APPENDICES

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

RICHARD

[REE-shard, RICH-erd]

ACADIA

Richard is a common surname in France, so it is not surprising that there were several Richards who came to Acadia: 

First came Michel Richard dit Sansoucy, a young soldier born in the Saintonge region of France in c1630.  He appeared at Port-Royal in the early 1650s in the entourage of Emmanuel Le Borgne de Bélisle.  According to one source, Michel's dit was a regimental nickname.  When his term of service ended, he remained in the colony, took up farming, obtained two grants of land from Le Borgne "at some ten to fifteen miles from the fort" on the upper Rivière au Dauphin, now the Annapolis River, and married Madeleine, daughter of Jean Blanchard, at Port-Royal in c1656.  He and Madeleine had 10 children, including four sons, all born at Port-Royal, who created families of their own.  Their six daughters married into the Broussard, Thériot, Babin, Vincent, Forest, and LeBlanc families.  Madeleine died by c1683, when Michel remarried to Jeanne, daughter of Antoine Babin, at Port-Royal.  Jeanne gave the old soldier two more children, both of them sons, also born at Port-Royal, who also created families of their own:

Oldest son René dit Beaupré, by his first wife, born in c1657, married Madeleine, daughter of René Landry, at Port-Royal in c1680.  They had five children, including three sons who married into the Bourgeois, Girouard, and Thériot families.  Their daughter married into the Dupuis family.  René died at Port-Royal, date unrecorded.  

Pierre, by his first wife, born in c1661, married Marguerite, another daughter of René Landry, at Port-Royal in c1686.  By the early 1790s they had moved to the new settlement at Minas.  In August 1714, Pierre and his family received permission to settle on French-controlled Île Royale, today's Cape Breton Island.  Later in the month, Pierre went to the island aboard La Marie Joseph to look at the land there, but he evidently did not like what he saw.  Pierre and Marguerite had 10 children, including six sons who married into the Babin, Dugas, Granger, LeBlanc, Hébert, Gautrot, and Comeau families.  Their three daughters married into the Dugas, Saint-Étienne de La Tour, Daigre, and Granger families. 

Martin, by his first wife, born in c1665, married Marguerite, daughter of François Bourg, at Port-Royal in c1691.  By the early 1690s he had taken his family to Chignecto, where they also had 10 children, including six sons who married into the Cormier, Thibodeau, Doucet, Comeau, Girouard, and Martin families.  Their three daughters married into the Doucet, Caissie, Arseneau, and Cormier families.  Martin died probably at Chignecto in c1748, in his early 80s.

Alexandre, by his first wife, born in c1668, married Isabelle, or Élisabeth, daughter of Claude Petitpas, at Port-Royal in c1690.  They remained at Port-Royal, where they raised nine children, including three sons who married into the Boudrot, LeBlanc, Robichaud, and Daigre families.  Their five daughters married into the Savoie, Dupuis, Bastarache, and Thibodeau families.  Alexandre died at Port-Royal in October 1709, in his early 40s.

Michel dit Lafond, by his second wife, born in c1684, married Agnès, daughter of Germain Bourgeois, at Port-Royal in February 1707.  Michel became a merchant and remained at Port-Royal.  He and Agnès had eight children, including five sons who married into the Blanchard, LeBlanc, Hébert, and Richard families.  Their three daughters married into the Bourgeois, Lanoue, and LeBlanc families. 

Youngest son Alexandre dit Boutin, by his second wife, born in c1686, married Marie, daughter of François Levron, at Port-Royal in December 1711.  They, too, remained at Port-Royal and had six children, including a son who married into the Boudrot family.  Their three daughters married into the Doiron, Breau, and Raymond families.  Alexandre died in Massachusetts during Le Grand Dérangement, in his 70s.

~

Meanwhile, another Richard, a waterman born at St.-Gilles-sur-Vie, Île d'Yeu, France, in c1646, came to Acadia briefly from Canada, but he created no new Richard family line in Acadia:

In 1678, Yvon Richard signed a contract with Québec merchant Sr. Richard Denys to work three years, at 170 livres a year, for Jean Gitton, who was acting for Denys.  In c1686, Yvon married Marie-Madeleine, daughter of David Doucet of St.-Sauveur, La Rochelle, France, and widow of Pierre Aigron dit Lamothe, probably in Canada.  They had no children.  After Marie-Madeleine died, Yvon remarried to Françoise, daughter of Martin Durand of Quimper-Corentin, Cornouaille, Brittany, France, at Québec in February 1699.  They, too, had no children, and Yvon never returned to Acadia.

~

In the early 1700s, another Richard family appeared in Acadia and created at least two male lines there: 

François, son of merchant Jean Richard and Anne Christin, d'Auray of Vannes, Brittany, married Anne, daughter of Jean Comeau l'aîné, at Port-Royal in October 1710.  Before she died in April 1722, Anne gave François five children, including two sons, both born at Port-Royal, who created families of their own.  Their two daughters married into the Orillon dit Champagne and Richard families.  Six months after his first wife died, François remarried to Marie, daughter of René Martin, at Port-Royal in October 1722.  She gave him three more children, including a son, born at Port-Royal.  Their two daughters married into the Comeau and LeBlanc families.  Marie remarried at Port-Royal in January 1735, so François had died by then. 

Oldest son Joseph, by his first wife, born in September 1712, married Anne, daughter of François-Marie Bastarache dit Basque, at Port-Royal in July 1734.  

François, fils, by his first wife, born in June 1714, married Marie-Geneviève, daughter of Jean-Baptiste David, at Port-Royal in October 1737.

Youngest son René, by his second wife, born in August 1726, married probably at Port-Royal in c1749, but the name of his spouse has been lost to history.

~

In 1755, Richards descended from Michel dit Sansoucy and from François of Vannes could be found at Chignecto and Minas, including Pigiguit, but most of them remained in the Port-Royal area, called Annapolis Royal by the British, where their family progenitors had settled.  

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

Le Grand Dérangement of the 1750s scattered these families even farther. ...

LOUISIANA:  RIVER SETTLEMENTS

Richards were among the very first Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana.  Six Richards and three related families, the Cormiers, Landrys, and Poiriers, 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 even though it had been ceded to Spain in a secret treaty two years earlier, had not expected these new arrivals.  The Acadians' reputation for hard work and loyalty to France and the Catholic faith having preceded them, however, the colonial officials welcomed the Richards 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 Richard's son Joseph--and consulting with authorities, the Acadians 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, 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 settlement in Louisiana, predating the Bayou Teche settlement by a full year: 

Madeleine Richard of Chignecto, age 56, a granddaughter of Michel dit Sansoucy, came with husband Jean-Baptiste Cormier of Chignecto, age 55, and five daughters, ages 23 to 11.  They remained at St.-Jacques. 

Jean-Baptiste Richard of Chignecto, age 45, Madeleine's younger brother, came with wife Marie-Catherine, called Catherine, Cormier, age 43, and three children--Jean-Marie, age 18, Joseph, age 8, and Rosalie, age 5.  They had no more children in Louisiana.  Rosalie married into the Roger family.  Jean-Baptiste remarried to Anne, daughter of fellow Acadian Étienne Martin and widow of Pierre Blanchard and Joseph Foret, at St.-Jacques in July 1778; Jean-Baptiste was in his late 50s at the time of the wedding.  Anne gave him no more children.  Jean-Baptiste owned three slaves at St.-Jacques in 1779, an impressive number among Acadians for that place and time.  He died at St.-Jacques in July 1787, age 67. 

Marie-Madeleine Richard of Nappan, Chignecto, age 22, Jean-Baptiste's daughter, came with husband Jean-Baptiste Poirier of Menoudie, Chignecto, age 27, and their two sons, age 3 and 1 1/2.  They also remained at St.-Jacques. 

Descendants of Jean-Marie RICHARD (c1746-?)

Jean-Marie, elder son of Jean-Baptiste Richard and Marie-Catherine Cormier, born probably at Chignecto in c1746, was exiled to Georgia with his family in 1755.  He followed them to Louisiana in 1763-64 and settled with them at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where he married fellow Acadian Rosalie Bourgeois in November 1767.  Spanish officials counted them on the left, or east, bank of the river at St.-Jacques in 1777.  Their daughters married into the Babin, Braud, Lachaussée, and Landry families.  Three of his four sons created families of their own and remained on the Acadian Coast, in St. James, Ascension, and West Baton Rouge parishes. 

1

Oldest son Pierre, born probably at St.-Jacques in c1769, married Constance, daughter of fellow Acadian Simon LeBlanc, at St.-Gabriel in May 1790.  Their son Pierre, fils was born at St.-Jacques in February 1791, Alexandre in October 1792, Michel le jeune in September 1794, Étienne in the mid-1790s, Désiré in August 1805, Simon Edmond in Ascension Parish in May 1810, and Édouard in St. James Parish in July 1812 but died at age 2 in September 1814.  They also had a son named Benjamin.  Their daughters married into the Gaudet and Poché families.  One of his sons married four times and settled in West Baton Rouge Parish.  Another son remained in St. James. 

1a

Étienne married Susanne, called Suzette, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Melançon of Attakapas, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in July 1811.  Their son Étienne, fils was born in St. James Parish in October 1813 but died at age 4 1/2 in March 1818, and Pierre Eugène, called Eugène, was born in July 1818.  Étienne remarried to fellow Acadian Marie Céleste or Célestine Landry, widow of Étienne Theriot of West Baton Rouge Parish, probably in West Baton Rouge Parish in May 1822, and remarried again--his third marriage--to Élise or Élisabeth Azélie, called Azélie, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Blanchard, at the Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in January 1825.  Their son Melon Louis Désiré was born near Baton Rouge in October 1825.  Their daughter married a Richard cousin.  Étienne remarried yet again--his fourth marriage!--to Julie or Julienne Amelie, daughter of fellow Acadian François Lejeune, at the Baton Rouge church in September 1832.  Their son François Villeneuve was born near Baton Rouge in September 1834.  Étienne died near Baton Rouge in April 1836; the priest who recorded his burial said that Étienne was "age ca. 40 yrs." when he died, but he probably was a few years older.  A daughter had been born to him and his fourth wife two months before he died. 

Eugène, by his first wife, likely married Joséphine Jofferion or Jefferson.  Their son Étienne Isidore was born in St. James Parish in January 1842.  They were living in West Baton Rouge Parish in 1844.  Eugène died in St. James Parish in June 1846; the St. James priest who recorded the burial, and who did not bother to give any parents' names or even mention a wife, said that Eugène died at "age 26 yrs."; Pierre Eugène would have been 27 years old at the time, so this probably was him. 

1b

Désiré died in St. James Parish in January 1829.  He was only 23 years old and did not marry. 

1c

Michel le jeune died in St. James Parish in April 1831.  The St. James priest who recorded his burial said that Michel was 34 years old when he died, but he was 36.  Michel probably did not marry. 

1d

Benjamin married first cousin Marie Elmina or Elvina, daughter of his uncle Jean Pierre Richard, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in September 1842; they had to secure a dispensation for second degree of consanguinity in order to marry. ...

2

Paul, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in October 1770, probably died young. 

3

Michel, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in December 1775, married Rosalie, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Michel, at St.-Jacques in February 1795.  Their twin sons Éloi and Michel, fils were born at St. James in November 1804 but Éloi died at age 4 in January 1809, a second Éloi was born in January 1810, Jean Marie le jeune in March 1812, and Pierre Théogène in February 1818 but died at age 7 in February 1825.  Their daughters married into the Blouin, Gaudin, LeBlanc, and Richard families.  Michel, père died in St. James Parish in February 1821; he was only 45 years old.  One of his sons settled on lower Bayou Teche, but the others remained on the river. 

3a

Michel, fils married Cléonise, also called Eléonise, Elponise, Econile, Léonise, Louise, and Phelonise, daughter of fellow Acadian Sylvain LeBlanc, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in June 1821.  They settled near the boundary between St. James and Ascension parishes.  Their son Michel III was born in July 1824, Théosin in c1827 but died at age 6 in April 1833, Théogène was born in October 1828, Théodule Honoré in c1830 but died at age 15 in November 1845, Victor was born in November 1836, and Joseph in July 1842.  Their daughters married into the Besson and Guilfout families.  ...

Michel III married Laura, daughter of fellow Acadian Paul Onésime Landry, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in December 1847.  ...

3b

Éloi married Marie Amelie, daughter of fellow Acadian Augustin Templet, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in January 1831.  Their son Éloi Dava or Dava Éloi was born in Ascension Parish in January 1834 but died at age 9 in March 1843.  ...

3c

Jean Marie le jeune married Marie Élise, called Élise, daughter of fellow Acadian Manuel Braud, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in September 1831.  They moved to the lower Bayou Teche valley later in the decade. 

4

Youngest son Jean-Pierre, born probably at St.-Jacques in c1784, married Anne Marie, called Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Melançon, at St. James in February 1804.  Their son Jean Marie le jeune was born at St. James in April 1805 but died at age 4 in March 1809, Napoléon was born in June 1807, and Pierre Césaire, called Césaire, in April 1814.  Their daughter married into the Bourgeois family.  Jean Pierre remarried to Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Gabriel Braud of Assumption Parish, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in June 1824; Jean Pierre was 40 years old at the time of the wedding.  Their son Jean Émile was born in St. James Parish in March 1829, and Joseph Émile in c1837 but died at "his sister's, Mrs. Benjamin Richard," age 10, in October 1847.  Jean Pierre and Marguerite's daughters married Gaudet and Richard cousins.  Jean Pierre died in St. James Parish in August 1839; he was 55 years old. 

Césaire, by his first wife, married cousin Marie Elisa, daughter of his first cousin Étienne Richard of West Baton Rouge Parish, at the Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in August 1843.  Their son Siméon Clément was born in St. James Parish in September 1844, and Constant in July 1846 but died the following December.  ...

Joseph RICHARD (1758-?)

Joseph, younger son of Jean-Baptiste Richard and Marie-Catherine Cormier, born in Georgia in March 1758, followed his family to Louisiana in 1763-64.  He was baptized at New Orleans in late February of 1764 and was taken to Cabanocé/St.-Jacques.  One wonders if he survived childhood. 

~

In 1765, four Richard families, one of them led by a widow--11 more members of the family--reached Louisiana from Halifax via Cap-Français, St.-Domingue, today's Haiti, and settled at Cabanocé, where they no doubt were warmly greeted by their cousins already there:

Joseph dit Vieux Richard of Port-Royal, age 48, came with wife Anne Blanchard of Port-Royal, age 40, three daughters--Marie-Anastasie, age 6, Rosalie, age 2, and newborn Anne-Marie--and nephew Joseph Richard le jeune, age 3.  Joseph dit Vieux and Anne had another daughter in Louisiana but no sons.  They moved upriver to Ascension.  Their daughters married into the Guilbeau and Landry families and settled on the western prairies.  Nephew Joseph le jeune remained on the river.  Joseph dit Vieux died at his son-in-law Basile Landry's home at Ascension in February 1777; Joseph was 59 years old.  His line of the family, except for its blood, died with him. 

Another Joseph Richard, age unrecorded, came with wife Agnès Hébert dit Manuel, age unrecorded, and two children--Louis and Marie, their ages also unrecorded.  They had more children in Louisiana.  Joseph remarried to a fellow Acadian at nearby Ascension in August 1772.  Of the 1765 arrivals, only he created a new family line on the river, but his sons and grandsons moved on to Bayou Lafourche. 

Rosalie Thibodeau of Pointe Beauséjour, Chignecto, age unrecorded, widow of Claude Richard, came with son Joseph, age unrecorded.  Rosalie remarried to a Canadian at New Orleans but died by February 1768, when her second husband remarried at Cabanocé.  Son Joseph left the river for the Attakapas District by the early 1790s. 

Yet another Joseph Richard, this one from Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit, age 29, came alone.  One wonders what happened to him in the colony.

Marguerite Richard, age 20, came with husband Charles Préjean of Chepoudy, age 29.  Marguerite was pregnant when they reached the colony and bore a son at New Orleans that November.  In the 1770s, Marguerite and her family left the river for the western prairies. 

Descendants of Joseph RICHARD (c1736-)

Joseph, son of Joseph Richard and Marie Comeau, married Agnès, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Baptiste Hébert dit Manuel and widow of ____ Bourgeois, during Le Grand Dérangement.  They came to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765 with two children and settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where their marriage was formally recognized in November 1766.  Their daughters married into the De Rohan, Hébert, Labauve, and Martin (French Canadian, not Acadian) families, and one of them settled on the western prairies.  Joseph remarried to Marie-Claire, called Claire, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Baptiste Martin dit Barnabé and widow of Barthélemy Godin dit Bellefontaine, at Ascension in August 1772.  Their daughter married into the Bernard (German Creole, not Acadian) and Theriot families.  Only one of his four sons created a family of his own, and all of his sons settled on Bayou Lafourche. 

1

Oldest son Louis, by his first wife, born probably in Acadia during Le Grand Dérangement, may have died young. 

2

Joseph, by his first wife, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in January 1772, also may have died young. 

3

Pierre, by his second wife, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in September 1773, married Marie-Héloise, -Louise, or -Élise, daughter of fellow Acadian Charles Melançon of Ascension, at St.-Jacques in February 1801.  Their son Simon le jeune was born at St.-Jacques in March 1802 but died 7 weeks later, Eugène-Placide, called Placide, was born in July 1803, twins Jacques and Joseph in February 1809 but Jacques died at age 1 1/2 in October 1810, and Jean Baptiste was born in c1811.  Their daughter married into the Prejean family and, like her brothers, settled on Bayou Lafourche.  Pierre remarried to Marie, daughter of German Creole Jean Baptiste Ory and widow of Antoine Bachelier, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in September 1814.  Their son Eugène was born near Convent in November 1817 but died at age 15 in July 1833, and Pierre, fils was born in November 1820.  Their daughters married into the Laiche and Tircuit families; one of them settled on upper Bayou Lafourche.  Pierre, père died near Convent in October 1823; the priest who recorded his burial noted that Pierre left a "wife and seven children"; the priest also noted that Pierre was "age 44" when he died, but he was closer to 50.  Three of his sons and at least two of his daughters settled on Bayou Lafourche. 

3a

Placide, by his first wife, married Marie Adèle, called Adèle, 19-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Marin Dugas of St. James Parish, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in November 1825.  They remained on Bayou Lafourche. 

3b

Joseph, by his first wife, married Rose or Rosalie, 20-year-old daughter of French Creole Nicolas Albert, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in July 1833; Rose's mother was a Bourg.  They, too, remained on Bayou Lafourche. 

3c

Jean Baptiste, by his first wife, married 18-year-old Azélie, another daughter of French Creole Nicolas Albert, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in October 1833.  They also remained on Bayou Lafourche. 

4

Youngest son Simon, by his second wife, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in February 1775, died at St.-Jacques in October 1796.  He was only 21 years old.  The priest who recorded his burial called him "an orphan & single." 

Joseph RICHARD (c1736?-)

Joseph, son of perhaps Joseph Richard and Marie LeBlanc, born perhaps at Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit, in c1736, escaped the British roundup of 1755 and found refuge with other Acadian exiles on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore.  He came to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765, still a bachelor, and settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques.  One wonders if he married. 

Joseph RICHARD le jeune (c1762-1827?)

Joseph, nephew and namesake of Joseph dit Vieux Richard, born probably at Halifax in c1762, came to Louisiana via St.-Domingue with his uncle in 1765.  He went with them to Cabanocé/St.-Jacques and was living with them on the right, or west, bank of the river at Ascension in 1770.  Joseph may have died near Baton Rouge in April 1827; if so, he was age "ca. 65 yrs." at the time of his death.  Did he ever marry?

~

In September 1766, a widow came to Louisiana from exile in Maryland and settled near her husband's cousins at Cabanocé:

Marie LeBlanc, age 32, widow of Joseph Richard, came with daughter Marguerite, age 6.  Marguerite remained at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where she married Joseph, son of Pripque Fagniant, perhaps of France, in July 1773. 

~

In July 1767, four more Richard families, one led by a widow--12 more members of the family--came to Louisiana in the second contingent of exiles from Maryland.  They hoped to settle with their relatives at Cabanocé, but Spanish Governor Ulloa insisted that they settle at a new Acadian community, St.-Gabriel d'Iberville, upriver from Cabanocé.  When the Maryland Acadians saw how close St.-Gabriel was to Cabanocé, they acquiesced to the arrangement.  Soon Cabanocé and St.-Gabriel were being called the Acadian Coast.  These new arrivals from Maryland added substantially to the number of Richards living on the Acadian Coast: 

Pierre Richard of Chignecto, age 55, a widower, came with son Amand, age 23, Amand's wife Marie Breaux, age 25, their two sons--Simon, age 3, and Joseph, an infant--and 12-year-old orphan Marie Boudrot.  Pierre did not remarry.  Amand and Marie had more children in Louisiana, including a son. 

Marie LeBlanc of Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit, age 54, widow of Joseph Richard, came with two grown sons--Simon-Henry, age 27, and Paul, age 20.  Simon remained on the river, but Paul moved to the Attakapas District.  Marie did not remarry. 

Mathurin Richard of Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit, age 25, Marie LeBlanc's middle son, came with wife Élisabeth, or Isabelle, Landry, age 30.  Mathurin and Élisabeth moved to the Opelousas District in the 1770s. 

Marguerite Richard of Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit, age 24, Marie LeBlanc's daughter, came with husband Jean-Baptiste Forest, age 31, and two children, ages 3 and 1.  Marguerite remarried to Cyrille, son of fellow Acadian Michel Rivet of Ste.-Famille, probably at St.-Gabriel in May 1770 and remained at St.-Gabriel

Madeleine Richard of Minas, age 29, came with husband Pierre Babin of Minas, age 43, a 3-year-old son, and a teenaged orphan.  Madeleine remarried to Théodore, son of fellow Acadian Claude Dugas, at St.-Jacques in April 1778 and may have died near St. Gabriel, Iberville Parish, in November 1811, in her early 70s. 

Élisabeth, or Isabelle, Richard, age 24, came with husband Pierre Brasseur dit Brasseux of Grand-Pré, age 25, and an infant daughter.  They remained at St.-Gabriel, where Élisabeth died a widow in July 1807; she was 64 years old. 

Another Marguerite Richard, age 24, came with brother Joseph, age 23.  Marguerite married Jean-Baptiste, son of fellow Acadian Paul Hébert, at Ascension in June 1774 and settled at St.-Gabriel.  Joseph also married, twice, and settled at Ascension. 

Descendants of Simon-Henry RICHARD (c1740-1812)

Simon-Henry, second son of Joseph Richard and Marie LeBlanc, born probably at Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit in c1740, was exiled with his family to Maryland in 1755.  He came to Louisiana with his widowed mother and a younger brother in 1767 and followed them to St.-Gabriel d'Iberville, where he married Marie-Rose, called Rose, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Baptiste Landry, in May 1770.  Spanish officials counted them on the "right bank ascending" at St.-Gabriel in 1777.  Their daughters married into the Breaux and Broussard families.  Simon Henry died near St. Gabriel, Iberville Parish, in September 1812; he was 72 years old.  Three of his four sons created families of their own in Iberville Parish. 

1

Oldest son Simon, fils, called Simonet, born at St.-Gabriel in March 1773, married Marie Marguerite, called Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadian Paul Braud, at Ascension in January 1806.  Their son Simon Marcellin, called Marcellin, was born near St. Gabriel in November 1807, Jean Henri in February 1812, and Pierre Rosémond in December 1822.  Their daughters married into the Billon Morin, Braud, Hébert, and Roth families.  Simonet died near St. Gabriel in October 1835; he was 62 years old. 

1a

Marcellin married cousin Marie Laurenza, called Laurenza, daughter of fellow Acadian Charles Léandre Braud, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in January 1833.  ...

1b

Jean Henri married Marie Adèle, daughter of German Creole Sébastien Frederic, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in February 1844; Marie's mother was a Guidry. ...

2

Joseph-Xavier, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in May 1777, married cousin Anne-Marie or -Marine, called Marine, daughter of fellow Acadian Simon-Joseph Dupuis, at St.-Gabriel in 1801; Marine's mother, also, was a Landry.  Their son Joseph-Magloire was born at St.-Gabriel in July 1802, Auguste-Lazare in February 1804, Louis Élie, called Élie, in August 1805, and Gédéon Philemon in August 1809 but died at age 4 in July 1813.  Was Joseph Xavier the Joseph Richard who died near St. Gabriel, Iberville Parish, at age 30 in 1810? 

2a

Élie married Maria Delia, called Delia, daughter of fellow Acadian Édouard Gaudin, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in July 1831.  Their son Louis Jules was born near St. Gabriel in April 1832 but died at age 3 1/2 in September 1835, and Louis was born in April 1839.  Élie remarried to Célanie, daughter of fellow Acadian Olivier Braud and widow of Adélard Babin, at the St. Gabriel church in February 1843.  Their son Paul Olivier, a twin, was born near St. Gabriel in July 1846.  ...

2b

Auguste Lazare married fellow Acadian Hélène Hébert probably at St. Gabriel, Iberville Parish, in the early 1830s.  Their son Théophile was born near St. Gabriel in September 1834.  Auguste Lazare died near St. Gabriel in July 1843; he was only 39 years old. 

3

Paul-Grégoire, born at St.-Gabriel in September 1779, married Henriette, another daughter of Paul Braud, at Ascension in April 1803.  Their son Louis Benjamin, called Benjamin, was born near St. Gabriel in February 1804, Jérôme Trasimond, called Trasimond, in November 1805, Augustin Valéry in December 1807, an unnamed son, born in c1810, died near St. Gabriel, age 13, in November 1823, Pierre Melon was born in October 1813, Gerasime Leufroi or Leufroi Gerasime in July 1817, and Joseph Michel, perhaps also called F. Misael, in March 1821 or 1823.  Paul died near St. Gabriel in August 1832; he was only 52 years old. 

3a

Benjamin married cousin Marie Arthémise, called Arthémise, daughter of fellow Acadian Sébastien Guidry, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in March 1832; Marie's mother, also, was a Braud.  Their son Louis Émile was born near St. Gabriel in February 1832, Jules in April 1840, and Adonis in April 1846.  ...

3b

Trasimond married Marie Uranie, called Uranie, daughter of François Philogène Pujol, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in April 1833.  Their son Jacques Édouard was born near St. Gabriel in June 1834 but died at age 4 in September 1838, Trasimond Alexandre was born in October 1839 but died at age 11 months in October 1840,  Alexandre Élie was born in October 1841 but died at age 2 1/2 in June 1844, and a newborn infant, name unrecorded, perhaps a son, died in July 1843.  ...

3c

Leufroi Gerasime married cousin Marie Virginie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Braud, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in February 1840.  Their son Joseph Albert was born near St. Gabriel in April 1841, and Avit Leufroi in June 1845.  ...

3d

Joseph Michel may have died near St. Gabriel in July 1847.  The priest who recorded the burial, and who did not bother to give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that F. Misael, as he called him, died at "age 26 years," so this probably was Joseph Michel.  And he probably did not marry. 

4

Youngest son Jacques-Auguste, called Auguste, born at St.-Gabriel in February 1782, died near St. Gabriel in March 1841.  The priest who recorded his burial, and who did not bother to give any parents' names, said that Auguste, "a bachelor," died at "age 58 years," so this was him.  One wonders why Auguste never married.   

Descendants of Amand RICHARD (c1744-1770s)

Amand, son of Pierre Richard and Marguerite Granger, born probably at Minas in c1744, was exiled with his family to Maryland in 1755 and married fellow Acadian Marie Breau in the English colony in c1763.  They came to Louisiana with his widowed father, two sons, and a young cousin in 1767 and settled at St.-Gabriel d'Iberville.  They had more children in Louisiana, including sons.  Their daughter married into the Gautreaux family.  Amand died probably at St.-Gabriel by March 1777, when his wife was listed in a census there as a widow.  One of his sons moved to Bayou Teche, but the others remained on the river.  His first son's line was especially vigorous. 

1

Oldest son Simon, born in Maryland in c1764, married Scholastique, daughter of fellow Acadian Joachim dit Bénoni Mire, at St.-Jacques in January 1786.  Their son Simon, fils was born at St.-Jacques in January 1787, Joseph le jeune in March 1790, Louis le jeune in March 1792, Valentin-Augustin, called Augustin, in March 1794, Jean-Baptiste in March 1799, Paul in March 1801, and Laurent-Noël or Noël-Laurent in December 1802.  Their daughter married into the Gravois family.  Simon remarried to Françoise, daughter of French Creole Jean Lemaire of St.-Jean-Baptiste des Allemands on the Upper German Coast and widow of Louis Rome, at St. James in October 1804; Simon was 40 years old at the time of the wedding.  One of his sons settled on the western prairies and another on Bayou Lafourche.  The others remained on the river. 

1a

Simon, fils, by his first wife, married Marguerite, daughter of Hubert Janny or Janise, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in November 1808; Marguerite's mother was a Brasseaux.  They remained in St. Landry Parish. 

1b

Louis, by his first wife, married Marie Madeleine, called Madeleine, daughter of fellow Acadian Laurent Arceneaux, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in April 1815.  Their son Michel was born near Convent in September 1816, Louis, fils in February 1833, Germain in May 1839, and Epiphore Donat in January 1842.  Their daughters married into the Chauvin, Duhon, Grégoire, Jacob, Landry, and Malarcher families.  ...

Michel died near Convent, St. James Parish, in May 1840.  He was only 23 years old.  He probably did not marry. 

1c

Augustin, by his first wife, married cousin Anne Rosalie, daughter of Michel Richard, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in January 1816.  They settled near the boundary between St. James and Ascension parishes.  Their son, name unrecorded, died at age 6 days in St. James Parish in November 1816, Augustin, fils was born in Ascension Parish in April 1820, Simon le jeune in St. James Parish in March 1822, and Privat Euphémon in Ascension Parish in August 1825.  ...

1d

Joseph le jeune, by his first wife, married Marie Clothilde, called Clothilde, daughter of French Creole Pierre Grenier, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in January 1817.  Their son Joseph, fils was born near St. Gabriel in October 1817.  ...

1e

Jean Baptiste, by his first wife, married Hortense, daughter of fellow Acadian Olivier LeBlanc, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in January 1818.  Their lived in St. James Parish before moving to upper Bayou Lafourche during the 1820s. 

1f

Paul, by his first wife, married Marie or Marine, 17-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Donat Landry, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in February 1820.  Their son Louis le jeune was born near Convent in September 1821, and Éloi in November 1824.  Paul died near Convent in October 1826; he was only 25 years old. 

Louis le jeune married cousin Adèle, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Mire, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in February 1843; they had to secure a dispensation for third degree of consanguinity in order to marry.  Their son Louis, fils, a twin, was born near Convent in June 1846.  ...

Éloi married cousin Marie Osile, daughter of fellow Acadian Drosin Mire, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in February 1846. ...

1g

Noël Laurent, by his first wife, married cousin Marie Joséphine, called Joséphine, daughter of fellow Acadian Benjamin Babin, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in January 1825; Marie's mother was a Richard.  Their son Laurent Telesphore was born in Ascension Parish in August 1831.  Their daughter married into the LeBlanc family.  ...

2

Joseph, born in Maryland in March 1767 on the eve of his family's voyage to Louisiana, married Pélagie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Jacques Babin, at St.-Jacques in June 1787.  Three sons were born to them at St.-Jacques and Ascension.  During the early antebellum period they moved to the Attakapas District and settled at L'Anse à Michaud on upper Bayou Teche.  Their daughter remained on the river and married into the Bertrand (German Creole, not Acadian) family. 

3

Louis, born probably at St.-Gabriel in the late 1760s or early 1770s, married Anastasie, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Blanchard, at St.-Jacques in October 1793, and remarried to Félicité, another daughter of Joachim dit Béloni Mire and a widow, at St.-Jacques in April 1795. He and his two wives may have had no children. 

4

Youngest son Désiré-Valentin or Valentin-Désiré, also called Dositée and Valéry, born at Ascension in August 1775, married Susanne, daughter of German Creole David Marks of St.-Charles des Allemands, at St.-Jacques in June 1797.  Their son Valentin, fils was born at St.-Jacques in April 1798.  Valentin-Désiré remarried to Anne Marguerite, called Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Babin, at St.-Jacques in July 1800.  Their son Narcisse was born at St.-Jacques in April 1800, and Moïse in March 1805.  ...

Descendants of Joseph RICHARD (c1744-1793?)

Joseph, son of Claude Richard and Cécile Melançon, born probably at Minas in c1744, was exiled with his family to Maryland in 1755.  He came to Louisiana in 1767, still a bachelor, and settled at St.-Gabriel d'Iberville.  He married Anne, daughter of fellow Acadian Alexandre Landry, at nearby Ascension in June 1774.  Their daughters married into the Babin, Blanchard, Landry, LeBlanc, and McDougal families.  Joseph remarried to cousin Cécile, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Baptiste Dupuy and widow of Joseph Breaux, at Ascension in April 1784; Cécile's mother was a Richard.  Their daughters married into the Aucoin, Comeaux, Landry, and LeBlanc families.  He probably was the Joseph Richard who died at St.-Gabriel in November 1793; sadly, the priest who recorded the burial did not bother to give Joseph's parents' names, mention a wife, or give his age at the time of his death. 

1

Oldest son Joseph, fils, by his first wife, born probably at St.-Gabriel in the late 1770s or early 1780s, married Henriette, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Landry, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in November 1812.  They settled in Ascension Parish.  Their son Joseph III was born in December 1813, Théodule in June 1818, Pierre Adolphe in August 1820, Jean Achille in August 1822, Toussaint Hainault in October 1824 or 1825, and Vital Enon in April 1828.  Their daughter married into the Theriot family.  Was he the Joseph Richard who died in Ascension Parish in October 1829?  If so, he would have been 50 years old at the time of his death. 

1a

Joseph III married Marie Eugènie, called Eugènie, daughter of fellow Acadian Narcisse LeBlanc, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in February 1834.  Their twins sons Joseph and Narcisse were born near St. Gabriel in April 1836, Pierre Adolphe in June 1840, Joseph Avery in March 1842, Alfred died at "age 5-6 months" in September 1843, and Paul Albert was born in September 1844.  ...

1b

Théodule married Marie Emelina or Melina, daughter of French Creole Pierre Dufour, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in May 1838.  Their son Louis Aimé was born in Ascension Parish in August 1839, and Joseph Armand in November 1841.  ...

1c

Jean Achille married Marie Carmelite, called Carmelite, daughter of Augustin Guilfout, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in January 1842. ...

1d

Pierre Adolphe married cousin Marie Laura or Laure, daughter of French Creole Cyprien Mollere, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in July 1843; Marie's mother was a Landry; they had to secure a dispensation for fourth degree of consanguinity in order to marry.  Their son Joseph Léonce was born in Ascension Parish in February 1847.  ...

2

Another Joseph, fils, by his second wife, died at St.-Gabriel 4 days after his birth in February 1785.

3

Youngest son Pierre-Paul, by his second wife, born at St.-Gabriel in December 1787, married Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Brasset, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in November 1812.  Their infant, name unrecorded, perhaps a son, died near St. Gabriel at birth in February 1816, and Pierre, fils was born in December 1823.  Their daughter married into the Roth family.  Pierre died near St. Gabriel in January 1834; the priest who recorded his burial said that Pierre was 48 years old when he died, but he was only 46. 

Pierre, fils married Amelia, daughter of French Creole Joseph Barthélémy Ramouin, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in April 1846; Amelia's mother was an Hébert. ...

~

In February 1768, another Richard from Maryland came to the colony as part of the extended family from Port Tobacco led by the Breau brothers of Pigiguit.  Governor Ulloa sent them far upriver to Fort San Luìs de Natchez, where they did not want to go: 

Anne Richard, age 43, came with husband Jean-Baptiste Dupuis, age 38, and three children, ages 16, 13, and 4.  After Ulloa's successor, General Alejandro O'Reilly, allowed them to leave Natchez, they moved downriver to Ascension, much closer to their kinsmen on the Acadian Coast.  Anne died a widow in Ascension Parish in November 1811; she was 86 years old. 

~

The largest continent of Richards to find refuge in Louisiana appeared 21 years after the first of their kinsmen had come to the colony.  Nearly three dozen of them arrived aboard six of the Seven Ships from France in 1785.  Most chose to go to upper Bayou Lafourche, but some of them settled on the river: 

Pierre Richard of Port-Royal, age 72, crossed on Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in August.  With him were second wife Françoise Daigle, age 55, and four children--Anselme, age 20, Joseph, age 18, Marie-Jeanne, age 14, and Pierre-Auguste, age 11.  They followed the majority of their fellow passengers to Manchac, south of Baton Rouge.  Daughter Marie-Jeanne married into the Daigre family.  Pierre died at Manchac in November 1794; he was 81 years old.  Oldest son Anselme did not marry, but Pierre's other sons did marry and remained on the river.

.

Marie-Josèphe Richard, age 30, widow of Frenchman François Basset, crossed on L'Amitié, the fifth of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in November.  With her were a 5-year-old daughter and older sister Marie-Geneviève, age 32.  Marie-Josèphe remarried to Frenchman Louis Ménard, and Marie-Geneviève married German Jean Jaineman at New Orleans soon after they reached the colony.  They remained at New Orleans.  Marie-Josèphe remarried again--her third marriage--to Spanish soldier José Gracia at New Orleans in July 1795.  Marie-Geneviève died at New Orleans in April 1803; the priest who recorded her burial said that she was 38 or 39 years old when she died, but she was 56. 

Jeanne Richard, age 40, crossed on L'Amitié with husband Joseph Benard of Russia, age 46, and three children, ages 19, 7, and 2.  They went to the Isleño community of San Bernardo, south of New Orleans. 

.

Geneviève Richard, age 37, crossed on La Ville d'Archangel, the sixth of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in December.  With her were second husband Victor Boudrot, age 55, and seven children, including a daughter by her first husband, ages 30 to infant, as well as her husband's son-in-law.  They followed the majority of the passengers from their ship to the new Acadian community of Bayou des Écores, north of Baton Rouge.  After leaving Bayou des Écores, perhaps after Victor died, they moved to the Fort Bute area of Manchac, south of Baton Rouge, where Geneviève remarried again--her third marriage--to Pierre, son of fellow Acadian Victor LeBlanc, in September 1787. 

Marguerite-Marie Richard, age 16, crossed on La Ville d'Archangel with stepfather Joseph Hébert of Cobeguit, age 40, her mother Marguerite Daigle, age 45, and four step-siblings, ages 18 to infant.  They, too, went to Bayou des Écores, and they also did not remain there.  Marguerite-Marie married Jean-Raphaël, son of fellow Acadian Pierre Landry, at Lafourche in August 1789. 

.

The eldest and youngest of the Richard brothers from France who settled on the river did not produce new family lines, but the second brother created a line that survived in what became West Baton Rouge Parish:   

Anselme RICHARD (1765-1786)

Anselme, eldest son of Pierre Richard and his second wife Françoise Daigle, born at Morlaix, France, in February 1765, came to Louisiana with his parents and siblings aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships, in 1785 and settled with them at Baton Rouge.  He died at Baton Rouge in January 1786, soon after they settled there.  He was only 21 years old and did not marry. 

Descendants of Joseph RICHARD (c1767-)

Joseph, second son of Pierre Richard and his second wife Françoise Daigle, born on Belle-Île-en-Mer, France, in c1767, came to Louisiana with his parents and siblings aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships, in 1785 and settled with them at Baton Rouge, where he married Perpétué, daughter of fellow Acadian Simon Aucoin, in January 1788.  Perpétué, a native of Bristol, England, had come to Louisiana aboard La Ville d'Archangel, the sixth of the Seven Ships.  Spanish officials counted them at Fort Bute, Manchac, south of Baton Rouge, in 1788.  Their daughter married into the Doiron family.  ...

1

Oldest son Joseph, fils, born at Manchac in November 1788, married Marie, also called Emerite, Merite, and Myrtie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jacques Blanchard, at the Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in January 1813.  They settled in West Baton Rouge Parish.  Their son Jean Baptiste was born in November 1825, Joachim Augustin in September 1827, and Ferjus in December 1830.  Their daughters married into the Foret and Parent families.  ...

2

François-Alonso, born at Manchac in November 1791, may have died young.

3

Paul-Simon, born at Manchac in May 1793, died probably at Manchac in November 1832.  The priest who recorded his burial said that Paul died at "age ca. 40 yrs."  He was 39 years old and probably did not marry.   

4

Pierre-Augustin, called Augustin, born at Manchac in March 1795, married Léonore, daughter of French Creole Bernard Dauterive, at the Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in January 1828.  ...

5

Raphaël-Benjamin, born at Manchac in February 1799, may have died young. 

6

Youngest son Pierre-Jean-Baptiste, born at Manchac in July 1802, also may have died young. 

Pierre-Auguste RICHARD (1774-1809)

Pierre-Auguste, called Auguste, third and youngest son of Pierre Richard and his second wife Françoise Daigle, born at Le Palais, Belle-Île-en-Mer, France in January 1774, came to Louisiana with his parents and siblings aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships, in 1785 and settled with them at Baton Rouge, where he married Marie-Jeanne, daughter of French Creole Charles Dardenne of Natchitoches, in December 1796.  They settled at Plaquemine in Iberville Parish.  Auguste died at Plaquemine in March 1809; he was only 35 years old.  His line of the family may have died with him. 

~

Other RICHARDs on the River

Area church and civil record make it difficult to link some Richards on the river with known Acadian lines of the family there.  The priests at St. Gabriel were especially negligent in their recordkeeping: 

Marguerite Richard did at St.-Gabriel in January 1795.  The priest who recorded her burial did not bother to give her parents' names, mention a husband, or give her age at the time of her death. 

Joseph Richard died near St. Gabriel, Iberville Parish, in 1810.  The priest who recorded his burial, and who did not bother to give his parents' names or mention a wife, said that Joseph died at age 30. 

Joseph Richard married Spanish Creole Marie Suarez in a civil ceremony probably in Iberville Parish during the 1820s.  Their son Euphémon was born near St. Gabriel in August 1834, Edgard in October 1840, and Alcée in January 1843.  Their daughter married into the Hébert family. 

Joseph Richard died near Baton Rouge in March 1836.  The priest who recorded his burial, and who did not bother to give his parents' names or mention a wife, said that Joseph died at age 40. 

Sylvanie Richard married Marie Guillory in a civil ceremony probably in Iberville Parish.  Their son Joseph was born near St. Gabriel in November 1845. 

LOUISIANA:  WESTERN SETTLEMENTS

Richards were among the early Acadian settlers in the prairie region west of the Atchafalaya Basin.  They came to Louisiana from Halifax via Cap-Français, St.-Domingue, in the spring of 1765 and chose to go to the Opelousas District, where they set down deep roots:

Pierre Richard of Chignecto, age 35, came with wife Marguerite Dugas of Cobeguit, age 30, three sons--Fabien age 13, Louis, age 5, and Pierre, fils, age 2--and brother Victor, age 18.  Pierre and Marguerite had more children in Louisiana, including sons.  Victor created a family of his own and also settled in what became St. Landry Parish. 

Descendants of Pierre RICHARD (c1729-1806)

Pierre, elder son of Alexandre Richard and Marie Thibodeau, born probably at Chignecto in c1729, married Marguerite, daughter of Alexis Dugas of Cobeguit, probably at Chignecto in c1752.  They escaped the British roundup there in 1755, and Pierre joined his cousin, Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, as part of the Acadian resistance movement in the wilds of present-day eastern New Brunswick.  During the early 1760s, Pierre and his family, with the Broussards, ended up as prisoners of war in Nova Scotia.  They followed the Broussards to Louisiana via St.-Domingue in 1764-65 but did not go with them to Bayou Teche.  They went, instead, to the Opelousas District, where they settled on Bellevue prairie, south of the present city.  They had more children in Louisiana, including daughters and more sons.  Their daughter married into the Bourg family.  By 1774, Pierre owned 50 head of cattle at Bellevue.  His herd had increased to 100 head by 1777, and to 140 head of cattle and 10 horses by 1788; he also owned three slaves that year.  In his late 60s, he remarried to fellow Acadian Élisabeth, or Isabelle, Aucoin, widow of Jean-Baptiste LeBlanc, at Opelousas in August 1797.  Élisabeth was a native of Minas and had come to Louisiana from France aboard L'Amitié, the fifth of the Seven Ships, in 1785.  She gave him no more children.  Pierre, père died at Opelousas in May 1806; the priest who recorded his burial said that Pierre died "at age about 78 yrs."  All six of his sons created families of their own.  Most of them settled in St. Landry Parish, but some drifted down into the old Attakapas District and settled in St. Martin and Lafayette parishes.  Despite their living in a predominantly Creole community, Pierre's descendants in St. Landry Parish married a surprising number of fellow Acadians. 

1

Oldest son Fabien, by his first wife, born probably at Chignecto in c1752, married Françoise, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Thibodeaux, at Attakapas in January 1779.  They settled on Bellevue prairie near his family.  Their twin sons Jean-Fabien and Pierre-Placide, called Placide, were born at Opelousas in May 1782, Pierre-Cyrille, called Cyrille and Cyrille dit Cadet Fabien, in February 1788, Joseph was baptized, age unrecorded, in April 1792, François le jeune at age unrecorded in October 1796, a son, name unrecorded, died "as a child" in April 1799, and another son, name unrecorded, died at age 6 months between May and July 1802.  Their daughters married into the Brandt, Lavergne, Stelly, and Vasseur families.  Fabien died in St. Landry Parish in April 1812; he was 60 years old; his estate record had been filed at the Opelousas courthouse in May 1811. 

1a

Pierre Placide had a "natural daughter" by Spanish Creole Clothilde Quintero; the daughter married into the Doucet family.  Pierre Placide married Anastasie, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Hébert, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1815.  A daughter was baptized at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in April 1814 (her parents marriage in May 1815 "legitimized" her birth), their son Pierre Placide, fils was born in March 1816 but died "at the home of [his uncle] Joseph Lavergne" at Bellevue, age 3 1/2, in September 1819, Louis le jeune was born in early 1817 but died at his uncle Joseph Lavergne's home, age 1 1/2, the day after his older brother Pierre died in September 1819, perhaps of yellow fever, Joseph was born in February 1818, Paulin in January 1827, Eugène in June 1829, and Placide in August 1834.  Their daughters married into the Gautreaux and Lavergne (French Creole, not Acadian) families.   ...

1b

Jean Fabien married Eugènie, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Savoie and widow of Antoine Dupré, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in October 1816.  They settled at Bellevue.  Their son Jean Duclise was born in July 1817, and Evariste in March 1828.  Their daughter married a Richard cousin.  ...

Jean Duclise married double cousin Azélie, 20-year-old daughter of Joseph Victor Richard, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1837; Azélie's mother was a Richard. ...

1c

Pierre Cyrille married Marie Marguerite, also called Azélie, Azéline, or Zéline, 21-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian André Prejean, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in January 1820.  They settled at Carencro.  Their child, name unrecorded, perhaps a son, died in November 1820, Pierre Cyrille, fils, called Cyrille, was born in July 1824, Octave in September 1826, Aurelien was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 8 months, in August 1832, Émile was born in October 1834, and Gustave in December 1837.  Their daughter married into the Domingue family.  Pierre Cyrille, père died in St. Landry Parish in September 1839; the Opelousas priest who recorded his burial said that Cyrille Fabien, as he called him, died "at age 53 yrs.," but he was only 51. 

Octave married Eugènie, 19-year-old daughter of François Lefort, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in November 1846; Eugènie's mother was a Landry. ...

Pierre Cyrille, fils may have married Azélie Martin, probably a fellow Acadian, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in June 1847. ...

1d

Joseph married Eugènie, daughter of French Creole Jean Louis Gaspard of St. Martin Parish, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1828; Eugènie's mother was a Comeaux.  They settled at Bellevue.  Their son Joseph, fils was born in April 1834, and Edmond in May 1840.  ...

2

Louis, by his first wife, born in Acadia in c1760, married Marie-Victoire, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Dugas, probably at Opelousas in c1786.  Marie-Victoire was a native of Plouër, France, near St.-Malo, and had come to Louisiana aboard La Bergère, the second of the Seven Ships, in 1785.  Their son Louis-André was born at Opelousas in November 1787, Pierre-Séverin in February 1792, Joseph in April 1797, Jean was baptized, age unrecorded, in August 1799, Denis was born in January 1804, and Paul in May 1806.  Their daughters married into the Dupré, Landry, Richard, and Vasseur families.  Louis remarried to Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadian Charles Dugas, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in July 1826; Louis was in his mid-60s at the time of the wedding.  Marguerite, in her mid-40s when they married, was a native of Nantes, France, who had come to Louisiana in 1785 aboard La Bergère, and this was her only marriage.  She gave Louis no more children and died a few months before he did.  Louis died in St. Landry Parish in August 1829; the Opelousas priest who recorded his burial said that Louis was 66 years old when he died, but he probably was a few years older than that.  The priest added, strangely, "I was called to administer to her[sic] but I found her[sic] dead."  Louis's succession record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse soon after his death. 

2a

Pierre Séverin, by his first wife, married Anne Célise or Sélesie, called Sélesie, daughter of fellow Acadian Cyrille Thibodeaux, at the Opelousas church, St. Martin Parish, in April 1812.  They settled on the Mermentau River.  Their son Pierre was born in November 1814, Louis Vileor in December 1818, Léandre in June 1822, Terville in c1823 but died at age 10 in July 1833, Sosthène was born in May 1829, Alphred in January 1831, and Hyacinthe in September 1834.  Their daughters married into the Janise, Lacombe, Teal, and Thibodeaux families.  ...

Pierre married Meranthe, daughter of fellow Acadian Michel Leger le jeune, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in December 1839. ...

Léandre likely married Céleste, probably another daughter of Michel Leger le jeune, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1843. ...

Louis Vileor married Madeleine, daughter of French Creole Don Louis Carriere, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in December 1845; Madeleine's mother was a Doucet. ...

2b

Louis-André, by his first wife, married Julie, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Babineaux of Carencro, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in July 1814.  Their son Louis III, also called Don Louis, was born in St. Martin Parish in February 1819, and Jean le jeune near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in September 1825.  Their daughters married into the Babineaux, Bourque, and Landry families.  Louis André remarried to Marie Émilienne, daughter of Anglo American Charles Peck, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in June 1829; Marie's mother was a Savoie.  Their son Charles Octave was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 11 months, in July 1831, André Edgard was born near Grand Coteau in June 1832, and Forestien or Forestier was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 3 months, in November 1834.  ...

Don Louis, by his first wife, married cousin Célestine, daughter of his first cousin Jean Fabien Richard, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in December 1841. ...

Jean le jeune, by his first wife, married Zélonie, daughter of Isleño Creole Balthazar Plaisance, in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in July 1845; Zélonie's mother was a Breaux. ...

2c

Joseph, by his first wife, married first cousin Eugènie, daughter of his uncle François Richard, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in July 1819.  Their son Alexandre was born in St. Landry Parish in May 1827, Théodore in September 1828, Joseph, fils in September 1831, Adolphe in March 1834, and Lasty in May 1835.  ...

2d

Jean, by his first wife, married Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Baptiste Guidry, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in June 1825.  Their son Jean Duclise was born in Lafayette Parish in February 1828, Moïse was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 7 days, in December 1830, Paul Félix was born in May 1834, Joachim was baptized at age 3 months in June 1836, and Victorien was born in March 1839.  Their daughter married into the Fenetre family.  ...

2e

The succession record of Denis, by his first wife, was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, in June 1838.  He would have been 34 years old that year and probably did not marry. 

3

Pierre, fils, by his first wife, born probably at Halifax in c1763, married Marie-Josèphe, daughter of fellow Acadian Charles Dugas, at Opelousas in May 1787.  Marie-Josèphe was a native of Boulogne, France, and had come to Louisiana from France in 1785 aboard La Bergère, the second of the Seven Ships.  They settled at Bellevue before moving to Anse La Butte on upper Bayou Vermilion.  Their son Pierre-Anaclet, called Anaclet, was born at Opelousas in April 1788, Louis le jeune in September 1794, a son, name unrecorded, died at age 7 days in March 1797, and Philippe le jeune was born in January 1799.  Their daughters married into the Hébert and Landry families.  Pierre, fils died "at his home" at La Butte in July 1811; he was only 48 years old; his succession record was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, the following August, and at the Vermilionville and Opelousas courthouses in Lafayette and St. Landry parishes in July 1835.  His sons settled at La Butte and at Carencro. 

3a

Pierre Anaclet married Marie Eugènie, daughter of fellow Acadian Basile Chiasson, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1816.  They settled at La Butte.  Their son, name unrecorded, died at age 5 months in November 1816, and Pierre Fergus, called Fergus, was born in June 1818.  Their daughter married into the Constantin family.  Anaclet remarried to Marie Carmelite or Sidalise, daughter of fellow Acadian Leufroi Sonnier, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in January 1827.  Their son Celasty was born in Lafayette Parish in September 1834, Félix was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 14 months, in March 1840, and Charles was born in October 1840.  ...

Fergus, by his first wife, married Céleste Laure, called Laure, daughter of fellow Acadian Narcisse Cormier, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in January 1837.  Their child, name unrecorded, perhaps a son, died 6 days after its birth in October 1837.  ...

3b

Louis le jeune married Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadian Dominique Babineaux, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1822.  Their son Louis Gédéon was born in Lafayette Parish in November 1822.  Their daughter married a Broussard cousin.  ...

3c

Philippe le jeune married Célestine, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Dugas of Lafayette Parish, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in October 1824.  ...

4

Philippe, by his first wife, born probably at Opelousas in c1771, married Marie-Eugènie, called Eugènie, daughter of French Canadian Louis Lavergne, at Opelousas in May 1796.  They settled at Bellevue.  Their son Philippe, fils, also called Joseph, was baptized at Opelousas, age unrecorded, in April 1797, Joseph-Gerasime, called Gerasime, was born in April 1803, Eugène in November 1805, and Adolphe in November 1818.  Their daughters married into the Andrus, Boutte, Lavergne (French Creole, not Acadian), Miller, and Thibodeaux families.  Philippe, père died in St. Landry Parish in November 1829; he was 58 years old; his succession record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse in January and July 1830. 

4a

Philippe, fils married Marcellite, daughter of German Creole Jean Baptiste Stelly, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in September 1823.  Their son Théodule was born near Grand Coteau in August 1824, Eugène Théogène, called Théogène, in December 1825, Théodore in April 1827, and Théophile in November 1828.  Philippe, fils died near Grand Coteau in December 1837; he was only 40 years old; his succession record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, in August 1840. 

Théogène likely married Estelle Delhomme at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1845. ...

Théodule married Hélène, daughter of Anglo American Abraham Harman, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in February 1847. ...

4b

Eugène married Catherine, daughter of Abram Harman or Hermann, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in March 1830.  Their son Eugène, fils was born in St. Landry Parish in October 1831, Jefferson near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in September 1834, and Menxil Joseph Wils in May 1836. ...

4c

Gerasime married Mary Anne, daughter of Anglo-American Malachi Stanton, also called Deshautel, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in September 1832.  He remarried to Marie Justine Cora, called Cora, daughter of French Creole Terence Delahoussaye, in a civil ceremony in St. Mary Parish in December 1837, and sanctified the marriage at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, later in the month.  Their son Charles was born near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in June 1839.  ...

4d

Adolphe married cousin Azéma, 14-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Julien Landry, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in April 1837; Azéma's mother was a Richard.  Adolphe remarried to cousin Marie Eugènie or Virginie, daughter of French Creole François Dupré, at the Opelousas church in April 1841; Marie's mother was a Richard.  ...

5

François, by his first wife, baptized at Opelousas, age 17 months, in May 1779, married Hélène, daughter of fellow Acadian Blaise Brasseaux, at Opelousas in January 1798.  Their son François, fils was baptized at Opelousas, age unrecorded, in December 1798 but supposedly died "as a child" in February 1800, Alexandre le jeune was baptized at Opelousas, age 1, in August 1802, Jean Baptiste at age 2 months in May 1804, and Pierre Cyrille le jeune was born in February 1816.  Their daughters married into the Berchum, Bertrand (German Creole, not Acadian), Delhomme, Doucet, Leger, Martin, Richard, and Thibodeaux families.  François, père remarried to Marguerite, another daughter of Blaise Brasseaux and widow of William Woods, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in June 1823; François was in his early 40s at the time of the wedding.  Their son Azolin was born in St. Landry Parish in July 1826.  Their daughter married into the Lavergne (French Canadian, not Acadian), family.  ...

5a

François, fils, by his first wife, married Anne, daughter of fellow Acadian Bonaventure Martin, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1825.  Their son François III was born in St. Landry Parish in December 1826, Eugène in August 1831, Martin in October 1834, and Anaclet in March 1836.  ...

5b

Alexandre, by his first wife, married Éloise, also called Sologne, daughter of fellow Acadian Louis Leger, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in January 1826.  Their son Alexandre, fils was born in St. Landry Parish in June 1840.  Their daughter married into the Carriere family.  Alexandre, père's succession records were filed at the Opelousas courthouse in May 1841, when he would have been age 40, and in November 1846. 

6

Youngest son Olivier, by his first wife, married Théotiste, daughter of French Creole Hubert Jany or Janise, at Opelousas in February 1802; Théotiste's mother was a Brasseaux.  Their son Artéon, born in St. Landry Parish in c1807, baptized at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, age 15, in March 1822, and Edmond was born in c1811 and baptized at age 11 in March 1822.  They also had a son named Olivier, fils, born in the early 1800s.  Their daughters married into the Bordelon, Carriere, Doucet (French Creole, not Acadian), Fontenot, and Shearman families.  Olivier, père's succession record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, in April 1838. 

6a

Olivier, fils married Louise, daughter of French Creole Pierre Joubert, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in April 1825.  Their son Edmond le jeune was born in St. Landry Parish in February 1826, and Valmond in March 1830.  Their daughter married into the Strider family.  Olivier, fils's succession record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, in March 1838. 

Edmond le jeune married Célestine, daughter of French Creole François Vigé, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in August 1845; Célestine's mother was a Foret. ...

6b

Artéon "drowned by accident" in St. Landry Parish in May 1829.  He was only 21 years old and did not marry. 

6c

Edmond married Judith, daughter of fellow Acadian Charles Sonnier, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in August 1840. ...

Descendants of Victor RICHARD (c1747-1808)

Victor, younger son of of Alexandre Richard and Marie Thibodeau, born probably at Chignecto in c1747, escaped the British roundup of 1755 and followed his family into exile on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore.  With them, he ended up as a prisoner in Nova Scotia in the early 1760s.  He was still in his teens when he came to Louisiana with his older brother Pierre in 1765.  He followed Pierre to the Opelousas District and also settled on Bellevue prairie.  In 1774, still a bachelor, Victor owned 30 head of cattle at Bellevue.  He married Marie-Madeleine, daughter of fellow Acadian Cosme Brasseur dit Brasseaux, probably at Opelousas later that year.  Victor's herd had increased to 70 head of cattle and nine horses by 1777, and in 1788 he owned 150 head of cattle and 29 horses, as well as three slaves.  His daughters married into the Bijeaux, Cormier, Estilette, and Thibodeaux families.  Victor died at Opelousas in September 1808; he was 60 year old; his succession records were filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, in March 1809 and March 1810.  His two older sons created families of their own and settled in St. Landry Parish. 

1

Oldest son Jean-Baptiste-Victor, called Baptiste, born at Opelousas in November 1775, married Marie-Anne, called Anne and also Marguerite, daughter of French Creole Noël Vasseur, at Opelousas in February 1803.  Their son Jean Baptiste, fils was born probably at Opelousas in c1804, Zephyr, who was baptized at Opelousas, age 2 months, in July 1806, "drowned in a well" at age 4 in July 1810, and Victorin was born in February 1811 but died at age 1 in February 1812.  Their daughters married into the Amy, Desessart, and Young families.  ...

Jean Baptiste, fils married Geneviève, daughter of German Creole Daniel or Denis Zeringue, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in November 1831.  Their son Jean Baptiste III was born in St. Landry Parish in August 1832, Eugène in July 1834, and Camille in September 1839.  ...

2

Joseph-Victor, born at Opelousas in January 1785, married cousin Marie Louise, daughter of his first cousin Louis Richard, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in April 1812.   Their son Joseph, fils was born in St. Landry Parish in March 1816, Louis Victor, a twin, in July 1822, Alexandre Victor in September 1824, Sosthène in September 1828, Victor le jeune in December 1832, and Théodule in November 1835.  Their daughters married into the Akeson or Arkeson, Andrus, David, Hébert, and Richard families.  ...

2a

Alexandre Victor married cousin Celima, daughter of French Creole Adélard Boutte, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in August 1844; Celima's mother, also, was a Richard.  ...

2b

Louis Victor married Izaline or Ysoline, 16-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Dugas, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in April 1845. ...

3

Alexandre, born at Opelousas in January 1787, died in June 1807.  He was only 20 years old and did not marry. 

4

Youngest son Louis, baptized at Opelousas, age unrecorded, in August 1789, died in August 1794, age unrecorded. 

~

Beginning in the 1770s and continuing well into the antebellum period, Richards from the river, including a set of brothers, moved to the western prairies and joined their kinsmen already there:

Marguerite Richard, widow of Charles Prejean, died "at the home of Jean Baptiste Commeau, her son-in-law, at Côte Gelée" in October 1819.  The priest who recorded her burial said that she died "at age about 77 yrs.," but she was closer to 74.  Her succession record was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in July 1820. 

Descendants of Mathurin RICHARD (c1742-1796)

Mathurin, third son of Joseph Richard and Marie LeBlanc, born probably at Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit in c1742, was exiled with his family to Maryland in 1755, where he married fellow Acadian Élisabeth, or Isabelle, Landry in c1765.  They came to Louisiana with his widowed mother and brothers in 1767 and followed them to St.-Gabriel d'Iberville.  In the mid-1770s, they moved to the Opelousas District, where Spanish officials counted them in 1777.  They settled near Grand Coteau, in the southeastern corner of the district.  Mathurin owned 45 head of cattle and no slaves in 1788.  He died probably at Grand Coteau in December 1796, in his early 50s. 

1

Older son Jean-Baptiste, called Baptiste, born probably at St.-Gabriel in December 1768, married Élisabeth or Isabelle, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Baptiste Cormier, fils, at Opelousas in April 1794.  They settled near Grand Coteau.  Their son Jean-Baptiste, fils had been born in March 1794 but died at age 9 1/2 in February 1804, Onésime was born in August 1799, Raphaël in August 1804, a child, name unrecorded, perhaps a son, died at age 1 in February 1812, and Joseph was born in May 1812.  Their daughters married into the Breaux, Cormier, and Prejean families.  Jean Baptiste, père died near Grand Coteau in November 1834; the priest who recorded his burial said that Jean Baptiste was 70 years old when he died, but he was "only" 66. 

1a

Raphaël married Marie Adélaïde, called Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Boudreaux, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in April 1827.  Their son Raphaël, fils was born near Grand Coteau in April 1828, Joseph Dorestan in March 1832, Aurelien in August 1837, and Jean Onésime in September 1839.  ...

1b

Onésime married cousin Delphine, daughter of fellow Acadian Paul Thibodeaux, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in August 1829; Delphine's mother, also, was a Cormier.  Their son Onésime, fils was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 2  months, in July 1832 but died at age 3 in September 1835, and Pierre was born near Grand Coteau in January 1834.  Onésime remarried to Marguerite Arthémise, called Arthémise, daughter of Anglo Creole Julien Caruthers or Credeur, at the Vermilionville church in May 1837; Marguerite's mother was a Mouton.  ...

1c

Joseph married Marguerite, another daughter of Jean Boudreaux, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in December 1833.  Their son Joseph, fils was born near Grand Coteau in July 1835 but died at age 2 1/2 in September 1837, François Lucien was baptized at the Grand Coteau church, age unrecorded, in April 1838, Joseph Miller was born in May 1839, and Joseph Valsin in December 1840.  Joseph remarried to cousin Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Savoie, at the Grand Coteau church in October 1844; Marguerite's mother, also, was a Cormier.  ...

2

Younger son Pierre-Grégoire, born at St.-Gabriel in January 1774, married Anne-Pérrine, daughter of fellow Acadian Paul Patry of Île St.-Jean, at Opelousas in October 1794.  Anne was a native of St.-Servan, France, and had come to Louisiana aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships, in 1785 with her mother and stepfather, Pierre Hébert.  Pierre-Grégoire and Anne settled at Beaubassin on upper Bayou Vermilion, near Carencro.  Their son Pierre-Sylvère was born in August 1795, Pierre died at age 1 in July 1801, Marcellin, a twin, was born in April 1808, and Joachim in March 1814.  Their daughters married into the Bruce, Carmouche, Gray, Hutchens, and Roger (French Canadian, not Acadian) families.  Pierre Grégoire's succession records were filed at the Vermilionville courthouse, Lafayette Parish, in October 1830; he would have been 56 years old that year.  He died a widower, Anne having died in December 1817. 

2a

Pierre Sylvère married Marie, daughter of Anglo Creole Jean Andrus, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in October 1824; Marie's mother was a Savoie.  Their son Pierre Ducre was born near Grand Coteau in July 1825, Déogène in August 1826, Onésime le jeune in August 1828, Valsin in October 1832 but died 8 days after his birth, Gerasin was born in January 1835, and Joachim in February 1840.  ...

Pierre Ducre married Firmosia or Formosia Meche at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in August 1847. ...

Onésime le jeune may have married fellow Acadian Lucie Boudreaux in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in December 1847, and sanctified the marriage at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, the following month.  ...

2b

Joachim married Euphémie Azélie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Melançon, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in October 1839. ...

Descendants of Paul RICHARD (c1747-1818)

Paul, fourth and youngest son of Joseph Richard and Marie LeBlanc, born probably at Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit in c1747, was exiled with his family to Maryland in 1755.  He came to Louisiana with his widowed mother and an older brother in 1767 and followed them to St.-Gabriel d'Iberville.  He married Madeleine-Marthe, called Marthe, daughter of fellow Acadian Dominique Babin, at St.-Jacques in February 1777.  Spanish officials counted them on the "right bank ascending" at St.-Gabriel later that year.  During the early antebellum period, they crossed the Atchafalaya Basin and settled on the western prairies.  Their daughter married into the McGee family.  Paul died "suddenly ... at the home of Mr. Lefebvre at 'au large de (the surrounding countryside of) la Côte Gelée" in July 1818; he was "age about 72 years."  Only his younger son seems to have created a family of his own and settled in St. Landry Parish. 

1

Older son Joseph-Xavier, born at St.-Gabriel in January 1778, may have died young. 

2

Younger son Dominique, born at St.-Gabriel in December 1784, married Augustine or Justine, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Landry, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in July 1812.  Their son Eugène was born in St. Landry Parish in June 1819, Paul Hermogène in January 1822, Joseph in June 1825, and Léandre in July 1829.  Their daughters married into the Barton and Lacombe families.  ...

Paul Hermogène married Marie Edmire Devillier in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in May 1845. ...

Descendants of Joseph RICHARD (c1765-1805)

Joseph, son of Claude Richard and Rosalie Thibodeau, born at Halifax or Cap-Français, St.-Domingue, today's Haiti, in c1765, came to Louisiana with his widowed mother in 1765.  After she remarried at New Orleans in January 1766, his mother and stepfather took him to Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river.  Probably after he came of age, Joseph moved to the Attakapas District, where he married Marie-Madeleine, called Madeleine, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Castille, in February 1794.  They settled at L'Anse, also called La Pointe, on upper Bayou Teche.  Their daughters married into the Beauvais or Beauvois, Simon, and Webre families.  Joseph died at his home at L'Anse in May 1805; he was only 40 years old; his succession record was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in June 1807.  A daughter, Marie Josephine, was born fives months after he died.  Only one of his sons married and created a family of his own. 

1

Older son Joseph, fils, baptized at Attakapas, age 5 months, in March 1795, died in February 1804.  He was only 9 years old. 

2

Younger son Louis Valmont, called Valmont, born at L'Anse in July 1802, married Madeleine or Marguerite Marcellite, daughter of French Creole Jean Baptiste Bonin, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in August 1835.  Their son Louis Robert was born in St. Martin Parish in August 1836.  ...

Descendants of Joseph RICHARD (1767-1820)

Joseph, second son of Amand Richard and his second wife Françoise Daigle, born in Maryland in March 1767 on the eve of his family's voyage to Louisiana, married Pélagie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Jacques Babin, at St.-Jacques in June 1787.  They moved to the Attakapas District in c1806 and settled at L'Anse à Michaud on upper Bayou Teche.  Their daughters married into the Benoit, Halloway, and Roy families.  Daughter Eurasie, who married Pierre Zéphirin Roy probably in the late 1820s, bore a "natural" son named Joseph Théodule in September 1824; he was called a Richard.  Joseph died "at his home at L'ance à Michaud" in October 1820; the St. Martinville priest who recorded his burial said that Joseph died "at age 55 years," but he was only 53; his succession record was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, the following December. 

1

Oldest son Joseph-Cyprien, called Cyprien, born at Ascension in October 1792, died at L'Anse in September 1809.  He was only 17 years old. 

2

Rosémond dit Saunier, born at St.-Jacques in April 1795, married Anastasie, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Poirier of L'Anse du Bon Repos and widow of Jean Dugas, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in September 1817.  They settled near the bridge at Anse La Butte on upper Bayou Vermilion.  Their son Pierre was born in September 1818, Valérien in September 1820, Émilien was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 1, in September 1826, and Sosthène was born in July 1835.  Their daughters may have married into the Blanchard and Breaux families.  ...

Valérien likely married fellow Acadian Aspasie Breaux in a civil ceremony probably in St. Landry Parish in 1842, and sanctified the marriage at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in October 1846. ...

3

Urbain, born at St.-Jacques in March 1802, married Marie, daughter of French Creole Simon Gaspard, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in June 1825.  Their son Joseph Clairville was born in St. Martin Parish in November 1827.  Their daughter married into the Picard family.  Urbain remarried to Céleste or Célestine, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Granger, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in September 1836.  ...

4

Michel Adrien, born at L'Anse in June 1808, married Anastasie, also called Arthémise, daughter of fellow Acadian Charles Granger of St. Martin Parish, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in January 1829.  Their son Telesphore was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 2 1/2 months, in February 1831 but died in March, and Michel, fils was born in August 1832 but died at age 1 in August 1833.  Their daughter married a Roy cousin.  ...

5

Youngest son Amand, born at L'Anse in July 1812, married Scholastique, another daughter of Pierre Poirier and widow of Charles Theriot, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in June 1838.  ...

Descendants of Simon RICHARD, fils (1787-)

Simon, fils, eldest son of Simon Richard and Scholastique Mire and nephew of Joseph Richard (son of Amand), was born at St.-Jacques on the river in January 1787.  After he came of age, he followed his uncle to the western prairies, where he married French Creole Marguerite, daughter of Hubert Jany or Janise, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in November 1808; Marguerite's mother was a Brasseaux.  Their daughter married into the Soileau family.  ...

Simon III, born near Convent, St. James Parish, in October 1816, married cousin Clementine Marie Petronille, 19 1/2-year-old daughter of French Creole Vital Estilette, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1837; Clementine's mother was a Richard.  Their son Philemon was born in St. Landry Parish in January 1838.  ...

Descendants of Jean Marie RICHARD le jeune (1812-)

Jean-Marie le jeune, fourth son of Michel Richard and Rosalie Michel, born in St. James Parish in March 1812, married Marie Élise, called Élise, daughter of fellow Acadian Manuel Breaux, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in September 1831.  They moved to the lower Bayou Teche valley later in the decade.  ...

Jean Marie Mathieu, born in Ascension Parish in November 1838, ... 

~

Other RICHARDs on the Western Prairies

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link many Richards in the western parishes with known Acadian lines of the family there.  The priests at Grand Coteau were especially negligent in his recordkeeping:

Pierre Richard's succession record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, in January 1820.  The clerk who recorded the succession did not give any details of Pierre's life. 

Marie Richard, wife of Martin Court, died "at her home at la Côte aux puces," or the Flea Coast on lower Bayou Teche, then in St. Martin Parish, in June 1821.  She was 60 years old.  Was she an Acadian?

Joseph Louis Richard's estate record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, in July 1824.  The parish clerk who filed the record did not give Joseph Louis's parents' names or mention a wife.  Was he Joseph, son Louis Richard? 

Pierre Richard married Laclaire Algrelle or Hargrave probably in Lafayette Parish in the early 1820s.  Their son Rémise was born in Lafayette Parish in January 1825.  Was Pierre an Acadian?

Pierre Richard's succession record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, in December 1825.  The parish clerk who recorded the succession did not give any details of Pierre's life. 

Pierre Richard married Clothilde Quinter.  Their daughter married into the Doucet family in St. Landry Parish in August 1828.  Was Pierre an Acadian?

Louis Richard married Marie Ledoux.  Their son Don Louis was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 4 1/2 months, in March 1832. 

Arthémise Richard married Anglo American George W. Addison in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in October 1833, and sanctified the marriage at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in April 1835.  Neither the parish clerk nor the priest who recorded the marriage gave the couple's parents' names. 

Eliphalet Richard died in St. Martin Parish in September 1837.  His, or her, succession record was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse later that month.  The parish clerk who recorded Eliphalet's succession did not give his/her parents' names. 

Azéline, daughter of Pierre Richard, married Joseph, son of fellow Acadian Jérôme Gautreaux of Lafayette Parish, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in December 1838.  The priest who recorded the marriage did not include the couple's mothers' names, so which Pierre was the bride's father is anyone's guess. 

Delphine Richard married Thomas Can in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in May 1839.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

Azélie Richard married Anglo American James Baugh in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in June 1839.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

Pierre Richard married Eléonore, called Léonore, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Paul Trahan, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in December 1839, and sanctified the marriage at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in November 1847.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the groom's parents' names, and the Grand Coteau priest, true to form, gave no parents' names. 

"Widow Richard" died near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in October 1837.  The priest who recorded her burial gave no more details. 

Insan Richard died near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in December 1838.  The priest who recorded Insan's burial gave no more details. 

Froisie Richard married Jean Pierre Rouxe in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in August 1841.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

Adélaïde Richard married Anglo American Samuel Small of Calcasieu Parish in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in November 1841.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

Marie Darsene or Dersina Richard married French Creole Jean Baptiste Lafleur at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in January 1843.  The priest who recorded the marriage did not bother to give the couple's parents' names. 

Eugènie Richard married French Creole Gustave De La Houssaye at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in July 1846.  The priest who recorded the marriage did not bother to give the couple's parents' names. 

Théodore Richard married Louisa, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Comeaux, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in October 1846.  The priest who recorded the marriage did not bother to give the couple's parents' names and called the bride a Cormier.  However, the St. Landry Parish clerk who recorded the marriage earlier in the month did give the bride's father's name and called him a Comeaux.  Southwest Louisiana church records reveal a Louise, daughter of Pierre Comeaux and Lise Durio, born in St. Landry Parish in June 1830, so this probably was her.  But which Théodore Richard was her husband? 

LOUISIANA:  LAFOURCHE VALLEY SETTLEMENTS

Most of the Richards who came to Louisiana from France in 1785 chose to go to upper Bayou Lafourche:

Jean Richard, age 55, crossed on La Bergère, the second of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in August.  With him were wife Marguerite Landry, age 48, of Grand-Pré and their 14-year-old son Jean-Pierre.  Jean and Marguerite had no more children in Louisiana.

Dorothée Richard, age 50, crossed on La Bergère with second husband Claude LeBlanc of Grand-Pré, age 62, and Claire Landry of Grand-Pré, age 80, her mother-in-law by her first husband. 

Pierre Richard, age 48, crossed on La Bergère with wife Marie-Blanche, called Blanche, LeBlanc, age 43, and three children--Marie-Marguerite, age 19, Pierre-Joseph, age 17, and infant Charles-Pierre-Paul.  Also with them was 30-year-old cousin Rose Richard, daughter of Jean.  Pierre and Marie-Blanche had no more children in Louisiana.  Cousin Rose married a LeBlanc at Lafourche and may have followed her husband to the Baton Rouge area, where she died in October 1822, in her late 60s.  Daughter Marie-Marguerite, wife of Raphaël Landry, died in Assumption Parish in July 1824; she was 58 years old.  Meanwhile, Pierre died a widower in Assumption Parish in November 1815, only a few months shy of his eightieth birthday.  Neither of his sons created families of their own, so this line of the family, except for its blood, disappeared in the Bayou State. 

Cécile Richard, age 48, crossed on La Bergère with husband Olivier Aucoin, age 59, and three daughters, ages 18, 16, and 14.  Cécile, a widow, died in Assumption Parish in February 1824; the priest who recorded her burial said that she was 85 years old when she died, but she was "only" 81. 

Marie-Josèphe Richard, age 46, widow of Hilaire Landry, crossed on La Bergère with two daughters, ages 18 and 10. 

Cécile Boudrot, age 38, widow of Charles Richard, crossed on La Bergère with daughter Marie-Rose, age 14, and half-brother Joseph Boudrot, age 18. 

.

Jean-Charles Richard, age 19, crossed on Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans later in August.  He came alone and did not follow the majority of the passengers from his ship to Baton Rouge but went, instead, to upper Bayou Lafourche, where he married. 

.

Marie Richard, age 44, crossed on Le St.-Rémi, the fourth of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in September.  With here were two unmarried sisters--Marguerite, age 42, and Élisabeth, or Isabelle, age 33.  Élisabeth and Marguerite married and settled on the upper bayou.  Marie never married and died in Assumption Parish in November 1809, age 68.  Marguerite, wife of Jean-Pierre Bourg, died in Lafourche Interior Parish in January 1831, age 87..   Élisabeth, wife of Jean Baptiste Trahan, died in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1832, age 81. 

Charles Richard, age 31, Marie et al.'s younger brother, crossed on Le St.-Rémi with wife Marie-Josèphe Trahan, age 19.  Their children were born on the bayou. 

Joseph Richard, age 36, a widower, crossed on Le St.-Rémi with daughter Marie-Élisabeth or -Isabelle, called Isabelle, age 10.  Joseph did not remarry.  Marie-Élisabeth, wife of Jean-Louis Daigle, died at New Orleans in September 1801; she was only 26 years old.  One wonders what a resident of Lafourche was doing in the city at the time of her death. 

.

Marguerite Richard dit Sapin, age 42, crossed on L'Amitié, the fifth of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in November.  With her were husband Joseph Boudrot of Minas, age 40, four children, ages 20 to 3, and 12-year-old mineure Marie Hébert.  Marguerite was pregnant when the family reached New Orleans and gave birth to another son at either New Orleans or Lafourche.  Marguerite died in Assumption Parish in November 1815; the priest who recorded her burial said that Marguerite was 68 years old when she died, but she was closer to 72. 

.

Marie-Blanche Richard, age 42, widow of Claude Pitre, crossed with 17-year-old daughter Marie-Charlotte on La Ville d'Archangel, the sixth of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in December.  Marie-Charlotte married a Boudrot at New Orleans soon after they reached the city.  Marie-Blanche, her daughter, and her son-in-law evidently did not follow the majority of the passengers of their ship to the new Acadian community of Bayou des Écores, north of Baton Rouge, but went to Bayou Lafourche instead, where Marie-Charlotte died in November 1786 probably from the rigors of child birth. 

.

Basile-Marie Richard, age 18, younger brother of Jean-Charles Richard of Le Beaumont, crossed on La Caroline, the last of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in December.  He came alone.  He followed his older brother to Bayou Lafourche, married three times, and created a large family line on the bayou. 

.

Although only two of their lines survived, the Richards from France created a third center of family settlement on upper Bayou Lafourche.  Basile Marie's line was especially vigorous: 

Descendants of Joseph RICHARD (c1749-)

Joseph, born in Acadia in c1749, ended up in France, where he married Frenchwoman Marie-Jeanne Daniel.  He worked as a cooper in France, probably at Morlaix, where he was counted in October 1784.  He came to Louisiana with a daughter aboard Le St.-Rémi, the fourth of the Seven Ships, in 1785 and settled on upper Bayou Lafourche.  He evidently did not remarry.  His daughter married into the Daigle family. 

Descendants of Charles RICHARD (c1754-1825)

Charles, son of Michel Richard and Françoise Theriot, born probably at Minas in c1754, was exiled with his family to Virginia in 1755 and deported to England the following year.  In 1763, they were repatriated to France, where he became a tailor.  He married Marie-Josèphe, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Trahan, at St.-Martin-des-Champs, Morlaix, in February 1785 and took his wife to Louisiana aboard Le St.-Rémi, the fourth of the Seven Ships, later that year.  They settled on upper Bayou Lafourche, where their children were born.  Their daughters married into the Aucoin, Breaux, Daigle, and Le Lorre families.  Charles died in Lafourche Interior Parish in March 1825; he was 71 years old; a petition for inventory of his earthly possessions was filed at the Thibodaux courthouse the day after his death. 

1

Older son Jean-Charles, born at Assumption in January 1794, probably died young. 

2

Younger son Joseph Firmin, born at Assumption in August 1806, married Marie Elisa, called Elisa, 20-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Bastien Landry of Assumption Parish, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in February 1830.  Their son Joseph Leufroi was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in February 1833, Hébert in November 1838, Émile Étienne in December 1844 but died at age 2 1/2 in August 1847, and Amédée was born in May 1847.  ...

Jean-Charles RICHARD (1766-1790s)

Jean-Charles, elder son of Joseph-Ignace Richard and Marguerite LeBlanc, born at Le Palais, Belle-Île-en-Mer, France, in January 1766, came to Louisiana alone aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships, in 1785.  He did not follow the majority of the passengers from his ship to Baton Rouge but went to upper Bayou Lafourche instead, where he married Pérrine-Madeleine, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Arcement, in September 1789.  Jean-Charles died by January 1794, when his wife remarried at Assumption.  They may have been that rare Acadian couple who had no children. 

Descendants of Basile-Marie RICHARD (1767-1845)

Basile-Marie, second son of Joseph-Ignace Richard and Marguerite LeBlanc, born at Bangor, Belle-Île-en-Mer, France, in April 1767, came to Louisiana alone aboard La Caroline, the last of the Seven Ships, in 1785.  He followed his older brother Jean-Charles to upper Bayou Lafourche, where he married Marie-Anne-Victoire, daughter of fellow Acadian Benoît Comeaux, in May 1788.  They settled near the boundary of what became Ascension and Assumption parishes.  Their daughters married into the Boudreaux, Bourgeois, Guillot, and Legendre families.  Basile remarried to Henriette, also called Anne, 24-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Paul Bourgeois of St. James Parish and widow of Mathurin Boudreaux and Pierre Aysenne, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in April 1828; Basile was 61 years old at the time of the wedding.  Henriette gave him another son.  Their daughter married into the LeBlanc family.  Basile remarried again--his third marriage--to Marie Olive, daughter of German Creole Charles Pontiff of St. John the Baptist Parish, in a civil ceremony in Lafourche Interior Parish in August 1838, and sanctified the marriage at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in April 1839; Basile was 72 years old at the time of the wedding!  Basile Marie died in Lafourche Interior Parish in August 1845; he was 78 years old; his succession inventory record had been filed at the Thibodaux courthouse five days before his death.  Most, if not all, of his sons, most from his first wife, created families of their own. 

1

Oldest son Joseph-Benoît, called Benoît, from his first wife, born at Lafourche in December 1790, married Isabelle, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean François Rassicot, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in May 1810.  Their son Joseph Léon, called Léon, was born in Assumption Parish in January 1818, and Louis Leufroi, called Leufroi, in Lafourche Interior Parish in June 1820.  Their daughters married into the Dantin, Foret, and Savoie families.  Joseph remarried to Céleste, daughter of fellow Acadian Louis Breaux, at the Plattenville church in July 1819.  Their son Valéry Basile was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1821, Evariste in June 1824, and Louis Marcellin, called Marcellin, in October 1829.  Their daughters married into the Gaubert and Hébert families.  ...

1a

Léon, by his first wife, married Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadian Étienne LeBlanc, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in September 1842.  Their son Léon, fils was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1846, and Joseph, fils in November 1848. ...

1b

Louis Leufroi, by his first wife, died in Lafourche Interior Parish in December 1845.  He was only 25 years old and probably did not marry. 

1c

Evariste, by his second wife, married Marie Delphine, called Delphine, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Louis Hébert, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in June 1849; Evariste's sister Aimée married Delphine's brother Augustin.  Evariste and Delphine's son Jules Octave was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in January 1850.  ...

1d

Marcellin, by his second wife, married Émilie, another daughter of Jean Louis Hébert, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in October 1850. ...

2

Victor, by his first wife, born at Lafourche in October 1792, married Clémence, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Bergeron, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in April 1815.  Their son Adam Victor, called Victor, fils, was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in November 1826.  Their daughter married into the Naquin family.  ...

Victor, fils married Julie Palmyre, daughter of French Creole Valéry St. Martin, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in April 1847.  Their son Victor Arthur was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in January 1848.  ...

3

Alexandre-Marcellin, called Marcellin, from his first wife, born at Assumption in October 1794, married cousin Théotiste Clarisse, daughter of fellow Acadian Raphaël Landry, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in June 1816; Théotiste's mother was a Richard.  Their son Théodule was born in Assumption Parish in September 1817.  Marcellin died in Lafourche Interior Parish in November 1849; he was 55 years old. 

Théodule married Marcelline or Marcellite, daughter of French Creole Antoine Cuvillier, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in May 1839.  Their son Alexandre Théodule was born near Plattenville in October 1842, and Auguste near Paincourtville in February 1845.  ...

4

Basile-Hyacinthe, by his first wife, born at Assumption in September 1801, married Marguerite Éloise or Éloise Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Michel Guillot, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in October 1821.  They lived near the boundary between Lafourche Interior and Assumption parishes.  Their son Joseph L. was born in November 1822, Jean Charles le jeune in August 1832 but died at age 1 1/2 in April 1834, and Aristide Hippolyte was born in May 1843.  Their daughters married into the Juneau and Seraud families.  ...

5

Jean Charles le jeune, by his first wife, born at Ascension in October 1805, married Marie Scholastique, called Scholastique, 21-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Paul Bourgeois, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in June 1826.  Their son Jean Trasimond was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1828, and Onésime Valéry in September 1832.  Their daughter married into the Estiven or Estivennes family.  Jean Charles died in Lafourche Interior Parish in March 1836; he was only 30 years old; his succession inventory record was filed at the Thibodauxville courthouse later that month. 

Jean Trasimond married Estelle, daughter of fellow Acadian J. Edmond Thibodeaux, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in March 1850. ...

6

Hippolyte, by his first wife, born in Ascension Parish in July 1808, married Marie Pélagie, 20-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Thibodeaux, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in April 1830.  ...

7

Youngest son Trasimond Marie Valentin or Onésippe, by his second wife, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in February 1830, ...

Pierre-Joseph RICHARD (1768-)

Pierre, fils, elder son of Pierre Richard and Marie-Blanche LeBlanc, born at St.-Servan, France, near St.-Malo, in March 1768, came to Louisiana with his family aboard La Bergère, the second of the Seven Ships, in 1785.  If he survived the crossing, he probably followed them to upper Bayou Lafourche, but he does not seem to have created a family of his own. 

Charles-Pierre-Paul RICHARD (1785-1814)

Charles-Pierre-Paul, younger son of Pierre Richard and Marie-Blanche LeBlanc, born aboard La Bergère, the second of the Seven Ships, in Paimboeuf harbor the day before it set sail for Louisiana in May 1785, survived the long voyage.  His parents took him to upper Bayou Lafourche.  Charles died in Assumption Parish in September 1815; he was only 29 years old.  He did not marry.  His line of the family, except for its blood, died with him. 

Jean-Pierre RICHARD (1770-1847)

Jean-Pierre, son of Jean Richard and Marguerite Landry, born at St.-Servan, near St.-Malo, in July 1770, followed his family to Louisiana aboard La Bergère, the second of the Seven Ships, in 1785 and went with them to upper Bayou Lafourche, where he married Élisabeth-Jeanne, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Aucoin, at Assumption in September 1798.   Jean-Pierre died in Assumption Parish in December 1847; the Plattenville priest who recorded his burial, and who did not bother to give any parents' names or even mention a wife, said that Jean, as he called him, died at "age 79 years," but Jean Pierre was "only" 77.  One wonders of he and his wife had any children. 

~

During the early antebellum period, Richards from the river, including three brothers, moved to Bayou Lafourche and joined their cousins already there, adding substantially to that center of family settlement: 

Marie-Josèphe Richard, widow of François Basset and Louis Ménard and wife of Sergeant José Garcia, formerly of the Spanish Louisiana Regiment, died in Assumption Parish in June 1815.  The priest who recorded her burial said that she was 53 years old when she died, but she was closer to 60. 

Geneviève Richard, widow of Simon dit Pierre Pitre, Victor Boudreaux, and Pierre LeBlanc, died in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1825.  She was 79 years old. 

Descendants of Jean-Baptiste RICHARD (1799-)

Jean-Baptiste, fifth son of Simon Richard and his first wife Scholastique Mire, born at St.-Jacques in March 1799, married Hortense, daughter of fellow Acadian Olivier LeBlanc, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in January 1818.  They lived in St. James Parish before moving to upper Bayou Lafourche during the 1820s.  Their daughters married into the Dupuis, Landry, and LeBlanc families.  ...

1

Oldest son Simon le jeune, born in St. James Parish in April 1819, ...

2

Jean Baptiste Désiré, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in March 1826, ...

3

Jean Baptiste Bienvenu, born in Ascension Parish in March 1831,  ...

Descendants of Eugène-Placide RICHARD (1803-1844)

Eugène-Placide, called Placide, second son of Pierre Richard and his first wife Marie-Élise Melançon, born at St.-Jacques in July 1803, married Marie Adèle, called Adèle, 19-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Marin Dugas of St. James Parish, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in November 1825.  They remained on Bayou Lafourche.  Placide remarried to Marie, 25-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Barthélémy Henry, at the Thibodauxville church in February 1829.  Placide died in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1844; the Thibodaux priest who recorded his burial, and who did not bother to give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that Placide died "at age 45 yrs.," but he was "only" 41. 

1

Oldest son Louis Basile, by his second wife, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in November 1831, died at age 1 1/2 in May 1833. 

2

Jean Baptiste Lauvensy, by his second wife, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1832, ...

3

Marcellus B., by his second wife, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1834, ...

4

Youngest son Telesphore, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in January 1841, ... 

Descendants of Joseph RICHARD (1809-)

Joseph, fourth son of Pierre Richard and his first wife Marie-Élise Melançon, born at St.-Jacques in February 1809, a twin, married Rose, 20-year-old daughter of French Creole Nicolas Albert, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in July 1833; Rose's mother was a Bourg.  They, too, remained on Bayou Lafourche.  Joseph remarried to Adèle Caroline, 26-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Guidry, in a civil ceremony in Terrebonne Parish in December 1849; Joseph was 40 years old at the time of the wedding.  ...

Pierre Joseph, by his first wife, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1834, ...

Descendants of Jean Baptiste RICHARD (c1811-)

Jean Baptiste, fifth son of Pierre Richard and his first wife Marie-Élise Melançon, born probably in St. James Parish in c1811, married Azélie, 18-year-old daughter of French Creole Nicolas Albert, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in October 1833; Azélie's mother was a Bourg.  They also remained on Bayou Lafourche and lived near the boundary between Lafourche Interior and Assumption parishes. ...

1

Oldest son Jean Marie, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in August 1834, ...

2

Jean Baptiste Skede, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1836, ...

3

Joseph Octave, born in Assumption Parish in November 1839, ...

~

Other RICHARDs in the Lafourche Valley

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link some Richards in the Bayou Lafourche valley with known Acadian lines of the family there:

Philippe, son of Jean Richard, died in Assumption Parish in May 1846.  He was only 3 months old.  The Plattenville priest who recorded the boy's burial did not bother give the mother's name, so one wonders which Jean Richard the boy's father may have been. 

Édouard Richard married Marie Rosemot Dugot, probably Dugas.  Their son Joseph Édouard was born in Terrebonne Parish in September 1847. 

Basile, son of Lorenza Richard, was born probably in Lafourche Interior Parish in February 1850 but died the following December.  The Thibodaux priest who recorded the boy's burial did not give the father's name. 

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

Richard is a common surname in France and other European countries, so it is no surprise that members of the family came to Louisiana decades before their Acadian namesakes reached the colony.  They were especially numerous at Pointe Coupée, where one of them served as a colonial official:

Beginning in 1717, during the John Law period of the colony's history, a French secular priest named Father Richard, a native of Anjou, served at various posts in French Louisiana, including Pascagoula and Biloxi.  He was, in fact, one of the earliest pastors of the St.-Louis parish at New Orleans, serving there in 1722 before returning to France in 1723 "to regain his health." 

Jeanne-Élizabeth Richarde or Richardes, widow of François Mane, married Jean Fumat of Mondragon, Provence, France, "employed laborer in the Company (of the Indies)," at Fort Louis, New Biloxi, then a part of French Louisiana, in July 1722. 

Marie Richard, "of Melun, in Brie," France, widow of ____ Aman, married Louis Gal, surnamed Boutonnier, a soldier, at New Orleans in January 1723.  Marie died at New Orleans in February 1724. 

Christianne Richard, "native of the Palatinate" in Germany, married Marguerite Arens of Hamburg, Germany, at New Orleans in April 1723. 

_____ Richard, "native of Brest in Brittany, seaman," died at New Orleans in October 1725.  He was only 45 years old. 

Marie Richard, "native of Cholet, Diocese of Angers," France, married Éstienne Durante, "sergeant in the troops," widower of ____ Facee, at New Orleans in April 1727. 

Jean Richard of Avignon, France, married Marie Lagare or Legart and settled at Pointe Coupée by 1740.  A daughter married into the Baron and Bebet families there.  Jean died at Pointe Coupée in February 1751. 

Pierre Richard married Marie-Louise De Noyer and served as "royal magazine-intendant" at Pointe Coupée in the 1740s. 

Jean-Baptiste Richard died at Pointe Coupée in March 1764. 

Marguerite, daughter of Jean Richard and Jeanne Gautier of Hannonois, Vivares, France, and widow of Pierre Guillot dit Dufresne, married Jacques-Firmin, son of Jacques Ferret of Hezo, near Rouen, France, at Pointe Coupée in June 1764. 

Guillaume Richard, an "Englishman," probably William Richards, died at the home of Acadian L'ange Bourg at Opelousas in June 1780.  He was only 20 years old and "lived on charity."  William's succession record was filed at what became the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, the following September.  One wonders what someone living on charity could have left behind. 

Anne-Isabelle, daughter of Simon Richard, married Joseph, son of Juan Pagin of Malta and resident of New Galvez, or Galveztown, at Ascension in November 1780.  One wonders if Anne-Isabelle was Acadian.  Her name does not appear on the Acadian Memorial's Wall of Names, so we may assume that she was not. 

Francisco, son of Christobal Richar and Margarita Bellot of Viar, Valencia, Spain, "soldier of the fourth company of the second battalion of the stationary regiment of this plaza," and a bachelor, died at the Royal Military Hospital, New Orleans, in January 1793.  He was only 22 years old. 

Étienne, son of Jean Richard, "of Maryland," married Anglo-American Sara Gooden "of Carolina," at Baton Rouge in May 1796.  Who was the father, Jean?  The priest who recorded the marriage did not include Étienne's mother's name.  Were Jean and Étienne Acadians? 

Louis Richar, husband of Félice Béloni, died at St.-Jean-Baptiste des Allemands on the Upper German Coast in January 1797.  He was only 27 years old. 

Marie Richard, daughter of Jacques, or James, Richard and Marie Anne Pits of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and widow of Thomas Camel, married Jean, son of Martin Henriques or Henry of Manheim, Rhine Palatinate, Germany, and widower of Marguerite Noper, at Attakapas in August 1799.  Marie probably was Anglo American, and her surname was probably Richards. 

Baptiste, fils, son of Baptiste Richard and Charlotte Tornel "of the banks of Duchen (sic) in Canada," died at Charity Hospital, New Orleans, in October 1799.  He was only 25 years old. 

Nicolas, son of Andrés Ricardo and Catarina Navarro of Ornella, Sardinia, married Isabelle, daughter of Jacques Constant, at New Orleans in December 1803. 

.

A Richard from the south of France married an Acadian widow and settled on upper Bayou Lafourche on the eve of the Louisiana Purchase:

Descendants of Louis-Gabriel RICHARD (c1765-1831)

Louis-Gabriel, son of Dominique-Alexis Richard and Marie-Victoire Pascales, born probably at Toulon, France, in c1765, married Marie, daughter of Acadian Michel Dugas and widow of Jean Thibodeaux, at Assumption on upper Bayou Lafourche in October 1803; Louis-Gabriel was in his late 30s at the time of the wedding.  He died in Lafourche Interior Parish in June 1831; he was 66 years old.  Only one of his sons perpetuated this line in the Bayou State. 

1

Jean Baptiste, a twin, born at Assumption in July 1804, may have died young. 

2

Joseph Louis or Louis Joseph, Jean Baptiste's twin, married Marie Céleste, daughter of Acadian Hyacinthe Aucoin, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in October 1831.  Joseph died in Lafourche Interior Parish in December 1831; he was only 27 years old.  He probably fathered no children. 

3

Youngest son Louis Dominique, born at Ascension in February 1807, married Marie Émilie, daughter of Acadian Joseph Thibodeaux, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in July 1827.  Their son Louis Amédée was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in August 1828 but died at age 4 in August 1832, another Louis Amédée was born in August 1834, Ovide Augustin in January 1836, Carville in April 1838, Joseph Polinaire in July 1842, and Alfred Osémé in March 1847.  ...

~

During the antebellum period, dozens of Richards, called Foreign French by native Louisianians, came to New Orleans from France, Mexico, and the Caribbean Basin, most of them to stay.  Other non-Acadian Richards, including an Irishman, settled in predominantly-Acadian communities.  Two of the Foreign Frenchmen were brothers: 

Belly, or Billy, Richard, "from Ireland, a masoner by profession," died "at the home of François Bernard at La Pointe [on upper Bayou Teche] where he lived for 2 mths." in November 1812.  Billy was only 38 years old when he died. 

____ Richard, a 36-year-old doctor from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Alexandre out of Le Havre, France, in January 1820. 

C. Justin Richard, a 21-year-old "speculator" from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Seine out of Bordeaux, France, in June 1820. 

Juillet Richard, a 37-year-old male actor from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Nestor out of Le Havre in November 1826. 

F. Richard, a 24-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship William out of Bordeaux in October 1830. 

Gui Richard died in Pointe Coupee Parish in April 1834.  The priest who recorded his burial did not give Gui's parents' names, mention a wife, or give his age at the time of his death. 

Louis Richard "of France" died in Lafayette Parish in February 1831.  He was 72 years old.  The Vermilionville priest who recorded his burial did not give Louis's parents' names or mention a wife. 

Henry Richard married Eliza ____ and settled in St. Martin Parish by the mid-1830s. 

____ Richard, a 19-year-old cooper from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship General Foy out of Bordeaux in July 1839. 

Jean Richard, a 25-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Unicorn out of Le Havre in April 1840. 

Jules Richarde, a 26-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Columbiana out of Le Havre in March 1843. 

____ Richard, a 45-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Tippecanoe out of Le Havre in June 1843. 

____ Richard, a 29-year-old native of France, occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Francis de Pau out of Veracruz, Mexico, in October 1844. 

____ Richard, a 44-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Andelle out of Le Havre in November 1844. 

Allain Richard, a 44-year-old carpenter from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Cairo out of Marseille, France, in November 1845.  He was heading to Texas. 

Sophie Richard, age 6, and Marie Richard, age 3, both from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Sea Lion out of Le Havre in November 1845.  One wonders with whom they were traveling.  They were going to Missouri. 

____ Richard, a 47-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Andelle out of Le Havre in December 1845.  Aboard the same vessel was Reg. Richard, a 30-year-old French farmer.  One wonders if the two Richards were kinsmen. 

Jean Richard, a 46-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Ellen Brooks out of Le Havre in June 1848.  Also aboard the same vessel were Marguerite Richard, age 46, probably his wife, and Marie Richard, age 16, Babette Richard, age 10, Catherine Richard, age 7, Jean Richard, age 2, and Albert Richard, age 6 months, probably their children.  The family was going to Missouri. 

Adam Richard, a 22-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Europe out of Le Havre in June 1848. 

Chs. Richard, a 48-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Vesta out of Le Havre in November 1848. 

Claude Richard, a 36-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Hargrave out of Le Havre in February 1849. 

_____ Richard, a 26-year-old baker from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Catherine out of Bordeaux in October 1849. 

E. Richard, a 38-year-old merchant from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Ohio out of Havana, Cuba, in November 1849.  He was on his way back to France. 

Louis Richard, a 42-year-old farmer from France, and Adam Richard, age 41, also a French farmer, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Radius out of Le Havre in January 1851.  Aboard the same vessel was Alexandre Richard, age 17, a son or younger brother.  They were going to Mississippi. 

Joseph Richard, a 24-year-old clerk from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Cornelia out of Le Havre in May 1851.  Also aboard the same ship were Élisabeth Richard, age 32, perhaps his wife, and Joseph Richard, age 3 months, probably his son. 

Jean Richard, a 21-year-old native of France, occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Belle Anaise out of Le Havre in May 1852. 

.

Two Foreign-French brothers settled on upper Bayou Lafourche: 

Descendants of Jean RICHARD (?-)

Jean Richard married Anne Desfrugeois probably at Bordeaux, France.  Two of their sons emigrated to Louisiana during the late antebellum period:

1

Louis Jean, called Jean, Jean Charles, and L. J., born at Bordeaux in c1821, was a resident of Lafourche Interior Parish when he married Théodora, 15-year-old daughter of Acadian Basile Dugas, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in February 1841.  He may have been the Louis Richard "born in Nantes, France," who died near Plattenville, Assumption Parish, "age ca. 27 years," in May 1847.  If this was him, his survivors, or perhaps the recording priest, needed a lesson in French geography. 

2

Louis Charles, called Charles, born at Bordeaux in the 1820s, married Ludivine, daughter of French Creole François Leloret, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in November 1846; Ludivine's mother was an Acadian Richard.  Their son Jean Gustave was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in February 1849. ...

CONCLUSION

Richards settled early in Acadia, and they were among the very first Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana.  They came to Louisiana in four waves during the 1760s.  The first of them, part of the first party of Acadians to reach Louisiana, arrived from Georgia via Mobile in February 1764 and went to Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river.  The next contingent, from Halifax via Cap-Français, St.-Domingue, came a year later and went to the Opelousas District, where they settled on Prairie Bellevue, south of the present city.  More Richards came from Halifax via Cap-Français in 1765 and settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques near their cousins already there.  The Richards who came from Maryland in 1766 and 1767 went to Cabanocé/St.-Jacques and to St.-Gabriel d'Iberville, which became known as the Acadian Coast.  A generation later, over 30 of their cousins arrived aboard six of the Seven Ships from France in 1785.  A few of these latecomers went upriver to the Baton Rouge area, north of the Acadian Coast, but most of them settled on upper Bayou Lafourche, creating a third center of family settlement.  Meanwhile, Richards from the river began moving to the western prairies during the 1770s and to Bayou Lafourche in the 1820s.  By the late antebellum period, the largest center of Richard family settlement lay in several parishes on the western prairies, but significant numbers of Richards still remained on the river and along Bayou Lafourche. 

Richard is a common surname in France (one study says that it is "among the ten most frequent patronyms" there) and is found in other European countries as well, so it is no wonder that members of the family came to Louisiana decades before their Acadian namesakes appeared.  J. Richard, a missionary from the Anjou region of France, came to Louisiana in 1717 as a concession priest and returned to Anjou in 1723.  Richards from France and Germany lived at New Orleans as early as the 1720s and at Pointe Coupée from the 1740s.  A Richard from Toulon, France, married an Acadian widow and settled on Bayou Lafourche, near his Acadian namesakes, during the early antebellum period.  More Richards, called Foreign French by native Louisianians, came to New Orleans from France, Mexico, and Caribbean Basin throughout the antebellum period; two brothers from Bordeaux also settled on Bayou Lafourche.  The numbers of non-Acadian Richards, however, except in New Orleans, were dwarfed by the numbers of their Acadian namesakes, who settled in nearly every corner of today's Acadiana.  ...

The family's name in Louisiana also is spelled Richar and Richart.  The Richards should not be confused with the Ricards, French Creoles who settled at Pointe Coupee and on the Acadian Coast. 

Sources:  Arsenault, Généalogie, 752-69, 1057-67, 1280-84, 1427-30, 1663-64, 2252-53, 2284-85, 2377-80, 2574-81; Baudier, The Catholic Church in LA, 45-49, 51, 58; Brasseaux, Foreign French, 1:457-58, 2:283, 3:250; BRDR, vols. 1a(rev.), 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5(rev.), 6; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 379-84; Hébert, D., South LA Records, vols. 1, 2; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A, 1-B, 2-A, 2-B, 2-C, 3, 4; NOAR, vols. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/Duc_Guillaume.htm>, Family Nos. 37, 38; Robichaux, Acadians in Chatellerault, 87; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 147-48; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 692-704; West, Atlas of LA Surnames, 125-28, 187; White, DGFA-1, 1373-95; White, DGFA-1  English, 290-92.

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

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

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

NOTES

01.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Amand RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2577, calls his father Paul.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 433.

The Spanish report of the Acadians at St.-Gabriel in 1767, cited above, confirms that Amand's father was Pierre. 

02.  Wall of Names, 16, calls her Anne RICHARD; BRDR, 3:727 (ASC-4, 103), her death/burial record, calls her Anne RICHARD, "age 86 yrs., nat. Acadia, wid. Joseph DUPUY," but does not give her parents' names.  See also Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 7, 18; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 435.

Her estimated birth year is calculated from the ages given in the Ascension census of 1770 & her burial record, which agree.  

03.  Wall of Names, 24, calls her Anne-Marie RICHARD; NOAR, 2:238 (SLC, B5, 111), her birth/baptismal record, calls her Anne (Marie) RICHARD, gives her parents' names, says her father was Acadian, & that her godparents were Jacque GAIGNARD, merchant, & Marie BLANCHARD. 

The date of her baptism is a clue to the time of the family's arrival in 1765.  Her older sister Rosalie, born probably at Halifax in Jan 1763, was baptized the same day. 

04.  Wall of Names, 32 (pl. 8L), calls him Anselme [RICHARD], & lists him with his parents & 3 siblings; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 380, his birth/baptismal record, calls him Anselme RICHARD, gives his parents' names, calls his mother Francoise D'EGLE, & says his godparents were Simon GRANGER & Marguerite LEBLANC; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 573, calls him Anselme RICHARD, says he was his father's "son from the second marriage," that he was b. 3 Feb 1765 but gives no birthplace, & that he was age 1 when French officials counted his family at Kerbellec, Le Palais, Belle-Île-en-Mer, in 1765; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 30-31, calls him Anselme, son [Pierre RICHARD's] fils, marin, age 20, on the embarkation list, Anselmo, su [Pedro RICHARD's] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Anselme RICHARD, his [Pierre RICHARD's] son, sailor, age 20, on the complete listings, says that he was in the 4th Family aboard Le Beaumont with his parents & 3 siblings, that he was born 3 Feb 1765 but gives no birthplace, & that he was buried 26 Jan 1786, age 21 years, but gives no place of burial; BRDR, 2:621 (SGA-8, 2, #7), his death/burial record, calls him Anselmo RICHARD, age 21 years, gives his parents' names, & says they were "of Manchac."

Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 573, shows that his father was a widower when he married his mother, that his mother was from Rivière-aux-Canards and a widow when she married his father, that they were exiled to VA in 1755, deported to England in 1756, held at Liverpool, repatriated from Liverpool to Morlaix, France, in 1763, & were at Belle-Île-en-Mer in 1765, when French officials counted them as Family No. 33 at Kerbellec, Le Palais.  Some members of the family remained in France, where they were counted at Vannes in 1792 during the French Revolution. 

He seems to have died before he could marry.  I have found no marriage record for him.  What killed him so young?

The Manchac referred to in his burial record was the Fort Bute area, just north of Bayou Manchac, where his family settled.  Although his burial was recorded at St.-Gabriel, he probably was buried at Fort Bute, on the southern edge of the Baton Rouge District.  Baton Rouge had no church of its own until 1793, so priests from St.-Gabriel downriver would administer the sacraments in the Baton Rouge area until it got a church of its own.  

05.  Wall of Names, 32 (pl. 8L), calls him Auguste [RICHARD], & lists him with his parents & 3 siblings; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2574, his father's profile, calls him Auguste RICHARD, & says he was born in c1770 but gives no birthplace; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 383-84, his birth/baptismal record, calls him Pierre-Auguste RICHARD, gives his parents' names, says his father was a laboureur Acadien de Carbelec, & says his godparents were Pierre GUILLEMONT & Isabelle THERIAU; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 30-31, calls him Auguste, son [Pierre RICHARD's] fils, age 11, on the embarkation list, Augusto, su [Pedro RICHARD's] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Auguste RICHARD, his [Pierre RICHARD's] son, age 11, on the complete listings, says that he was in the 4th Family aboard Le Beaumont with his parents & 3 siblings, & that, calling him Pierre-Auguste, he was born 11 Jan 1774 but gives no birthplace; BRDR, 2:223, 628 (SJO-3, 17), his marriage record, calls him Pedro-Augustino RICHARD, calls his wife Maria-Juana DARDENE, gives his & her parents' names, says his parents were "of Belle Isle en Mer" & hers "of Natchitoches," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Magloire DUPUIS & Joseph CALLIERE; BRDR, 3:727 (SGA-8, 46), his death/burial record, calls him Auguste RICHARD, "age 34, res. Plaquemine settlement," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.

Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 573, shows that his father was a widower when he married his mother, that his mother was from Rivière-aux-Canards and a widow when she married his father, that they were exiled to VA in 1755, deported to England in 1756, held at Liverpool, repatriated from Liverpool to Morlaix, France, in 1763, & were at Belle-Île-en-Mer in 1765, when French officials counted them as Family No. 33 at Kerbellec, Le Palais.  Some members of the family remained in France, where they were counted at Vannes in 1792 during the French Revolution. 

06.  Wall of Names, 47, calls him Basile-Marie RICHARD, & lists him singly; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 380, his birth/baptismal record, calls him Bazile-Marie RICHARD, gives his parents' names, calls them fermier, & says his godparents were Basile LEBLAN & Marie-Françoise LE DIFFAN; BRDR, 2:200, 621 (ASC-2, 13), the record of his first marriage, calls him Basile RICHARD, calls his wife Marie COMO, does not give his or her parents' names but says all parents "were Acadians," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Jean BOURQUE, Jan CHEZ, & Louis ____; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:111, 447 (Thib.Ct.Hse.: Mar. v. 1, #167), civil record of his second marriage, dated 26 Apr 1828, calls him Basile RICHARD, "60 yrs. old,  native of Belle Île en Mer, France," calls his wife Henriette BOURGEOIS, "24 yrs. old," gives his & her parents' names, but gives no witnesses to his marriage; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:111, 447 (Thib.Ch.: v.1, #215), church record of his second marriage, dated 28 Apr 1828, calls him Bazile RICHARD, "native of Belle-Île-en-Mer, France, widr. of Marie COMAS," calls his wife Anriete BOURGOIS, "native of St. James, wid. of (1) Maturin BOUDREAUX, wid. of (2) Pierre AISAINE," gives his & her parents' names, but gives no witnesses to his marriage; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:438, 447 (Thib.Ct.Hse.: Mar. v. 3, #32), civil record of his third marriage, dated 23 Aug 1839, calls him Basile RICHARD "of Belle-Île en Mer, France," calls his wife Marie Olise or Olive or Odile PONTIFE, gives his & her parents' names, says both his parents' & her father were deceased at the time of the wedding, but gives no witnesses to his marriage; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:438, 447 (Thib.Ch.: v.1, #652), church record of his third marriage, dated 28 Apr 1829[sic], calls him Basile RICHARD, "born on belle-isle-en-Mer, dept. of Morbihon, kingdom of France, widr. of Henriette BOURGEOIS," calls his wife Marie Olis PONTIFE, "born in St. John the Baptist, wid. of Dominique BADEAUX," gives his & her parents' names, says all parents were deceased at the time of the wedding, but gives witnesses to his marriage; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 2:312 (Thib.Ct.Hse.: Succ.: Year 1845), his succession inventory record, calls him Bazile RICHARD, m.(1)Marie COMEAUX, m.(2)d. Henriette BOURGEOIS, m.(2[sic])Marie Odile PONTIFFE, says he died on 7 Aug 1845, & lists his children from [1st] Marriage, Henriette Adélaïde m. François LEGENDRE, Joseph Benoit RICHARD, Victor, Marcelin, Rosalie m. Valéry BOURGEOIS, Hortence Pélagie m. d.Jean Baptiste GUILLOT, d.Eléonore m. Joseph BOUDREAUX, Bazile Hyacinthe, Hyppolyte, d.Jean Charles m. Scholastique BOURGEOIS, children of 2nd marriage, Trasimond Marie Onezipe; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 2:312 (Thib.Ch.: v.1, #214), his death/burial record, calls him Bazile RICHARD m. Anlize PONTIFF, says he died on 30 Aug 1845 "at age 78 yrs.," but does not give his parents' names.   

According to Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 572-73, part of his family remained at Belle-Île-en-Mer & were counted there in 1792, during the French Revolution.  His father was from Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit, his mother from Rivière-aux-Canards.  They had been exiled to VA in 1755, deported to England in 1756, held at Liverpool, were repatriated from Liverpool to Morlaix, France, in 1763, & went to Belle-Île-en-Mer by 1765, when they were counted as Family No. 34 at Kerourde, Bangor.  His mother died at Belle-Île-en-Mer in 1814, his father there the following year.  One wonders why Basile & his brother Jean-Charles chose to go to LA instead of remaining with their family on the island.

Why did he & Jean-Charles come on separate ships?  Jean-Charles came on Le Beaumont, which left Paimboeuf in Jun.  Did Basile miss the sailing of that vessel?  If so, why didn't he go to LA on L'Amitié, which left Paimboeuf in Aug?  La Caroline did not leave Nantes until Oct. 

07.  Wall of Names, 29 (pl. 7L), calls her Cécille RICHARD, & lists her with her husband & 3 daughters; BRDR, 1a(rev.):170 (SGA-3, 15b), her birth/baptismal record, calls her Cécile RICHARD, gives her parents' names, & says her godparents were Charle DUGAS, who signed the baptismal record, & Marie RICHART; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 4, Family No. 7; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 7-8, Family No. 14; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 12-13, calls her Cécille RICHARD, sa [Olivier AU COING's] femme, age 48, on the embarkation list, does not include her on the debarkation list, & calls her Cécile RICHARD, his [Olivier AUCOIN's] wife, age 48, on the complete listing, says she was in the 2nd Family aboard La Bergère with her husband & 3 daughters, & details her marriage, including the names of her & her husband's parents as well as the name of her husband's first wife; BRDR, 4:472 (ASM-3, 167), her death/burial record, calls her Cécile RICHARD, "age 85 yrs., widower[sic] of Olivier AUCOIN, & gives her parents' names.  See also Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 41, 61, 96, 173.

08.  Wall of Names, 38 (pl. 9R), calls him Charles RICHARD, & lists him with his wife & no children, with the notation:  ceux de Morlais arrives a Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le meme navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship]; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 380, 424, his marriage record, calls him Charles RICHARD d'Acadie, calls his wife Marie-Jeanne[sic] TRAHAN, gives his & her parents' names, says his father was deceased at the time of the marriage, & lists no witnesses to his marriage; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 58-59, calls him Charles RICHARD, talleur [tailleur], age 31, on the embarkation list, & Charles RICHARD, tailor, age 31, on the complete listing, says he was in the 8th Family of ceux de Morlais arrivés à Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le même Navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship] Le St.-Rémi with his wife & no children, details his marriage, calling his wife Marie-Jeanne TRAHAN, but does not give his or her parents' names nor place of marriage, says daughter Anastasie-Marguerite was born on 15 Mar 1801 & daughter Marie-Félicité on 26 Nov 1789 but gives no birthplaces; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:447 (Thib. Ct.Hse.: Succ.: Year 1825), his petition for succession inventory, calls him Charles RICHARD m. Marie TRAHAN, gives his death date, & lists his children as Marie Félicité m. Joseph Honoré BRAUX, Marie Ludvine m. Jean Baptiste AUCOIN, Jean Charles, Marie Augustine m. François LELOREC, Jr., Marie Marguerite m. Joseph DAIGLE, & Joseph Firmin, 19 1/2 yrs. old.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 513.  

The estimated birth year used here is based on the ages given for him on the embarkation list of Le St.-Rémi & in his burial record.   

Who were the unnamed orphans with him at Morlaix in Sep 1784?  Younger siblings?  The only siblings of his who came to LA were 3 unmarried older sisters, one of whom, Marie, was listed next to him at Morlaix in Sep 1784; she was 43 years old at the time.  Would women ages 32 & 41, as were his sisters Élisabeth & Marguerite in 1784, be called "orphans"?  Or was "orphans" used as a generic term for unmarried individuals in the Sep 1784 listing?

09.  Not in Wall of Names.  Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 148, Family No. 267, his birth/baptismal record, calls him Charles-Pierre-Paul RICHARD, says he was born aboard La Bergère "in roadstead of the Port of Paimboeuf[,] Godfather: Mr. Emmanuel D'ASPRE, Spanish consul in Brittany in charge of the expedition of the Acadians for Louisiana[.]"; BRDR, 3:728 (ASM-3, 92), his death/burial record, calls him Carlos RICHARD, "single of Painboeuf[sic], Bretagna, France," gives his parents' names, & says his mother was deceased at the time of his death.

Charles's name does not appear on either the embarkation or debarkation list of La Bergère, hence his absence from Wall of Names.  The reason why he does not appear on the embarkation list is simple; it was compiled while he was still in utero.  He does not appear on the debarkation list because the Spanish official who made that list for La Bergère in New Orleans included only heads of household & the implements given to them for their families.  See Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 12-28.  Charles's family can be found on pp. 14-15.

Why did he never marry?  

10.  Wall of Names, 29 (pl. 7L), calls her Dorothée RICHARD, & lists her with her second husband & her mother-in-law by her first husband; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2537, profile for her second husband, gives her parents' & her first husband's names, & lists no children by her second husband; White, DGFA-1, 1384, calls her Dorothée RICHARD, gives her parents' names, says her godparents were Jean-Baptiste BROUSSARD & Anne LEBLANC, épse Joseph LEBLANC (sic pour BOURGEOIS), details both her marriages, gives both her husbands' parents' names, says she was on the list of passengers for France out of Southampton in 1763, & that she reached LA in 1785; White, DGFA-1, 1003, profile for her second husband, gives her parents' & first husband's names; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 14-15, calls her Dorothée RICHARD, sa [Claude LEBLANC's] femme, age 50, on the embarkation list, does not include her on the debarkation list, calls her Dorothée RICHARD, his [Claude LEBLANC's] wife, age 50, on the complete listing, says she was in the 15th Family aboard La Bergère with her third husband & her mother-in-law by her first husband, & details her second marriage, including his & her parents' names.

If she was at Southampton, England, in 1763, does that mean that she was among the Acadians from Minas who were exiled to VA in 1755 & deported to England in 1756?  What was an unmarried woman from Port-Royal doing at Minas in 1755? 

What happened to her in LA?  Did she survive the crossing from France?

11.  Wall of Names, 12, calls her Élisabeth RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2437, calls her Isabelle RICHARD; BRDR, 3:729 (SGA-8, 42), her death/burial record, calls her Élisabeth RICHARD, "wid. Pierre BRASSE," but does not give her parents' names or her age at the time of her death.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 432; De Ville, St. Gabriel Census, 1777, 5.  

Her estimated birth year is based on the age given in the Spanish report of 1767, not the St.-Gabriel census of 1777. 

12.  Wall of Names, 38 (pl. 9R), calls her Élizabet RICHARD soeur [of Marie], & lists her with 2 sisters, with the notation:  ceux de Morlais arrives a Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le meme navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship]; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile, 58-59, calls her Élizabet, sa [Marie RICHARD's] soeur, age 33, on the embarkation list, & Élizabeth RICHARD, her [Marie RICHARD's] sister, age 33, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 14th Family of ceux de Morlais arrivés à Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le même Navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship] Le St.-Rémi with 2 sisters; BRDR, 2:622, 705 (ASC-2, 14), her marriage record, calls her Isabelle RICHARD, calls her husband Juan Bautista TRAHANT, does not give her or his parents' names but says all parents "were Acadians," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Charle RICHARD [her brother] & Alexis LE BRON; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:448 (Thib. Ch.: v. 1, p. 79), her death/burial record, calls her Isabelle RICHARD m. Jean TRAHAN, but does not give her parents' names.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 513, Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 54, 163.  

Her parents' names are from her sister Marguerite's marriage record, dated 22 Jun 1789, in BRDR, 2:624 (SJA-2, 6).

Which Jean-Baptiste TRAHAN did Isabelle marry?  Was he the Jean TRAHAN who came to LA on Le Bon Papa, age 35, & settled at Lafourche?  Unfortunately, the priest at Ascension did not bother to list his parents' names either.  The age given for her daughter Anne TRAHAN in the Valenzuéla census of 1795 seems to conflict with the 1791 census notation that Isabelle was a widow that year.  Are we dealing with two Élisabeth/Isabelle RICHARDs here, or is the daughters age just wrong? 

13.  Not in Wall of Names.  Arsenault, Généalogie, 2577-78, calls him Fabien RICHARD, & says he was born in 1752; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:659, 748 (SM Ch.: v.1, p.67), one of his marriage records, calls him Fabien RICHARD, calls his wife Françoise THIBAUDO, gives his & her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Victor RICHARD, Joseph GRANGÉ, & Joseph CORMIER; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:659, 748 (SM Ch.: Folio B-1), another of his marriage records, calls him Fabien RICHARD, calls his wife Françoise TIBODO, gives his & her parents' names, calls his parents "parishioners of Opelousas," says the witnesses to his marriage were Victor RICHARD, Joseph GRANGÉ, & Joseph CORMIER, & that the priest who conducted the wedding was the curé of Ascension Parish; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:795 (Opel. Ch.: v.1, p.123), his death/burial record, calls him Fabien RICHARD, but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:795 (LSAR: Opel.: 1811), his estate record, calls him Fabian RICHARD, but does not mention a wife; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:795 (Opel. Ct.Hse.: Succ.#37), his succession record, calls him Fabien RICHARD, but does not mention a wife.  See also De Ville, Opelousas Post Census, 1771, 9; De Ville, Southwest LA Families, 1777, 112.

His birth year is taken from Arsenault but, according to the Opelousas censuses of 1771 & 1777, may be too early.  However, his burial record agrees with Arsenault. 

Why is someone so thoroughly documented not in Wall of Names?  One wonders if he was not confused with his younger brother Pierre, fils.

14.  Wall of Names, 44, calls her Geneviève  RICHARD; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 693, Family No. 810; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 674, Family No. 785; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 117-20, Family No. 150; BRDR, 2:481-82, 622 (PCP-19, 12), the record of her third marriage, calls her Geneviève RICHARD "of St. Charles Parish & widow of Victor GOUDREAU[sic]," calls her husband Pierre LEBLANC "of St. Pierre Parish Acadia & widower of Anne LEBIRD," gives her & his parents' names, & says the witnesses to her marriage were Charles BROSSAR & Olivier LEBLANC; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:448 (Thib. Ch.: v. 1, p. 24), her death/burial record, calls her Geneviève RICHARD, "wid. of Pierre LEBLANC," says she died "at age 80 yrs.," but does not give her parents' names. 

Her third marriage occurred probably at Manchac or Baton Rouge.  That area did not have a church of its own until 1793, when St.-Joseph Parish was created at Baton Rouge.  Before then, priests from Pointe Coupée administered the sacraments across the river at Manchac & Baton Rouge. 

Her third husband died at Manchac in Aug 1815.  Her children from her second marriage to Victor BOUDREAUX settled on Bayou Lafourche, so she probably joined them there after her third husband's death.  

15.  Wall of Names, 29 (pl. 7L), calls him Jean RICHARD, & lists him with his wife & son; BRDR, 1a(rev.):171-72 (SGA-2, 105), his birth/baptismal record, calls him Jean RICHART, gives his parents' names, & says his godparents were Pierre RICHART & Marguerite GRANGÉ; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 700-701, Family No. 820; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 696, Family No. 814; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 16-17, calls him Jean RICHARD, laboureur, age 49, on the embarkation list, Jean RICHARD, on the debarkation list, & Jean RICHARD, plowman, age 49, on the complete listing, says he was in the 21st Family aboard La Bergère with his wife & a son, & lists the implements the Spanish gave to him & his family after they reached LA.  See also Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 40, 172.

His estimated birth year is taken not from the passenger list of La Bergère but from an average of the ages given to him in the Valenzuéla censuses of 1788 & 1791. 

Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, cited above, usually a solid secondary source, insists that Marguerite LEBLANC's husband Jean RICHARD, born in c1721, died on 31 Dec 1777 at St.-Servan, age "about 56 years."  Did Marguerite LEBLANC remarry to another Jean RICHARD, or is Robichaux wrong here? 

16.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Jean-Baptiste RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2575, says his mother was Marie CORMIER; White, DGFA-1, 1381, disagrees; BRDR, 2:521, 622 (SJA-1, 48a), the record of his second marriage, calls him Jean-Baptiste RICHARD, "widower of Catherine CORNIER," calls his wife Anne MARTIN, "widow of Joseph FORET," does not give his or her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Joseph BOURG & Jean LEGER. 

Needless to say, I follow White for his parents' names. 

17.  Wall of Names, 34 (pl. 8R), calls him Jean-Charles RICHARD, & lists him singly; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 381, his birth/baptismal record, calls him Jean-Charles RICHARD, gives his parents' names, says they were "Accadiens," & that his godparents were Jean-Baptiste LEBLANC & Marie RICHARD; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 40-41, calls him Jean-Charles RICHARD, garçon, laboureur, age 19, on the embarkation list, Juan Carlos RICHARD, on the debarkation list, & Jean-Charles RICHARD, young man, plowman, age 19, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 43rd "Family" aboard Le Beaumont with no one else; BRDR, 2:31, 623 (ASC-2, 22 & 23), his marriage record, calls him Juan Carlos RICHARD, calls his wife Pérrina ARSEMENT, gives his & her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Pedro ARSEMENT & Basil RICHARD [his younger brother]. 

According to Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 572-73, part of his family remained at Belle-Île-en-Mer & were counted there in 1792, during the French Revolution.  His father was from Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit, his mother from Rivière-aux-Canards.  They were exiled to VA in 1755, deported to England in 1756, held at Liverpool, were repatriated from Liverpool to Morlaix, France, in 1763, & went to Belle-Île-en-Mer by 1765, when they were counted as Family No. 34 at Kerourde, Bangor.  His mother died at Belle-Île-en-Mer in 1814, his father there the following year.  One wonders why Jean-Charles & his brother Basile-Marie chose to go to LA instead of remaining with their family on Belle-Île-en-Mer.

Why did he & Basile come to LA on separate ships?  Did Basile, who came on the last ship, La Caroline, miss the departure of Le Beaumont at Paimboeuf in Jun?  Why didn't he go on L'Amitié, which left Paimboeuf in Aug?  La Caroline did not leave Nantes until 19 Oct. 

Jean-Charles's wife's remarriage to Joseph THIBODEAUX at Assumption on 7 Jan 1795 is in BRDR, 2:31 (ASM-2, 12).

18.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Jean RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2577; Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 171, & Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 424, his marriage record, calls him Jean RICHARD, calls his wife Rosalie BOURGEOIS, & gives no witnesses to his marriage.  See also Voorhies, J., p. 114. 

His middle name is from <thecajuns.com/acad1764.htm>, "Acadians Who Arrived in New Orleans in 1764."  Other sources call him simply Jean.

19.  Wall of Names, 29 (pl. 7L), calls him Jean-Pierre [RICHARD], & lists him with is parents; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 696, Family No. 814; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 16-17, calls him Jean-Pierre, son [Jean RICHARD's] fils, age 14, on the embarkation list, does not include him on the debarkation list, calls him Jean-Pierre RICHARD, his [Jean RICHARD's] son, age 14, on the complete listings, says he was in the 21st Family aboard La Bergère with his parents, & details his marriage, including the names of his wife's parents but gives no place of marriage; BRDR, 2:39, 623 (ASM-2, 37), his marriage record, calls him Juan-Pedro RICHARD "of St.-Servan, Diocese of St.-Malo, France," calls his wife Isabel/Ysabel AUCOIN "of St.-Suliac, Diocese of St.-Malo, France," gives his & her parents' names, says her parents were Acadians & deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to his marriage were Joseph AUCOIN [her father] & Ambroise HÉBERT; BRDR, 6:546 (ASM-10, 82), his death/burial record, calls him Jean RICHARD, "age 79 years, born in France," but give no parents' names nor mentions a wife.  See also Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 40, 62, 97, 143, 172.  

Jean-Pierre & his future wife Isabelle-Jeanne were neighbors at Lafourche in 1791.  See Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 172.

20.  Wall of Names, 41, calls her Jeanne RICHARD, & calls her husband Joseph BENARD, but says nothing of his nationality; <acadian-cajun.com>, calls her husband Joseph BERNARD, "a Russion[sic], tailor." 

21.   Wall of Names, 24, calls him Joseph RICHARD; NOAR, 2:238 (SLC, B5, 40), his baptismal record, calls him Joseph RICHARD, gives a birth date of "March 24, 1748[sic]," gives his parents' names, calls his mother Catherine COLMIER, & says his godparents were Jean RICHARD, "the infant's brother," & Magdeleine RICHARD, "the infant's aunt."

His was one of the first Acadian baptisms in LA & marks the month of arrival of his & the other 3 families (CORMIER, LANDRY, POIRIER) who came to LA from GA via Mobile in 1764--the first Acadian families in the colony.  His birth year probably was 1758, not 1748, as the baptismal record indicates, though it is unusual to call a 5-, almost 6-, year-old an infant. 

22.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Joseph RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2575, says he died on 7 Nov 1776 at St.-Jacques; White, DGFA-1, 1387, calls him Joseph dit Vieux RICHARD, gives his parents' names, says his godparents were René RICHARD & Marie BOURGOIS, wife of Michel RICHARD, details his marriage, including his wife's parents' names, says they had to secure a "disp 3-3, 3-4 cons" in order to marry, that he was at Cabahannocer in 1766, age 56, there in 1769, age 53, at Ascension in 1770, age 52(sic), & that he died dans la maison de son gendre Basile LANDRY & was buried at Ascension on 27 Feb 1777, but gives no age at the time of his death; BRDR, 2:622 (ASC-1, 176h), his death/burial record, calls him Joseph RICHARD, "married," says he was buried on 27 Feb 1777, but does not give his parents' names, mention a wife, or give his age at the time of his death. 

His older brother Pierre came to LA from France via VA & England in 1785. 

23.  Wall of Names, 24 (pl. 5R), calls him Joseph RICHARD 2, & lists him singly.  

What happened to him in LA?

24.  Wall of Names, 24 (pl. 5R), calls him Joseph RICHARD 3, & lists him with wife Agnès HÉBERT dit Manuel & 2 children; Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 171, a record of his first marriage, calls him Josesphe RICARD, calls his wife Agnès HÉBERT, says they were married on 24 Nov 1766, & gives no witnesses to his marriage; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 424, another record of his first marriage, calls him Joseph RICHARD, calls his wife Agnès HÉBERT, says they were married on 28 Nov 1766, & gives no witnesses to his marriage; BRDR, 2:521, 622 (ASC-1, 119), the record of his second marriage, calls him Joseph RICHARD, "widower of Anne MANUEL," calls his wife Claire-Maria MARTIN, "widow of Bartolomé GODIN," gives his & her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Joseph Baptiste & Paul MARTIN. 

Where there two Agnès HÉBERTs who lived at Cabanocé in the late 1760s?  If so, which one married Joseph RICHARD?  Wall of Names, p. 12 (pl. 2L), lists an Agnès HÉBERT veuve BOURGEOIS singly, & on p. 24 (pl. 5R) lists an Agnès HÉBERT dit Manuel coming to LA with Joseph RICHARD & 2 children.  The p. 24 listing makes no sense in light of Joseph's marriage to Agnès HÉBERT at Cabanocé in Nov 1766 unless this was the blessing of a marriage that already existed.  So who was the Agnès HEBERT, widow BOURGEOIS, listed with the family of Claire ROBICHAUD, widow HÉBERT, in the Cabanocé census of 1766, which was taken in Apr?  See Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 166.  Claire ROBICHAUD was the widow of ... Joseph HÉBERT dit Manuel ... probably the father of Joseph RICHARD's wife!

25.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Joseph RICHARD neveu [of Joseph RICHARD], & lists him with his uncle's family; BRDR, 4:473 (SJO-11, 19), perhaps his death/burial record, calls him Joseph RICHARD, "age ca. 65 yrs.," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  

Why was he not in the Cabanocé census of Apr 1766?  Where was he?  Did he ever marry?  The age in the Baton Rouge burial record, cited above, matches his estimated birth year exactly, but, thanks to the priest's sloppy record keeping, we cannot know for certain if this is him. 

26.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Joseph RICHARD; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:171-72, 661 (SM Ch.: v.4, #94), his marriage record, calls him Joseph RICHARD, calls his wife Magdeleine CASTILLE, does not give his or her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Joseph CASTILLE, Jean-Baptiste CASTILLE, Étienne VIEL, pretre (priest), & E. FORSTALL; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:613 (SM Ch.: v.4, #398), his death/burial record, calls him Joseph RICHARD, "of L'ance on Bayou Teych, native of Halifax," says he died "at his home ... at age 40  yrs.," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:613 (SM Ct.Hse.: Succ. #5), his succession record, calls him Joseph RICHARD, "wid. is Magdeleine CASTILLE, she re-married Francois POTIER," list his heirs as Valmont, Delphine m. Eugène WEBRE, & Josephine m. Martin BEAUVOIS, but does not give his parents' names. 

The baptismal record of daughter Delphine, dated 29 Jun 1800, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:658 (SM Ch.: .5, #278), calls him Joseph [RICHARD], "del cabo frances," which is Spanish for Cap-Français.  Does this mean that Joseph was born in St.-Domingue during his parents', or at least his widowed mother's, passage to LA in 1764-65?  She remarried to Canadian Jacques LACHAUSSÉE at New Orleans in Jan 1766, which means she came to the colony in 1765 probably from Halifax via St.-Domingue.  Joseph, being so young, naturally came with her.  When did his father die?  Where?  At Halifax before they left for LA?  On the way to LA?  Wall of Names calls Joseph's mother veuve Claude RICHARD, so, according to them, he did not make it to New Orleans.  Burdened with an infant, she wasted little time remarrying. 

27.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Joseph RICHARD 4; BRDR, 2:417, 622 (ASC-1, 127), the record of his first marriage, calls him Joseph RICHARD, calls his wife Anna LANDRY, give his & her parents' names, says all parents were Acadians, that his parents were "res. St. Gabriel at Manchac," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Anselme LANDRY & Jean LANDRY; BRDR, 2:267, 622 (ASC-1, 156), the record of his second marriage, calls him Josef RICHARD, "widower of Anna LANDRY of St.-Gabriel," calls his wife Cecilia DUPUY, "widow of Josef BRAUD," gives his & her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Aman HÉBERT & Simon ALLEIN; BRDR, 2:622 (SGA-8, 17, #91), probably his death/burial record, calls him Josef RICHARD, but does not give his parents' names, mention a wife, or give his age at the time of his death. 

Was he the Joseph RICHARD with the family of Bonaventure LEBLANC at Baltimore, MD, in Jul 1763?  See Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 158.  His first wife's sister Marguerite married Bonaventure's son Joseph dit Adons. 

His second wife remarried to Santiago, or Jacques, MECOLER by May 1795, when her first child by her third husband was born at St.-Gabriel.  See BRDR, 2:532 (SGA-11, 76, #363).  So Joseph's death in Nov 1793 makes sense. 

28.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Joseph RICHARD; BRDR, 2:54, 622 (SJA-2, 3), his marriage record, calls him  Josef RICHAR, calls his wife Pélagia BABEN, does not give his or her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Josef ARSENO & Marta RICHAR "of this parish"; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-B:791 (SM Ch.: v.4, #1412), his death/burial record, calls him Joseph RICHARD, "native of Acadie," says he died "at age 55 years at his home at L'ance à Michaud," that he was buried "in the parish cemetery," but does not give his parents' names; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-B:791 (SM Ct.Hse.: Succ.#385), his succession record, calls him Joseph RICHARD m. Pélagie BABIN.

Evidence that he was the Joseph RICHARD who married Pélagie BABIN can be found in son Michel Adrien's baptismal record, dated 16 Oct 1808, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:616 (SM Ch.: v.6, #518), which gives the boy's grandparents' names.  This is also the record that says he & Pélagie settled at L'Anse. 

29.  Wall of Names, 32 (pl. 8L), calls him Joseph [RICHARD], & lists him with his parents & 3 siblings; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2574, his father's profile, calls him Simon-Joseph-Louis, & says that he was born c1766 but does not say where; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 30-31, calls him Joseph, son [Pierre RICHARD's] fils, charpentier, age 18, on the embarkation list, Josef, su [Pedro RICHARD's] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Joseph RICHARD, his [Pierre RICHARD's] son, carpenter, age 18, on the complete listings, & says that he was in the 4th Family aboard Le Beaumont with his parents & 3 siblings; BRDR, 2:38, 623 (PCP-19, 14), his marriage record, calls him Joseph RICHARD "of Belleite Amere, Diocese of Vemne," calls his wife Paspétué AUCOIN "of Bristol in Angleterre," gives his & her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Jacque RAOULE, Joseph COMMO, Jean-Baptiste AUCOIN, & Jean-Baptiste DAIGRE.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 524.  

His marriage was performed probably at Baton Rouge or Manchac, where his family settled.  Before 1793, when Baton Rouge got a church of its own, priests from Pointe Coupée administered the sacraments in the Baton Rouge area, or the marriage could have occurred at Bayou des Écores, where his wife's family lived and which was across the river from Pointe Coupée.  The Acadians at Bayou des Écores never had a church of their own.  

30.  Wall of Names, 38 (pl. 9R), calls him Joseph RICHARD, & lists him with no wife & a daughter, with the notation:  ceux de Morlais arrives a Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le meme navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship]; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 56-57, calls him Joseph RICHARD, tonnelier, age 32, on the embarkation list, & Joseph RICHARD, cooper, age 32, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 5th Family of ceux de Morlais arrivés à Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le même Navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship] Le St.-Rémi with no wife & a daughter.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 513; Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 30, 162.

His estimated birth year is based on the ages found in the Valenzuéla censuses of 1788 & 1791, not the age given on Le St.-Rémi's passenger list.  

31.  Wall of Names, 24 (pl. 5R), calls him Louis RICHARD, & lists him singly; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2578, calls him Louis RICHARD, says he was born in 1760 but gives no birthplace, gives his parents' names, says he married Marie-Victoire DUGAS in c1765 but gives no place of marriage, gives her parents' names, says he settled at Opelousas, & lists his children as Louis-André, born in 1787, Marie-Dosithée in 1791, Pierre-Séverin in 1792, Céleste in 1795, Joseph in 1797, Jean in 1799, Anastasie in 1802, & Denis in 1804, but gives no birthplaces; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-C:258, 648-49 (Laf. Ct.Hse: Notarial Acts: v.5, #659), contract for his second marriage, dated 21 Jul 1826, calls him Louis RICHARD, père "of Opelousas," calls his wife Marguerite DUGAS," native of France," gives her but not his parents' names, calls her a major daughter, says the witnesses to his marriage were Moyse HÉBERT, John GREIG, Narcisse DUGAST, & Philipe RICHARD, implies that Judge Thomas B. BRASHEAR oversaw the contract, & says the wedding was "done at the residence of Mrs. Pierre RICHARD"; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-C:258, 648 (Laf. Ct.Hse.: Mar.#27), another record of his second marriage, dated 23 Jul 1826, calls him Louis RICHARD, calls his wife Marguerite DUGAS, but gives no witnesses to his marriage; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-C:648 (Opel. Ct.Hse.: Succ.#496), his succession record, calls him Louis RICHARD, père, m.(1)Marie Victoire DUGA, lists their children as Louis, Marie m. Joseph VICTOR, Pierre Séverin, Céleste m. Julien LANDRY, Joseph, Jean, Anastasie m. François DUPRÉ, Denis, Paul, & Cléonise, & says he m.(2)Marguerite DUGA, no children.  

Why does Wall of Names list him singly if he was only a child when he came to LA?

Arsenault obviously meant that Louis married his first wife Marie-Victoire DUGAS in c1785, not c1765; she was born at Plouër, France, in Aug 1764 & did not get to LA until 1785!  Their first child, Louis-André, was born in 1787, so a marriage year of 1785 is logical.  But there's a complication here:  A Marie DUGAS, married to deceased Louis RICHARD, died in Lafourche Interior Parish in ... Feb 1837.  See her burial record, dated 19 Feb 1837, in Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:191 (Thib. Ch.: v.1, #764).  How could Louis, père have remarried in 1826 if his first wife was still alive?  One does not obtain an annulment for a marriage that produced 10 children!  Louis's succession record is clear, however, that he married twice, so we must be talking about 2 Louis RICHARDs here who both married Marie DUGASs. 

Is Louis listed twice in the Opelousas census of 1777, first as a 16-year-old bachelor with a homestead of his own, & then as the 10-year-old dependant child of Pierre RICHARD, or were there 2 young Louis RICHARDs in the Opelousas District in 1777?  See De Ville, Southwest LA Families, 1777, 24, 25.  The same thing happens in the Opelousas census of 1788, Bellevue District, where 2 Louis RICHARDs must have lived:  Louis RICHARD with a wife, & Louis RICARD without a wife.  Was Louis RICARD a French Creole from Pointe Coupée, where the RICARD family hailed?  See Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 323, 324. 

32.  Wall of Names, 24 (pl. 5R), calls him Louis RICHARD. 

What happened to him in LA?  Judging by his father's name, he could not have been the Louis-Gabriel, son of Dominique-Alexis RICHARD & Marie-Victoire PASCALES of Toulon, France, who married Marie, daughter of Michel DUGAS & widow of Jean THIBODEAUX, at Assumption in Oct 1803.  See BRDR, 2:624 (ASM-2, 87)

33.  Wall of Names, 15, calls her Marguerite RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 1057, 1058, calls her Madeleine RICHARD; White, DGFA-1, 406, 1380, calls her Madeleine RICHARD; <thecajuns.com/acad1764.htm>, "Acadians who arrived in New Orleans in 1764," calls her Marie-Magdeleine RICHARD.  See also De Ville, St. James Census, 1777, 20. 

Arsenault, pp. 2463, 2464, calls her Marie-Madeleine RICHARD also.  White, as usual, is followed here.  Her estimated birth year comes from Arsenault, pp. 1057, 1058.  Her age in the St.-Jacques census of 1777 makes no sense in the light of her marriage date to Jean-Baptiste.  Since she was recorded in the Beaubassin census of 1714, she was in her late 60s, not 51, in 1777.  See White, p. 1380.

34.  Wall of Names, 23, calls her Madeleine RICHARD.  

35.  Wall of Names, 10, calls her Madeleine RICHARD; BRDR, 2:261, 624 (SJA-1, 47a), the record of her second marriage, calls her Magdelaine RICHARD, "widow of Pierre BABIN," calls her husband Théodore DUGAS "of Acadia," gives his but not her parents' names, & says the witnesses to her marriage were Simon RICHARD & Paul BABIN; BRDR, 3:733 (SGA-8, 53), perhaps her death/burial record, calls her Marie RICHARD, "age 60, wid. Théodore DUGAT," but does not give her parents' names.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 433; De Ville, St. Gabriel Census, 1777, 5. 

Her estimated birth year is from her age given in the St.-Gabriel census of 1777, not the Spanish report of 1767, which seems off by a decade.  

Was Simon RICHARD, witness to her second marriage, her brother?  If so, she would have been a daughter of Joseph RICHARD & Marie LEBLANC.  Why is her second husband not on the Acadian Memorial's Wall of Names? 

36.  Wall of Names, 24, calls her Marguerite RICHARD; NOAR, 2:231-32, 238-39 (SLC, B5, 189), the blessing of her marriage, calls her Margueritte RICHARD, "Acadian," calls her husband Charles PRESENT, "Acadian," says they were married "previously in Acadia with the consent of the spouses' parents, in the presence of many witnesses, in the absence of a priest, marriage ratified and blessed," but gives no parents' names or witnesses to the blessing; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-B:793 (SM Ch.: v.4, #1295), her death/burial record, calls her Marguerite RICHARD, "wid. of dec. Charles PREJEAN," says she died "at the home of Jean Baptiste COMMEAU, her son-in-law, at Côte Gelée" "at age about 77 yrs.," & that she was buried "in the parish cemetery," but does not give her parents' names; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-B:792-93 (SM Ct.Hse.: Succ.#369), her succession record, calls her Marguerite RICHARD m. Charles PREJEAN, but does not give her parents' names. 

So who were her parents? 

37.  Wall of Names, 24, calls her Marguerite RICHARD; BRDR, 2:282, 625 (SJA-1, 44), her marriage record, calls her Marguerite RICHARD, calls her husband Joseph FAGNIANT, gives her & his parents' names, says both fathers were deceased at the time of the wedding, but gives no witnesses to her marriage.   See also Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 177.

The age given for her in the Cabanocé census of 1769 may be understated, otherwise she would have been only 14 years old when she married 4 years later, young even for an Acadian stepdaughter.   Was her husband French?  Italian?  Creole? 

She should not be confused with the older Marguerite, daughter of deceased Joseph RICHARD & Marie LEBLANC of Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit, who lived at nearby St.-Gabriel. 

38.  Wall of Names, 16, calls her Marguerite RICHARD; BRDR, 2:625, 634 (PCP-2, pt. 2, 93a; PCP-4, 55), the record of her second marriage, calls her Marguerite RICHARD, "widow of Jean-Baptiste FOREST," calls her husband Cirille RIVETTE, gives her & his parents' names, says all parents were "of Holy Family Parish in Acadia," that her father was deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to her marriage were Paul RICHARD & Cyprien BABIN.  See also Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 155; De Ville, St. Gabriel Census, 1777, 11-12. 

"Holy Family Parish in Acadia" was Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit.  She & her husband were born there about the same year & may have known one another since childhood.  He came to LA from MD with the BREAU party in 1768 & moved from St.-Luìs de Natchez to St.-Gabriel probably the year before their marriage. 

Her second marriage was recorded at Pointe Coupée, upriver and from St.-Gabriel, because St.-Gabriel did not have a church of its own until 1773.  Even the older Acadian community of Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, downriver from St.-Gabriel, did not have its own church until the year of her marriage. 

She should not be confused with the younger Marguerite, daughter of deceased Joseph RICHARD & Marie LEBLANC, who lived at nearby St.-Jacques.

39.  Wall of Names, 24, calls her Marguerite RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2511, her husband's profile in the LA section, calls her Marie-Marguerite RICHARD & gives her parents' names; BRDR, 1a(rev.):173 (SGA-3, 40b), her birth/baptismal record, calls her Marguerite RICHART, gives her parents' names, & says her godparents were Éstienne MELANÇON & Françoise GRANGÉ;  BRDR, 2:361, 624 (ASC-1, 127), her marriage record, calls her Margarita RICHARD, calls her husband Jean-Baptiste HÉBERT, gives her & his parents' names, says his parents were "of St.-Gabriel at Manchac," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Athanas LANDRY & Joseph RICHARD.  See also De Ville, St. Gabriel Census, 1777, 10. 

Why is her age in the St.-Gabriel census of 1777 so far off?  Did the census taker mean to say 30?  Too bad that census did not name the wives or children, only the heads of household.

40.  Wall of Names, 38 (pl. 9R), calls her Marguerite RICHARD soeur [of Marie], & lists her with 2 sisters, with the notation:  ceux de Morlais arrives a Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le meme navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship]; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile, 58-59, calls her Marguerite, sa [Marie RICHARD's] soeur, age 42, on the embarkation list, & Marguerite RICHARD, her [Marie RICHARD's] sister, age 42, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 14th Family of ceux de Morlais arrivés à Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le même Navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship] Le St.-Rémi with 2 sisters; BRDR, 2:127, 624 (SJA-2, 6), her marriage record, calls her Margarita RICHARD, calls her husband Pedro BOURG, gives her & his parents' names, says all parents were "of Acadia," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Juan RICHARD & Maria LEBLANC "of this Parish"; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:449 (Thib.Ch.: v. 1, p. 62), her death/burial record, calls her Marguerite RICHARD, says she died at age 87, but does not give her parents' names or mention a husband.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 513.  

She evidently married too late to give her husband any children.  Why did she wait so long to marry? 

41.  Wall of Names, 39 (pl. 10L), calls her Margueritte RICHARD, & lists her with her husband, 4 children, & a minor child; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 696-97, Family No. 814, calls her Marguerite RICHARD, says she was born "about 1743" but gives no birthplace, gives her parents' names, says she & her family "disembarked at St. Malo from England on May 22, 1763 from the ship, L'Ambition," that her family resided at St.-Servan from 1763-72, & that she married Joseph BOUDROT on 27 Jun 1763 at St.-Servan; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 108-09, Family No. 138, calls her Marguerite RICHARD dit Sapin, says she was born in c1743 but gives no birthplace, gives her parents' names, details her marriage, says her husband was born in c1742 but gives no birthplace, includes the birth/baptismal & death/burial records of daughter Marie-Marthe BOUDROT, born & baptized 26 May 1764, St.-Servan, goddaughter of Michel BOUDROT & Marie SAPIN, son Francois BOUDROT, born & baptized 6 Jun 1766, St.-Servan, godson of Anselme BOUDROT & Anne SAPIN, died 2 Jul 1766, buried next day, St.-Servan, son Joseph-Marie BOUDROT, born & baptized 30 Jun 1766, St.-Servan, godson of Francois BOUDROT & Marguerite BOUDROT, died age 7 mos. 15 Feb 1767, buried next day, St.-Servan, son Jean-Charles BOUDROT, born & baptized 11 Nov 1767, St.-Servan, godson of Francois LEJEUNE & Marie RICHARD, unnamed daughter BOUDROT, buried 2 Feb 1771, St.-Servan, unnamed child BOUDROT, born & died 11 Jun 1772, Village du Pré, buried 12 Jun 1772, Plouër, & son Pierre-Jean-Joseph-Marie BOUDROT, born 14 Aug 1773, baptized next day, Plouër, & says her family resided at St.-Servan from 1763-72; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 87, Family No. 171, calls her Marguerite RICHARD, gives her parents' names, says her father was born in c1721 but gives no birthplace, that her mother was born in c1715 but gives no birthplace, that her parents married in c1742 but gives no place of marriage, that her mother died at Cenan, France, on 1 Mar 1780, "at the age of about 65 years," says she was born in c1743 but gives no birthplace, & that she married Joseph BOUDROT at St.-Servan, France, on 27 Jun 1763; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 17, Family No. 34, calls her Marguerite RICHARD dit Sapin, says she was born in c1743 but gives no birthplace, gives her parents' names, details her marriage, says her husband was born in c1742 but gives no birthplace, gives his parents' names, includes the birth/baptismal record of daughter Anne-Pélagie BOUDROT, baptized 2 Dec 1774, Monthoiron, goddaughter of Jean-Baptiste RICHARD & Marie-Marthe BOUDROT (her sister), & details the family's participation in the Poitou settlement of the early 1770s; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 23-24, Family No. 43, calls her Marguerite RICHARD, says she was born in c1741 but gives no birthplace, does not give her parents' names, says her husband was born in c1740 but gives no birthplace, does not give his parents' names, says they married in c1762 but gives no place of marriage, that he was a seaman, includes the birth/baptismal & death/burial records of son Jean-Joseph BOUDROT, baptized 23 Jul 1776, St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, daughter Henriette-Josèphe BOUDROT, baptized 14 Apr 1780, St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, died age 2 & buried 12 Dec 1782, St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, daughter Sophie BOUDROT, baptized 12 Apr 1782, St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, & son Jean-Marie BOUDROT, died age 4 1/2[sic]years, buried 17 Dec 1782, St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, & details the family's participation in the Poitou settlement of the early 1770s as well as its voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 68-69, calls her Margueritte RICHARD, sa [Jh BOUDREAU's] femme, age 40, on the embarkation list, does not include her on the debarkation list, & calls her Marguerite RICHARD, his [Joseph BOUDROT's] wife, age 40, on the complete listing, says she was in the 14th Family with her husband, 4 children, & a minor child, details her marriage, including her & her husband's parents' names, says they were married in 1763 but gives no place of marriage, & says daughter Marie-Marthe [BOUDROT] was born in 1764 but gives no birthplace; BRDR, 3:732 (ASM-3, 110), her death/burial record, calls her Margarita RICHARD, "age 68 yrs. of Acadia, married to Josef BOUDRAUX," but does not give her parents' names.     

42.  Wall of Names, 45, calls her Marguerite RICHARD fille de la femme [of Joseph HÉBERT]; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 694-95, Family No. 812, her birth/baptismal record, calls her Marguerite-Marie RICHARD, gives her parents' names, says her godparents were Marin BOURG & Marguerite DUGAST, & that her family resided at Plouër from 1767-72; BRDR, 2:582, 625 (PCP-19, 64), her marriage record, calls her Marguerite RICHARD, calls her husband Joseph PATIN, gives her & his parents' names, says his father was deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to her marriage were Eustache BEDEL & Joseph JOANIS. 

Were she & her husband married at Bayou des Écores or Pointe Coupée?  The PATINs were from the latter community, so Marguerite & Joseph probably married--& settled--there.  Judging by her marriage date, her mother & stepfather may have been among the few Acadians who remained at Bayou des Écores after the devastating hurricanes of 1794.  If Marguerite & her husband, as well as her extended family of HÉBERT kin, settled at Pointe Coupée & not in a predominantly Acadian community farther downriver, that also would be unusual for Acadians.   

43.  Wall of Names, 29 (pl. 7L), calls her Marie [RICHARD], & lists her with her parents, a brother, & a female paternal cousin; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 702-03, Family No. 822, her birth/baptismal record, calls her Marie-Marguerite RICHARD, gives her parents' names, says her godparents were Jean RICHARD & Marguerite LEBLANC, & that her family resided at St.-Servan from 1763-72; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 148, Family No. 267, details her family's participation in the Poitou settlement of the early 1770s & its voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, calls her Marie, sa [Pierre RICHARD's] fille, age 19, on the embarkation list, does not include her on the debarkation list, calls her Marie RICHARD, his [Pierre RICHARD's] daughter, age 19, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 19th Family aboard La Bergère with her parents, a brother, & a female paternal cousin; BRDR, 2:432, 625 (ASC-2, 22), her marriage record, calls her Margarita-Maria RICHARD, calls her husband Juan-Raphaël LANDRY, does not give her or his parents' names, & says the witnesses to her marriage were Pierre LANDRY & Pierre RICHARD [her father or her brother]; BRDR, 4:473 (ASM-3, 173), her death/burial record, calls her Marie RICHARD, "age 58 yrs., married to Raphaël LANDRY," & gives her parents' names.  See also Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 97, 143, 172.  

44.  Wall of Names, 24, calls her Marie RICHARD; BRDR, 2:522, 625 (SJA-2, 12), her marriage record, calls her Maria RICHAR (RICHARD), calls her husband Josef MARTEN, gives her & his parents' names, calls her mother Agnès MANUEL, calls his mother Marie GAUTRO & says his parents were "of Québec," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Pedro LAVOB & Félicitas ROM. 

Was her husband's mother an Acadian GAUTROT/GAUTREAUX? 

45.  Wall of Names, 32 (pl. 8L), calls her Marie [RICHARD], & lists her with her parents & 3 brothers; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2468, her husband's profile, calls her Marie-Jeanne RICHARD, & details her marriage, including her & her husband's parents' names & where her husband's parents were from; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 30-31, calls her Marie, sa [Pierre RICHARD's] fille, age 14, on the embarkation list, Maria, su [Pedro RICHAR's] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Marie RICHARD, his [Pierre RICHARD's] daughter, age 14, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 4th Family aboard Le Beaumont with her parents & 3 brothers; BRDR, 2:218, 626 (SGA-14, 12), her marriage record, calls her Maria-Juana RIZAL, calls her husband Pol-Olivier DEGRE, gives her & his parents' names, says his parents were "of France," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Bautista HÉBER & Charles HÉBER.

Her marriage was recorded at St.-Gabriel because there was no church at Baton Rouge until 1793, so the St.-Gabriel priest would administer the sacraments in the Baton Rouge area until it had its own church.  Where did the priest get RIZAL for her surname?  How was her husband kin to her mother?

46.  Wall of Names, 38 (pl. 9R), calls her Marie RICHARD, & lists her with 2 sisters, with the notation:  ceux de Morlais arrives a Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le meme navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship]; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile, 58-59, calls her Marie RICHARD, fille, age 44, on the embarkation list, & Marie RICHARD, an unmarried woman, age 44, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 14th Family of ceux de Morlais arrivés à Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le même Navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship] Le St.-Rémi with 2 sisters; BRDR, 3:732 (ASM-3, 56), her death/burial record, calls her Maria RICHARD, age 68 yrs., unmarried, gives her parents' names & says they were both deceased at the time of her burial.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 513; Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 23, 154.  

Her parents' names are from sister Marguerite's marriage record in BRDR, 2:624 (SJA-2, 6).

What was a "minor premise"?  A live-in tutor?  See the Lafourche valley censuses of 1788 & 1791 for use of this term.  

Why did she never marry?  Was she an "old maid" schoolteacher?  

47.  Wall of Names, 42, calls her Marie RICHARD veuve Claude PITRE; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/Duc_Guillaume.htm>, Family No 38, shows that in the crossing to St.-Malo her widowed mother died in the hospital at St.-Malo on 4 Nov 1758, brother Thomas died in the same hospital on 28 Nov, & only she & brother Honoré survived the crossing; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 663-64, Family No. 773. 

Brother Honoré did not go to LA. 

48.  Wall of Names, 24, calls her Marie RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2524, 2575; BRDR, 2:419, 626 (SJA-1, 38a), her marriage record, calls her Marie RICHARD "of Acadia," calls her husband Basille LANDRY "of Acadia," gives her & his parents' names, says all parents were "of Acadia," calls his mother Marguerite PONDEROTTE, & says the witnesses to her marriage were Éstienne LEBLANC & Michel DUGAS.  See also Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 9. 

Her middle name is from Arsenault & the Ascension census of 1777.  On p. 2575, Arsenault seems to mix her up with sister Anne-Marie, whom he calls Marie. 

49.  Wall of Names, 38 (pl. 9R), calls her Marie-Élizabet RICHARD, & lists her with her widowed father & no siblings, with the notation:  ceux de Morlais arrives a Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le meme navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship]; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 56-57, calls her Marie-Élizabet, sa [Joseph RICHARD's] fille, age 10, on the embarkation list, & Marie-Élizabeth RICHARD, his [Joseph RICHARD's] daughter, age 10, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 5th Family of ceux de Morlais arrivés à Paimboeuf pour s'embarquer sur le même Navire [those from Morlaix arriving at Paimboeuf in order to embark on the same ship] Le St.-Rémi with her widowed father & no siblings; BRDR, 2:216, 629-30 (ASM-2, 43), her marriage record, calls her Ysabel RICHARD, calls her husband Juan Luis DAIGLY, gives her & his parents' names, says her parents were "of Roscalf, Britany, France," his "of Poitou, France," that both fathers were deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to her marriage were Marin GAUTRAUX [her husband's stepfather] & Auguste VERRET; NOAR, 7:272 (SLC, F4, 102), her death/burial record, calls her Maria Elizabeth RICHARD, "native of Morlaix in Brittany (dept. of Finistère), sp. Juan Luis DAIGUE (DAIGLE)," gives her parents' names, but does not give her age at the time of her death.   See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 513; Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 30, 162.

I am assuming that "Roscalf, Britany," is Roscoff, a small port near Morlaix, probably her birthplace.  She is the only Acadian I have come across who was born there. 

Why was she at New Orleans in Sep 1801?  Were she & her family living there or simply visiting?  It was rare for an Acadian couple to live in the city. 

50.  Wall of Names, 40 (pl. 10L), calls her Marie-Geneviève RICHARD soeur [of Marie-Josèph(e) RICHARD veuve François BASSET], & lists her with her sister & a niece; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 696-97, Family No. 814, her birth record, calls her Marie RICHARD, gives her parents' names, does not give her godparents' names, says she & her family "disembarked at St. Malo from England on May 22, 1763 from the ship, L'Ambition," & that her family resided at St.-Servan from 1763-72; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 70-71, calls her Marie-Geneviève, soeur de la dite veuve [Marie-Jhe RICHARD, veuve Francois BANET], age 32, on the embarkation list, does not include her on the debarkation list, calls her Marie-Geneviève RICHARD, widow's [Marie-Josèphe RICHARD, veuve François BASSET's] sister, age 32, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 23rd Family aboard L'Amitié with her sister & a niece; NOAR, 4:167, 264 (SLC, M5, 45), her marriage record, calls her Maria-Genoveba RICHARD, "native of Canada, parish of St. Charles," calls her husband Juan JAINEMAN, "native of De(*) in Germany," give her & his parents' names, & says the witnesses to her marriage were Vicente LLORCA & Josef MARTINEZ; NOAR, 7:272 (SLC, F4, 127), her death/burial record, calls her Maria-Genoveba RICHARD, "sp. Juan Carlos LUIS," gives her parents' names, calls them "natives of St. Charles Parish in Canada, residents of this parish," & says she died at age "38 or 39 yr."   

Did she remarry, or was Juan Carlos LUIS a Spanish version of her German husband's name?

Is her burial record saying that her parents were "residents of this parish," or that she & her husband were living at New Orleans?  Jean-Baptiste dit Sapin RICHARD died in France, so his living in LA would have been quite the miracle.  See Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 6, Family No. 10, which says that her younger sister Marie-Josèphe, with whom Marie-Geneviève came to LA, was "daughter of deceased Jean-Baptiste RICHARD and Cécile GAUTROT..." at the time of Marie-Josèphe's marriage at Monthoiron, Poitou, France, in Oct 1776.  No Cécile GAUTROT came to LA either; she, too, probably died in France. 

She was one of the few Acadian immigrants who remained at New Orleans. 

51.  Wall of Names, 29 (pl. 7L), calls her Marie-Josèphe RICHARD veuve LANDRY, & lists her with 2 daughters; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 16-17, calls her Marie-Je RICHARD, veuve LANDRY, age 46, on the embarkation list, Marie Josef RICHARD, veuve LANDRY, on the debarkation list, & Marie-Josèphe RICHARD, widow LANDRY, age 46, on the complete listing, says that she was in the 22nd Family aboard La Bergère with 2 daughters, details her marriage, including the names of her & her husband's parents, says daughter Marie-Rose LANDRY was born in 1774, & lists the implements the Spanish gave to her & her family after they reached LA; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:450 (Thib.Ct.Hse.: Succ.: Year 1820), probably her succession inventory record, calls her Marie Joseph RICHARD m. d.____ LANDRY. 

She would have been about age 81 in 1820.  Evidently she did not remarry. 

52.  Wall of Names, 40 (pl. 10L), calls her Marie-Josèph RICHARD veuve Francois BASSET, & lists her with a daughter & a sister; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 696-97, Family No. 814, calls her Marie-Josèphe RICHARD, says she was born "about 1750" but gives no birthplace, gives her parents' names, says she & her family "disembarked at St. Malo from England on May 22, 1763 from the ship, L'Ambition," & that her family resided at St.-Servan from 1763-72; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 87, Family No. 171, calls her Marie-Josèphe RICHARD, gives her parents' names, says her father was born in c1721 but gives no birthplace, that her mother was born in c1715 but gives no birthplace, that her parents married in c1742 but gives no place of marriage, that her mother died at Cenan, France, on 1 Mar 1780, "at the age of about 65 years," says she was born in c1755 but gives no birthplace, & that she married François BASSE at Monthoiron, France, on 15 Oct 1770; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 6, Family No. 10, calls her Marie-Josèphe RICHARD, says she was born in c1755 but gives no birthplace, gives her parents' names, says they were former residents of Acadie "residing in the parish of Monthoiron," Poitou, at the time of her wedding, that her father was deceased at the time of her wedding, details her first marriage, calls her first husband François BASSE, does not give his birth year or birthplace, gives his parents' names, says they were from "the parish of Bonnueil-Matours" [which was in Poitou], that his father was deceased at the time of the wedding, includes the birth/baptismal records of son François BASSE, baptized 11 Jul 1777, Cenan, godson of Antoine TRANCHAND & Cécile GAUTROT, daughter Rose-Sophie BASSE, baptized 30 Nov 1778, Cenan, goddaughter of Jean-Pierre HÉBERT & Marguerite MOULAISON, & daughter Jeanne BASSE, baptized 25 Jun 1780, Cenan, goddaughter of Martial ARNAUD & Marie VELUET, & says the family was residing in the parish of St.-Martin-de-Chantenay by 16 Jun 1782; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 9-10, Family No. 17, calls her Marie-Josèphe RICHARD, says she was born in c1755 but gives no birthplace, does not give her parents' names, does not detail her marriage, calls her first husband François BASSET, does not give his birth year, birthplace, or parents' names, includes the death/burial records of son François BASSET, died age 5, buried 16 Jun 1782, St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, & daughter Rose BASSET, died age 4, buried 30 Nov 1782, St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, details her voyage to LA in 1785 but does not mention her sister Marie-Geneviève; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 70-71, calls her Marie-Jhe RICHARD, veuve Francois BANET, age 50, on the embarkation list, does not include her on the debarkation list, calls her Marie-Josèphe RICHARD, widow Francois BASSET, age 30[sic], on the complete listing, & says she was in the 23rd Family aboard L'Amitié with a daughter & a sister; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 64-65,  under Lista parcial de vientitres casamientos acadianos arregalados par Navarro, 20 novembre 1785 [Partial List of 23 marriages Navarro arranged on 20 November 1785], E. Marriages celebrated 12 December 1785, calls her Maria Josefa RICHARD, wid. Baset CAVENZA/Marie-Josèphe RICHARD, widow Baset CAVENZA, says she was in the 21st Family aboard Le St.-Rémi[sic], calls her second husband Luis MENARD/Louis MENARD, immigrant, &, calling her Maria Josefa RICHARD of Acadia, wid. Francisco PACET, details her second marriage, calls her husband Luis MENARD of Bu--os(??)[sic], gives his parents' names, but calls her parents only Juan Bautista [RICHARD] & _____; NOAR, 2:208, 265 (SLC, M5, 43), the record of her second marriage, calls her Maria-Josefa RICHARD, "widow of Francisco PACET," calls her husband Luis MENARD, "native of Bu(*)os," gives her & his parents' names, & says the witness to her marriage was Vicente LLORCA; NOAR, 5:192, 327 (SLC, M5, 102), the record of her third marriage, calls her Maria RICHARD, "native of St. Charles in Canada, widow of Luis MENARD," calls her husband Jose GRACIA, "native of Cadiz, soldier of the dragoons with pickets in this city," gives her & his parents' names, says her parents were "natives of Canada," his father was a "native of Ayamonte," his mother was a "native of Moro," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Jose ORGULLO, "corporal in the Louisiana Regiment, Manuel GONZALEZ, "soldier in the (Louisiana) Regiment," & Carlos PANQUINET, "resident of this city"; BRDR, 3:732 (ASM-3, 99), probably her death/burial record, calls her Maria RICHARD, "age 53 yrs., married to Sargent omitted GRAS of the LA Regt., nat. of Spain," but does not give her parents' names.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 503.

Is Chantenay where her first husband François died?  Robichaux's study of the Acadians in Poitou says that François BASSE or BASSET, who married Marie-Josèphe RICHARD, was son of Jacques-Philippe BASSE & Louise GIGAULT of Bonneuil-Matours, Vienne, France.  This does not sound like an Acadian family in France but rather like a local French family of the Poitou region.  Wall of Names includes sister Marie-Geneviève with Marie-Josèphe's family on L'Amitié, but Robichaux's study of the Acadians in Nantes, cited above, does not.  One wonders what happened to Marie-Josèphe's son & 2 daughters--François, Rose-Sophie, & Jeanne BASSE--whose baptisms are documented in Robichaux's study of the Acadians in Poitou, cited above, but who did not go with her to LA.  In 1785, the ages of these children would have been 8, 7, & 5, respectively.  Did they all die young?  The answer is ... yes.  And on top of all that, her husband died, leaving her with only a single daughter, Marie, to accompany her to LA. 

Her second husband also crossed from France to LA aboard L'Amitié, but he probably was not Acadian, although at least 2 MÉNARD families lived in greater Acadia:  at Plaisance, Newfoundland, & Louisbourg, Île Royale, today's Cape Breton Island.  Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 3, Family No. 7, says Margueritte, daughter of Charles PINET & Marie TETARD, married Louis-George ANQUETIL of St.-Pierre-Langers, diocese of Avranche, at Louisbourg in Oct 1744, & was the widow of Jacques MÉNARD.  Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 325, says Jean, navigateur, son of François MÉNAR, charpentier, & Marie LETOURNEUR, married Magdeleine, daughter of François GRIMAU & Luce GIRAUDO, 7 Jul 1750 at Louisbourg.  White, DGFA-1, 1167-68, details the family of François MÉNARD & Marie LE TOURNEUR, who married probably at Plaisance, Newfoundland, in c1702, but neither of their 2 sons--Jacques, born at Plaisance before 1716, & Jean in c1718--was Pierre, Louis MÉNARD's father.  Arsenault, Généalogie, 1694, 1931, also documents François MÉNARD & his family, plus another one on Île Royale, but neither family had a Pierre or a Louis.  Wall of Names, 42 (pl. 11L), under the heading immigrés, calls Marie-Josèphe's second husband Luis MÉNARD.  Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 84-85, calls him Luis MAURICE/Louis MAURICE, says he was among the "Names with no reference on the Embarkation list [of L'Amitié]," & that the Spanish gave him 1 each axe, medium axe, hoe, hatchet, & knife, & 2 shovels after he reached LA.  Did he know Marie-Josèphe in Chantenay & stow away aboard L'Amitié to be with her?  Did they meet aboard ship on the crossing to LA?  Or did they meet in New Orleans soon after the ship arrived?  

Was her third husband's surname GARCIA?  The notation in her burial record that reads "nat. of Spain" refers to her husband, not to her, & is the clue that this was her burial record, not another Marie RICHARD. 

53.  Wall of Names, 31 (pl. 7R), calls her Marie-Rose [RICHARD], & lists her with her widowed mother & an uncle; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 22-23, calls her Marie-RoZe, sa [Cécille BOUDREAU, veuve RICHARD's] fille, age 14, on the embarkation list, does not include her on the debarkation list, calls her Marie-Roze RICHARD, her [Cécille BOUDROT, widow RICHARD's] daughter, age 14, on the complete listing, says she was in the 47th Family aboard La Bergère with her widowed mother & an uncle, & that she was born in 1771 but gives no birthplace.

What happened to her in LA?

54.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Mathurin RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2577, says his parents were Paul RICHARD & Madeleine LEBLANC; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:664 (Opel. Ch.: v.1, p.32), his death/burial record, calls him Mathurin RICHARD, "inhabitant of this Post," says he was buried on a Saturday, but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Americans, 433,

The Spanish report of 1767, in Voorhies, J., cited above, shows him with Marie [LEBLANC] widow [of Joseph] RICHAR. 

Mathurin's wedding year is from Arsenault, so consider the source.

Why is his son called Jean-Baptiste "of Pointe Coupée" in his marriage record, dated 29 Apr 1794, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:661 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A, p.49)?  Was Jean-Baptiste baptized by a Pointe Coupée priest at St.-Gabriel?  Or did the family actually live in Pointe Coupée before moving to the Opelousas District?  Probably the former.  I ask the question because I cannot find Jean-Baptiste's baptismal record in BRDR, vol. 2.  He was born in c1769, several years before St.-Gabriel got a church of its own in 1773. 

55.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Paul RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2577, says he was born in 1752; BRDR, 2:50, 626 (SJA-1, 39), his marriage record, calls him Paul RICHARD, calls his wife Magdelaine-Marthe BABIN, gives his & her parents' names, says all parents were deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to his marriage were Ignace BABIN, Pierre LEBLANC, Paul BABIN, & Jean-Baptiste ALAIN.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 433; De Ville, St. Gabriel Census, 1777, 5.

The Spanish report of 1767, followed here, & the St.-Gabriel census of 1777, give ages whose estimated birth years conflict with Arsenault. 

56.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Pierre RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2576, calls his second wife Marie-Isabelle; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:23, 666 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A, p.75), the record of his second marriage, calls him Pierre RICHARD "of Acadia," calls his wife Isabelle AUCOIN, gives his & her parents' names, calls his father Léandre, calls her father Jean-Baptiste LEBLANC [her first husband's name], says this was "in error," & says the witnesses to his marriage were Cyrille THIBAUDEAU, Victor RICHARD [his brother], & Jean JEANSONNE; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:617 (Opel. Ch.: v.1, p.85), his death/burial record, calls him Pierre RICHARD, says he died "at age about 78 yrs.," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 128.

Quote about his association with Joseph BROUSSARD dit Beausoleil is from the brochure that accompanies the Robert Dafford Mural at the Acadian Memorial, St. Martinville, though one wonders what the brochure means by "constituent."  In the mural, Pierre stands next to Beausoleil, at his right hand, as it were.  Joseph and Alexandre BROUSSARD dit Beausoleil's mother was Catherine RICHARD, older sister of Pierre's grandfather Martin, so Pierre was a cousin of the resistance leaders.  A docent at the Acadian Memorial told me that Cajun musician/activist Zachary RICHARD's father posed for the figure of their ancestor Pierre, who was young enough to be Beausoleil's son.  The brochure states that Pierre arrived in LA in 1766, but his appearance in the Opelousas census of 1766, taken probably in Apr, means that he reached LA in 1765; the ship full of Acadians who came to LA in 1766 did not arrive at New Orleans until late Sep, & they came from MD, not Halifax.  

Why did Pierre choose to settle in the Opelousas District?  If he was so close to his BROUSSARD kin, why didn't he join them at Attakapas?  His wife was the only DUGAS who went to Opelousas in 1765, so he wasn't following his in-laws there. 

For the 1768 petition to Gov. ULLOA, see Brasseaux, ed., Quest for the Promised Land, 114-15. 

57.  Wall of Names, 24 (pl. 5R), calls him Pierre RICHARD, & lists him with his parents & no siblings; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2578, calls him Pierre RICHARD, says he was born in 1763 but gives no birthplace, gives his parents' names, details his marriage, including his wife's parents' names, says he settled at Opelousas, & lists his children as Pierre-Anaclet, born in 1788, Louise in 1790, Angèle in 1792, Louis in 1794, Marie-Marguerite in 1798, & Philippe in 1799; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:277, 666 (Opel.Ch.: v.1-A, p.3), his marriage record, calls him Pierre RICHARD, calls his wife Marie-Josèphe DUGAS "of Atakapas," gives his & her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Amand DUGAS, Joseph DUGAS, Pierre RICHARD, "father," Joseph BOURQUE, Pierre DUGAS, & Fabien RICHARD [his brother]; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:801 (SM Ch.: v.4, #698), his death/burial record, calls him Pierre RICHARD, "living at La Bute, native of Opelousas," says he died "at age 48 yrs. at his home," & that he was "buried ... in the parish cemetery"; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:801 (SM Ct.Hse.: Succ.#95), his succession record, calls him Pierre RICHARD, "widr. Marie DUGAT," lists 2 brothers, Louis & Fabien Ruban, his wife's brother John Charles DUGAT, & children--Anaclet, 23 yrs., Eliza, 21 yrs. m. Moyse HÉBERT, Mary 22 yrs. m. Ursin HÉBERT, Louis, 16 yrs., Angelle, 20 yrs., & Philippe, 13 yrs.; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 3:552 (Opel. Ct.Hse.: Succ. #712), another succession record, dated 4 Jul 1835, calls him Pierre RICHARD m. Marie DUGAS; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 3:552 (Laf. Ct.Hse.: Succ. #303), yet another succession record, dated 31 Jul 1835, calls him Pierre RICHARD m. Marie DUGAT.  See also De Ville, Opelousas Post Census, 1771, 9; De Ville, Southwest LA Families, 1777, 112. 

Did the compilers of Wall of Names mean to put his older brother Fabien on their list & not Pierre, fils? 

58.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Pierre RICHARD père [of Amand]; White, DGFA-1, 1385, calls him Pierre RICHARD, gives his parents' names, says his godparents were M. (DUPONT) de Renon lt de cie et commandant du navire du roi Le Postillon, who signed the baptismal record, & Jeanne BOURGEOIS, details his marriage, gives his wife's parents' names, says they had to secure "disp 4-4 cons" in order to marry, says he was a widower at Port Tobacco, MD, in 1763, & that he was on the list of Acadians who came to LA in 1767, age 56.  See also De Ville, St. Gabriel Census, 1777, 11. 

None of his 5 siblings, not even the ones who were exiled to VA, deported to England, & repatriated to France, made it to LA.  The age given for him in the St.-Gabriel census of 1777 is way off.  Evidently he never remarried. 

59.  Wall of Names, 29 (pl. 7L), calls him Pierre RICHARD, & lists him with his wife, 2 children, & a female cousin; BRDR, 1a(rev.):174 (SGA-2, 154), his birth/baptismal record, calls him Pierre RICHART, gives his parents' names, & says his godparents were Charle GRANGÉ, who signed the baptismal document, & Catherine-Joseph GAUTROT; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 700-01, Family No. 820; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 702-03, Family No. 822; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 148, Family No. 267, calls him Pierre RICHARD, laborer, says he was born in c1737 but gives no birthplace, does not give his parents' names, says he married Blanche LEBLANC in c1764 but gives no place of marriage or her parents' names, says she was born in c1749 but gives no birthplace, provides the birth/baptismal & death/burial records of daughter Marguerite-Geneviève, baptized 2 Jun 1779, St.-Pierre de Réze, Nantes, died age 2 mos. & buried 1 Jul 1779, St.-Pierre de Réze, son Joseph, died age 3, buried 22 Aug 1779, St.-Pierre de Réze, son Jean-Baptiste, baptized 22 Oct 1780, St.-Pierre de Réze, died 8 Jul 1783, probably St.-Pierre de Réze, & son Charles-Pierre-Paul, & details the family's participation in the Poitou settlement of the early 1770s as well as its voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 14-15, calls him Pierre RICHARD, laboureur, age 48, on the embarkation list, Pierre RICHARD, on the debarkation list, & Pierre RICHARD, plowman, age 48, on the complete listing, says he was in the 19th Family aboard La Bergère with his wife, 2 children, & a female cousin, details his marriage but does not include the names of his or his wife's parents, & lists the implements the Spanish gave to him & his family after they reached LA; BRDR, 3:734 (ASM-3, 110), his death/burial record, calls him Pedro RICHARD, "age 80 yrs. of Acadia, widower of Blanca LEBLANC," but does not give his parents' names. 

60.  Wall of Names, 29 (pl. 7L), calls him Pierre [RICHARD], & lists him with his parents, a sister, & a female paternal cousin; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 702-03, Family No. 822, his birth/baptismal record, calls him Pierre-Joseph RICHARD, gives his parents' names, says his godparents were Joseph LEBLANC & Marguerite LANDRY, & that his family lived at St.-Servan from 1763-72; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 148, Family No. 267, details his family's participation in the Poitou settlement of the early 1770s as well as its voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 14-15, calls him Pierre, son [Pierre RICHARD's] fils, age 16, on the embarkation list, does not include him on the debarkation list, calls him Pierre RICHARD, his [Pierre RICHARD's] son, age 16, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 19th Family aboard La Bergère with his parents, a sister, & a female paternal cousin.  

What happened to him in LA?  Did he even survive the crossing from France?  He is not included on the debarkation list of La Bergère because only heads of family were included on that list.  Winzerling, Acadian Odyssey, 135-36, the most detailed study of the 7 Ships expeditions, reports "six deaths of elderly people" aboard La Bergère during the crossing & 9 more deaths at New Orleans before the ship's survivors went to Lafourche.  Pierre-Joseph may have been among the passengers who died at New Orleans. 

61.  Wall of Names, 32, calls him Pierre RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2574-75, calls him Pierre RICHARD, says he was born in 1713 at "Pisiguit," gives his parents' names, details his first & second marriages, including his wives' parents' names, lists his children as, by his first marriage, Marie, born in 1741, Joseph-Ignace in 1743, Jean-Charles in 1745, Catherine in 1747, Baptiste in 1749, & Simon in 1752, &, by his second marriage, Anselme, born in 1765, Simon-Joseph-Louis in 1766, Julien-Marie in 1768, Auguste in c1770, & Marie in c1772, but gives no birthplaces, says his first wife died at Liverpool, England, 12 Apr 1761, that he was at Morlaix in 1765 & at Belle-Île-en-Mer in 1767, & that he sailed to LA aboard Le Beaumont; White, DGFA-1, 1387, calls him Pierre RICHARD, gives his birth date & place, says his godparents were Pierre DUPUIS & Jeanne DUPUIS, details his 2 marriages, including his wives' parents' names & his second wife's first husband's name, says he was 49 when he was transported from Liverpool to France in 1763, that he was at Belle-Île-en-Mer in 1765, age 54, that he was 74 when he came to LA in 1785, & says he was buried at Bâton-Rouge on 12 Nov 1794, age 84(sic); Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 573, calls him Pierre RICHARD, "54 yrs. old" [in 1765], says he was born on 15 Nov 1710 but gives no birthplace, that he was a widower when he married his second wife, Francoise DAIGRE, that she was from Rivière-aux-Canards and a widow when she married him but gives no place of marriage, says his family was held at Liverpool, entered France at St.-Malo & Morlaix, were Family No. 33 at Kerbellec, Le Palais, Belle-Île-en-Mer, in 1765, & says some members of the family were counted at Vannes, France, in 1792 [during the French Revolution]; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 30-31, calls him Pierre RICHARD, charpentier, age 74, on the embarkation list, Pedro RICHARD, on the debarkation list, & Pierre RICHARD, carpenter, age 74, on the complete listing, says he was in the 4th Family aboard Le Beaumont with his second wife & 3 children, that son Pierre-Auguste was born 11 Jan 1774, son Anselme was born 3 Feb 1765, & son Julien-Marie was born 17 Nov 1768 but gives no birthplace for any of them, & that son Anselme was buried 26 Jan 1786, age 21, but gives no place of burial; BRDR, 2:627 (SJO-4, 4), his death/burial record, calls him Pedro RICHARD, "age 34 years, native of Acadia," gives his parents' names but mentions no wife.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 524.  

Why did some of his children remain in France?  Because they had married there? 

He was one of the oldest Acadians to emigrate to LA.  His younger brother Joseph dit Vieux had come to LA in 1765 from Halifax via St.-Domingue. 

The priest who recorded his burial probably meant to say 84 years instead of 34, or perhaps this a transcription error.  No matter, he was 81 years old when he died. 

62.  Not in Wall of Names.  <thecajuns.com/acad1764.htm>, "Acadians who arrived in New Orleans in 1764," calls her Rosalie RICHARD, & lists her with her parents & 2 brothers; BRDR, 2:629, 645 (SJA-1, 51), her marriage record, calls her Rosalie RICHARD, calls her husband Jean ROGER, gives her & his parents' names, says "both parties of Acadia," that her mother & his parents were deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to her marriage were Jean POIRIER & Baptiste BOURGOIS.  See also De Ville, St. James Census, 1777, 20.

Why is such a well-documented Acadian immigrant--and a first-arrival!--not on the Acadian Memorial's Wall of Names? 

63.  Wall of Names, 24, calls her Rosalie RICHARD; NOAR, 2:239 (SLC, B5, 111), her birth/baptismal record, calls her Rosalie RICHARD, gives her parents' names, says her father was Acadian, & that her godparents were Pierre GUETINAU & Pélagie MORAIN.    

The date of her baptism is a clue to the family's time of arrival in 1765.  Her younger sister Anne-Marie was baptized the same day. 

64.  Wall of Names, 29 (pl. 7L), calls her Rose RICHARD cousine [of Pierre RICHARD], & lists her with her cousin, his wife, & 2 of his children; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 14-15, calls her Rose RICHARD, cousine au dit [Pierre RICHARD], age 30, on the embarkation list, does not include her on the debarkation list, calls her Rose RICHARD, cousin of the above [Pierre RICHARD], age 30, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 19th Family aboard La Bergère with her cousin, his wife, & 2 of their children; BRDR, 2:480, 628 (ASC-2, 35), her marriage record, calls her Rosa RICHARD, calls her husband Olivier LE BLANC, gives her & his parents' names, says her parents were Acadians, & that the witnesses to her marriage were Carlos BROUSARD & Jean BUJOL.

Why did she wait so long to marry?  Her husband had several children by his first wife, but one looks thru the Baton Rouge diocesan church records in vain for a child of Olivier LEBLANC & Rose RICHARD, leading to the sad conclusion that her waiting so long to marry cost her the chance to have children of her own.  See BRDR, vols. 2, 3.  It may also have cost her her marriage.  Her husband's death/burial record, dated 25 Jan 1808 at Baton Rouge, says that he was "unmarried" at the time of his death.  See BRDR, 3:553 (SJO-4, 37).  Was she still alive in 1808?  If she was, then her husband may have secured an annulment to their marriage; her childlessness could have been grounds for annulment.

A Rose RICHARD, "wid. Olivier [sic]," age 75, died "at home of POYDRAS at Chenel," & was buried at Pointe Coupee on 10 Oct 1822.  See BRDR, 4:475 (PCP-5, 84).  Is this the Rose RICHARD listed here?  A woman who died in 1822 at age 75 would have been born in c1747, which is 8 years before the estimated birth year for the Rose RICHARD listed here.  However, burial records are notorious for exaggerating the ages of old folks.  Note that the husband, or former husband, of the Rose RICHARD listed here, Olivier LEBLANC, died probably in present West Baton Rouge Parish in 1808.  Pointe Coupee Parish shares a boundary with West Baton Rouge Parish & lies just northwest of it.  The notation "wid. Olivier" is most intriguing.  Was the Rose RICHARD who died in 1822 the widow of a fellow with the family name OLIVIER, or was she the widow of an Olivier whose surname is not given? 

65.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Simon RICHARD; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2577, says he was born in 1750 & that his parents were from Port-Royal; BRDR, 2:444, 629 (PCP-2, pt. 2, 93-93a; PCP-4, 54), his marriage record, calls him Simon RICHARD, calls his wife Marie-Rose LANDRY, gives his & her parents' names, says his parents were "of Holy Family Parish in Acadia," hers "Acadians, res. at Post Manchac," that his father was deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to his marriage were Paul RICHARD [his brother, Ananase LANDRY [her brother Athanase], & Cirille RIVET; BRDR, 3:735 (SGA-8, 56), his death/burial record, calls him Simon RICHARD, "age 72, res. of Island Districe[sic]," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 433; De Ville, St. Gabriel Census, 1777, 6. 

The baptismal records of son Paul-Grégoire, dated 8 May 1780, & daughter Marie-Céleste, dated 1 Jun 1784, in BRDR, 2:626 (SGA-4a, 24; SGA-5, 20, #120), call him Simon-Henry. 

Holy Family Parish of Acadia was Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit.  His marriage was recorded at Pointe Coupée because St.-Gabriel did not have a church of its own until 1773. 

66.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Simon RICHARD; BRDR, 2:548, 629 (SJA-2, 1), the record of his first marriage, calls him Simon RICHAR, calls his wife Escolastica MIR, does not give his or her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Olibio PAR & Ana ARSENO; BRDR, 3:574, 735 (SJA-2, 77), the record of his second marriage, calls him Simon RICHARD, "nat. Maryland in New England," calls his wife Françoise LEMAIRE, "wid. Louis ROM, nat. St. John the Baptist parish," gives his & her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Benjamin MIR, André GRIM, "signs his name Andrew GREEN," & Dumaine DEJEAN.

Evidence that this is the Simon RICHARD who married Scholastique MIRE is found in the baptismal record of son Juan Bautista, dated 15 Nov 1800, in BRDR, 2:623 (SJA-3, 206), which gives the grandparents' names.  Scholastique was a native of LA.

67.  Wall of Names, 24, calls him Victor RICHARD, & lists him singly; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2576, says he married in c1772; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:617 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A, p.97), his death/burial record, calls him Victor RICHARD, says he died "at age about 60 yrs.," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:617 (Opel. Ct.Hse.: Succ. #11), his first succession record, calls him Victor RICHARD, "wid. is Marie BRASSEUX"; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:618 (LSAR: Opel.: 1810), his succession estate record, calls him Victor RICHARD, "wid. is Marie BRASSEUX."  See also De Ville, Mississippi Valley Mélange, 1: 40. 

The Opelousas census of 1774 shows that he married later then 1772.  Arsenault also says that his wife was Marie-Madeleine, sans doute daughter of Mathieu BRASSEAUX & Anne-Marie PITRE.  However, there is very much doubt that this Marie BRASSEAUX was his wife.  Arsenault, pp. 2415-16, says that Marie, daughter of Mathieu BRASSEAU & Anne BELLEMERE, was the second wife of Pierre-Olivier BENOIT, who reached LA in Oct 1769 with the hapless party aboard the English ship Britannia.  Were there 2 Mathieu BRASSEAUXs in Acadia, one married to Anne-Marie PITRE, the other to Anne BELLEMÈRE, or is this the same fellow with 2 wives?  Most confusing.  Perhaps the church records can sort out the mess.  In the baptismal record of son Alexandre, Victor RICHARD's wife is called Marie-Magdelaine BRASSEUR, but unfortunately the record lists no grandparents.  The same holds true for the baptismal record of son Jean-Baptiste.  But this record gives us a clue when it says that the baby's godparents were Blaise BRASSEAUX & Marie TIBODO.  Blaise was the son of Cosme BRASSEAUX & Élisabeth THIBODEAUX and had an older sister named ... Marie-Madeleine.  In the baptismal records of son Joseph & daughter Julie, Victor RICHARD's wife is called simply Marie BRASEUSE.  No more clues are found in the baptismal & marriage records of their other children.  However, based on the connection with Blaise BRASSEAUX & the THIBODEAUXs, I conclude that Victor RICHARD's Marie was the daughter of Cosme & Élisabeth, not Mathieu & Anne-Marie.  See Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A: 657, 660-63.  

For the 1768 petition to Gov. ULLOA, see Brasseaux, ed., Quest for the Promised Land, 114-15.  

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