Acadians Who Found Refuge in Louisiana, February 1764-early 1800s
[sah-VWAH, sah-VOY]
ACADIA
Francois Savoie, a farmer from Martaize, near Loudun, south of the Loire valley in France, born c1621, parents unknown, came to Acadian probably in the 1640s and married Catherine, the sister of Edmée Lejeune, wife of early Acadian settler Francois Gautreaux. Francois Savoie and Catherine Lejeune had nine children, only two of them sons, Germain, born at Port-Royal c1654, and Francois, fils, born at Port-Royal c1663. However, Germain was the only son to start a family of his own. In c1678 he married Marie, daughter of Vincent Breaux dit Vincelotte, at Port-Royal. Germain and Marie remained in the Port-Royal area and had a dozen children, including five sons who married and created families of their own:
Germain, fils, born at Port-Royal c1682, married Geneviève, daughter of Nicolas Babineaux, at Port-Royal in January 1709. They had 10 children, including fives sons who married into the Landry, Blanchard, Martin, and Bourg families. Germain, fils and his family also remained in the Port-Royal area.
Francois, born at Port-Royal c1684, married Marie-Josèphe, daughter of Alexandre Richard, at Port-Royal in November 1707. They had 13 children, including seven sons who married into the Thibodeaux, Haché, Comeaux, Arcand, Richard, Préjean, Lord, and Melançon families.
Jean, born at Port-Royal c1692, married first to Marie, daughter of Jean Dupuis, at Port-Royal in November 1718, and then to Ursule, daughter of Pierre Thibodeaux le jeune, probably at Port-Royal c1745.
Paul, born at Port-Royal c1696, married Judith, daughter of Jacques Michel, at Port-Royal in November 1722. Unlike his father and his brothers, who remained at Port-Royal, Paul and his family moved to Chepoudy, in the upper Bay of Fundy, probably in the 1720s.
Youngest son Charles, born at Port-Royal in May 1703, married Francoise, daughter of Étienne Martin, at Port-Royal in January 1730. ...
LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT
Like most old Acadian families, Le Grand Dérangement of the 1750s scattered this large family to the winds. ...
LOUISIANA: WESTERN SETTLEMENTS
The Savoies were among the early Acadian immigrants to Louisiana. They all came from Halifax via St.-Domingue, today's Haiti, in 1765, but they did not all settle in the same communities in Louisiana. The first to arrive was Marguerite Savoie, wife of Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil le jeune (not to be confused with the old freedom fighter from Petitcoudiac who led them to Louisiana). After a brief respite in New Orleans, they followed the Broussards to the Atakapas District, where they helped created La Nouvelle-Acadie on the banks of Bayou Teche. ...
Anastasie, daughter of Paul Savoie of Chepoudy and wife of Charles Comeau, also of Chepoudy, came to Louisiana with her husband from Halifax but settled not in the Atakapas District with the Broussard clan but in the Opelousas District, north of the Teche country. Anastasie's brother, Pierre, a bachelor of 24, followed his sister and brother-in-law to the Opelousas prairies. ...
LOUISIANA: RIVER SETTLEMENTS
Most of the Savoies who came to Louisiana from Halifax in 1765--three families and a number of individuals--settled in the established Acadian community of Cabanocé, now St. James Parish, on the river above New Orleans. ...
LOUISIANA: LAFOURCHE VALLEY SETTLEMENTS
By the mid-1790s, Spanish officials were counting Savoies in the upper valley of Bayou Lafourche. ...
CONCLUSION
The family's name also is spelled Savois, Savoye, Scavois, Scavoit.
Sources: Arsenault, Généalogie, 794-99, 1572-74, 1664, 2588-92; White, DGFA-1, 1456-63; White, DGFA-1 English, 306-07.
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):
|
Ascension |
Lafourche (Lafourche, Terrebonne) |
Pointe Coupée |
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|
Assumption |
Natchitoches (Natchitoches) |
SB | San Bernardo (St. Bernard) | ||
|
Atakapas (St. Martin, St. Mary, Lafayette, Vermilion) |
San Luìs de Natchez (Concordia) |
St.-Gabriel d'Iberville (Iberville) |
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|
Bayou des Écores (East Baton Rouge, West Feliciana) |
New Orleans (Orleans) |
St.-Jacques de Cabanocé (St. James) |
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|
Baton Rouge (East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge) |
Opelousas (St. Landry, Calcasieu) |
For a chronology of Acadian Arrivals in Louisiana, 1764-early 1800s, see Appendix.
The hyperlink attached to an individual's name is connected to a list of Acadian immigrants for a particular settlement and provides a different perspective on the refugee's place in family and community.
| Name | Arrived | Settled | Profile |
| Anastasie SAVOIE/SAVOY 01 | 1765 | Op | born c1744, probably Chepoudy; daughter of Paul SAVOIE & Judith MICHEL; sister of Francois, Marie, Pierre, & Rosalie; married, age 21, Charles COMEAUX, son of Jean COMEAUX & Madeleine AMIREAU of Chepoudy, c1765, probably Halifax; arrived LA 1765, age 21; in Opelousas census, 1766, unnamed, probably the woman in the household of Carlos COUMAU; in Opelousas census, 1771, unnamed, age 27, with husband, brother Pierre, & 2 sons; in Opelousas census, 1777, age 34, with husband, 2 sons, & 3 daughters; in Opelousas census, 1785, unnamed, with husband & 13 others; in Opelousas census, 1788, Bellevue, unnamed, with husband & 12 others; in Opelousas census, 1796, Bellevue District, unnamed, with husband & 13 others |
| Charles SAVOIE/SAVOY 02 | 1765 | StJ, Asp? | born c1722, probably Port-Royal; son of Francois SAVOIE & Marie-Josèphe RICHARD; brother of Joseph; married, age 28, (1)Marie-Madeleine RICHARD, daughter of Pierre RICHARD & Marie-Madeleine GIROUARD, & widow of Pierre FORET, c1750, probably Port-Royal; married, age 39, (2)Judith ARCENEAUX, daughter of Claude ARCENEAUX & Marguerite RICHARD of Île St.-Jean, 7 Jan 1761, Restigouche; on list of Acadians prisoners at Halifax, Aug 1763, called Cherl SAVOIS, with wife & 3 children; arrived LA 1765, age 43; in Cabanocé census, 1766, left [east] bank, JUDICE's Company, Cabanocé Militia, called Carlos SABOYE, age 44, with wife Judith age 30, son Jean[-Baptiste] age 3, & orphan Basile DES ROCHES age 12, 0 slaves, 6 arpents next to brother Joseph, 0 cattle, 0 sheep, 0 hogs, 1 gun; in Cabanocé census, 1769, occupying lot number 92, left [east] bank, called Charles SAVOY, age 46, with wife Judique age 32, sons Jean-Baptiste age 6, Pierre & Jean age 2 mos., & orphan Bazille DEROCHE age 14; in St.-Jacques census, 1777, left [east] bank, called Charles SAVOY, age 51[sic], with wife Judicq age 40, sons Jean-Baptiste age 14, Joseph & Emedee [same as Pierre & Jean in 1769?] age 8; in St.-Jacques census, 1779, called Charles SAVOY, with 7 whites, 0 slaves, 6 qts. rice, 10 qts. corn; died by Dec 1795, when his wife was listed in the Assumption census without a husband |
| Francois SAVOIE/SAVOY 03 | 1765 | StJ, Atk | born c1740, probably Chepoudy; son of Paul SAVOIE & Judith MICHEL; brother of Anastasie, Marie, Pierre, & Rosalie; married (1)Anne AUCOIN; arrived LA 1765, age 25; married, age 25, (2)Marie LANDRY of Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit, widow of Joseph BOURQUE, 22 Jul 1765, St. Louis Catholic Church, New Orleans; one of the earliest Acadian marriages in LA; married, age 26, (3)Anne THIBODEAUX, 5 Oct 1766, Cabanoce; married, age 29, (4)Marie-Jeanne MARTIN dit Barnabé, daughter of Ambroise MARTIN dit Barnabé & his second wife Madeleine dite Emilienne COMEAUX of Chignecto, 22 Apr 1769, Atakapas, now St. Martinville; in St.-Jacques census, 1777, left [east] bank, age 37, with wife Marie MARTIN age 31, sons Francois age 13, Pierre[-Joseph] age 10, Jean age 7, daughter Marie age 6; moved to Atakapas, Apr or May 1777; in Atakapas census, 1777, called Francois SCAVOIS, age 46[sic, probably 36], head of family number 86, with wife Marie [MARTIN dit] BARNABE age 29, sons Francois age 9[sic], [Pierre-]Joseph age 6[sic], daughters Manetee[Anne/Nanette] age 8, Marie age 5, & Marguerite age 3, 1 slave, 4 cattle, 3 horses, 0 hogs, 0 sheep; died Atakapas 3 Dec 1780, age 40 |
| Jean SAVOIE/SAVOY dit Valois 04 | 1765 | StJ, Op | born c1751, probably Port-Royal; son of Charles SAVOIE & Francoise MARTIN; arrived LA 1765, age 14; in Cabanoce census, 1766, VERRET's Company, Cabanoce, Militia, called Juan SAVOIES, with no one else in his household; married, age 22, Marguerite BOUTIN, daughter of Pierre-Paul BOUTIN & Ursule GUIDRY, 3 Nov 1773, L'Ascension, now Donaldsonville; moved to Opelousas District; in Opelousas census, 1777, called Jean SCAVOIS, age 25, head of family number 114, with wife Marguerite age 13[sic], daughters Anastasie age 3, Aimee age 1, 0 slaves, 25 cattle, 4 horses, 0 hogs, 0 sheep; in Opelousas census, 1788, Bellevue, called Jn. SAVOYE, with 4 males, 1 woman [wife Marguerite], 4 girls, 4 slaves, 24 cattle, 20 horses, 13 arpents; on Opelousas militia list, Jul 1789, fusilier, called Jean SAVOYE; in Opelousas census, 1796, Grand Coteau District, called Jean SAVOY, with wife [Marguerite], 4 white males, 5 white females, 4 male slaves, & 2 female slaves; died [buried] Opelousas 13 Oct 1803, age 50[sic] |
| Jean-Baptiste SAVOIE/SAVOY 05 | 1765 | StJ, Asp, Lf | born c1763, probably Halifax; son of Charles SAVOIE & his second wife Judith ARCENEAUX; on list of Acadian prisoners at Halifax, Aug 1763, unnamed, with parents & siblings?; arrived LA 1765, age 2; in Cabanoce census, 1766, left [east] bank, called Jean, age 3, with parents & orphan Basile DES ROCHES; in Cabanoce census, 1769, left [east] bank, age 6, with parents, 2 brothers, & orphan Bazille DEROCHE; in St.-Jacques census, 1777, left [east] bank, age 14, with parents & 2 brothers; in Assumption census, 1795, called Juan Bautista, age 32, with widowed mother & siblings; married, age 33, Marie-Rose LANDRY, called Rose, daughter of Hilaire LANDRY & Marie-Josephe RICHARD, 18 Apr 1796, Assumption, now Plattenville; in Assumption census, 1797, called Jean Baptiste, age 33, with wife Rose age 21, & son Jean-Baptiste age 1, 0 slaves, next to widowed mother; in Lafourche census, 1798, called Jean-Baptiste SAVOYE, age 33[sic], with wife Rose age 22, son Francois age 1, 6/20 arpents, 0 slaves |
| Joseph SAVOIE/SAVOY 06 | 1765 | StJ | born c1729, probably Port-Royal; son of Francois SAVOIE & Marie-Josèphe RICHARD; brother of Charles; married, age 23, Anne PRÉJEAN, c1752, probably Port-Royal; on list of Acadian prisoners at Halifax, Aug 1763, called Joseph SAVOIS, with wife & 2 children; arrived LA 1765, age 36; in Cabanoce census, 1766, left [east] bank, JUDICE's Company, Cabanoce Militia, called Joseph SAVOYE, age 37, with wife Anne age 38, daughter Marguerite age 7, 0 slaves, 6 arpents next to brother Charles, 0 cattle, 0 sheep, 1 hog, 1 gun; died before 1767, when his wife remarried |
| Joseph-André SAVOIE/SAVOY 07 | 1765 | StJ | arrived LA 1765, probably in utero; born c1766, probably Cabanoce; son of Joseph SAVOIE & Anne PRÉJEAN; brother of Marguerite; not in Cabanoce census, 1766; in Cabanoce census 1769, right [west] bank, called Joseph SAVOY, stepson, age 3, with mother, stepfather Joseph HEBERT, stepbrother, & sister Margueritte; in St.-Jacques census, 1777, right [west] bank, called Joseph, no surname given, age 9, with mother, stepfather, 2 half-brothers, & sister Margueritte; in St.-Jacques census, 1779, unnamed, with stepfather, mother, & others; married, age 21, Marguerite LANDRY, 28 May 1787, St.-Jacques |
| Marguerite SAVOIE/SAVOY 08 | Feb 1765 | Atk | born c1736; married, age 27, Joseph BROUSSARD dit Beausoleil le jeune, son of Alexandre BROUSSARD dit Beausoleil & Marguerite THIBODEAUX of Petitcoudiac, & widower of Anastatise LEBLANC, c1763, probably Halifax; arrived LA Feb 1765, age 29, in party from Halifax via St.-Domingue led by her husband's uncle, Joseph BROUSSARD dit Beausoleil; in Atakapas census, 1766, District of the Pointe, unnamed, probably the woman in the household of Joseph BROUSSARD; in Atakapas census, 1771, unnamed, age 35, with husband & 3 daughters; in Atakapas census, 1774, unnamed, with husband & 6 children; in Atakapas census, 1777, called Marguerite SCAVOIS, age 35[sic], with husband, 2 sons, & 4 daughters; in Atakapas census, 1781, unnamed & unlisted; in Atakapas census, 1785, unnamed, with husband & 9 others |
| Marguerite SAVOIE/SAVOY 09 | 1765 | StJ | born c1760, probably Halifax; daughter of Joseph SAVOIE & Anne PRÉJEAN; sister of Joseph-André; on list of Acadian prisoners at Halifax, Aug 1763, unnamed, with parents & sibling; arrived LA 1765, age 5; in Cabanoce census, 1766, left [east] bank, age 7, with parents; in Cabanoce census, 1769, right [west] bank, called Margueritte, stepdaughter, no surname given, age 9, with stepfather Joseph HEBERT, mother, brother Joseph SAVOY, & 1 stepbrother; in St.-Jacques census, 1777, right [west] bank, age 17, with stepfather, mother, brother Joseph SAVOIE, & 2 half-brothers; married, age 18, Louis BOULE, son of Louis BOULE & Ursule ROUSSEAU of Québec, 7 Sep 1778, St.-Jacques |
| Marie SAVOIE/SAVOY 10 | 1765 | Op | married Paul LÉGER; arrived LA 1765, a widow; in Opelousas census, 1766, called Widow Maria SAVOYE, with 1 boy & 1 girl in her household |
| Marie SAVOIE/SAVOY 11 | 1765 | StJ | daughter of Paul SAVOIE & Judith MICHEL; sister of Anastasie, Francois, Pierre, & Rosalie |
| Marie SAVOIE/SAVOY 12 | 176? | NO | in report on Acadians in New Orleans, July 1767, called Marie SAVOY, unmarried, young woman, with the notation: "These people have not yet received their food supplies for the month of July" |
| Pierre SAVOIE/SAVOY 13 | 1765 | Op | born c1741, probably Chepoudy; son of Paul SAVOIE & Judith MICHEL; brother of Anastasie, Francois, Marie, & Rosalie; arrived LA 1765, age 24; in Opelousas census, 1766, COURTABLEAU's Company militia, called Pedro SAVOYE, with no one else in his household; in Opelousas census, 1771, age 26[sic], living with family of brother-in-law Charles COMEAUX; married, age 31, Louise BOURG, daughter of Charles BOURG & Anne BOUDREAUX, 11 Jul 1772, Pointe Coupée; in Opelousas census, 1774, with 0 children, 0 slaves, 30 cattle, 6 horses or mules, 15 swine; in Opelousas census, 1777, called Pierre SCAVOIE, age 36, head of family number 111, with wife Louise age 20, daughter Scolastie age 3, 0 slaves, 60 cattle, 12 horses, 20 hogs, 0 sheep; in Opelousas census, 1785, called Pre SAVOYE, with 7 free individuals, 2 male slaves, 2 female slaves; died [buried] St.-Gabriel though "res. of Opelousas" 27 Mar 1788, age 47; on Opelousas militia list, Jul 1789, fusilier, called Pierre SAVOYE |
| Rosalie/Rose SAVOIE/SAVOY 14 | 1765 | StJ | born c1741, probably Chepoudy; called Rose; daughter of Paul SAVOIE & Judith MICHEL; sister of Anastasie, Francois, Marie, & Pierre; arrived LA 1765, age 24; married Pierre BERTEAU, son of probably Pierre BERTEAU dit Montory & Marie MARTIN of St.-Pierre-du-Nord, Île St.-Jean, 25 Aug 1766, Cabanoce; in Cabanoce census, 1766, probably the woman in the household of Pedro BERTEAU; in St.-Jacques census, 1777, left [east] bank, called Roze SAVOY, age 36, with husband, 2 sons, & 4 daughters; in St.-Jacques census, 1779, unnamed, with husband & 6 others; died [buried] St.-Jacques 11 May 1794, age 58[sic] |
NOTES
01. Wall of Names, 14, calls her Anastasie SAVOIE.
02. Wall of Names, 25, calls him Charles SAVOIE. Arseneault, Genealogie, 2588, says he was born in 1721, which is close to the birth year extracted from the Cabanoce census of 1766, used here, but way off from the age given in the St.-Jacques census of 1777. See Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 167; De Ville, St. James Census, 1777, 13.
03. Wall of Names, 25, calls him Francois SAVOIE, & lists him with siblings Marie, Rosalie, & Jean [not really his brother]. Arsenault, Genealogie, 2589, says he was born in 1724! However, the St.-Jacques census of 1777 says otherwise. See De Ville, St. James Census, 1777, 15. The record for his marriage to Marie LANDRY says that he was a native of Annapolis Royal, St. Charles Parish, Diocese of Québec, but his parents were from Chepoudy. See NOAR, 2:251. Arsenault also says that he married Anne THIBODEAUX 14 Oct 1766 at L'Ascension, now Donaldsonville. This is also incorrect. For the correct date & place of his marriage to Anne THIBODEAUX, see Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 171; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 424. Note the differences in ages & even names of his family in the St.-Jacques & Atakapas censuses of 1777, which were taken less than a month apart (St.-Jacques in April, Atakapas in May).
04. Wall of Names, 25, calls him Jean SAVOIE, & lists him with Francois, Marie, & Rosalie as though they were his siblings; Arsenault, Genealogie, 2589-90, calls him Jean SAVOIE dit Valois, says he was born c1750, that his parents probablement were Paul SAVOIE & Judith MICHEL of Chepoudy, who were the parents of Francois et al., calls his wife Marguerite BOUTIN, says they were married c1773, does not give the place of marriage or the names of her parents, lists his children as Anastasie, born 1774, Marie, born 1777, Marie-Rose dite Rosalie, born 1779, Joseph, born 1782, Émilienne, born 1784, Jean-Baptiste, born 1786, Lise, born c1787, Salomée, born 1788, Marguerite, born 1790, & Céleste, born 1792, & says that he settled at Opelousas; BRDR, 2:666(ASC-1, 125), his marriage record, followed here, says his parents were Charles SAVOIS & Francoise MARTIN of Acadia, calls his wife Marguerite BUTEN, gives her parents' names & says they were from St.-Gabriel, & says the witnesses to their marriage were Joseph BUTEN & Jean-Charles COMO.
05. Wall of Names, 25, calls him Jean-Baptiste SAVOIE.
06. Wall of Names, 25, calls him Joseph SAVOIE. Arsenault, Genealogie, 2589, says he was born in 1727, but the Cabanoce census of 1766 says otherwise. See Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 167. He had 2 children at Halifax in Aug 1763, including daughter Marguerite, but his son Joseph-André was not born until a couple of years later. What happened to the other child? Was it a son or a daughter? See Jehn, Acadians Exiles in the Colonies, 249.
07. Wall of Names, 25, calls him Joseph-André SAVOIE, & lists him with his parents & sister Marguerite as though he was born before they came to LA. Note that he was not listed in the Cabanoce census of 1766, which was taken in Apr, so he probably was born soon afterwards. Unless he was in utero when his parents reached St.-Jacques in 1765, for the sake of consistency he should be removed from this list despite his presence on the Wall of Names. His marriage record in BRDR, 2:666, calls him simply Josef & does not give his or his bride's parents' names, but this is probably him. The baptismal record of one of their sons, Pablo Francisco (that is, Paul-Francois), in BRDR, 2:667, calls him Joseph Francisco & says that he & his wife Margarita LANDRY were residents of Valenzuela, which was Assumption. See also Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 173; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 443.
08. Wall of Names, 14, calls her Marguerite SAVOIE.
09. Wall of Names, 25, calls her Marguerite SAVOIE. See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 443.
10. Wall of Names, 22, calls her Marie SAVOIE veuve Paul LÉGER.
11. Wall of Names, 25, calls her Marie SAVOIE, & lists her with siblings Francois, Rosalie, & Jean [who was not really her brother]. How old was she in 1765? What happened to her?
12. Wall of Names, 25, calls her Marie SAVOIE, & lists her singly? Who was she? When did she reach LA? 1765? 1766? 1767? Was she the same Marie SAVOIE as the sister of Francois et al.?
13. Wall of Names, 25, calls him Pierre SAVOIE, & lists him singly. Arsenault, Généalogie, 2589, says he was born in 1741, but the Opelousas census of 1771 says otherwise. However, the Opelousas census of 1777 agrees with Arsenault, whose birth year is used here. See De Ville, Opelousas Post Census, 1771, 10; De Ville, Southwest LA Families, 1777, 25. His burial record is in BRDR, 2:667. What was he doing in St.-Gabriel at the time of his death? How could he have appeared on the Jul 1789 militia list for Opelousas if he was dead? See Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 413, which lists a Pierre SAVOYE. Was there a Creole in the Opelousas District with that name?
Why did he go to the Opelousas District in 1765 when most of his siblings went to Cabanoce/St.-Jacques? Did he follow sister Anastasie & brother-in-law Charles COMEAUX? Notice how close he was in age to brother Francois & sister Rosalie. He was, in fact, the same age as Rosalie. Were they twins, or were they not really siblings?
14. Wall of Names, 25, calls her Rosalie SAVOIE, & lists her with siblings Francois, Marie, & Jean [who was not really her brother]. Birth & baptismal records of her children in BRDR, 2:85-86, call her Rosa, Rose, Rosalia, Rosalie. For her marriage record, which calls her Rose SAVOY, see Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 171; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 424. Her death/burial record in BRDR, 2:667, calls her Rosalia, but it is a Spanish record.
Copyright (c) 2007-08 Steven A. Cormier