Return to Previous Page 
Retour à la Page Précédente

The Acadians who were exiled to France 
The Acadians exiled to France from Louisbourg and Ile St-Jean 

[Source: http://www.acadian-home.org/acadians-to-france.html , © Lucie LeBlanc Consentino Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home, Copyright Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home - 
Note - This copy has been reformatted for this site]

Where Did They Go? 

Lists of names exist regarding the Acadians of Louisbourg and Ile St-Jean who were repatriated to France in the Treaty signed about 1757 at the fall of Louisbourg between Britain and France. However, until I can find those lists so as to post them to this site, I have posted this following information from Father Patrice Gallant when he went to France in search of what had happened to the Acadians who had been exiled to France. 

First of all, he queried as to what had become of all and any Acadians when they went to France and then what had become of them after that. This, whether they went to France as exiles from Louisbourg and Ile St-Jean, or if they had been expatriated to France at the Treaty of Paris in 1767. What he found was the following information: 

• 1. 1,500 of the Acadians who had been captured in Mines (Grand-Pré) in 1755 had been sent to the New England Colonies and then onto England where they would have arrived in 1757. After the Treaty of Paris, they went to France and were predominantly settled at Morlaix. In Morlaix there are three parishes: St. Martin, St. Mathieu and St. Mélaine. Most of the Acadians were placed especially at St. Martin on Bourret Street. Father Gallant found 86 acts involving the Acadians the first one being a marriage celebrated on 7 November 1763 and the last on 19 January 1780. At St. Mathieu, he found 22 acts from 21 July 1763 to 9 August 1770; there were no Acadian records following that date. At St. Mélaine, there were only 4 acts - the first was the baptism of Anastasie-Prudente, daughter of Mathurin Granger and Geneviève Terriot, born and privately baptized in England. 
    

• 2. The second group of Acadians to be exiled were captured at Cap-Sable, that is to say, at Pubnico; taken to Halifax, they were then expedited to Europe on 9 November 1759. In Cherbourge, France, Father Gallant was able to find 246 Acadian records that were of greatest interest; the first, a marriage on 29 May 1759 and the last, a baptism on 8 February 1775. 

The Acadians arrived on at least two ships: the first on 30 November 1758 coming from Louisbourg transported the inhabitants of Ile St-Jean; the second ship, on 14 January 1760 came from Halifax where it had departed on 9 November 1759. Two children were born aboard this ship: Louis-Marie Dubois, born 16 December 1759 on the ship that had left from Halifax and disembarked on 14 January 1760 - he had been validly baptized aboard the ship by Joseph Landry. Isidore Viger, born 20 December 1759 on the British transport that arrived 14 January 1760. Another, Joseph-David Hébert was born at Halifax on 27 October 1759, just prior to departure. Recorded in the registers from 15 to 30 January 1760, were 8 baptisms, born either at Cap Sable, at Halifax or aboard ship; one was born 8 December 1758; another was 8 months old. On 26 January 1760, at the end of the same year, more than 40 deaths were recorded of the Acadians who had arrived on this ship. 

On the arrival of an earlier shipload of Acadians from Cap-Sable, the first Acadian burial was that of Marie Doucet, daughter of Joseph and Marguerite Moulaison, on 15 February 1759. She was a native of Ste-Anne au Cap Sable, 2-1/2 years of age. That means that this ship would have left Cap Sable about the end of 1758. 
  

• 3. The third ship to arrive came from Ile St-Jean. Many writers have said that nine vessels deported the Acadians from Ille St-Jean (Prince Edward Island) to France, from the Fall of 1758 to the Spring of 1759. Thus, over 2,200 Acadians would have been deported. According to rameau de St-Père "Une Colonie Féodale", page 224, a ship entered the port of Boulogne, taken there by a storm on 26 December 1758 and it had come from Ile St-Jean with 179 passengers aboard. 
    

• On 30 November 1758, another ship arrived at Cherbourg. Many records mention the following:

"Transferred to France because the English gained control of Louisbourg, living in this city since the St-André of the last year". There was a marriage on 2 June 1759 between Léonard Giraud, surgeon, and Madeleine Boudrot, daughter of deceased Pierre Boudrot and Marie Douaron, "deceased during the trip from Louisbourg to France". This ship had remained at sea off Plymouth for three months with its 130 passengers having hardly any food and dying of thirst. At Cherbourg, on 12 August 1760 Joseph Deveau married "widow Marie De la Croix who died at Plymouth where her body was thrown into the sea". During 1759, there were 30 Acadian burials at Cherbourg. 

• However, it is especially St-Malo that received the largest contingency of Acadians who had been deported from Ile St-Jean. Records in France mention 5 British ships. The Acadians sought refuge in the following locations: 

ST-SERVAN - 700 Acadian records were found here by Father Gallant. It is possible that this is where the greatest number of Acadians could be found. From 31 January 1759 to 27 July of the same year, there were 44 burials. The first burial on 31 January was that of Hélène Leblanc, child of Claude and Marie-Josèphe, 8 years of age "having arrived a short time ago from Louisbourg". In the following records, February 1759, the deceased people are said "to have arrived on the last transports". The dead were said to have come from either Ile St-Jean or from Louisbourg. The last records on the Acadians were at the end of 1773. 

ST-ENOGAT - Here all of the Acadians were from Ile St-Jean (Prince Edward Island). 

ST-SULIAC - There were some records on the Acadians who had been here from May 1759 through 29 October 1773. The following places received a fewer Acadians and those who went to these locations were there for a very short time... 

PLEURTUIT - Records from 7 August 1759 to 27 May 1767. 

CHATEAUNEUF - Records here show mostly burials at this location (16) from 15 April 1759 through 13 September 1761. 

ST-MELOIR DES ONDES - 12 records dated 30 June 1761 to 8 December 1768. ST-COULOMB - 23 records from 4 April 1760 through 22 May 1771. 

PARAME - Only 6 records at this location however, the following one is quite interesting. On 17 June 1760, Nicolas Bouchard, native of Canada, St. Thomas Parish, Québec, son of deceased Nicolas and Anne Sylvain, widower of Marie Chiasson, married Cécile Caissy, daughter of deceased Jean and Cécile Hébert, widow of Pierre Grossin, originally from Beauséjour; Pierre Grossin died at the hospital of St-Malo. Also included in this report was a "Certificate from Sir Commissioner of the Marine attesting to the death of Marie Chiasson on the report of passengers disembarked from the five english packboats who saw the said Marie Chiasson die on the transport". (Source: Tanguay, vol II. page 366: marriage of Nicolas Bouchard and Marie-Anne Chiasson, daughter of François and Anne Doucet, at St-thomas de Montmagny on 10 October 1746.) 

PLOUER - 169 records from 12 March 1760 through 9 December 1774. 

PLEUDIHEN - 222 records from 14 December 1759 through 17 April 1774. 

PLESLIN - 38 records from 28 June 1760 through 11 February 1774. 

TRIGAVOU - 65 records from 6 March 1760 through 26 February 1774. 

PLOUBALAY - 15 records from 3 May 1759 through 9 May 1768. Interesting details here on the first burials. Burials on 3 May 1759 of François Robichaud "husband of Agathe Turpin, fugitive of Acadia because of the invasion of the British and relegated to this parish, 62 years of age, died from smallpox, a sickness unheard of in Acadia". Present at the burial, Jean-Pierre Robichaud, her son. Burial on 5 May 1759 of "Joseph Robichaud, 13 years of age, son of François, transported to St-Malo by the British, after they overtook Cap Breton, died of smallpox". On 7 May there were two more burials with the same details. 

LANGROLAY - only 5 reports from 18 August 1760 through 28 March 1763. 

TREMEREUX- 29 reports from 1 May 1762 through 12 December 1775.

What Became of the Acadians? 

I. TO THE FRENCH COLONIES IN GUYANA 

Lauvrière Tragédie d'un Peuple, Vol. II, page 201, cites a detailed census of Sinnamari, in Guyana, dated 1 May 1765. On this census there were 138 Acadians of which 62 truly originated from Acadia, 50 from Louisbourg and 26 from Ile St-Jean. The Rochefort Census of 8 January 1770 gives interesting details on these Acadians, in as much as it helps to establish the history of several families who were brought from Ile St-Jean to Louisbourg then transported from Louisbourg to England and from England to France, then from France to Guyana in 1764; then returned to France once again in 1765. It would seem that all of this was accomplish with women and children as well. (Rameau, page 227) 

II. AT BELLE-ILE-EN-MER 

Another attempt with serious results was the installation of the Acadians at Belle-Isle-En-Mer. Father Le Loutre worked with a great deal of zeal so that the 78 families numbering 400 persons in November 1765 would be successful; most of these Acadians were coming from Morlaix and a few from St-Malo. 

On 12 January 1767, the Rennes Parliament stipulated to the parish rectors of Belle-Isle that they were, in the presence of Father Le Loutre, to make known the state of these immigrants, containing as much as possible, all of the details relative to each individual: the birthplace for himself, for his wife and for his children; the death dates and the marriage dates. These declarations (which are referred to even today as the Declarations of Belle-Ile-en-Mer) were recorded in a register that still exists today. At the end of the Declarations Register is found a note signed by Father Le Loutrte, containing in substance, the history of these unfortunate families: 

"The Acadians placed on this island were transported by the British to Boston and other British colonies in the month of October 1755; from these colonies, they were trasferred to Old England (versus the New England colonies) and dispersed in different locations in the kingdom, during the year 1756. In 1763, after the peace treaty, they were transported to France on the King's Ships and placed in two ocean ports: Saint-Malo and Morlaix. In 1765, during the month of October, they came to this island by order of Mgr le duc de Choiseul". 

At the Vendée departmental archives at Roche-sur-Yon, in the LANCO records, are found the very precious manuscript on the Acadians at Belle-Isle. 

III. AT POITOU 

On 15 September 1772, a list was drawn up of all of the Acadian families, on the eve of the departure of the Acadians for Poitou. This list consists, at the date indicated above, of 626 families comprising 2,370 persons. There is a supplement to this list that brings the total to 2,563 persons, including those of Belle-Isle. In addition to this 1,500 are destined to go to Poitou; 497 have already left. The first convoy, coming from St-Malo, according to Rameau, would have arrived in 1774. 

This endeavor was a total failure. Except for twent-one families, as of 1775, the Acadians left Poitou for Nantes. M. André Blanchard de La Puye (Vienne) provided Father Patrice Gallant with 250 Acadian records for this time frame. The first contingent left Poitou for Nantes 24 October consisting of 28 families; the second contingent left 15 November 1775 with 62 families; the third contingent left 7 December 1775 with 103 families; the fourth contingent left from 6 through 13 March 1776 with 78 families. In all 271 families left Poitou for Nantes. 

IV. IN LOUISIANA 

These families settled at Nantes, especially in the parish of St-Martin de Chantenay, at a location called the Hermitage; a few settled in the parishes of St-Nicolas, St-Sébastien, St-Léonard and at Paimboeuf, in the region of Saint-Nazaire. There were 292 records at Chantenay from 1776 through 1785. 

Finally, from Nantes, most of these families went to Louisiana. Seven vessels sailed for Louisiana in 1785. These ships are all listed as are the ships' lists on another page of this web site accessible at the sidebar. 371 families totalling 1,633 persons sailed for Louisiana. 

V. TO CANADA 

It is very interesting and most important to know that many Acadian families from the region of St-Malo, in particular from Pleudihen and Plouër, instead of going to Poitou, chose to return to Canada, by passing by Jersey or England. On the list for 1772, it is stated that some of these families escaped to England. What this simply means is that they left without authorization of the French government. In a letter from Lemoyne to the Minister of Bertin, 18 April 1773, it was said the "8 families that had settled at Plouër and Pleudihen deserted and went on to England". Hired by the Robin family, some of them are found in the Gaspésie, others on Ile St-Jean (Prince Edward Island), before going - for the most part - to settle permanently at Cap-Breton. 

• Here is an incomplete list that Father Gallant proferred - Returned to Gaspésie: 

Olivier Bariault, the elder of the Bariaults of Carleton and of St-Louis-de-Kent. His brother Jean-Baptiste and his 4 sisters prefered to go to Poitou and then to Louisiana. 

Michel Bourg: Father Bourg's family. 

Widow of Olivier Daigle: Olivier Daigle died at St-Servan on 3 July 1774; 40 years old. 

Grégoire Daigle, brother of Olivier. 

Simon Henri 

The widow of Pierre Landry 

Jean-Baptiste Lavache (single) 

Marin Leblanc 

Amand Leblanc - brother of Marin 

Joseph Lebland dit Bourquet 

Michel Quessy 

The widow of Joseph Robichaud (Claire LeBlanc) 

Charles Terriot, son of Joseph and Marie Melanson, from Pleudihen, married at Paspébiac 28 February 1808 to Anne Dickson. 

• FAMILIES THAT RETURNED TO ILE ST-JEAN, and to CAP BRETON, especially CHÉTICAMP, and POMQUET on the Nova Scotia peninsula: 

Alexis Doiron 

Josaphat Doiron, son of Alexis Pierre Aucoin Jean Commeau Jean Landry 

Joseph Melanson** 

---------------------------------

[From Mike Melanson: Joseph Melanson did not return to pomquet, he died some time before 1784, his widow remmarried in 1784 and she along with her new husband and sole surviving son Charles Marie Melanson moved to Pomquet, here is their outline and dates: I have a copy of the 1810 census of Pomquet showing Charles and his family: 

Descendants of Elizabeth Broussard 

1 Elizabeth Broussard b: 1749 in Isle St Jean, now: Prince Edward Island d: Aft. 1785 in Pomquet, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia +Joseph Melanson b: 25 October 1747 in Grand Pre, Kings County, Nova Scotia m: 14 January 1772 in Pleudihen, Cotes du Nord, France d: Bef. 1784 in La Coquenais, St. Malo, France Baptised: Grand Pre, Nova Scotia, St. Charles Church Reference #: PGJA Father: Etienne Melanson Mother: Francoise Granger 

2 Joseph Marie Melanson b: 17 November 1772 in La Ville de Cain, France d: 29 March 1780 in La Coquenais, St. Malo, France Baptised: 18 November 1772 Pleudihen, Cotes du Nord, France Burial: 30 March 1780 Pleudihen, Cotes du Nord, France 2 Charles Marie Melanson b: 14 December 1776 in La Coquenais, St. Malo, France d: Aft. 1822 in Pomquet, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia 

.... +Marie Doiron b: Abt. 1778 m: Abt. 1794 in Pomquet, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia d: Aft. 1822 in Pomquet, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia 

*2nd Husband of Elizabeth Broussard: 

. +Jean Cyprien Boudreau b: Abt. 1747 m: 22 November 1784 in Pleudihen, Cotes du Nord, France] 

Mike's web site: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/7961/ 

---------------------------------

Charles Broussard 

Grégoire Maillet 

Pierre Duon 

Germain Boudrot 

Georges Charpentier 

• SOURCE: Father Patrice Gallant in an article written in 1968 in French and translated into English by this webmaster. 

• PLEASE NOTE: 

It is with thanks and great appreciation to the Acadian Artist Nelson Surette, that the background on this page has been used with expressed permission. 

© Lucie LeBlanc Consentino Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home 

http://www.acadian-home.org/acadians-to-france.html 

Copyright Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home

Return to Previous Page 
Retour à la Page Précédente