabahannocer, age unrecorded, in January 1777; Michel at Cabahannocer in September 1773; another Marguerite baptized at Cabahannocer, age unrecorded, in November 1778; Isabelle baptized at Cabahanncoer, age unrecorded, in January 1781; Jean-Pierre, called Pierre, baptized at Cabahannocer, age unrecorded, in March 1781 but died there in November 1795, age 14; and a daughter, name obscured in the church record, baptized at Cabahannocer in 1797, age unrecorded.  Jean died at St.-Jacques in January 1785, age 51.  His daughters married into the Bernard, Clouâtre, Part, and Picou families.  Only two of his five sons seems to have survived childhood, and only one of them created a family of his own. 

1

Oldest son Jean-Baptiste III died at St.-Jacques in November 1798.  The priest who recorded the burial said that Jean was age 40 when he died; he was 38.  He did not marry.

2

Michel married cousin Marie, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Landry and Anne Cormier, at St.-Jacques in September 1798.  Their son, name unrecorded, died at St.-Jacques 10 days after his birth in July 1799, Michel, fils was born in August 1800, Joseph-Valéry, called Valéry, in September 1802, Maximilien in August 1805, Napoléon, called Léon, in February 1807, Benjamin in July 1809, and Jean Baptiste in May 1820.  Their daughters married into the Arceneaux, Lubislavich dit Nicolle, and Webre families.  Michel le jeune died in St. James Parish in October 1827, age 54.  Most of his sons remained in St. James Parish, but one of them moved upriver to East Baton Rouge Parish. 

2a

Maximilien died in St. James Parish in August 1823, age 18.  He did not marry. 

2b

Valéry married Marie Domitille, called Domitille, daughter of Benjamin Folcher or Folger and Archange Durand, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in February 1829.  Their son Michel le jeune was born near Convent in April 1831, Jean Baptiste Elphége was baptized at the Convent church, age 13 1/2 months, in June 1835, Joseph Benjamin, called Benjamin le jeune, was born in March 1836, Joseph Valéry, fils in October 1840, Théophile Ignace, called Ignace, in February 1846 but died "at his parents home," age 13 months, in March 1847, Joseph Oscar was born in August 1847 but died near Baton Rouge, age 2, in October 1849, Joseph Ulysse was born in St. James Parish in March 1849, and Joseph Camille near Baton Rouge in March 1851.  Their daughter married into the Begary family.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 3 slaves--2 males and a female, all black, ages 40, 38, and 13--on Valéry Poirier's farm next to Napoléon Poirier in the parish's eastern district.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in East Baton Rouge Parish counted 11 slaves--5 males and 6 females, all blacks except for 3 mulattoes, ages 48 years to 8 months, living in 2 houses--on J. V. Poirrier's farm; this probably was Joseph Valéry. 

Michel le jeune married Isabelle, daughter of Perico Sanchez and Marie Oncale, at the Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in April 1854.  Their son Jean Michel was born near Baton Rouge in December 1858 but died the following January, Perique Michel was born in January 1860, Camille Charles was born in December 1864 but died at age 11 months in November 1865, and Joseph Evariste was born in October 1866.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in East Baton Rouge Parish counted 2 slaves--a 40-year-old black female, and a 3-year-old mulatto male--in Michael Poirrier's household in the City of Baton Rouge.  During the War of 1861-65, Michel le jeune served in Company B of the 7th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in East Baton Rouge Parish, which fought in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania--one of General R. E. Lee's Louisiana Tigers.  Michel le jeune enlisted in the company in June 1861 at Camp Moore, Louisiana, age 30.  He followed his unit to Virginia, where he was seriously wounded on Marye's Heights, Fredericksburg, Virginia, in May 1863.  After a short stay in an unrecorded Virginia hospital, he was sent home on a medical furlough.  One record insists that he "died on his way to Louisiana," but the births of sons Camille Charles and Joseph Evariste prove that he survived his wound, as well as the war, and returned to this family. 

Jean Baptiste Elphége married Susan Lively probably at Baton Rouge by the mid-1850s.  Their son John Berry was born near Baton Rouge in December 1856.  During the War of 1861-65, Jean Baptiste Elphége may have been the J. B. Poirer who served in Company H of the Chalmette Regiment Volunteer State Troops Militia Infantry, which fought in Louisiana early in the war.  He was paroled at Meridian, Mississippi, in May 1865, so he must have served in a volunteer unit as well.  Perhaps he was the J. E. Porrier who served in Company A of the 9th Battalion Louisiana Infantry, raised in East Baton Rouge Parish, which fought in Louisiana during the middle of the war. 

Benjamin le jeune married Anatalie, called Natalie, another daughter of Perico Sanchez and Marie Oncale, at the Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in August 1857.  Their son Louis Joseph Benjamin was born near Baton Rouge in July 1858, Andrew Robert in January 1860, Alexis Pliny in November 1861, Ernest Charles in December 1863, and Eugène in June 1866. 

2c

Benjamin married Émilie, daughter of fellow Acadians Rosémond Braud and Émilie Bergeron, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in May 1834.  Benjamin remarried to Élisabeth, daughter of fellow Acadians Donat Braud and Madeleine Bourgeois, at the Convent church in September 1839; they had to secure a dispensation for ___ degree of relationship in order to marry. Their son Désiré Benjamin was born in St. James Parish in September 1843, and Joseph Eugène in October 1855.  Their daughter married a Braud cousin.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 6 slaves--4 males and 2 females, all black, ranging in age from 36 years to 5 months--on Benjamin Poirier's farm between Michel Poirier and Eugènie Poirier in the parish's eastern district.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 8 slaves--5 males and 3 females, all black except for 1 mulatto, ages 45 years to 11 months, living in 3 houses--on Benj. Poirier's farm next to Eugénie Poirier in the parish's Right Bank District 6. 

During the War of 1861-65, Désiré Benjamin probably was the D. Porrier who served in Gaudet's Company of the St. James Parish Regiment Militia. 

2d

Léon married cousin Marie Eulalie Céleste or Célestine, called Céleste, daughter of André Green and his Acadian wife Madeleine Landry, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in July 1836; they had to secure a dispensation for second degree of relationship in order to marry.  Their son Léonard died "between [ages] 9 and 10 at his parent's home" in St. James Parish in September 1844,  André was born near Convent in April 1837, Michel Léonard near St. James in July 1842, Jules in June 1844, Michel Alfred in July 1847, and Charles in January 1854.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 7 slaves--5 males and 2 females, all black except for 1 mulatto, ranging in age from 45 to 8--on Napoléon Poirier's farm next to Valéry Poirier in the parish's eastern district. 

André died in St. James Parish in August 1854, age 17. 

2e

Jean Baptiste died in St. James Parish in March 1842, age 21.  He did not marry. 

2f

Michel, fils, at age 49, married cousin Marie Joséphine, called Joséphine, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Landry and his Creole wife Anastasie Poché, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in February 1850; they had to secure a dispensation for second and third degrees of consanguinity in order to marry.  Their son Michel III was born near Convent in May 1859, and Justin in August 1861.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 14 slaves--8 males and 6 females, all black, ranging in age from 50 to 2--on Michel Poirier's farm next to Benjamin Poirier in the parish's eastern district; this probably was Michel, fils.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 21 slaves--14 males and 7 females, 13 blacks and 8 mulattoes, ages 64 years to 6 months, living in 7 houses--on Michel Poirier's plantation in the parish's Right Bank District 6. 

~

In 1765, another Poirier family came to Louisiana, this time from Halifax, Nova Scotia.  They, too, settled on the river above New Orleans.  Joseph Poirier, age 24, came with wife Marie-Anne Bourgeois, age 15, and settled at Cabanocé, where Joseph doubtlessly was welcomed by his Poirier cousins.   All of Joseph and Marie-Anne's children were born in the colony: 

Descendants of Joseph POIRIER (c1740-1811; Jean, Michel, Pierre)

Joseph, son of Michel Poirier and Marie-Madeleine LeBlanc, born probably at Chignecto in c1740, escaped the British roundup there in 1755 and evidently followed his family into exile on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore.  He married fellow Acadian Marie-Anne, called Anne, Bourgeois during exile.  They came to Louisiana from Halifax via Cap-Française, French St.-Domingue, in 1765 and settled near his cousins at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where Spanish officials counted them on the left, or east, bank of the river in 1777.  Two years later, they owned a slave.  All of their children were born in Louisiana.  Their daughters married into the Gaudet and Part families.  Joseph died near Convent, St. James Parish, in January 1811; the priest who recorded the burial said that Joseph was age 68 when he died; he was closer to 71.  His only son does not seem to have survived childhood, so, except for its blood, this family line may have died with Joseph. 

Jean, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in June 1776, probably died young. 

~

In February 1765, Michel Poirier, age 27, had come to Louisiana from Halifax via Cap-Français, French St.-Domingue, with the Broussard dit Beausoleil party.  After a short respite in New Orleans, during which Michel attempted to exchange his Canadian card money for Louisiana funds, he followed the Broussards to Bayou Teche, but he did not remain there.  That autumn, with dozens of other Acadians, he fled to Cabanocé to escape an epidemic that devastated the Bayou Teche communities, married at Cabanocé in early 1766, and settled there.

Descendants of Michel POIRIER (c1738-1776; Jean?, Michel?, ?)

Michel Poirier, born probably at Chignecto in c1738, escaped the British roundup of 1755 and probably followed his family into exile on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore.  He ended up in a prison camp in Nova Scotia in the early 1760s and came to Louisiana in February 1765 with the Broussard dit Beausoleil party from Halifax via Cap-Français, French St.-Domingue.  He married Marie, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean-Baptiste Cormier, père and Marie-Madeleine Richard of Chignecto, at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques in March 1766.  Later that year and in 1769, Spanish authorities counted them on the left, or east, bank of the river at Cabanocé.  Their daughters married into the Arbour, Dugas, and Hébert families.  Michel died at St.-Jacques in October 1776, age 38. 

1

Oldest son Pierre, born at St.-Jacques in c1766, died near Convent, St. James Parish, in November 1822, age 55.  Did he marry?   

2

Joseph, born in St.-Jacques in c1769, married Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Bernard and Cécile Bergeron, at St.-Jacques in May 1792.  Their son Joseph, fils was born at St.-Jacques in April 1793, Benjamin in July 1797 but died at age 15 months in August 1798, Célestin was born in March 1799, Valéry in April 1800, a son, name unrecorded but it was Adolphe, "recently born," died in August 1801, Michel-Evariste was born in August 1802, Simon in c1803, a second Adolphe in April 1806, Edmond in June 1808, and Onésime in c1811.  Their daughter married into the Migott family.  Joseph died in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1828; the Thibodauxville priest who recorded the burial said that Joseph was age 49 when he died; he was 59.  One of his sons settled upriver in Ascension Parish.  Five of his sons followed him to upper Bayou Lafourche, but two of them died there before they could marry.  His other two sons remained on the river. 

2a

Joseph, fils married Renée, daughter of fellow Acadian Hippolyte Arceneaux and his Creole wife Élisabeth Fontenot and widow of Bonaventure Godin, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in June 1816.  Their son Michel le jeune was born near Convent in August 1821, Paul Vasseur, called Vasseur, in June 1824, Onésime le jeune in June 1826, Michel Lauzin, called Lauzin, was baptized at the Convent church, "age about 4 mos.," in September 1829, Joseph was born in August 1830, and Evariste le jeune in January 1833.  They also had a son named Léon or Léonce.  Their daughters married into the Dicharry and Le Boeuf families.  Joseph, fils died near Convent in October 1847; the priest who recorded the burial said that Joseph died at "age 50 years"; he was 54. 

Lauzin married cousin Apolline Célestine or Célestine Pauline, daughter of Jacques Dicharry and his Acadian wife Clémence Dugas, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in September 1844; they had to secure a dispensation for third degree of consanguinity in order to marry.  Their son Michel Émile was born in Ascension Parish in November 1848.  Lauzin remarried to cousin Adeline or Marie Gracieuse, daughter of fellow Acadian Désiré Arceneaux and his Creole wife Gratieuse Dicharry, at the Donaldsonville church in September 1851.  Their son Joseph Camille was born in Ascension Parish in December 1859, and Léo Désiré in May 1862.  Lauzin died in Ascension Parish in July 1867; the Donaldsonville priest who recorded the burial said that "Lauzain" died at "age 46 years"; he was 38. 

Onésime le jeune died near Convent, St. James Parish, in April 1845, age 18, and probably did not marry. 

Léon married cousin Marie Philomène, called Philomène, daughter of Jean Baptiste Scionneaux or Sioneaux and Marie Mathilde Arcenot, French Canadian, not a fellow Acadian, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in September 1856.  Their son Joseph Félix was born in St. James Parish in July 1859, Jean Baptiste in June 1864, and Albert in April 1867.  During the War of 1861-65, Léon served in Company E of the St. James Parish Regiment Militia. 

Vasseur died in Ascension Parish in December 1861.  The Donaldsonville priest who recorded his burial said that Vasseur died at "age 30 years"; he was 37.  One wonders if his death was war-related.  Did he marry? 

2b

Valéry married Caroline, also called Petronille, minor daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Baptiste Chiasson and Anne LeBlanc, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in February 1819.  Their son Marcellin was born near Convent in April 1820 but died at age 13 in June 1833, Joseph was born in January 1823 but died at age 4 in March 1827, Achille was born in May 1828, and Jean Baptiste Osémé, called Osémé, in June 1835.  Valéry remarried to fellow Acadian Eugénie Gravois probably in the late 1830s.  Their son Désiré was born in Ascension Parish in December 1841 but died at age 11 1/2 in October 1853, and Aristide was born in September 1843.  Valéry remarried again--his third marriage--to Charlotte, daughter of Louis Grégoire and Geneviève Philipeau and widow of Élie Pannevel, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in April 1846.  Valéry died in Ascension Parish in October 1849; the Donaldsonville priest who recorded the burial said that Valéry died at "age 52 years"; he was 49. 

Achille, by his father's first wife, died in Ascension Parish in September 1852, age 24.  He probably did not marry. 

During the War of 1861-65, Osémé, by his father's first wife, served in Company E of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. James Parish, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. 

During the War of 1861-65, Aristide, by his father's second wife, served in Company E of the 29th (Thomas's) Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Ascension Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Aristide may have married Dilia Seutoon and settled in Ascension Parish by the late 1860s. 

2c

Simon married cousin Caroline, 17-year-old daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Mire and Henriette Bernard, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in December 1820 and settled near Convent and in Ascension Parish before moving to upper Bayou Lafourche. 

2d

Célestin married Clémence Véronique, called Véronique, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Guillot and Isabelle Pitre, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in February 1823.  They settled on upper Bayou Lafourche.

2e

Adolphe married Marie Rosalie, called Rosalie, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Bourgeois and Esther Gautreaux, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in December 1834.  They also settled on upper Bayou Lafourche. 

2f

Edmond died in Lafourche Interior Parish in March 1821, age 22, and did not marry. 

2g

Onésime died in Lafourche Interior Parish in March 1831, age 20, and did not marry. 

3

Youngest son Michel, fils, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in November 1777, may have been born posthumously, and he may have died near Convent, St. James Parish, in March 1815.  The priest who recorded Michel Poirier's burial called him "an Acadian" and said that he was "age 45" when he died, but this Michel, fils would have been closer to age 38 that year.  Evidently he never married. 

~

Marie Poirier, age 10, came to Louisiana in September 1766 with the first contingent of Acadian exiles from Maryland.  She followed her fellow exiles to Cabanocé, where she married Joseph, son of fellow Acadians Justinien Dupuis and Anne Girouard of Annapolis Royal, in February 1774.  Three years later, Spanish officials counted Marie and her husband at Cabanocé/St. Jacques on the left, or east, bank of the river.  She may have been the "Mrs. Poirier" who died in Ascension Parish in March 1855, age 99.  If so, she was one of the last Acadian immigrants to join our ancestors. 

~

Sometime in the 1770s, Pierre Poirier came to Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where a Spanish official counted him in January 1777 with the family of Jean-Baptiste Léger, husband of Pierre's cousin Cécile Poirier.  Pierre did not remain on the river, however, but crossed the Atchafalaya Basin during the 1780s and settled in the Attakapas District.  

~

Jean Baptiste Poirier died in St. James Parish in December 1810.  The priest who recorded his burial said that Jean Baptiste was "nat. Môle St. Nicolas Santo Domingo" and age 41 at the time of his death, but the good father did not give Jean Baptiste's parents' names or mention a wife.  Many Poiriers from Chignecto migrated from South Carolina and other British colonies to St.-Domingue in the early 1760s.  This Jean Baptiste's parents' must have been among them.  Was he one of the thousands of Haitian refugees who came to New Orleans in 1809 via Havana, Cuba?  Did he have a wife and children?  His burial record is silent about that, too. 

~

Other POIRIERs on the River

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

In August 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 8 slaves--all females, all black, ranging in age from 37 years to 2 months--on Eugénie Poirier's farm next to Benjamin Poirier in the parish's eastern district.  Was Eugénie a Poirier or the widow of a Poirier?  Why were there no male slaves on her farm?  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 8 slaves again--4 males and 4 females, all black except for 1 mulatto, ages 44 to 5--on Eugènie Poirier's farm next to Benj. Poirier in the parish's Right Bank District 6. 

In September 1850, the federal census taker in East Baton Rouge Parish counted 9 slaves--3 males and 6 females, all black except for 2 mulattoes, ranging in age from 34 to 2--in Joseph Poirier's household in the City of Baton Rouge. 

"Mrs. omitted Poirier, age 99 years," died in Ascension Parish in March 1855.  The Donaldsonville priest who recorded the burial recorded nothing else about the venerable woman.  Was she Marie Poirier, daughter of Abraham Poirier and his first wife Marie-Josèphe Bourg of Chignecto, born in c1756 in greater Acadia, who came to Louisiana as a child from Halifax via Cap-Français, French St.-Domingue, in 1765?  If so, she married fellow Acadian Joseph Dupuis at St.-Jacques on the river in February 1774 and was one of the last of the Acadian immigrants in Louisiana to join her ancestors. 

Azémé Poirier "drowned today," the 4th of July 1857, age 22, in Ascension Parish.  The Donaldsonville priest who recorded the burial did not give the young woman's parents' names or mention a husband. 

LOUISIANA:  WESTERN SETTLEMENTS

In February 1765, a large party of Acadians led by Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil reached Louisiana from Halifax via Cap-Français, St.-Domingue.  The French officials in New Orleans sent the Broussard party to Bayou Teche in the Attakapas District, west of the Atchafalaya Basin.  That spring, summer, and fall, dozens of the Attakapas Acadians died in an epidemic that devastated the Bayou Teche community.  One of the victims was an infant named Jean-Chrysostôme Poirier, parents unknown, who died at the beginning of July.  The only other Poirier at Attakapas, Michel, retreated that autumn with other Teche Acadians to Cabanocé on the river and did not return. 

~

A Poirier did not "return" to the western prairies until the late 1780s, when Pierre Poirier of St.-Jacques crossed the Atchafalaya Basin,  married at Attakapas, and created a western branch of the family: 

Descendants of Pierre POIRIER (c1764-; Jean, Michel, Michel, fils)

Pierre, son of Abraham Poirier and his second wife Agnès Belliveau, born probably at Halifax in c1764, came to Louisiana probably as an orphan in 1765 with an older half-sister.  He first appears in Louisiana records in January 1777, when Spanish officials counted him as a 13-year-old orphan living with his second cousin Cécile Poirier, wife of Jean-Baptiste Leger, on the left, or east, bank of the river at St.-Jacques.  Pierre did not remain on the river.  He married Scholastique, daughter of fellow Acadians Louis-Charles Babineaux and Anne Guilbeau, at Attakapas in September 1787.  They settled at Grande Pointe on upper Bayou Teche near present-day Breaux Bridge, and at L'Anse de Bon Repos, also on the Teche.  Their daughters married into the Cohem, Dugas, Dupuy, Guilbeau, Richard, and Theriot families.  Pierre and Scholastique had only one son, but he fathered many sons of his own. 

Julien, born at Grande Pointe in October 1793, married Céleste, daughter of fellow Acadians François Theriot and Geneviève Dupuis of L'Ance, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in June 1819.  They settled at Grande Pointe.  Their son Pierre Julien was born in March 1825, Charles Désiré in June 1828, François Rosiclair, called Rosiclair, in November 1830, Jules Julien in December 1836, and Joseph in September 1843.  Their daughters married into the Blanchard, Bourque, Delahoussaye, Leleux, Theriot, and Viator families.  Julien, père died in St. Martin Parish in August 1847, age 53. 

Charles Désiré married fellow Acadian Azena Broussard probably in St. Martin Parish by the early 1850s.  Charles died in St. Martin Parish in April 1854, age 25; his succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse a day after his death. 

Jules married cousin Marie Amelie, daughter of fellow Acadians Émile Melançon and Victoire Theriot, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in April 1861.  Their son Anatole was born in St. Martin Parish in February 1862, Alfred died at age 1 month in March 1863, and Léopold was born near New Iberia, Iberia Parish, in September 1869. 

Rosiclair died in St. Martin Parish in February 1863.  The priest who recorded the burial said that Rosiclair died "at age 30 yrs."; he was 32.  He does not seem to have married.  One wonders if his death was war-related. 

During the War of 1861-65, Joseph served, probably as a conscript, in Company A of the Consolidated 18th Regiment and Yellow Jacket Battalion Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. James and St. Martin parishes, which fought in Louisiana.  Did he survive the war?

Other POIRIERs on the Western Prairies

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link at least one Poirier in the western parishes with known lines of the family there:

Catherine, daughter of Vincent Poirier and Jeanne Bige, married William, son of William Bargo, probably an Anglo, at Opelousas in June 1790.  One wonders if Catherine's surname was something that sounded like Poirier. 

A succession for ____ Poirier, "a widow Her granddaughter is Joséphine Poirie," daughter of Charles François Poirier and Azéna Broussard of St. Martin Parish, and [Azéna is] "now remarried to Jean Baptiste Clement," was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse, Lafayette Parish, in November 1861. 

LOUISIANA:  LAFOURCHE VALLEY SETTLEMENTS

Three Poirier brothers from St. James Parish followed their widowed father to upper Bayou Lafourche during the 1820s, but only one of their lines survived.  Members of that line evidently returned to the river during the late antebellum period.   

Descendants of Simon POIRIER (c1798-1837; Jean?, Michel?, ?, Michel)

Simon, sixth son of Joseph Poirier and Adélaïde Bernard, born at St.-Jacques in c1803, married cousin Caroline, 17-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Mire and Henriette Bernard, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in December 1820; they had to secure a dispensation for third degree of relationship in order to marry.  They settled near Convent and in Ascension Parish and also lived on upper Bayou Lafourche.  Their daughter married into the Babin family.  Simon died in Ascension Parish in October 1837, age 39.  None of his four sons created families of their own, so, except, for its blood, this line of the family also died out. 

1

Oldest son Pierre Evariste, born near Convent in December 1821, died in Ascension Parish at age 8 months in August 1822.

2

A son, name unrecorded, died in Lafourche Interior Parish at age 4 months in April 1826.

3

Éloi died in Lafourche Interior Parish at age 11 months in August 1831. 

4

Youngest son Adam, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in June 1833, died in Ascension Parish, age 12, in January 1846. 

Descendants of Célestin POIRIER (1799-1825; Jean?, Michel?, ?, Michel)

Célestin, third son of Joseph Poirier and Adélaïde Bernard, born at St.-Jacques in March 1799, married Clémence Véronique, called Véronique, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Guillot and Isabelle Pitre, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in February 1823.  They settled on upper Bayou Lafourche.  Their daughter married into the Le Ril family.  Célestin died in Lafourche Interior Parish in December 1825, age 26.  He and his wife had no sons, so, except for its blood, this line of the family died with him. 

Descendants of Adolphe POIRIER (1806-1867; Jean?, Michel?, ?, Michel)

Adolphe, seventh son of Joseph Poirier and Adélaïde Bernard, born at St.-Jacques in April 1806, married Marie Rosalie, called Rosalie, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Bourgeois and Esther Gautreaux, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in December 1834.  They settled probably on upper Bayou Lafourche near the boundary between Ascension and Assumption parishes.  Their daughter married into the Louvière family.  Adolphe died in Ascension Parish in April 1867; the Donaldsonville priest who recorded the burial said that Adolphe died at "age 66 years."  He was 61. 

1

Oldest son Michel Adolphe, born in Ascension Parish in July 1836, married Amelina Jeanne or Jane Dearman probably in Ascension Parish in the late 1850s.  Their son William McDonald was born near Gonzales, Ascension Parish, in April 1866, and Joseph Edward in March 1868.  During the War of 1861-65, Adolphe M., as he was called in Confederate records, served in Company E of the 29th (Thomas's) Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Ascension Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Judging by the birth of his older son, he survived the war and returned to this family. 

2

Pierre Victorin was born in Ascension Parish in April 1839. 

3

Joseph Derado was born near Paincourtville, Assumption Parish, in February 1845. 

4

Joseph Camille, a twin, born in Ascension Parish in August 1850, died only a month after his birth. 

5

Youngest son Armand Pierre was born in Ascension Parish in March 1858. 

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

A Poirier was among the early colonists of Old Mobile, once part of French Louisiana.  French Creoles named Poiré lived in the city as early as the 1720s, decades before the Acadian Poiriers appeared.  Other French Creoles with similar-sounding surnames lived in the city throughout the colonial period: 

In 1706, Christophe Poirier served as a warehousekeeper at Fort Louis-de-la-Louisiane, later called Old Mobile.  In 1707, he was prosperous enough to own an Indian slave.  During the long dispute between Commander Bienville and Commissary La Salle, Christophe supported his superior, the commissary, and paid dearly for it. 

Lucien, fils, son of Lucien Poiré and Catherine Lucas of Paris, married Marguerite, daughter of Claude Toulouze of Picardie, at New Orleans in April 1721. 

Françoise, daughter of Louis Poiré, "resident of New Orleans," died at New Orleans, age 17 months, in March 1725. 

Chevalier André Poiré married Françoise Le Kintrek, place and date unrecorded.  Their son André-Claude was baptized at New Orleans, age unrecorded, in June 1747. 

Léopolde Poiré married Marie-Catherine Ouvre, place and date unrecorded, and was living at New Orleans in 1750. 

Jean-Étienne Poirier of Artois, France, a sergeant in the Company of Bonitte and widower of Marie-Françoise Brignac, who had died at Mobile, married Susanne, daughter of Pierre La Boussaye, at New Orleans in May 1759. 

Thomas Porée or Porrée, a merchant, married Marie Vincent, place and date unrecorded, and was living at New Orleans in 1766. 

Antoine Poiré, born at New Orleans in c1729, married Marie-Marguerite, called Marguerite, Prau or Preau at New Orleans in November 1767.  Their son Charles was born at New Orleans in September 1769.  Antoine died at New Orleans in July 1774, age 45. 

Thomas, fils, native of Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, son of Thomas Porée and Marie-Louise Vizense of Grand-Ville, Normandy, France, married Louise, native of New Orleans, daughter of Antoine Foucher of Rochefort, France, and widow of Nicolas Piquiny, at New Orleans in March 1785.  Their son Joseph-Vincent was born at New Orleans in January 1788, Alix in February 1791, twins Joseph and Vincent in January 1793 but Vincent died the following October or November, and Pierre was born in February 1797 but died at age 3 1/2 in October 1800.  The family also used the surname Desmarais-Porée.  When did Thomas, fils's family live at Louisbourg?  Before 1758?

A Porée, first name unrecorded, serving as a militia officer, died at New Orleans in September 1786, age 36. 

Marguerite Porée married Joseph, son of Jean Girard of Languedoc, France, and widower of Rosalie Delatte, at New Orleans in May 1789. 

Jean-Paul Poirier, "native of territory of the Alibamons," baptized at New Orleans, died in the city in November 1792.  The priest who recorded the burial did not give Jean-Paul's parents' names, mention a wife, or give his age at the time of this death. 

Céleste, daughter of Hélène Porré, native of New Orleans, married Charles, son of Indian interpreter Louis Forneret, at New Orleans in February 1797. 

Charles Porée married Catherine Macarty, place and date unrecorded, and was living in New Orleans in 1800. 

~

During the antebellum period, Poiré/Poirier/Poirriers, who would have been called Foreign French by native Louisianians, came to New Orleans from France: 

Auguste Poirrier, a 23-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship George out of Bordeaux, France, in May 1826.  His destination was listed as Bordeaux, so he probably did not remain in the Bayou State. 

Mad. Poirier, a 23-year-old professor from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Tippicanoe out of Le Havre, France, in June 1843. 

August Poirier, a 23-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Glasgow out of Le Havre in April 1848.  His destination was Mississippi. 

G. Poiré, a 30-year-old butcher from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Emma Watts out of Bordeaux in May 1850. 

Juliette Poirier, a 9-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Louella out of Le Havre in April 1851.  Aboard the same ship was her younger brother, 8-year-old Eugène. 

CONCLUSION

Poiriers were among the first families of Acadia, and they were among the very first Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana.  A young husband with a wife and two infant sons arrived from Georgia via Mobile in February 1764 and settled with three other related families at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river above New Orleans, where they had more children.  Two more Poiriers, a young bachelor and an orphaned infant, came to Louisiana from Halifax via Cap-Français, French St.-Domingue, in February 1765 and followed the Broussards to lower Bayou Teche.  Jean-Chrysostôme Poirier, also called a Potier, was only a year old when he died on the Teche in July 1765, one of the first victims of a mysterious epidemic that struck the Teche valley Acadians that summer and fall.  The young bachelor survived the epidemic but retreated to Cabanocé on the river with other disgruntled Teche valley Acadians, married there, and created a vigorous line.  Three more Poiriers--a young husband and two orphans, one of them a teenager and her infant half-brother--came to the colony later in 1765 from Halifax via Cap-Français.  They settled on the river.  Another Poirier family line came of it, not on the river but on the western prairies.  This western branch of the family, however, remained small compared to their cousins on the river.  A Poirier cousin from Haiti came to Louisiana in 1809 with thousands of other refugees from that strife-torn island who had sought refuge in Spanish Cuba.  He settled near his cousins in St. James Parish but created no new family line.  Later in the antebellum period, Poiriers from St. James Parish moved upriver to Ascension and East Baton Rouge parishes, widening the family's substantial presence along the old Acadian Coast.  Meanwhile, three brothers from St. James Parish settled on upper Bayou Lafourche, but no robust line came of it. 

French-Creole Poirés, Porées, and Porrés lived in New Orleans during the colonial period, but they never equaled in numbers the Acadian Poiriers on the river or even on the prairies.  A Poiret family from French Illinois, settled in the Opelousas District during the late colonial period.  During the late antebellum period, Poiriers lived in Natchitoches Parish and Poriers at Shreveport and in Bossier and Caddo parishes. 

Judging by the number of slaves they owned during the late antebellum period, some Poiriers lived comfortably on their farms and plantations along the river.  One of them, Michel Poirier, fils, held 21 slaves on his St. James Parish plantation in 1860.  The federal slave schedules of 1850 and 1860 reveal no slaves held by members of the family in the western parishes or along upper Bayou Lafourche.

Over a dozen Poiriers served Louisiana in uniform during the War of 1861-65.  All of them seem to have survived their Confederate service.  ...

The Acadian family's name also is spelled Pauriee, Poirez, Poirie, Poiriez, Poirrer, Poirrier, Porie, Porrie.  [For the Acadian family's Louisiana "begats," see Book Ten]

Sources:  1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, East Baton Rouge & St. James parishes; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, East Baton Rouge & St. James parishes; Arsenault, Généalogie, 729, 1031-51, 1663, 2250-52, 2283-84, 2568-69; Brasseaux, Foreign French, 1:436, 2:272, 3:241; BRDR, vols. 1a(rev.), 2, 3, 4, 5(rev.), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; De La Roque, "Tour of Inspection," Canadian Archives 1905, 2A:21-22, 96, 105, 154, 157; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 359-66, 572; Hébert, D., South LA Records, vol. 1; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A, 1-B, 2-A, 2-B, 2-C, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Higginbotham, Old Mobile, 581; <islandregister.com/1752.html>; NOAR, vols. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/5bateaux.htm>, Family No. 142; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/Supply.htm>, Family No. 29; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 675-77; White, DGFA-1, 1327-38; White, DGFA-1 English, 282-84. 

Settlement Abbreviations 
(present-day civil parishes that existed in 1861 are in parentheses; 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, 20, calls her Cécile POIRIER; Arsenault, Généalogie, 1032, 1037; White, DGFA-1, 1336; BRDR, 2:491, 598 (SJA-1, 45a), the record of her second marriage, calls her Coécille POIRÉE, "widow of Olivier LANDRY," calls her husband Jean-Jacques LEGÉE, "widower of Anne MIREAU," gives no parents' names, & says the witnesses to her marriage were Jean POIRÉE [her borther] & Joseph LANDRY; BRDR, 2:598 (SJA-4, 15), her death/burial record, calls her Cecilia POIRIER, "age 75 years, widow of Juan Santiago LEGER," but does not give her parents' names.

02.  Wall of Names, 23 (pl. 5R), calls him Jean POIRIER, & lists him with his wife & 3 children [one of whom, daughter Marie, was born in LA, so she should not have been listed with them]; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2568, calls him Jean POIRIER, says he was born in 1737, calls his parents Jean POIRIER & Marguerite CORMIER of Menoudy, near Beaubassin, says he married Madeleine RICHARD on 22 Jan 1760 in Mobile, calls her parents Jean RICHARD & Catherine CORMIER of Nappan, near Beaubassin, & says he children were Jean, born in 1760, Francoise in 1765, Marie in 1767, Marguerite in 1771, & Michel in 1774, but gives no birthplaces, & that he resided sur la rive est du Mississipi[sic], at St.-Jacques in 1777; White, DGFA-1, 1336, calls him Jean-Baptiste POIRIER, says he was born at Menoudie on 20 Feb 1733 & baptized at Beaubassin on 24 May 1733, godson of Pierre HÉBERT & Jacques & Madeleine POIRIER, calls his parents Jean-Baptiste POIRIER & Marie CORMIER, says he married Marie-Madeleine RICHARD, daughter of Jean-Baptiste [RICHARD] & Catherine CORMIER, in c1759 but gives no place of marriage, says the marriage was "réhab," which means reconfirmed or rehabilitated, at Mobile on 22 Jan 1764, that there was "disp -- cons" granted for the marriage, says he was in GA in 1763, at Cabahannocer in 1777, age 40, & died "(succession Cabannocer)" on 23 Jan 1785; <thecajuns.com/acadians.htm>, "Arrival of the Acadians in Louisiana," says he & his wife married in 22 Jan 1764.  

Since 2 of their sons, Jean-Baptiste & Joseph, were born in c1760 & c1762, Jean-Baptiste & Marie-Madeleine's 22 Jan 1764 "wedding" at Moblie was the blessing of a marriage already recognized by their family & the Acadian community since c1759.  They were married in NY or GA, which were Protestant colonies with no Catholic priests.  Mobile was the first Catholic community they reached during exile.  

Was he the Jean POIRIES, resident of the German Coast, who requested land from Spanish Gov. ULLOA in 1768?  See JUDICE to ULLOA, dated 15 Sep 1768, in Brasseaux, ed., Quest for the Promised Land, 158.  Professor Brasseaux, in note 205, says:  "Jean POIRIER is listed as a corporal in the Third Company of the New Orleans militia in 1770," & cites Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 388.  Or was there a French-Creole Jean POIRIER? 

03.  Wall of Names, 23, calls him Jean-Baptiste POIRIER; BRDR, 2:599 (SJA-4, 12), his death/burial record, calls him Juan POIRIER, age 40 years, gives his parents' names, says they were "of Acadia," but mentions no wife.  

His was one of the first Acadian baptisms in LA & marks the month of arrival of his & the other 3 families (CORMIER, LANDRY, RICHARD) who came to LA from GA via Mobile in 1763-64--the first Acadian families in the colony.  Why did he not marry?

04.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Jean-Chrysostôme POIRIER, & lists him singly; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:633 (SM Ch.: Slave Funeral Register, v.1, #5), his death/burial record, calls him Jean-Charles POTIER, says he died "at age 18 mths.," but gives no parents' names; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:630 (SM Ch.: v.1, p.7), another, probably later, death/burial record, calls him Jean-Chrisogone POIRIER, says he died "at age 18 mths.," but gives no parents' names. 

Each of his burial records lists his age but gives no clue as to who his parents were or who were his guardians or how he died.  They even confuse his surname!  One wishes that the good Fr. Jean-François de CIVRY, "curé de la nouvelle Acadie (pastor of the new Acadia)," as he styles himself in the first burial record, had added more details about the brief life of this infant.

05.  Wall of Names, 23, calls him Joseph POIRIER.  

His was one of the first Acadian baptisms in LA & marks the month of arrival of his & the other 3 families (CORMIER, LANDRY, RICHARD) who came to LA from GA via Mobile in 1764--the first Acadian families in the colony.  So what happened to him in LA?

06.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Joseph POIRIER, & lists him with Anne BOURGEOIS as if they were married when they reached LA; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2568-69, calls him Joseph POIRIER, says he was born in 1740, gives his parents' names, says they were from Beaubassin, says he married Marie-Anne BOURGEOIS in 1750, does not give her parents' names, says he was living on the east side of the Mississippi at St.-Jacques in 1777, & lists his children as Pierre, born in 1767, Louis in 1769, Madeleine in 1772, Marguerite in 1773, Marie-Henriette in 1774, & Jean in 1776, but gives no birth places; BRDR, 3:706 (SMI-1, 8a; SMI-8, 7), his death/burial record, calls him Joseph POIRIER, age 68, "nat. Acadia," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 214.  

His estimated birth year is based on the St.-Jacques census of 1777, not his burial record. 

Arsenault's marriage year for him is absurd.  No one, not even Acadians, married at age 10!  Perhaps he meant to say they married in 1760. 

07.  Not in Wall of Names.  BRDR, 2:269, 599 (SJA-1, 44a), her marriage record, calls her Marie POIRÉE, says "bn. [birth] not given" after the marriage date, calls her husband Joseph DUPUY, calls her parents Abraham [POIRIER] & Maria Josèphe BOURG, gives his parents' names, but gives no witnesses to the marriage; BRDR, 8:476 (ASC-11, 188), perhaps her death/burial record, calls her Mrs. omitted POIRIER, "age 99 years," but gives no parents' names or mentions a husband.  See also De Ville, St. James Census, 1777, 10, 20.

Her estimated birth year is calculated from the age given in the St.-Jacques census of 1777, not the Cabanocé census of 1769.  Though she does not appear in the Cabanocé census of Apr 1766, her arrival date is predicated on the fact that her parents were not deported to MD in 1755 but escaped the British roundup at Chignecto that fall & sought refuge on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore.  She was born likely on the shore.  Her father remarried at Restigouche, farther up the shore, in Jan 1761, & Marie was likely there when it happened & then followed her family into a prison compound in NS in the early 1760s.  She certainly was young to have come to LA on her own.  Did she come from Halifax via Cap-Français, French St.-Domingue, with relatives, acting as guardian for her infant half-brother Pierre?

She may have been one of the last Acadian immigrants in LA to join her ancestors. 

The Marie POIRIER who is listed in Wall of Names, 23, daughter of Jean POIRIER & Madeleine RICHARD, was born in c1767 to parents who reached LA in Feb 1764 & thus should not be on this list. 

08.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Michel POIRIER, & lists him singly; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2568, the LA section, calls him Michel POIRIER, says he was born in 1738, probablement son of Michel POIRIER & Marie-Madeleine LEBLANC of Beaubassin, details his marriage, including his wife's parents' names, says he occupied lot number 99 on the east bank of the Mississippi at St.-Jacques in 1769, that he died in 1777 but gives no place of death, & lists his children as Pierre, born in 1766, Joseph in 1768, Marguerite in 1771, Rosalie in 1773, & Michel in 1777 but includes no birthplaces; Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 171, & Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 424, his marriage record, calls him Michel POIRIER/POIRRIER, calls his wife Marie CORMIER, but gives no parents' names or witnesses to his marriage; BRDR, 2:600 (SJA-1, 56a), his death/burial record, calls him Michel POIRIER, but does not give his parents' names, mention a wife, or give his age at the time of his death.  See also Bourgeois, 167, 176.

Arsenault, Généalogie, 1035, the Beaubassin section, says that Michel, son of Pierre POIRIER & Agnès CORMIER of Beaubassin, born in 1710, husband of Marie-Madeleine LEBLANC, whom he married on 3 Oct 1735 at Grand-Pré, deporte en Caroline, il s'est establi en Louisiane.  What Arsenault is saying here is that the Michel POIRIER, born in 1710, was the one who settled in LA, but this is not so.  Arsenault lists only 1 Michel POIRIER in his LA section, cited above, & tries to link this younger Michel to the older one, but he gets it wrong again.  Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 365, records a Michel POIRIER "of Beauséjour in Acadia," son of Michel POIRIER (deceased) & Marie LEBLANC, who married Victoire JOURDAIN at Môle St.-Nicolas, St.-Domingue, on 11 Feb 1783, six years after Michel POIRIER of St.-Jacques was laid to rest.  So the Michel POIRIER who came to LA was the son of some other couple, not Michel POIRIER & Marie-Madeleine LEBLANC. 

Wall of Names does not say when Michel POIRIER reached LA.  <thecajuns.com/acad1764.htm>, "Acadians who arrived in New Orleans in 1764," places him with the family of Jean POIRIER, relationship not stated, but if he arrived in LA in Feb 1764, why is he on a list of Acadians from the BROUSSARD dit Beausoleil party who exchanged Canadian card money in New Orleans in Apr 1765?  See <thecajuns.com/cardmoney.htm>.  His presence on this list means that he reached LA in Feb 1765 with the Joseph BROUSSARD dit Beausoleil party from Halifax via St.-Domingue.  He probably went to Bayou Teche with the BROUSSARD party in Apr 1765 but fled the Teche valley that fall to escape an epidemic & joined his relatives at Cabanocé.  This is the scenario I am following here until another source says otherwise. 

What say you, Stephen A. White?

09.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Pierre POIRIER, & lists him singly; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2569, calls him Pierre POIRIER, lists him twice, says first that he was born in 1764, that he lived with the widow of Joseph FOREST in 1777, & was an orphan, & then says he was born in c1765, the son of Abraham [POIRIER] & Anne BELLIVEAUX, details his marriage, including his wife's parents' names, says he settled at St.-Martinville, & lists his children as Anastasie, born in 1791, Julien in 1793, Pierre in 1798, Céleste in 1801, Scholastique in 1805, & Marie-Carmélite in 1808, but gives no birth places; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:30, 630 (SM Ch.: v.4, #6), his marriage record, calls him Pierre POIRIER, gives his & his wife's parents' names, calls his parents Abraham POIRIER & Ana[sic] BENIBO [BELLIVEAU], says his mother & her father were deceased at the time of the wedding, that her parents were "of Canada," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Joseph LANDRY & Jean MOTON (MOUTON).  See also De Ville, St. James Census, 1777, 20. 

There is some mystery surrounding this fellow.  Arsenault, Généalogie, 1035, 1663, the Beaubassin & Ristigouche[sic] sections, say that Abraham, son of Michel POIRIER & Madeleine BOURGEOIS of Beaubassin, & Agnès, daughter of Charles BELLIVEAU & Marie MELANÇON of Port-Royal & the widow of Honoré LANOUX, were married on 7 Jan 1760/61 at Restigouche.  Unfortunately, Arsenault lists no children for this couple, so Pierre's relationship to them must come from other sources, such as his marriage record, cited above.  If Pierre was born in c1764, as indicated by the age given to him in the St.-Jacques census of 1777, he most likely was born at Fort Cumberland, Fort Edward, Halifax, or some other prison compound in Nova Scotia where the British held the Acadians they had rounded up at Restigouche in the early 1760s. 

Note that Arsenault, p. 2569, cited above, lists him twice, the first time with a birth year of 1764, the second time with a birth year of 1765, as though there were 2 Pierre POIRIERs who came to LA.  By creating 2 separate biographies for Pierre POIRIER of LA, Arsenault evidently does not associate the Pierre POIRIER at St.-Jacques with the one who lived in the Attakapas District.  That the 2 Pierre POIRIERs in Arsenault's LA section were the same fellow & that he moved from St.-Jacques to the Attakapas District I have no doubt.  There were only a few Pierre POIRIERs in LA in 1787:  there was Pierre, son of Joseph POIRIER of St.-Jacques, who would have been 20 in 1787, a prime age for leaving home to marry, but the marriage record of Pierre POIRIER & Scholastique BABINEAUX at Attakapas is clear that the groom's father was Abraham, not Joseph; and there was Pierre, son of Jean POIRIER of St.-Jacques, who was only 6 in 1787 & died at age 14 at St.-Jacques in Nov 1795.  See De Ville, St. James Census, 1777, 16; BRDR, 2:600.  That Pierre, son of Abraham, remained in the Attakapas District & did not return to St.-Jacques can be seen in the baptismal records of several of his children, dated  23 Jun 1791, 11 Aug 1794, & 21 Oct 1798, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:630 (SM Ch.: v.1, p.75; SM Ch.: v.4, #629; SM Ch.: v.5, #96), one of which (SM Ch.: v.5, #96) includes the grandparents' names.  

White, DGFA-1, 1332, shows that Pierre's father married twice, & that his mother was his father's second wife, whom he married at Restigouche on 7 Jan 1761. 

None of the sources I have found for this fellow reveals the year when he reached LA, hence the ??.  I cannot find him in the Cabanocé censuses of 1766 or 1769, only the St.-Jacques census of 1777.  See Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 114-19; Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 161-70, 173-79, for the earlier censuses.  Remember the logic of Acadian arrivals (see Introduction).  If Pierre had been born in Halifax, he most likely would have come to LA in 1765.  The Acadians who came to the colony in 1766 & settled at St.-Jacques came from MD, not Halifax.  Wall of Names, by listing him singly, implies that he was grown, or nearly grown, when he came to LA, but this assumption could be misleading.  His appearance in the 1777 census at St.-Jacques eliminates the possibility that he came to LA with the 7 Ships expedition of 1785.  He is not on any of the lists of Acadians who came to LA in 1767, 1768, or 1769, all from MD.  He is not among the many POIRIERs recorded in Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 359ff, who were born in Haiti.  Acadian emigration to LA essentially ceased after 1769, until the huge influx of exiles from France in 1785.  So when did he arrive?  If I had to venture a guess, I would follow the clue of his parents' marriage at Restigouche & the likelihood that they ended up as prisoners in Nova Scotia.  This would lead me to the conclusion that Pierre came to the colony in 1765, probably with relatives or friends of his parents who had fled confinement in Nova Scotia.  He would have been an orphan & a very young child if the age given to him in 1777 is correct.  So how did he miss being counted at Cabanocé in 1766 & again in 1769?  These are questions I cannot answer.

How was he kin to the POIRIERs at St.-Jacques, Jean, Michel, & Joseph?  Cécile POIRIER, wife of Jean-Baptiste LÉGER, with whom Pierre was living in 1777, was the first cousin of his father & thus his second cousin.  See Arsenault, 1032.  Cécile came to LA in Feb 1764 with her first husband, Olivier LANDRY, the year Pierre POIRIER supposedly was born.  She remarried to Jean-Baptiste LÉGER at St.-Jacques in 1774, when little cousin Pierre would have turned 10.  When did the couple take in the orphaned Pierre?  Had he lived with cousin Cécile before she remarried?  

I need a POIRIER family historian to help me here.

10.  Not in Wall of Names.  BRDR, 3:706 (SJA-4, 33), his death/burial record, calls him Jean Baptiste POIRIER, "age about 41 yrs., nat. Mole St. Nicolas Santo Domingo," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.

No other Jean Baptiste POIRIER in South LA matches his age at the time of his death.  Many POIRIERs from Chignecto ended up in St.-Domingue, today's Haiti.  Was this Jean Baptiste one of the thousands of Haitian refugees who came to New Orleans via Havana, Cuba, in 1809?

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