APPENDICES

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

SONNIER

[SAHN-yay]

ACADIA

Louis Saulnier, a sailor born in France in c1663, came to Acadia by c1684, the year he married Louise Bastineau dit Peltier at Grand Pré.  Louis died in c1730, in his late 60s, probably at Minas.  He and Louise had 14 children, including five sons, most if not all of them born at Minas, who created families of their own.  Five or their daughters married into the Boudrot, Boisseau dit Blondin, Lapierre, Oudy, and Hébert families. 

Oldest son Jacques, born in c1685, married Anne, daughter of Jean Hébert, probably at Minas in c1724.  They left the Minas Basin and settled at Petitcoudiac. 

Marcel, born in c1691, married Élisabeth, or Isabelle, daughter of Vincent Breau, at Grand-Pré in November 1710.  They remained at Minas, where they raised six children, including two sons who married into the Vincent, Trahan, Collongues, and Lalande families.  Three of their daughters married into the Hébert, Labauve, and Semer families. 

René, born in the 1690s, married Marie-Josèphe, daughter of Jean-Charles Trahan, at Grand-Pré in October 1714.  They, too, remained at Minas and raised six children, including four sons who married into the de Lavoie, Boudrot, Maillet, and Aucoin families.  One of their daughters married into the Maillet family.  René died probably at Minas in c1739.

Pierre, born in the 1690s, married Madeleine, daughter of Jean Comeau le jeune, probably at Minas in c1716.  They settled at Petitcoudiac.  ...

Youngest son Étienne, born in c1702, married first to Jeanne, daughter of Abraham Comeau, probably at Minas in c1729.  His second wife was Anne, daughter of Jérôme Darois, whom he married at Beaubassin, Chignecto, in June 1740.  They followed Étienne's older brothers Jacques and Pierre to the distant settlement of Petitcoudiac.  ...

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

Le Grand Dérangement of the 1750s scattered this large family to the winds. ...

LOUISIANA:  WESTERN SETTLEMENTS

Saulniers settled early in Acadia and were some of the earliest Acadians to seek refuge in Louisiana: 

Seven of them came to the colony from Halifax via St.-Domingue, today's Haiti, in 1765, and settled in the Opelousas District, west of the Atchafalaya Basin: 

Francoise Saulnier of Petitcoudiac, age 34, came with husband Pierre Thibodeau, age 41, and four children, ages 13 to 3.  They settled on Prairie Bellevue.  Francoise died in St. Landry Parish in June 1811, a widow; the priest who recorded her burial said that Francoise was 84 years old when she died, but she probably was closer to 80. 

Madeleine Saulnier of Petitcoudiac, age 18, Francoise's sister, came with brother Joseph, age 9.  Madeleine married Joseph, son French Creole Francois Chrétien, at Opelousas probably in the late 1760s.  They settled near Grand Coteau and created one of the largest plantations in the area.  Madeleine died at Opelousas in April 1800, in her early 50s.  Brother Joseph also married and settled on nearby Bellevue Prairie. 

Sylvain Saulnier of Petitcoudiac, age 29, perhaps a half-brother of Francoise, Joseph, and Madeleine, came with brother or half-brother Olivier, age 13.  Sylvain married and settled on Prairie Bellevue.  Olivier remained a bachelor. 

Marguerite Saulnier of Petitcoudiac, age unrecorded, came with husband Joseph Cormier of Chignecto, age 25, a year-old daughter and Joseph's younger brother Michel.  Marguerite was pregnant when she reached New Orleans and gave birth to twin daughters probably at Opelousas.  They settled on Prairie Bellevue, where Marguerite died by 1771, when her husband was listed in an Opelousas census as a widower.

Charles-Jean Saulnier, name unrecorded, came alone. 

Descendants of Sylvain SONNIER (c1736-1801)

Sylvain, elder son of either Pierre Saulnier and Madeleine Comeau or Étienne Saulnier and his first wife Jeanne Comeau, born probably at Petitcoudiac in c1736, escaped the British roundup at Chignecto in 1755 and found refuge with other Acadian refugees on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore.  He and his family ended up as prisoners of war in Nova Scotia in the early 1760s.  If he was a son of Étienne Saulnier, British officials counted him at Halifax in August 1763.  He came to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765, still a bachelor, with a younger brother, and followed his kinsmen to the Opelousas District, where he married fellow Acadian Madeleine, daughter of probably Charles Bourg, in c1766.  They settled on Prairie Bellevue south of the present city of Opelousas.  Their daughters married into the Comeaux, Dugas, Martin, Missonier, and Thibodeaux families.  Sylvain was one of the 11 Opelousas settlers who petitioned Spanish Governor Ulloa in March 1768 for assistance (oxen and plows) to grow wheat in the district.  In 1771 he owned 43 head of cattle and 15 horses on 6 arpents of land without title.  In 1774, he was running 120 head of cattle with eight horses and mules and owned 30 swine.  In 1777, his herd had increased to 150 head, and he owned two slaves, 11 horses, and 45 hogs.  By 1788, he owned eight slaves, 300 head of cattle, and 34 horses on 32 arpents of land.  The number of his slaves had increased to 11 by 1796.  Sylvain, père died at Opelousas in January 1801, in his mid-60s.  Most of his six sons created families of their own. 

1

Oldest son Sylvain, fils, born in February 1771, married Emilie, called Humile, Humilde, and Melite, daughter of fellow Acadian Charles Comeaux, at Opelousas in May 1789.  Their son Sylvain III had been born at Opelousas in April 1789 but died at age 5 in January 1796, Louis dit Valière was born in August 1797, and Gilbert was baptized, age unrecorded, in October 1800.  They also had sons named Joseph le jeune and (another?) Sylvain III.  Sylvain, fils remarried to Judith, daughter of Italian Donat Bello, at Opelousas in December 1802.  Their son Donat was born in c1803 and baptized at Opelousas, age 5, in February 1808, Valéry was born in c1804 and baptized at age 4 in February 1808, a child, perhaps a son, name unrecorded, died 10 days after its birth in March 1806, Don Louis was born in March 1808, Bellisle was baptized at age 9 months in September 1812, Florian was born in April 1814, and Léandre in February 1837.  Sylvain, fils's succession record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse in October 1821.  He died "at the home of Charles Saunier [probably his younger brother]" in Lafayette Parish in September 1829; the priest who recorded his burial said that Sylvain was 63 years old when he died, but he was "only" 58.  Eight of his 10 sons by two wives created families of their own. 

1a

Louis dit Valière, by his first wife, married Denise, daughter of French Creole Pierre Carriere of St. John the Baptist Parish, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1816.  They settled at Bois de Mallet.  Their son Louis, fils was born in November 1816 but died the following March, Sylvain le jeune was born in February 1822, and Valérien in April 1834.  Their daughter married a Sonnier first cousin.  ...

1b

Sylvain III, by his first wife, took up with Josephine, also called Josette, daughter of French Creole Joseph Poiret, sometimes called Bello, probably in the 1810s, and sanctified the union at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in June 1839.  Their son Sylvain IV was born in St. Landry Parish in February 1818, and Charles le jeune in August 1821.  Their daughters married into the Derbonne family.  ...

Sylvain IV married first cousin Marie Louise, called Louise, 17-year-old daughter of his uncle Louis Sonnier, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in January 1837. ...

1c

Donat, by his second wife, married cousin Émilie, Émilite, or Melite Francoise, daughter of Spanish Creole Francois Casanueva, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in August 1824; Melite's mother, also, was a Bello.  Their son Donat, fils was born in St. Landry Parish in January 1837.  ...

1d

Valéry, by his second wife, married Arthémise, another daughter of Pierre Carriere, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in October 1824.  Their son Valéry was born in St. Landry Parish in October 1829, Paulin in June 1831, and Don Louis Valéry near Grand Coteau in January 1838.  ...

1e

Gilbert, by his first wife, married Louise Céleste, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Babin, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in February 1826.  Their son Joseph Vileor was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 5 months, less 8 days, in October 1829.  Gilbert remarried to Madeleine Elise, called Elise, daughter of fellow Acadian Valentin Landry and widow of Alexandre Breaux, at the St. Martinville church in July 1838.  Their son Francois Alcide, called Alcide, was born in St. Martin Parish in April 1839 but died at age 1 1/2 in August 1840, and Gustave was born in December 1840.  ...

1f

Don Louis, by his second wife, married Carmelite, called Émilite and Melite, daughter of French Creole Urbin Carriere, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in November 1827.  Their child, perhaps a son, name unrecorded, died "as a newborn" in St. Landry Parish in April 1831, and Don Louis, fils was born in October 1837.  ...

1g

Bellisle, by his second wife, married Rosaline, 18-year-old daughter of Anglo-American William McKay, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in July 1834, and remarried to Eloise or Louise, 19-year-old daughter of French Creole Michel Lacase, at the Opelousas church in April 1839. ...

1h

Florian, by his second wife, married 17-year-old Sephalie or Syphalide, another daughter of Ursin Carriere, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in July 1834.  Their son Octave was born in St. Landry Parish in October 1837.  ...

2

Joseph, born in April 1776, probably died young. 

3

Étienne, baptized at Opelousas, age unrecorded, in August 1779, died at age 1 in August 1780. 

4

Charles, baptized at Opelousas, age 4 1/2 months, in August 1781, took up with Sophie Bello, perhaps a sister of his older brother Sylvain, fils's second wife, in St. Landry Parish in the early 1800s.  Their "natural son" Charles, fils was born at Opelousas in April 1805 but died at age 14 in July 1819, and Sylvain le jeune was born in December 1807.  Their daughters married into the Richard and Winkler families.  ...

5

Leufroi, also called Godefroi and Éloi, born in May 1788, married Marie Céleste Carmelite, called Carmelite, daughter of fellow Acadian Charles Comeaux, fils of Côte Gelée, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in January 1809.  They settled at Côte Gelée and Grand Prairie in what became Lafayette Parish.  Their son Leufroi, fils was born in October 1811, Éloi in August 1813, Charles in August 1815, Félix in January 1821, Valéry le jeune in January 1824, Sosthène was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 2 1/2 months, in February 1827, Jacques was born in August 1829, Sevigne was baptized at age 1 in July 1834 but died at age 1 1/2 months in March 1835, and Alphred at age 3 months in July 1837.  Their daughter married into the Richard family.  Leufroi died in Lafayette Parish in July 1836; the priest who recorded his burial said that Éloi, as he called him, was 45 years old when he died, but he was 48. 

5a

Éloi married Marie Basilise, called Basilise, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Landry, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in April 1834.  Their son Pierre Edgar was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 2 months, in April 1835, Jean Hopar at age 6 months in February 1837, and Charles le jeune was born in January 1839.  ...

5b

Leufroi, fils married Francoise Aureline, called Aureline, daughter of fellow Acadian Alexandre Landry, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in October 1834.  Their son Symphorien was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 18 months, in May 1840.  ...

6

Youngest son Joseph dit Cadz, born in August 1792, married Marie Adeline, called Julienne, Juliette, and Zeline, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph dit Mines Guidry of Bayou Vermilion, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in February 1811.  They settled on the Vermilion.  Their son Charles le jeune was born in February 1815, Joseph, fils in June 1818, Eusèbe dit Cadet prematurely in November 1822 but died at age 3 1/2 in June 1826, Jean was born in December 1826, Sosthène in October 1830, and Edward in May 1836.  Their daughter married a Guidry cousin.  ...

6a

Joseph, fils married Carmelite, daughter of fellow Acadian Leufroi Boudreaux, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in February 1837.  Their son Joseph III died at age 12 days in June 1838. ...

6b

Charles le jeune married Carmelite, daughter of fellow Acadian Ursin Hébert, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in August 1838.  Their son Ursin Théodule was born in Lafayette Parish in February 1840.  ...

Olivier SONNIER (c1752-)

Olivier, younger son of either Pierre Saulnier and Madeleine Comeau or Étienne Saulnier and his second wife Anne Darois, born probably at Petitcoudiac in c1752, escaped the British roundup at Chignecto in 1755 and was taken to the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore.  He and his family ended up at prisoners of war in Nova Scotia in the early 1760s.  If he was a son of Étienne Saulnier, British officials counted him at Halifax in August 1763.  He came to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765 with older brother, or half-brother, Sylvain and followed him to the Opelousas District.  Olivier's succession record was filed at what became the Opelousas courthouse in August 1775, though a census at Opelousas in May 1777 counted him as a bachelor who owned no slaves, 15 head of cattle, and four horses.  Olivier never married. 

Descendants of Joseph SONNIER (c1756-1820)

Joseph, son of Étienne Saulnier and his second wife Anne Darois, brother, perhaps, of Sylvain and Olivier, was born in Acadia in c1756 at the beginning of Le Grand Dérangement.  He and his family found refuge on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore but ended up as prisoners of war in Nova Scotia in the early 1760s.  British officials counted them at Halifax in August 1763.  Joseph came to Louisiana in 1765 with an older sister and followed her to the Opelousas prairies.  Spanish officials counted him at Opelousas in 1771 with the family of sister Francoise, wife of Pierre Thibodeaux.  By 1774, he was a young bachelor living alone; he owned five head of cattle and three horses and mules.  He married Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Olivier Thibodeaux, at Atakapas in January 1779.  They settled on Prairie Bellevue, south of the present city of Opelousas.  In 1788, Joseph owned 10 head of cattle and 30 horses on 13 arpents of land at Bellevue.  In the early 1800s, they moved down to Grand Prairie and La Butte on upper Bayou Vermilion at the northern edge of the Atakapas District and then to Carencro.  Their daughters married into the Chiasson, Constantin, Dugas, and Guilbert families.  Joseph, père died at Carencro in October 1820; the priest who recorded his burial said that Joseph was 60 years old when he died, but he was closer to 64.  Most of his six sons created families of their own and settled in St. Martin and Lafayette parishes. 

1

Oldest son Joseph dit Padillau, also called Joseph, fils, baptized at Opelousas, age 6 months, in August 1781, married Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadian Louis Arceneaux of St. James Parish, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in November 1818.  They settled at Carencro.  Their son Joseph Rosémond, called Rosémond, was born in August 1819 but died at age 11 months in July 1820, a child, perhaps a son, name and age unrecorded, died in Lafayette Parish in August 1823, and Achille was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age unrecorded, in August 1825.  Joseph, fils died probably at Carencro in September 1829, a widower; he was 49 years old; his succession records were filed at the Vermilionville courthouse later that month. 

2

Jean-Baptiste, born at Atakapas in March 1785, married Marie Clémence, called Clémence, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Athanase Breaux of Carencro, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in February 1810.  They settled at Prairie Basse near Carencro.  Their son Hippolyte Bienvenu was born in March 1813, Joseph Théodule in April 1817, Jean dit Euclide in June 1819, Pierre Mortemar in May 1822, Cyprien in August 1824, Sylvestre Lucain died at age 7 days in November 1826, and Simon Eugène was born posthumously in January 1828.  Their daughters married into the Breaux and Guidry families.  Jean Baptiste died probably at Carencro in November 1827; he was only 42 years old. 

Euclide died in Lafayette Parish in May 1838.  He was only 18 years old and did not marry. 

3

Placide, born probably at Opelousas in c1789, married Anastasie, daughter of fellow Acadian Augustin Dugas of La Butte, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in February 1813.  They settled at La Butte and Grand Prairie.  Their son Joseph Léonard was born in June 1818, Gédéon in August 1820, Jean died a day after his birth in June 1825, Francois died at age 3 weeks in August 1826, and a child, name unrecorded, died 2 hours after its birth in August 1827.  Their daughters married into the Cart and Trahan families.  Placide died in Lafayette Parish in April 1835; he was only 46 years old when he died. 

3a

Joseph married Célestine, 18-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Antoine Hébert, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in June 1837. ...

3b

Gédéon married Célestine, 15-year-old daughter of Anglo-American William Berwick, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in June 1839; Célestine's mother was a Lejeune. ...

4

Alexandre, baptized at Opelousas, age unrecorded, in July 1790, died "at his parents' home" at La Butte in January 1809.  He was only 18 years old and did not marry. 

5

Pierre, born probably at Opelousas in the early 1790s, married Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadian Amand Dugas of La Butte, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in October 1813.  They settled at La Butte.  Their son, name unrecorded, died at age 1 month in November 1816, Pierre Hermas was born in May 1822, Jean Moléon in May 1824 but died at age 4 1/2 in March 1829, Narcisse was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 2 months, in May 1827 but died at age 2 in March 1829, Joseph le jeune was born in June 1829 but died at age 1 1/2 in September 1830, Norbert was baptized at age 4 months in March 1831, Maximilien was born in February 1833, and Treville died at age 3 months in August 1834.  ...

Pierre Hermas married cousin Julie, daughter of fellow Acadian Célestin Dugas, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in April 1840. ...

6

Youngest son Cyrille, baptized at Atakapas, age 8 months, in May 1795, married Susanne, called Susette, 16-year-old daughter of Anglo-Creole Thomas Parr, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1822; Susanne's mother was a Melançon.  Their son Cyrille, fils was born in Lafayette Parish in July 1823 but died at age 2 in September 1825, Pierre le jeune was born in March 1825, Louis in April 1828, Siméon in February 1830, Basile or Émile in October 1831 but died at age 4 in December 1835, Joseph was born in June 1833 but died at age 1 in June 1834, Olivier was born in March 1835 but died at age 18 months in September 1836, Thomas Estel was baptized at  the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 3 months, in January 1837, and Paulin was born in August 1840.  ...

Charles-Jean SONNIER (?-)

Charles-Jean Saulnier may have come to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765 and followed his kinsmen to Opelousas, where Spanish officials, calling him Carlos Juan Saunier, counted him as a member of Courtableau's Company of militia in April 1766.  ...

~

In the late 1760s, a Sonnier from the river moved to the western prairies and joined their siblings and cousins already there:

Anne Sonnier, widow of Basile Babin, took her children to the Opelousas prairies in the late 1760s and remarried to Michel, son of fellow Acadian Pierre dit Palette Cormier of Chignecto, at Opelousas.  They settled on Prairie des Femmes, where Anne died in 1772 or 1773, in her early 30s. 

~

Twenty years after her cousins reached Louisiana, a Saulnier wife came to the colony from France in 1785.  She and her husband were among the few 1785 arrivals who settled in the Opelousas District: 

Marie-Josèphe Saulnier of Petitcoudiac, age 48, crossed from France on La Ville d'Archangel, the sixth of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in December 1785.  With her were husband Claude Aucoin of Minas, age 57, and five children, ages 22 to 9.  They settled near Carencro.  Marie-Josèphe died by November 1788, when her husband remarried at Opelousas. 

~

In the 1810s, Sonnier brothers from the river joined their cousins in the Bayou Teche valley: 

Descendants of Jean-Baptiste SONNIER, fils (c1776-)

Jean-Baptiste, fils, elder son of Jean-Baptiste Sonnier and Marie Roy, baptized at St.-Jacques on the river, age unrecorded, in August 1776, married Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadian Come LeBlanc of Fausse Pointe, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in June 1813.  They settled at Fausse Pointe on lower Bayou Teche.  Their daughter married into the Daniel family.  ...

1

Oldest son Marcellin, born in March 1814, married Marie Azélie, daughter of fellow Acadian Raphaël Broussard, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in August 1834.  Their son Philemon was born near New Iberville, then in St. Martin Parish, in July 1839, and Marcellin, fils in November 1840.  ...

2

A son, name and age unrecorded, died "at the home of [Scotsman John] Martin, his [Jean-Baptiste, fils's] brother-in-law [husband of sister Francoise] at L'île Labbé" in January 1818. 

3

Jean Onésime, born in September 1819, ...

4

Jean Baptiste III, born in September 1825, died at age 3 1/2 in March 1829. 

Descendants of Jean-L'Esprit SONNIER (1791-)

Jean-L'Esprit, younger son of Jean-Baptiste Sonnier and Marie Roy, born at Ascension in July 1791, married Félicité, daughter of French Creole Louis Saucier, probably in the 1820s.  They, too, settled in St. Martin Parish.  ...

Jean, fils, born in St. Martin Parish in April 1828, ...

~

Other SONNIERs on the Western Prairies

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link some Sonniers in the western parishes with known lines of the family there:

Widow Sonnier died in St. Landry Parish in September 1812 "at age about 60 yrs."  The priest who recorded her burial did not give the widow's parents' names or name her husband. 

James Sonnier married Scholastique Veprer.  Their son Jules Edoucid was born near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in July 1839. 

LOUISIANA:  RIVER SETTLEMENTS

Six of the Saulniers who came to Louisiana from Halifax in 1765 did not go to the Opelousas prairies but settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river above New Orleans where 20 Acadians had settled the year before:

Marguerite Saulnier, age 40, came with husband Charles Forest of Port-Royal, age 43, five children, ages 19 to 1, and a 19-year-old niece of her husband.  By 1770, they had moved upriver to Ascension. 

Marie-Madeleine Saulnier of Petitcoudiac, age unrecorded, came with husband Jean Léger of Chepoudy, age 43.  She died by April 1774, when her husband remarried at St.-Jacques. 

Joseph Saulnier of Petitcoudiac, age 26, came with brother Jean-Baptiste, age 19, and sister Marguerite, age unrecorded.  Joseph married twice and remained at St.-Jacques.  Jean-Baptiste married and settled upriver at Ascension.  In October 1768, Marguerite married Frenchman Jean-Baptiste-Emmanuel Lescossier of Rheims at New Orleans and probably settled there.  Was she the Marguerite Sonnier who married French Creole Nicolas Lahure?

Anne Saulnier of Petitcoudiac, age 24, widow of Basile Babin, came with two daughters, ages 5 and 3.  Anne took her children to the Opelousas District by c1769, when she remarried to Michel Cormier of Chignecto, who also had come to Louisiana in 1765. 

Descendants of Joseph SONNIER (c1739-1812)

Joseph, elder son of Pierre Saulnier and Madeleine Haché-Gallant, born probably at Petitcoudiac in c1739, escaped the British roundup at Chignecto in 1755 and found refuge on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore.  He and his family ended up as prisoners of war in Nova Scotia in the early 1760s.  He and two of his siblings came to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765 and settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques.  Spanish officials counted him with widowed sister Anne and two nieces on the left, or east, bank of the river at Cabanocé in 1766.  He married fellow Acadian Marie Landry, widow of Alexis Granger, in November 1767.  They were living on the east bank of the river at Cabanocé in 1769.  Eight years later, in January 1777, he was still living on the east bank of the river at St.-Jacques, but by then he was a widower.  Their daughter married into the Bourgeois family.  Joseph remarried to fellow Acadian Marie Breaux, widow of Amand Richard, at St.-Jacques in August 1777.  In 1779, they owned three slaves on their holding along the river.  Their daughter married into the Lanoux family.  Joseph died in St. James Parish in December 1812; the priest who recorded his burial said that Joseph was 82 years old when he died, but he was closer to 72.  His older son's line died out.  His younger son settled on Bayou Lafourche. 

1

Older son Donat, by his first wife, perhaps also called Simon, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in July 1773, may have married Francoise, a woman whose surname has been lost to history, probably at St.-Jacques in the late 1790s or early 1800s.  Their son, name and age unrecorded, died at St.-Jacques in October 1806.  Simon's wife died the next day, age 35.  Simon himself died at St.-Jacques in April 1807; the priest who recorded his burial did not bother to give Simon's parents' names, mention his wife, or give his age at the time of his death. 

2

Younger son Joseph-Édouard, called Édouard, from his second wife, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in May 1780, married Denise, also called Lise, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Charles Arceneaux, at St.-Jacques in February 1799.  Most of their children were born in what became St. James Parish.  They moved to Bayou Lafourche in the early 1820s, creating a third center of family settlement, and were the last of the Acadian Sonniers to abandon the river settlements. 

Descendants of Jean-Baptiste SONNIER (c1746-)

Jean-Baptiste, younger son of Pierre Saulnier and Madeleine Haché-Gallant, born probably at Petitcoudiac in c1746, escaped the British roundup at Chignecto in 1755 and found refuge on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore.  He and his family ended up as prisoners of war in Nova Scotia in the early 1760s.  He and two of his siblings came to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765 and settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques.  Spanish officials counted him on the right, or west, bank of the river at Cabanocé in 1766 and on the left, or east, bank of the river there in 1769.  He married Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Abraham Roy, at St.-Jacques in May 1773.  They were still living on the east bank of the river at St.-Jacques in 1777.  In 1791, however, Spanish officials counted them at nearby Ascension, still living on the east bank of the river.  Their daughters married into the Cuvillier, Duval, Henrique (German Creole, not Acadian), Martin (Scots, not Acadian), and Nopper families; most of them settled on the western prairies.  His sons, like his daughters, followed their maternal kin to the western prairies. 

1

Older son Jean-Baptiste, fils, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in August 1776, married Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadian Come LeBlanc of Fausse Pointe, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in June 1813.  They settled on Bayou Teche. 

2

Younger son Jean-L'Esprit, born at Ascension in July 1791, married Félicité, daughter of French Creole Louis Saucier, probably in the 1820s.  They, too, settled in St. Martin Parish. 

~

In 1785, twenty years after their cousins had reached Louisiana, two Saulnier wives came to the colony on two of the Seven Ships from France and went to river settlements:

Marie-Marguerite Saulnier, age 40, crossed on Le St.-Rémi, the fourth of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in September.  With her were husband Antoine Boutary, a Frenchman, age 50, and three sons, ages 9, 7, and infant.  They went to Ascension. 

Marguerite Saulnier of Rivière-aux-Canards, age 27, crossed on Le St.-Rémi with husband Guillaume Hamon, age 24, and no children.  They went to Ascension and settled on upper Bayou Lafourche. 

Other SONNIERs on the River

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

Marguerite Sonnier married Nicolas Layur at St.-Jacques in June 1787.  The priest who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names.  One wonders if this was the Marguerite, sister of Jean-Baptiste and Joseph Sonnier, who married Jean-Baptiste-Emmanuel Lescossier, fils at New Orleans in October 1768. 

LOUISIANA:  LAFOURCHE VALLEY SETTLEMENTS

A Sonnier from the river moved to Bayou Lafourche in the early 1820s, creating a third center of family settlement.  After he left, no more Acadian Sonniers remained on the river: 

Descendants of Joseph-Édouard SONNIER (c1780-)

Joseph-Édouard, called Édouard, younger son of Joseph Sonnier and his second wife Marie Breaux, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in May 1780, married Denise, also called Lise, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Charles Arceneaux, at St.-Jacques in February 1799.  Most of their children were born in what became St. James Parish.  Their daughters married into the Authement and Bourg families.  Édouard moved his family to Bayou Lafourche in the early 1820s. 

1

Oldest son Joseph le jeune, born at St.-Jacques in December 1802, married Marie Josette, daughter of French Creole Francois Percle, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in February 1827.  Their son Joseph Omere was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in August 1830 but died at age 3 in October 1833, Édouard or Jean Amédée was born in December 1832 but died at age 1 in October 1833, Zéphirin Aristide was born in Ascension Parish in August 1834, and Joseph Léonidas in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1836 but died at age 1 in December 1837.  ... 

2

Jean Baptiste le jeune, born at St.-Jacques in October 1804, died at age 1 1/2 in January 1806.

3

Simon le jeune, born in St. James Parish in c1812, died near Convent, St. James Parish, at age 3 in July 1815.

4

Marcellin or Onésime, born near Convent, St. James Parish, in September 1814, ...

5

Julien, born near Convent, St. James Parish, in May 1819, ...

6

Youngest son Jean Charles, born near Convent, St. James Parish, in November 1821, ...

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

Frenchmen with surnames similar to Saulnier/Sonnier lived in colonial Louisiana as early as the 1730s:

Francois, son of Augustin Saunier, a master cooper from Paris, and Louise Deval, married Madeleine, daughter of André Neire of Switzerland, at Old Biloxi, then a part of French Louisiana, in April 1730. 

Francoise Saunié, native of Paris, perhaps a sister of Francois, died at New Orleans in September 1731. 

Pierre Saunier, a soldier in the company of Maret, married Marie-Louise Contois.  Their son Victor was born at New Orleans in October 1748. 

CONCLUSION

Saulniers settled early in Acadia and came early to Louisiana.  Most of them--and all of the males who would start family lines--came to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765 on at least two expeditions.  The first of them settled on the Opelousas prairies, where two vigorous lines of the family emerged.  Others who came that year settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river, later called the Acadian Coast, where two more lines of the family began.  Three Saulnier wives came to the colony on two of the Seven Ships from France in 1785 and settled on the river and on the prairies.  By the early antebellum period, Sonniers on the river had moved either to lower Bayou Teche or to Bayou Lafourche, and no more families remained on the Acadian Coast. 

Throughout the family's time in the Bayou State, most Sonniers lived on the western prairies.  By the end of the antebellum period, they could be found in many communities from the Opelousas prairies down to lower Bayou Teche.  They were especially numerous at Bellevue, Carencro, Grand Coteau, La Butte, Grand Prairie, and Fausse Pointe in present-day St. Landry, Lafayette, St. Martin, and Iberia parishes.  ...

French Sauniers, two of them from Paris, settled in Louisiana as early as the 1730s.  However, none of them established family lines.  Most, if not all, of the Sonniers of South Louisiana, then, are descendants of sailor Louis Saulnier of Minas, Acadia. ...

In Louisiana, the family's name evolved from Saulnier to Saunier to Sonnier, perhaps because of Spanish influence.  The family's name also is spelled Saugnier, Saulnié, Saulny, Sauniae, Saunié, Sognier, Sogny, Sognyer, Soigné, Soignez, Solnier, Somme, Somnier, Sonia, Sonie, Sonier, Sonne, Sonnie, Sounier.  These Acadians should not be confused with a French Creole family named Songé, also spelled Sogny, Songi, Songy, Sonsi, and Sonsy, and the aristocratic French Creoles named Soniat Duffosat, also spelled Sognac, Sonac, and Soniac. 

Sources:  Arsenault, Généalogie, 1285-88, 1569-72, 2585-88; BRDR, 1a(rev.), 2, 3, 4, 5 (rev.); Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 402-03; Hébert, D., South LA Records, vol. 1; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A, 1-B, 2-A, 2-B, 2-C, 3; NOAR, vols. 1, 2; White, DGFA-1, 1446-51; White, DGFA-1 English, 304-05.  

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, 10, calls her Anne SAULNIER veuve Basil BABIN; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2405, calls her Marie-Anne SAULNIER; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:719, her succession record, calls her Anne, widow of Michel CORMIER, & lists her 2 surviving daughters by Basil BABIN, Lizette age 12, & Marie[-Josèphe] age 9.   See also Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 255.

Jehn calls her Marie SULNIER in her marriage to Basil BABIN & then calls her Anne as a widow in LA. 

She probably met Michel CORMIER of the Opelousas District thru her sister Marguerite, who was married to Michel's older brother Joseph.  Anne's succession record says nothing of her son by Michel CORMIER, fils.  

02.  Not in Wall of Names.  See Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 128.

Was he a non-Acadian SAUNIER?  Was there such a thing in LA there & then?

03.  Wall of Names, 25, calls her Francoise SAULNIER; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:873 (Opel. Ch.: v.1, p.117), her death/burial record, calls her Francoise SONNIER, "wid. of Pierre THIBAUDAU," says she died "at age 84 yrs.," but does not give her parents' names.    

04.  Wall of Names, 25, calls him Jean SAULNIER; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2586, says he was born in 1741; BRDR, 2:655, 678 (SJA-1, 44), his marriage record, calls him Jan SOGNIÉ, gives his & his wife's parents' names, says both his parents were deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witness to his marriage was ____ CANTRELLE.  See also Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 165, 178; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 117.   

The Cabanocé censuses of 1766 & 1769 disagree with Arsenault's birth date for him. 

Bourgeois, p. 161, lists him in VERRET's Company, Cabanoce Militia, but Voorhies, J., p. 117, followed here, places him in JUDICE's Company. 

His full name was Jean-Baptiste, verified by a number of primary sources.  For example:  the baptismal record of daughter Marie-Marguerite, dated 25 Oct 1778, in BRDR, 2:679 (SJA-1, 58), calls him Jean-Baptiste SONNIER & his wife Marie-Anne ROY.  The marriage record of daughter Marguerite, dated 1 Aug 1798, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:721-22 (SM Ch.: v.4, #156), in which he is listed as a witness, also calls him Jean-Baptiste SONIER, as so does the marriage record of daughter Marie, dated  20 Aug 1800, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:722 (SM Ch.: v.4, #209).

05.  Wall of Names, 25, calls him Joseph SAULNIER; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:720 (SM Ch.: v.1, p.67), one of his marriage record, calls him Joseph SONNIER, gives his & his wife's parents' names, calls his parents Étienne SONIER & Anne DESBOY, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Silvain SONNIER, Joseph GRANGER, & Aman THIBAUDAU; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:720 (SM Ch.:  Folio B-1), another marriage record, calls him Joseph SONNIER, gives his & his wife's parents' names, calls his parents Chenne SONNIER & Anne DESROY, "Parishioners of Opelousas," says her parents were "Parishioners of this parish of Atakapas," & says the witnesses to his marriage were Silvein SONNIER, Joseph GRANGÉ, & Aman THIBODO; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-B:859 (GC Ch.: v.1, p.4, #30), his death/burial record, calls him Joseph SONNIER, père (Sr.), says he died "at Karancros (Carencro) ... at age 60 years," that he was buried next day "in the St. Charles church cemetery," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 128. 

The brochure that accompanies the Robert Dafford Mural, Acadian Memorial, St. Martinville, says that he "Arrived in Louisiana as a young boy, which is how he is depicted on the mural.  He married Marie THIBODEAU."  It also says that he arrived in 1766, but his presence in the Opelousas militia census of 1766, taken in the spring, shows that he arrived in 1765; the shipload of Acadians that reached LA in 1766 did not reach New Orleans until late Sep, & they came from MD, not Halifax via St.-Domingue. 

Despite what one of his marriage records says, there is no evidence that his parents also came to LA.  He & his siblings probably were orphans when they came to LA.

06.  Wall of Names, 25, calls him Joseph SAULNIER; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2586, says he was born in 1740; BRDR, 2:154, 678 (SJA-1, 41), the record of his second marriage, calls him Joseph SONIER (SONNIER), "widower of Mary LANDRY," calls his wife Marie BREAU, "widow of Amand RICHARD," does not give his or her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Jean-Baptiste GODIN & Joseph MELANZON; BRDR, 3:800 (SJA-4, 36a), his death/burial record, calls him Joseph SONNIER, "age about 82 yrs., nat. Acadia," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  See also Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 169. 

Arsenault says that his second wife was Marie THIBODEAUX & that they were married in c1778.  He is wrong on 2 counts:  the second wife was Marie BREAUX, & they were married in 1777.  The Joseph SONNIER who married Marie THIBODEAUX was the one who settled at Opelousas. 

07.  Wall of Names, 25, calls her Madeleine SAULNIER; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2586, says she was born in c1758 & married Joseph CHRÉTIEN in c1779; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:721 (Opel. Ch.: v.1, p.46), her death/burial record, calls her Mrs. Joseph CHRÉTIEN & Madeleine SOIGNE in a marginal note, but does not give her parents' names.  See also De Ville, Southwest LA Families, 1777, 26. 

Contrary to Arsenault's marriage date of c1779, the Opelousas census of 1777 shows that they probably had been married years before, perhaps in the late 1760s.  Their oldest child was 10 in 1777--unless this was a daughter of his by a previous marriage, but where is the record that says he was married before?

08.  Wall of Names, 15, calls her Marguerite SAULNIER; Arsenault, Généalogie, 1570, does not list her among the children of her parents, nor does he give her parents' names in his listing for Joseph CORMIER on p. 2464.  However, Stephen White comes thru for us by listing her parents' names at <umoncton.ca/etudeacadiennes/centre/white/cormier.html>.  

09.  Wall of Names, calls her Margueritte SAULNIER.  

10.  Wall of Names, 36 (pl. 9R), calls her Marguerite SOLNIER, & lists her with her husband & no children; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 82, Family No. 155, calls her Marguerite SAULNIER, says she was born in c1758 "in the Parish of Saint-Joseph in Acadie [Rivière-aux-Canards?]," gives her parents' names, details her marriage, including her husband's parents' names, says he was born in c1761 but gives no birthplace, that he was a carpenter & a resident of St.-Martin-de-Chantenay at the time of their marriage, & details their voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 52-53, calls her Marguerite SOLNIER, sa [Guillaume HAMON's] feme, age 27, on the embarkation list, & Marguerite SAUNIER, his [Guillame HAMONT's] wife, age 27, on the complete listing, says she was in 39th Family aboard Le St.-Rémi with her husband & no children, & details her marriage, including her & her husband's parents' names, & says they were married in 1780 but gives no place of marriage.    

The question must be asked:  How could any Acadian have been born in a Minas settlement in 1758, 3 years after the British sent the Acadians who lived there into exile?  She probably was born on Île St.-Jean or Île Royale after her parents escaped from Minas.  

Was she deported to France in 1758-59?  Where did she land there?  Her family is found in none of the Robichaux studies of the Acadians at St.-Malo, Châtellerault, & Nantes in France.  Acadian SAUNIERs do appear in the church records of Boulogne-sur-Mer & Rochefort, however, but none are from her immediate family.  See Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 402-03. 

It was most unusual for an Acadian couple to remain childless.  

11.  Wall of Names, 44, calls her Marie-Joseph SAULNIER.  

12.  Wall of Names, 22, calls her Marie-Madeleine SAULNIER.  

13.  Not in Wall of Names.   Robichaux, Acadians in Chatellerault, 23, Family No. 47, calls her Marie-Marguerite SAULNIER, says she was born in c1742 but gives no birthplace, does not give her parents' names, calls her husband Antoine BOUTARY, does not give his parents' names, says he was born in Sep 1729 at Querci, France, that he was a seaman & carpenter who "went to Acadia in 1756 where he married," that they married in 1756 "in Acadie," but gives no specific place of marriage, includes the death/burial record of daughter Marie-Josèphe BOUTARY, born in c1765 but gives no birthplace, died age 10 & buried 29 Jan 1775, Pouthume, Châtellerault, France, & details the family's participation in the Leigne-les-bois settlement in Poitou in the early 1770s; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 33-34, Family No. 62, calls her Marie SAULNIER, says she was born in c1745 but gives no birthplace, does not give her parents' names, calls her husband Antoine BOUTARY, says he was born in c1735 but gives no birthplace nor his parents' names, says he was a seaman, that they married in c1768 but gives no place of marriage, includes the birth/baptismal & death/burial records of daughter Anne-Marie-Claudine BOUTARY, died age 2 & buried 2 Feb 1776, St.-Nicolas, Nantes, son Antoine BOUTARY, baptized 1 Mar 1778, St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, & son Guillaume BOUTARY, baptized 10 Apr 1785, St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, & details the family's participation in the Leigne-les-bois settlement in Poitou in the early 1770s as well as its voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 50-51, calls her Marie SOLNIER, sa [Antoine BOUTARI's] feme, age 37, on the embarkation list, & Marie SAUNIER, his [Antoine BOUTARY's] wife, age 37, on the complete listing, says she was in the 38th Family aboard Le St.-Rémi with her husband, Antoine BOUTARI/Antoine BOUTARY, charpentier/carpenter, age 48, & 3 sons, Auguste BOUTARY, age 9, Antoine BOUTARY, age 7, & Guillaume BOUTARY, a nursling, details her marriage, says they were married in c1756 but gives no place of marriage, that son Guillaume BOUTARY was baptized in 1785 but gives no place of baptism, & son Antoine [BOUTARY] was baptized in 1778 but gives no place of baptism.  

Her husband & their 3 sons are also not in Wall of Names, but the embarkation list of Le St.-Rémi makes it clear that they came to LA with her in 1785. 

Was her husband an Acadian?  I have not found the BOUTARY family in Arsenault or White.  However, the statement in Robichaux's study of the Acadians in Châtellerault--that he "went to Acadia in 1756 where he married"--qualifies him as an Acadian as defined here--that is, anyone who lived in Greater Acadia before or during Le Grand Dérangement of the 1750s.  But note that in his study of the Acadians in Nantes (albeit an earlier study that the one for Châtellerault), Robichaux says they married in c1768.  If one accepts the 1742 birth and 1756 marriage from the Châtellerault study, the question must be asked:  Would an Acadian family have let their 14-year-old daughter marry a sailor?  If one accepts the 1745 birth and 1768 marriage from the Nantes study, one can conclude that she probably married Antoine in one of the French ports where her Acadian family had found refuge.  Also, her age at the time of her marriage in 1768--that is, 23--is more realistic than the age she would have been if she had married in 1756 in Acadia.  Until I find other evidence to the contrary, I will label Antoine BOUTARY a French Creole here along with the other French men & women who came to LA in 1785 with the Acadians living in France.  

Infant Guillaume may not have survived the crossing, but brother Antoine did.  He married Marie-Madeleine HÉBERT of St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, daughter of Étienne HÉBERT & Marie-Madeleine BREAUX.  Antoine's wife was an infant when she came to LA aboard L'Amitié in 1785.  They married 8 Jan 1804 at Assumption.  See their marriage record in BRDR, 3:151, 419 (ASM-2, 89).  What happened to his older brother Auguste?  

14.  Wall of Names, 25, calls him Olivier SAULNIER, & lists him with brother Sylvain; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2585-86, Sylvain SAULNIER's profile in the LA section, calls him Olivier SAULNIER, says he was born in 1724, says his parents were Pierre [SAULNIER] & Madeleine COMEAUX of Petitcoudiac, that he was Sylvain's brother, says he (Olivier) never married, & that his succession record was dated 10 Aug 1775 at St.-Martinville; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:722-23 (LSAR: Opel.: 1775-25), his succession record, dated 10 Aug 1775, calls him Olivier SONNIER, "brother to Silvain SAUGNIER," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  See also Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 249; De Ville, Southwest LA Families, 1777, 24.

Was it unusual for a succession record to be filed when the person was still alive?  According to the Opelousas census of May 1777, Olivier was still very much alive in Aug 1775.

15.  Wall of Names, 25, calls him Sylvain SAULNIER, & lists him with brother Olivier; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2585-86, calls him Sylvain SAULNIER, says he was born in c1736, says his parents were Pierre SONNIER & Madeleine COMEAUX of Petitcoudiac, that he married Madeleine BOURG in c1760 but gives no place of marriage nor her parents', lists his children as Marie-Louise, born in 1762, Gertrude in 1764, Sylvain in 1766, Catherine in 1770, Céleste in 1772, Joseph in 1776, Étienne in 1779 but died in 1781, Charles was born in 1781, & Lufroy in 1788, but gives no birthplaces, mentions brother Olivier's Aug 1775 succession record, saying Olivier apparently never married & that they shared parents, says Sylvain was living at Pointe-Coupée in 1772, & that he settled at Opelousas; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:663 (Opel. Ch.: v.1, p.49), his death/burial record, calls him Silvain SONNIER, but does not give his parents' names, mention a wife, or give his age at the time of his death.  See also Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 249; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 128; De Ville, Southwest LA Families, 1777, 26. 

Family historians say that Sylvain may have been the son of Étienne SONNIER & his first wife Jeanne COMEAUX instead of Pierre SONNIER & Madeleine COMEAUX, as Arsenault claims.  Unfortunately, none of the Opelousas baptismal records for Sylvain's children in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vol. 1-A, include any of the children's grandparents' names.  

If Arsenault's marriage record for Sylvain & Madeleine is wrong, which, according Wall of Names, it is, then how does one account for the ages of their children in the Opelousas censuses of 1771 & 1777, one of whom, son Joannisee, may have been born in c1763?  However, The Opelousas census of 1766 is clear that there was no one else in Sylvain's household.  Certainly Madeleine & any of their children would have been counted in that census if they had been married in c1760 &, according to Arsenault, had as many as 3 children by then.  I am following Wall of Names here. 

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

Arsenault's having him at Pointe Coupée in 1772 is probably a misinterpretation of church records.  See the baptismal records of son Sylvain, fils, dated 19 Apr 1771, & daughter Céleste, dated 11 Jul 1772, in BRDR, 2:678, 679 (PCP, pt. 2, 106s; PCP-2, pt. 2, 137a).  Pointe Coupée priests served as missionaries to the Opelousas District in the 1760s & 1770s, before Opelousas got a church of its own in 1776.  That is why the baptisms & marriages of many Opelousas residents were recorded at Pointe Coupée, not Opelousas.  Atakapas, south of Opelousas, had a parish of its own from 1765, but the remote settlement often had no priest in the late 1760s & 1770s, so that area, too, depended on the good services of the Pointe Coupée missionaries. 

16.  Not in Wall of Names.  NOAR, 2:187, 257 (SLC, M2, 38), her marriage record, calls her Marguerite SOGNY, calls her husband Jean-Baptiste-Emanuel (Emmanuel) LESCOSSIER, "native of (*), Diocese of Rheims," gives her & his parents' names, calls her parents Pierre [SOGNY] & Madeleine HACHEZ, & says the witnesses to her marriage were ____ TOITON & ____ BRIOU. 

Y'all missed another one.  There was a SOGNY family in South LA, but this Marguerite SOGNY's parents' names gives it away--she was an Acadian SAULNIER/SONNIER, the sister of 2 Acadian immigrants from Petitcoudiac who came to LA from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765.  Her brothers settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques.  Did she follow them there, or remain in New Orleans?  Was she the Marguerite SONNIER who married Nicolas LAYUR at St.-Jacques in June 1787?  See BRDR, 2:679 (SJA-2, 4); that recording priest did not bother to give the parents' names.

Was she the Marguerite SAUNIER/SAUNNIER who married French Creole Nicolas LAHURE/LAHURRE/LAYUR?  See church records in BRDR, 3:472-73, 812-13; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:905. 

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