Pioneers of Acadian Families Who Settled in Louisiana
Please note: The reader must keep in mind that the years of arrival and the origins of the patriarchs of Acadia given in this history come mostly from Arsenault, Généalogie, whose dearth of documentation renders the information not much more than speculation. The arrival dates and origins in White, DGFA-1, based on more careful research, are used when they are available. Arsenault's information is based largely on the research of Ms. Geneviève Massignon, whose findings have been questioned by Acadian historian/genealogist, Rev. Clarence d'Entremont (see his article reprinted in AGE, October 2003, pp. 66-68; May 2004, pp. 31-32). Father d'Entremont reminds us that the Port-Royal church records before 1700, which could have provided the true origins of the Acadian pioneers, were burned, and this information is therefore lost to history. He contends that Ms. Massignon's basic assumption about the origins of the early Acadians--that people with names similar to the early Acadians lived in the area from which the sieur d'Aulnay recruited the first settlers of the colony, particularly Martaizé and La Chaussée in the Loire valley--is a flawed assumption. First, Razilly, not d'Aulnay, recruited the earliest Acadian families; second, the names of these families can be found in other regions of France as well. (See also Clark, Acadia, 397-400, for a discussion of Acadian origins.)
All of this is well and good; history perpetually corrects itself. But this historian has a contention of his own. What is most important in understanding the history of the Acadian people is not their origins but their common experience. No matter where they came from in France or in Europe (some of them were not even French), they were forged by the American experience into a people who were unique in all the world. Even if they had come from every region of France and from half the other nations of Europe, by the time the British scattered them to the winds, they were no longer French but ... Acadian.
Please note also: The family name spellings used in this history are the ones preferred in Louisiana today based on phone books and other sources such as Hébert, D., South LA Records; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records; the Baton Rouge Diocese Catholic Church records; & West, Atlas of LA Surnames. On this page, however, to do justice to the context, the family names are spelled according to White, DGFA-1, which uses the original French/Acadian spellings that often differ from those used in Louisiana. Keep in mind also that there were many families who lived in Acadia from 1636 until Le Grand Dérangement of the 1750s that did not end up in Louisiana. (See Arsenault, Généalogie; & White, DGFA-1.)
*
The question marks in the charts below do not mean that there is no information on the place of origin or initial occupation of the pioneer, only that I have not found that information yet, if it exists. I need a lot of help here from my readers to get rid of these question marks. Please remember that arrival dates are based largely on Arsenault's genealogy, which in most instances is undocumented. See the caveat above. The * following the name of a pioneer in the first list indicates that he can be found in the first Acadian census of 1671. The family names with hyperlinks are the ones that ended up in Louisiana after Le Grand Dérangement of the 1750s. The hyperlink takes you to a family page in my study of the Acadian immigrants in Louisiana, where details of the Acadian pioneer's life and the history of his family can be found.
Before 1671
Pioneer/Family Arrived in Acadia Place of Origin Occupation Antoine BABIN* by 1662 La Chaussée south of Loudun? farmer Emmanuel LE BORGNE de BÉLISLE, sieur du Coudray c1648, 1651 or 1652 native of Calais, moved to La Rochelle wealthy merchant, agent of Acadian governor d'Aulnay Antoine BELLIVEAU* by 1645 La Chaussée? laborer Clément BERTRAND* 1642; no children La Chaussée? carpenter Jean BLANCHARD* by 1642 ? farmer Jacques BLOU/BELOU* by 1669 ? cooper Michel BOUDROT* by 1639 Cougnes, near La Rochelle? ? Antoine BOURG* c1636 Martaizé south of Loudun farmer Jacques dit Jacob BOURGEOIS* 1641, aboard St.-Francois Couperans-en-Brie army officer; surgeon Vincent BREAU* 1652 La Chaussée? farmer Vincent BRUN* c1636; back in 1648 La Chaussée? laborer Guyon CHIASSON dit La Vallée 1666 La Rochelle ? CLÉMENT VINCENT born Port-Royal, c1674; settled Pigiguit son of Pierre VINCENT farmer Pierre COMEAU* 1632, La Hève; Port-Royal, 1636 ? cooper Robert CORMIER 1644, Cape Breton Island; Port-Royal, 1650?; returned to France, 1650s? La Rochelle master ship's carpenter Jehan/Jean CORPORON* c1668 or 1670 ? laborer Savinien de COURPON, sieur de La Tour ?, dead by 1671; no children Nantes & La Rochelle gentleman navigator Pierre CYR or SIRE* by 1668 or 1670 ? gunsmith or armorer Olivier DAIGLE* 1663 ? farmer Philippe Mius D'ENTREMONT* c1651 Cherbourg, Normandy officer, associate of Charles La Tour Germain DOUCET, sieur de La Verdure 1632, La Hève; Port-Royal, 1636 Couperans or Conflans-en-Brie east of Paris captain at arms Abraham DUGAS* 1640 Chouppes, south of La Chaussée gunsmith Michel Dupeux dit DUPUIS* by 1664 La Chaussée? farmer Michel de FOREST* 1659 Leyden, Holland probably a soldier in the English service Jean GAUDET* c1636 Martaizé? farmer François GAUTROT* c1636 Martaizé? farmer François GIROUARD dit La Varanne* 1640 La Chaussée? laborer, farmer Antoine GOUGEON* by 1654 ? laborer Laurent GRANGER* 1659 Plymouth, England or New England sailor in the English service François GUÉRIN by 1659 Martaizé? ? Pierre GUILBEAU* by 1668 ? farmer Antoine HÉBERT* 1640, brother of Étienne La-Haye-Descartes, Touraine? farmer, later a cooper Étienne HÉBERT 1640, brother of Antoine La-Haye-Descartes, Touraine? farmer Jean LABAT dit Le Marquis* by 1668 or 1671 ? laborer Amand or Armand LALLOUE, sieur de Rivedu or Rivedon* by 1646 ? seigneur of Cap-Nègre René LANDRY l'aîné* 1640 La Chaussée? farmer René LANDRY le jeune by 1659 La Chausée? farmer Pierre LANOUE* 1667 ? cooper Daniel LE BLANC* 1645 Martaizé? farmer Pierre LEJEUNE dit Briard by 1650 Brie region ? Pierre MARTIN* 1636, aboard St.-Jehan St.-Germain de Bourgueil, Loire valley farmer Barnabé MARTIN* by 1666 ? ? Pierre MELANSON dit La Verdure 1657 ?, French Huguenot soldier in English service Pierre MORIN dit Boucher* c1654 or 1661 Normandy laborer François PELLERIN* by 1664 ? farmer Claude PETITPAS, sieur de La Fleur* c1645 ? laborer, clerk, notary Philippe PINET* born Port-Royal, 1654 or 1655 ? ? Pierre PITRE* 1659 probably Flanders edge tool maker; in English service? Jean POIRIER 1641, aboard St.-Francois ? fisherman Guillaume POULET* by 1671 ? ship captain Jacques Le PRINCE by 1671 ? ? Michel RICHARD dit Sansoucy* 1652 Saintonge soldier with LeBorgne René RIMBAUT/RIMBAULT* by 1642 ? laborer Étienne ROBICHAUD* by c1663 ? laborer ROGER dit Jean Quessy* 1665 Ireland soldier in English service François SAVOIE* 1643 Martaizé? farmer Jean THÉRIOT* 1637 Martaizé? farmer Pierre THIBODEAU* 1654 Marans, eastern Poitou? soldier, perhaps officer, with LeBorgne Guillaume TRAHAN* 1636, aboard St.-Jehan Montrueil-Bellay, Anjou; Bourgueil edge tool maker Pierre VINCENT* by c1663 ? farmer 60 pioneers/57 total surnames/47 Acadian surnames to LA 1671-1700s
Many new families came to the colony after the first census was taken in 1671, the first of them aboard the L'Oranger out of La Rochelle in the spring of that year. In the years that followed, the French officials at Port-Royal ordered more censuses of the colony to be taken--in 1678 (Port-Royal only), 1686, 1693, 1695 (Rivière St.-Jean area only), 1698, 1700, 1701, 1703, 1707, and 1714. These censuses revealed that some of the colonists who arrived in Acadia after 1671 stayed at Port-Royal either as craftsmen or farmers, filling the crowded river valley with their progeny. Others, probably the majority of them, moved on to other settlements, especially in the Minas Basin:
Pioneer/Family Arrived in Acadia Place of Origin Occupation Louis ALLAIN c1685 ? blacksmith, sawmill operator Pierre ALLAIN de La Motte c1685 Mamers, Maine region king's clerk Pierre ARBOUR dit Caraca before 1721, Île St.-Jean ? ? Pierre AROSTEGUY before 1737 Diocese of Bayonne, Gascogne ? Pierre-Claude ARSEMENT by 1722 ? ? Pierre ARSENEAU 1671, aboard L'Oranger Rochefort coastal pilot Martin AUCOIN soon after 1671 Cougnes, near La Rochelle ? Nicolas BABINEAU dit Deslauriers by 1687 ?, brother of Jean ? Jean BABINEAU by 1693 ?, brother of Nicolas ? Nicolas BARRIEAU 1671, aboard L'Oranger ? ? ______ BARTHÉLÉMY ? ? ? Jean BASTARACHE dit Le Basque by 1684 Basque country of southern France ? André Célestin dit BELLEMÈRE c1690 ? blacksmith Martin BENOIT dit Labriere probably 1671, aboard L'Oranger probably Rochefort ? Barthélémy BERGERON dit d'Amboise 1685, Canada; 1696, Acadia Amboise, Indre-en-Loire soldier with sieur d'Iberville Pierre BERGERON by 1742 Craponne, Haute-Loire merchant René BERNARD after 1686 ? ?, with La Valliere to Beaubassin Pierre BERTEAU dit Montory early 1700s ? ? Claude BERTRAND mid-1680s ? ? Jacques BONNEVIE dit Beaumont by 1701 Paris corporal in the King's service Pierre BOUCHER by early 1750s ? ? Jean-Joseph BOUTIN before 1708 ? ? Pierre BRASSAUD by 1691 ? ? Mathieu BRASSEUR dit La Citardy early 1700s ? ? François BROUSSARD by 1678 Anjou? ? Pierre-Alain BUGEAUD 1691 ? surgeon Pierre CARRET by 1702 ? soldier Ignace CARRET dit Saint-Jacques by 1718 ? ? _____ CHAILLOU ? ? ? Jean CLÉMENCEAU before 1703 Bordeaux sergent royal, or army sergeant Louis CLOSSINET dit Dumoulin 1722, Louisbourg; Île St.-Jean Parish of Verrier, Reims carpenter Pierre Cloistre dit CLOUÂTRE before 1722 ? gunsmith Jean COUSIN by 1737, Port-Royal Dol, Brittany ? Yves CROCHET by the 1750s, Port-Toulouse, Île Royale Megrit, Cote-du-Norde, France ? Louis DANTIN by the 1740s, Port-Toulouse, Île Royale ? ? Pierre DAREMBOURG by the 1730s, Île St.-Jean ? ? Jérôme DAROIS by 1698 Paris ? Jean DAVID dit Saint-Michel by 1718, Louisbourg, Île Royale ? master blacksmith Mathieu DE GOUTIN late 1680s ? colonial administrator Joseph DE LA FORESTRIE 1722, Île St.-Jean Angers ? Christophe DELAUNE by 1738, Île St.-Jean Periers, Avranches, Normandy Julien DESROCHES 1731, Île St.-Jean; brother of Louis Carolles, Avranches, Normandy ? Louis DESROCHES 1731, Île St.-Jean; brother of Julien Carolles, Avranches, Normandy ? Jean DOIRON 1671, aboard L'Oranger ? ? DUBOIS ? ? ? Jean-Baptiste DUHON dit Lyonnais by 1713 Lyon notary Jean-Baptiste DUBOIS dit DUMONT by 1710 Montréal carpenter? Claude-Antoine DUPLESSIS by 1736 St.-Jean de St.-Quentin, Noyon, Picardy surgeon Joseph Lacroix dit DUREL by 1730 St.-Denis-Le-Gast, Coutances ? Jean-François FLAN by 1706 Paris "clerk of the fortifications" at Port-Royal Charles FOUQUET 1722, Île St.-Jean St.-Jean de la Roise, Avranches, Normandy ? Pierre GODIN dit Châtillon 1653, Montréal; 1670s, Chignecto Châtillon-sur-Seine carpenter, with La Vallière Jean GOUSMAN by the 1750s St.-Nicolas, Andalusia, Spain seaman or day laborer Joseph GRAVOIS by 1691 ? ? Michel GROSSIN 1727, Île St.-Jean; brother of Pierre Carolles, Avranches, Normandy ? Pierre GROSSIN 1727, Île St.-Jean; brother of Michel Carolles, Avranches, Normandy ? Claude GUÉDRY dit Grivois dit La Verdure soon after 1671 ? ? Jacques GUÉNARD (James Gainer) dit Gaudereau by 1712 Dublin, Ireland English soldier Henri GUILLOT by 1719, brother of René Doix ? René GUILLOT by 1719, brother of Henri Doix ? Michel HACHÉ dit Gallant ?, Canada; 1678, Beaubassin ? ?, with La Vallière _____ HAMON ? ? ? Robert HENRY by 1666, Canada; c1676, Acadia Rouen ? Robert HEUSÉ by 1724, Île St.-Jean Presde, Dole ? Louis HUGON by 1720 Villefagnan, Angouleme ? William Johnson/Guillaume JEANSON 1710 Scotland? British army officer ______ JOSSET ? ? ? Louis-Noël (de?) LABAUVE 1678 ? ? Philippe de St.-Julien LACHAUSSÉE by 1749 France surgeon ______ LAFAYE ? ? ? Louis Chenet or Chesnay dit LA GARENNE by 1697 born Quebec, 1678 ? ______ LAGRESSE ? ? ? Pierre LALANDE dit Blaise des Brousses dit Bonappetit by 1710 Viriat, Bresse, Auvergne soldier René LAMBERT 1678 ? indentured servant to rich widow Philippe LAMBERT by 1712 ? ? Jean LAMOUREUX dit Rochefort by 1693, Plaisance, Newfoundland Rochefort fisherman, soldier ______ LATIER ? ? ? Pierre LAVERGNE by 1702 ? servant to priest, Pere de Breslay Pierre LEBERT dit Jolycoeur by 1714 Paris ? François LEGENDRE before 1751 St.-Malo ? Jacques LÉGER dit La Rosette before 1693 ? drummer, French marines ______ L'ENFANT ? ? ? François LEVRON dit Nantois soon after 1671 Nantes? ? Pierre LIVOIS ? ? ? Vincent LONGUÉPÉE by 1692 ? sailor Louis D'Amours, de Chauffours et de Jemseg, sieur des LOUVIERES 1683 Québec seigneur/proprietor of Jemseg, Rivière St.-Jean ______ MARANT ? ? ? Louis Mezerrolet or MAZEROLLE dit Saint-Louis by 1692 ? ? François MICHEL dit La Ruine by 1686 ? ? Pierre Lemire dit MIRE 1720s Paris ? Gabriel MOLAISON dit Recontre by 1702 Limoges ? Jean MOUTON 1703 Marseille surgeon François MOYSE dit Latreille c1684 Arcasson? ? Jean NAQUIN dit L'Étoile 1690s ? master tailor Laurent NEVEU by 1721, Île St.-Jean Santon, bishopric of La Rochelle ? Pierre NOËL c1725 Acadia ? François NOGUES by 1728 Piriac, bishopric of Nantes ? Pierre OLIVIER by 1718 Parish of St.-Méderic, Paris tailor Charles ORILLON dit Champagne c1703 St.-Thomas de La Flèche, Angers soldier mason Jean OZELET born Plaisance; c1736, Acadia ? ? Michel PART by 1718 ? younger brother of Pierre? Pierre PART dit La Forest before 1707 ? soldier, Port-Royal garrison; blacksmith Guillaume PATRY by 1741, Île St.-Jean St.-Cloud, St.-Malo ? Jean POTIER by 1699 ? ? Joseph PRECIEUX by 1688 Charente ? Jean PRÉJEAN dit Le Breton soon after 1671 Brittany? ? Jacques QUIMINE by 1715 Nantes ? René RASSICOT by 1729 Parish of St.-Jean-Ursin, Coutances ? Jean RENAUD dit Arnaud 1724, Île St.-Jean La Rochelle ? François RICHARD by 1710 Vannes, Brittany ? ______ RITTE ? ? ? Étienne RIVET by 1676 ? ? Jean ROY dit LaLiberté 1670s St.-Malo ? Louis SAULNIER by 1684 ? sailor François SAVARY 1686 ? mason & stone cutter Émilien SEGOILLOT dit Sans-Chagrin Louisbourg; to Île St.-Jean by 1752 St.-Pierre, Autun, Bourgogne ancien sergent de compagnie des troupes de la marine ______ SEMER by 1720, Petitcoudiac ? ? Pierre SURETTE by 1709 La Rochelle sailor Louis-Charles TALBOT 1730s St..-Benoist, Paris probably a merchant André TEMPLÉ by 1751, Port-Toulouse, Île Royale Menibeux, Avranches, Normandy sailor Gabriel-Louis Rousseau de VILLEJOIN by 1708, Plaisance, Newfoundland St.-Honoré, Blois officer des troupes de la marine 122 "pioneers"/110 new Acadian surnames to LA
NOTES
I have found this family in neither Arsenault nor White. For the origin of Pierre, see AGE, October 2004, 64. His marriage record, in which he is called Pierre Arostey, is in BRDR, 1a:10 (SGA-2, 188). See Wall of Names, 9, for his arrival in LA. Evidence of this family's residence at Beauséjour can be found in the marriage record of Anne Arostely to Bernard Capdeville, surgeon of the French ship L'Intelligence, dated 25 Feb 1766, New Orleans, which says that Anne was the daughter of Pierre Arostely and Marie Robichaud and was "native of Beauséjour in Acadia, Diocese of Québec." See NOAR, 2:6, 40 (SLC, B5, 190). The birth record of Marie-Rose Arosteguy, born 17 Aug 1765, baptized the same day at New Orleans, daughter of Pierre Arosteguy & Isabelle Comeau, reveals that this family was an early arrival in LA. See NOAR, 2:7 (SLC, B5, 100). White, DGFA-1, 505, records a Joseph Darosteguy, of the parish of Durogne, bishopric of Bayonne, age 36, at Lorembec, Île Royale (Cape Breton Island) in 1752, but this may not be the same family.
White, DGFA-1, 66, speculates that Nicolas may have been a soldier in Canada before he arrived in Acadia. White does not dispute the claim that Nicolas & Jean were brothers but says that the claim was made by Acadian genealogist Placide GAUDET with no dispensation records to prove it. Jean is found in the 1693 census at Port-Royal but in no previous census. See <acadian-cajun.com/genac1.htm>.
Arsenault, Généalogie, 494, makes the remarkable, undocumented assertion that Robert Cormier was buried at Port-Royal on 12 Feb 1712, which means he would have lived there until he was 101 year old! However, none of the Acadian censuses from 1671 to 1707 lists a Robert Cormier, a Marie Peraud, nor a Jean Cormier anywhere in the colony, only Thomas and his substantial progeny, hence the assertion that Robert and Marie returned to France years before the first Acadian census was taken in 1671. White, DGFA-1, 400, says nothing about Robert's birth or death or even his move to Port-Royal, only that he was a master ship's carpenter from La Rochelle who served a term of service at Fort St.-Pierre, the documentation for which is indisputable.
Germain Doucet's name usually is given as dit La Verdure, but White, DGFA-1, 526, grants him the "sieur de," which makes him a member of the nobility. Arsenault, Généalogie, 506, calls the second Germain Pierre's son, but White, p. 526, shows that he was Pierre's younger brother.
Copyright (c) 2001-21 Steven A. Cormier