15 Wars and Upheavals of the Acadian Population of Canada
Wars and Upheavals of the Acadian Population of Canada
During the War of the Spanish Succession, the British captured Port Royal, the capital of the colony, in a siege. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, which concluded the conflict, ceded the colony to Great Britain while allowing the Acadians to keep their lands. Over the next forty-five years, however, the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During the same period, some also participated in various military operations against the British, and maintained supply lines to the French fortresses of Louisbourg and Fort Beauséjour. As a result, the British sought to eliminate any future military threat posed by the Acadians and to permanently cut the supply lines they provided to Louisbourg by removing them from the area.
Without making distinctions between the Acadians who had been neutral and those who had resisted the occupation of Acadia, the British governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council ordered them to be expelled. In the first wave of the expulsion, Acadians were deported to other British colonies. During the second wave, they were deported to Britain and France, from where they migrated to Louisiana. Acadians fled initially to Francophone colonies such as Canada, the uncolonized northern part of Acadia, Isle Saint-Jean (present-day Prince Edward Island) and Isle Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island). During the second wave of the expulsion, these Acadians were either imprisoned or deported.
Throughout the expulsion, Acadians and the Wabanaki Confederacy continued a guerrilla war against the British in response to British aggression which had been continuous since 1744 (see King George's War and Father Le Loutre's War).
Along with the British achieving their military goals of defeating Louisbourg and weakening the Mi'kmaq and Acadian militias, the result of the Expulsion was the devastation of both a primarily civilian population and the economy of the region. Thousands of Acadians died in the expulsions, mainly from diseases and drowning when ships were lost.
On July 11, 1764, the British government passed an order-in-council to permit Acadians to legally return to British territories, provided that they take an unqualified oath of allegiance.
The American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow memorialized the historic event in his poem about the plight of the fictional character Evangeline, which was popular and made the expulsion well known. According to Acadian historian Maurice Basque, the story of Evangeline continues to influence historic accounts of the deportation, emphasising neutral Acadians and de-emphasising those who resisted the British Empire.
After the British officially gained control of Acadia in 1713, the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of loyalty to become British subjects. Instead, they negotiated a conditional oath that promised neutrality. Some Acadians remained neutral and refused the unconditional oath. The difficulty was partly religious, as the British monarch was the head of the Protestant Church of England and the Acadians were Roman Catholic. They also worried that signing the oath might commit male Acadians to fight against France during wartime, and that it would be perceived by their Mi'kmaq neighbours as an acknowledgement of the British claim to Acadia, putting Acadian villages at risk of attack from Mi'kmaq.
Other Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath because they were anti-British. Various historians have observed that some Acadians were labelled "neutral" when they were not. By the time of the Expulsion of the Acadians, there was already a long history of political and military resistance by Acadians and the Wabanaki Confederacy to the British occupation of Acadia.
The Mi'kmaq and the Acadians were allies through their Catholicism and numerous inter-marriages. While the Acadians were the largest population, the Wabanaki Confederacy, particularly the Mi'kmaq, held the military strength in Acadia even after the British conquest. They resisted the British occupation and were joined on numerous occasions by Acadians. These efforts were often supported and led by French priests in the region. The Wabanaki Confederacy and Acadians fought against the British Empire in six wars, including the French and Indian Wars, Father Rale's War and Father Le Loutre's War, over a period of seventy-five years.
Charles LawrenceIn 1753, French troops from Canada marched south and seized and fortified the Ohio Valley. Britain protested the invasion and claimed Ohio for itself. On May 28, 1754, the war began with the Battle of Jumonville Glen. French Officer Ensign de Jumonville and a third of his escort were killed by a British patrol led by George Washington. In retaliation the French and the Indians defeated the British at Fort Necessity. Washington lost a third of his force and surrendered. Major General Edward Braddock's troops were defeated in the Battle of the Monongahela, and William Johnson's troops stopped the French advance at Lake George.
In Acadia, the primary British objective was to defeat the French fortifications at Beauséjour and Louisbourg and to prevent future attacks from the Wabanaki Confederacy, French and Acadians on the northern New England border. (There was a long history of these attacks from Acadia – see the Northeast Coast Campaigns 1688, 1703, 1723, 1724, 1745, 1746, 1747.)
The British saw the Acadians' allegiance to the French and the Wabanaki Confederacy as a military threat. Father Le Loutre's War had created the conditions for total war; British civilians had not been spared and, as Governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council saw it, Acadian civilians had provided intelligence, sanctuary, and logistical support while others had fought against the British. During Le Loutre's war, to protect the British settlers from attacks along the former border of New England and Acadia, the Kennebec River, the British built Fort Halifax (Winslow), Fort Shirley (Dresden, formerly Frankfurt) and Fort Western (Augusta).
After the British capture of Beauséjour, the plan to capture Louisbourg included cutting trade to the Fortress in order to weaken the Fortress and, in turn, weaken the French ability to supply the Mi'kmaq in their warfare against the British. According to historian Stephen Patterson, more than any other single factor – including the massive assault that eventually forced the surrender of Louisbourg – the supply problem brought an end to French power in the region. Lawrence realized he could reduce the military threat and weaken Fortress Louisbourg by deporting the Acadians, thus cutting off supplies to the fort. During the expulsion, French Officer Charles Deschamps de Boishébert led the Mi'kmaq and the Acadians in a guerrilla war against the British. According to Louisbourg account books, by late 1756 the French had regularly dispensed supplies to 700 natives. From 1756 to the fall of Louisbourg in 1758, the French made regular payments to Chief Jean-Baptiste Cope and other natives for British scalps.
The first wave of the expulsion began on August 10, 1755, with the Bay of Fundy Campaign during the French and Indian War. The British ordered the expulsion of the Acadians after the Battle of Beausejour (1755). The campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand-Pré, Piziquid (Falmouth/Windsor, Nova Scotia) and finally Annapolis Royal.
Deportation of the Acadians, Grand-Pré
On November 17, 1755, George Scott took 700 troops, attacked twenty houses at Memramcook, arrested the remaining Acadians and killed two hundred head of livestock to deprive the French of supplies. Acadians tried to escape the expulsion by retreating to the St. John and Petitcodiac rivers, and the Miramichi in New Brunswick. The British cleared the Acadians from these areas in the later campaigns of Petitcodiac River, Saint John River, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1758.
The Acadians and Mi'kmaq resisted in the Chignecto region and were victorious in the Battle of Petitcodiac (1755). In the spring of 1756, a wood-gathering party from Fort Monckton (former Fort Gaspareaux) was ambushed and nine were scalped. In April 1757, the same band of Acadian and Mi'kmaq partisans raided Fort Edward and Fort Cumberland near present-day Jolicure, New Brunswick, killing and scalping two men and taking two prisoners. July 20, 1757, Mi'kmaq killed 23 and captured two of Gorham's rangers outside Fort Cumberland. In March 1758, forty Acadians and Mi'kmaq attacked a schooner at Fort Cumberland and killed its master and two sailors.
In the winter of 1759, the Mi'kmaq ambushed five British soldiers on patrol while they were crossing a bridge near Fort Cumberland. They were ritually scalped and their bodies mutilated as was common in frontier warfare. During the night of 4 April 1759, a force of Acadians and French in canoes captured the transport. At dawn they attacked the ship Moncton and chased it for five hours down the Bay of Fundy. Although the Moncton escaped, one of its crew was killed and two were wounded.
In September 1756, a group of 100 Acadians ambushed a party of thirteen soldiers who were working outside Fort Edward at Piziquid. Seven were taken prisoner and six escaped back to the fort. In April 1757, a band of Acadian and Mi'kmaq partisans raided a warehouse near Fort Edward, killed thirteen British soldiers, took what provisions they could carry and set fire to the building. Days later, the same partisans raided Fort Cumberland. By November 1756, French Officer Lotbiniere wrote about the difficulty of recapturing Fort Beausejour: "The English have deprived us of a great advantage by removing the French families that were settled there on their different plantations; thus we would have to make new settlements."
The Acadians and Mi'kmaq fought in the Annapolis region. They were victorious in the Battle of Bloody Creek (1757). Acadians being deported from Annapolis Royal on the ship Pembroke rebelled against the British crew, took over the ship and sailed to land. In December 1757, while cutting firewood near Fort Anne, John Weatherspoon was captured by Natives—presumably Mi'kmaq— and was carried away to the mouth of the Miramichi River, from where he was sold or traded to the French, taken to Quebec and was held until late in 1759 and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, when General Wolfe's forces prevailed.
Raid on Lunenburg (1756)
Approximately 55 Acadians, who escaped the initial deportation at Annapolis Royal, are reported to have made their way to the Cape Sable region—which included south western Nova Scotia—from where they participated in numerous raids on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The Acadians and Mi'kmaq raided the Lunenburg settlement nine times over a three-year period during the war. Boishebert ordered the first Raid on Lunenburg (1756). In 1757, the second raid on Lunenburg occurred, in which six people from the Brisson family were killed. The following year, March 1758, there was a raid on the Lunenburg Peninsula at the Northwest Range (present-day Blockhouse, Nova Scotia) when five people from the Ochs and Roder families were killed. By the end of May 1758, most of those on the Lunenburg Peninsula had abandoned their farms and retreated to the protection of the fortifications around the town of Lunenburg, losing the season for sowing their grain.
For those who did not leave their farms, the number of raids intensified. During the summer of 1758, there were four raids on the Lunenburg Peninsula. On 13 July 1758, one person on the LaHave River at Dayspring was killed and another seriously wounded by a member of the Labrador family.
The next raid happened at Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia on 24 August 1758, when eight Mi'kmaq attacked the family homes of Lay and Brant. They killed three people in the raid, but were unsuccessful in taking their scalps, a common practice for payment from the French.
Two days later, two soldiers were killed in a raid on the blockhouse at LaHave, Nova Scotia. On 11 September, a child was killed in a raid on the Northwest Range. Another raid happened on 27 March 1759, in which three members of the Oxner family were killed.
The last raid happened on 20 April 1759 at Lunenburg, when the Mi'kmaq killed four settlers who were members of the Trippeau and Crighton families.
Major Jedidiah Preble
The Cape Sable campaign involved the British removing Acadians from present-day Shelburne County and Yarmouth County. In April 1756, Major Jedidiah Preble and his New England troops, on their return to Boston, raided a settlement near Port La Tour and captured 72 men, women and children. In the late summer of 1758, Major Henry Fletcher led the 35th regiment and a company of Gorham's Rangers to Cape Sable. He cordoned off the cape and sent his men through it. One hundred Acadians and Father Jean Baptistee de Gray surrendered, while about 130 Acadians and seven Mi'kmaq escaped. The Acadian prisoners were taken to Georges Island in Halifax Harbour.
En route to the St. John River Campaign in September 1758, Moncton sent Major Roger Morris of the 35th Regiment, in command of two men-of-war and transport ships with 325 soldiers, to deport more Acadians. On October 28, Moncton's troops sent the women and children to Georges Island. The men were kept behind and forced to work with troops to destroy their village. On October 31, they were also sent to Halifax. In the spring of 1759, Joseph Gorham and his rangers arrived to take prisoner the remaining 151 Acadians. They reached Georges Island with them on June 29. November 1759 saw the deportation to Britain of 151 Acadians from Cape Sable who had been prisoners on George's Island since June. In July 1759 on Cape Sable, Captain Cobb arrived and was fired upon by 100 Acadians and Mi'kmaq.
The second wave of the expulsion began with the French defeat at the Siege of Louisbourg (1758). Thousands of Acadians were deported from Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island) and Île Royale (Cape Breton). The Île Saint-Jean Campaign resulted in the largest percentage of deaths of the deported Acadians. The sinking of the ships Violet (with about 280 persons aboard) and Duke William (with over 360 persons aboard) marked the highest numbers of fatalities during the expulsion. By the time the second wave of the expulsion had begun, the British had discarded their policy of relocating the Acadians to the Thirteen Colonies, and had begun deporting them directly to France. In 1758, hundreds of Île Royale Acadians fled to one of Boishebert's refugee camps south of Baie des Chaleurs.
The Petitcodiac River Campaign was a series of British military operations that occurred from June to November 1758 to deport the Acadians who either lived along the river or had taken refuge there from earlier deportations. Benoni Danks and Gorham's Rangers carried out the operation. Contrary to Governor Lawrence's direction, New England Ranger Danks engaged in frontier warfare against the Acadians. On July 1, 1758, Danks began to pursue the Acadians on the Petiticodiac. They arrived at present day Moncton and Danks' Rangers ambushed about thirty Acadians who were led by Joseph Broussard (Beausoleil). The Acadians were driven into the river where three of them were killed and scalped, and the others were captured. Broussard was seriously wounded. Danks reported that the scalps were Mi'kmaq and received payment for them. Thereafter, he went down in local lore as "one of the most reckless and brutal" of the Rangers.
Colonel Robert Monckton led a force of 1,150 British soldiers to destroy the Acadian settlements along the banks of the Saint John River until they reached the largest village of Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas (Fredericton, New Brunswick) in February 1759. Monckton was accompanied by New England Rangers led by Joseph Goreham, Captain Benoni Danks, Moses Hazen and George Scott. The British started at the bottom of the river, raiding Kennebecais and Managoueche (City of St. John), where they built Fort Frederick. Then they moved up the river and raided Grimross (Gagetown, New Brunswick), Jemseg, and finally reached Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas.
Contrary to Governor Lawrence's direction, New England Ranger Lieutenant Hazen engaged in frontier warfare against the Acadians in what has become known as the "Ste Anne's Massacre". On 18 February 1759, Hazen and about fifteen men arrived at Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas. The Rangers pillaged and burned the village of 147 buildings, two Mass-houses and various barns and stables. The Rangers burned a large store-house, containing a large quantity of hay, wheat, peas, oats and other foodstuffs, and killed 212 horses, about five head of cattle and a large number of hogs.
They also burned the church located just west of Old Government House, Fredericton. The leader of the Acadian militia on the St. John river, Joseph Godin-Bellefontaine, refused to swear an oath despite the Rangers torturing and killing members of his family in front of him. The Rangers also took six prisoners.
A view of Miramichi, a French settlement in the Gulf of St. Laurence, destroyed by Brigadier Murray detached by General Wolfe for that purpose, from the Bay of Gaspe, (1758)
Raid on Miramichi Bay – Burnt Church Village by Captain Hervey Smythe (1758)
In the Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign, also known as the Gaspee Expedition, British forces raided French villages along present-day New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Sir Charles Hardy and Brigadier-General James Wolfe commanded the naval and military forces, respectively. After the Siege of Louisbourg (1758), Wolfe and Hardy led a force of 1500 troops in nine vessels to Gaspé Bay, arriving there on September 5.
From there they dispatched troops to Miramichi Bay on September 12, Grande-Rivière, Quebec and Pabos on September 13, and Mont-Louis, Quebec on September 14. Over the following weeks, Hardy took four sloops or schooners, destroyed about 200 fishing vessels, and took about 200 prisoners.
Restigouche
The Acadians took refuge along the Baie des Chaleurs and the Restigouche River. Boishébert had a refugee camp at Petit-Rochelle, which was probably located near present-day Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec. The year after the Battle of Restigouche, in late 1761, Captain Roderick Mackenzie and his force captured over 330 Acadians at Boishebert's camp.
Halifax
After the French conquered St. John's, Newfoundland in June 1762, the success galvanized both the Acadians and the natives, who gathered in large numbers at various points throughout the province and behaved in a confident and, according to the British, "insolent fashion". Officials were especially alarmed when natives gathered close to the two principal towns in the province, Halifax and Lunenburg, where there were also large groups of Acadians. The government organized an expulsion of 1,300 people and shipped them to Boston. The government of Massachusetts refused the Acadians permission to land and sent them back to Halifax.
Mi'kmaq and Acadian resistance was evident in the Halifax region. On 2 April 1756, Mi'kmaq received payment from the Governor of Quebec for 12 British scalps taken at Halifax. Acadian Pierre Gautier, son of Joseph-Nicolas Gautier, led Mi'kmaq warriors from Louisbourg on three raids against Halifax Peninsula in 1757. In each raid, Gautier took prisoners, scalps or both. Their last raid happened in September and Gautier went with four Mi'kmaq, and killed and scalped two British men at the foot of Citadel Hill. Pierre went on to participate in the Battle of Restigouche.
Arriving on the provincial vessel King George, four companies of Rogers Rangers (500 rangers) were at Dartmouth April 8 until May 28 awaiting the Siege of Louisbourg (1758). While there they scoured the woods to stop raids on Dartmouth.
In July 1759, Mi'kmaq and Acadians killed five British in Dartmouth, opposite McNabb's Island. By June 1757, the settlers had to be completely withdrawn from Lawrencetown (established 1754) because the number of Indian raids prevented settlers from leaving their houses.
In nearby Dartmouth, in the spring of 1759, another Mi'kmaq attack was launched on Fort Clarence, located at the present day Dartmouth Refinery, in which five soldiers were killed. Before the deportation, the Acadian population was estimated at 14,000. Most were deported, but some Acadians escaped to Quebec, or hid among the Mi'kmaq or in the countryside, to avoid deportation until the situation settled down.
A
map of the British and French settlements in North America in 1755. The
province of Nova Scotia had expanded to encompass all of Acadie, or present-day
New Brunswick.
In present-day Maine, the Mi'kmaq
and the Maliseet raided numerous New England villages. At the end of April
1755, they raided Gorham, killing two men and a family.
Next they appeared in New Boston (Gray) and went through the
neighbouring towns destroying the plantations.
On May 13, they raided Frankfort
(Dresden), where two men were killed and
a house burned. The same day they raided Sheepscot (Newcastle) and took five
prisoners. Two people were killed in North
Yarmouth on May
29 and one taken captive. The natives shot one person at Teconnet, took prisoners at Fort Halifax
and two prisoners at Fort Shirley (Dresden). They also captured two workers at
the fort at New
Gloucester.
During this period, the Maliseet and Mi'kmaq were the only tribes of the
Wabanaki Confederacy who were able to fight.
On 13 August 1758, Boishebert
left Miramichi,
New Brunswick
with 400 soldiers, including Acadians whom he led from Port
Toulouse. They
marched to Fort St. George (Thomaston) and unsuccessfully laid siege
to the town, and raided Munduncook (Friendship) where they wounded eight
British settlers and killed others. This was Boishébert's last Acadian expedition;
from there he and the Acadians went to Quebec and fought in the Battle
of Quebec (1759).
Deportation
destinations
Destinations for deported
Acadians
|
|
Colony
|
# of Exiles
|
2,000
|
|
1,100
|
|
1,000
|
|
700
|
|
500
|
|
500
|
|
500
|
|
400
|
|
250
|
|
TOTAL
|
6,950
|
Britain
|
866
|
France
|
3,500
|
TOTAL
|
11, 316
|
In the first wave of the expulsion, most Acadian exiles were assigned to rural communities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and South Carolina. In general, they refused to stay where they were put and large numbers migrated to the colonial port cities where they gathered in isolated, impoverished French-speaking Catholic neighbourhoods, the sort of communities Britain's colonial officials tried to discourage. More worryingly for the British authorities, some Acadians threatened to migrate north to French-controlled regions, including the Saint John River, Île Royale, the coasts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Canada. Because the British believed their policy of sending the Acadians to the Thirteen Colonies had failed, they deported the Acadians to France during the second wave of the Expulsion.
Maryland
Approximately 1,000 Acadians went to Maryland, where they lived in a section of Baltimore that became known as French Town. The Irish Catholics were reported to have shown charity to the Acadians by taking orphaned children into their homes.
Massachusetts
Approximately 2,000 Acadians disembarked at Massachusetts. For four long winter months, William Shirley, who had ordered their deportation, had not allowed them to disembark and as a result, half died of cold and starvation aboard the ships. Children were taken away from their parents and were distributed to various families throughout Massachusetts. The government also arranged the adoption of orphaned children and provided subsidies for housing and food for a year.
Maine
There were several families deported to Maine, then a part of the colony of Massachusetts.
Connecticut
Connecticut prepared for the arrival of 700 Acadians. Like Maryland, the Connecticut legislature declared that "[the Acadians] be made welcome, helped and settled under the most advantageous conditions, or if they have to be sent away, measures be taken for their transfer."
Pennsylvania and Virginia
Pennsylvania accommodated 500 Acadians. Because they arrived unexpectedly, the Acadians had to remain in port on their vessels for months. Virginia refused to accept the Acadians on grounds that no notice was given of their arrival. They were detained at Williamsburg, where hundreds died from disease and malnutrition. They were then sent to Britain where they were held as prisoners until the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
Carolinas and Georgia
The Acadians who had offered the most resistance to the British—particularly those who had been at Chignecto—were reported to have been sent furthest south to the British colonies of the Carolinas and Georgia, where about 1,400 Acadians settled and were “subsidized” and put to work on plantations.
Under the leadership of Jacques Maurice Vigneau of Baie Verte, the majority of the Acadians in Georgia received a passport from the governor Reynolds. Without such passports, travel between borders was not allowed. As soon as the Acadians bearing passports from Georgia reached the Carolinas, the colonies granted passports to the Acadians in their territories.
Along with these papers, the Acadians were given two vessels. After running aground numerous times in the ships, some Acadians returned to the Bay of Fundy. Along the way, they were captured and imprisoned. Only 900 managed to return to Acadia, less than half of those who had begun the voyage. Others also tried to return home.
The South Carolina Gazette reported that in February, about thirty Acadians fled the island to which they were confined and escaped their pursuers. Alexandre Broussard, brother of the famed resistance leader Joseph Broussard, dit Beausoleil, was among them. About a dozen are recorded to have returned to Acadia after an overland journey of 1,400 leagues.
Mémorial des Acadiens de Nantes
After the Siege of Louisbourg (1758), the British began to deport the Acadians directly to France rather than to the British colonies. Some Acadians deported to France never reached their destination. Almost 1,000 died when the transport ships Duke William, Violet and Ruby sank in 1758 en route from Île St.-Jean to France. About 3,000 Acadian refugees eventually gathered in France's port cities and went to Nantes. Many Acadians who were sent to Britain were housed in crowded warehouses and subject to plagues due to the close conditions, while others were allowed to join communities and live normal lives.
In France, 78 Acadian families were repatriated to Belle-Île-en-Mer off the western coast of Brittany after the Treaty of Paris. The most serious resettlement attempt was made by Louis XV, who offered 2 acres (8,100 m2) of land in the Poitou province to 626 Acadian families each, where they lived close together in a region they called La Grande Ligne ("The Great Road", also known as "the King's Highway"). About 1,500 Acadians accepted the offer, but the land turned out to be infertile, and by the end of 1775, most of them abandoned the province.
Louisiana
Thomas Jefferys (1710–71) was a royal geographer to King George III and a London publisher of maps. He is well known for his maps of North America, produced to meet commercial demand, but also to support British territorial claims against the French. This map presents Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island in the wake of the "great upheaval".
Acadians left France, under the influence of Henri Peyroux de la Coudreniere, to settle in Louisiana, which was then a colony of Spain. The British did not deport Acadians to Louisiana.
Louisiana was transferred to the Spanish government in 1762. Because of the good relations between France and Spain, and their common Catholic religion, some Acadians chose to take oaths of allegiance to the Spanish government. Soon the Acadians comprised the largest ethnic group in Louisiana. They settled first in areas along the Mississippi River, then later in the Atchafalaya Basin, and in the prairie lands to the west—a region later renamed Acadiana.
During the 19th century, as Acadians re-established their culture, "Acadian" was elided locally into "Cajun".
Some were sent to colonize places as diverse as French Guiana and the Falkland Islands under the direction of Louis Antoine de Bougainville; these latter efforts were unsuccessful. Others migrated to places like Saint-Domingue, and fled to New Orleans after the Haitian Revolution. The Louisiana population contributed to the founding of the modern Cajun population. (The French word "Acadien" evolved to "Cadien", then to "Cajun".)
Nova Scotia
On July 11, 1764, the British government passed an order-in-council to permit Acadians to legally return to British territories, provided that they take an unqualified oath of allegiance. Some Acadians returned to Nova Scotia (which included present-day New Brunswick). Under the deportation orders, Acadian land tenure had been forfeited to the British crown and the returning Acadians no longer owned land. Beginning in 1760 much of their former land was distributed under grant to the New England Planters. The lack of available farmland compelled many Acadians to seek out a new livelihood as fishermen on the west coast of Nova Scotia, known as the French Shore. The British authorities scattered other Acadians in small groups along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It was not until the 1930s, with the advent of the Acadian co-operative movements, that the Acadians became less economically disadvantaged.
In the 1740s William Shirley hoped to assimilate Acadians into the Protestant fold. He did so by trying to encourage (or force) Acadian women to marry English Protestants and statutes were passed requiring the offspring of such unions be sent to English schools and raised as "English Protestants" (quote from letter by Shirley). This was linked to larger anxieties in the realm over the loyalty of Catholics in general—as Charles Stuart's Jacobite Rebellion was a Catholic-led rebellion as was Le Loutre's rebellion in Nova Scotia. Shirley, who in part was responsible for the Removals, according to historian Geoffery Plank, "recommended using military force to expel the most 'obnoxious' Acadians and replace them with Protestant immigrants. In time the Protestants would come to dominate their new communities." Shirley wanted "peaceable [loyal] subjects" and specifically, in his own words, "good Protestant ones."
As well, the British were clearly not concerned that the Acadians were French, given they were recruiting French foreign protestants to settle the region. Further, the New Englanders of Boston were not banishing Acadians from the Atlantic region; instead, they were actually deporting them to live in the heart of New England: Boston and elsewhere in the British colonies.
While clearly there was animosity between Catholics and Protestants during this time period, many historians point to the overwhelming evidence which suggests the motivation for the expulsion was military. The British wanted to cut off supply lines to the Mi'kmaq, Louisbourg and Quebec. They also wanted to end any military threat the Acadians posed (See Military history of the Acadians). A.J.B. Johnston wrote that the evidence for the removal of the Acadians indicates the decision makers thought the Acadians were a military threat, therefore the deportation of 1755 does not qualify as an act of ethnic cleansing. Geoffery Plank argues that the British continued the expulsion after 1758 for military reasons: present-day New Brunswick remained contested territory and the New Englanders wanted to make sure that British negotiators would be unlikely to return the region to the French as they had done after King George's War.
Pressure from the English was strong. British Governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council decided on July 28, 1755 to deport the Acadians. Although Grand Pr� to this day is the most well known symbol of the expulsion, it actually began at Fort Beaus�jour on August 11.
About 6,000 Acadians were forcibly removed from their colonies. The British military ordered the Acadians' communities to be destroyed and homes and barns were burned down. The people were dispersed among the 13 American colonies, but many refused them and sent them on to Europe. Families were torn apart and many lost everything they owned.
Several ships, carrying 1000-1500 Acadians (many died on the trip) arrived in Virginia. Once there, they were not allowed to leave the ships; the government refused to accept them.
Of the 2 ships named Carolina, one carried Acadians from Minas to Virginia (the other went to Maryland). The Halifax was a snow captained by John Taggart that sailed from Minas to Virginia.
The Endeavor was an 83 ton ship that sailed from Boudrot Point (near the mouth of the Gaspereau River at Minas). Captained by John Stone, it carried 166 Acadians who embarked on Oct. 19, left on Oct. 27, and arrived in Virginia in Nov. 1755. The Endeavor (also called the Encheree) and 5 other ships were detained in Boston Harbor on Nov. 5 due to bad weather. At Boston, Acadians were unloaded so that 2 persons per ton remained on the ship. This evidentally meant that they had been overcrowded (since the ships had been outfitted for 2 people per ton). They were given more supplies and set sail south. Upon arriving in Williamburg, they were not allowed to disembark. During their 4 months in the harbor many of them died before setting sail for England, where they remained until 1763.
The 90.5 ton sloop Mary, captained by Andrew Dunning, left Boudrot Point (Minas) on Oct. 27, 1755 with 181 Acadians. It arrived in Virginia on Nov. 13, 1755. [Gipson, V.6, p. 277; Richard, V. 2, p. 121].
The 90 ton schooner Neptune left Pisiquid on Oct. 27, 1755 under Captain William Ford with 207 Acadians. It arrived in Virginia on Nov. 13, 1755. [Gipson, V.6, p. 277]. It was one of the 5 ships that took refuge with the Endeavor in Boston on Nov. 5.
Lauviere also mentions a goelette Ranger that was headed for Virginia with Acadians.
Gov. Dinwiddle thought they were "internal enemies." So they were subsequently sent to England. These ships included the Carolina, the Endeavor, the Halifax, the Mary, and the Neptune. Gerard Braud also lists the Race Horse, the Virginia Packet, and the Goodrigde.Braud also states that 2 ships sank, though I haven't found the source for this statement. [From Nantes to Louisiana, p. 13]
Just as Lawrence hadn't warned Virginia of the Acadians arrival, Virginia didn't warn England of their incoming "guests."
The Acadians in England (1756-1763) were located in 4 primary areas: Bristol, Falmouth, Liverpool, and Southampton. A total of over 1200 Acadians arrived in England. Not 800 survived till 1763 when the group went to France.
Shortly after they arrived, smallpox decimated the ranks of all 4 groups, especially those at Penryn (at the gates of Falmouth) where 61 Acadians were buried at Cornwall (the parish of St. Gluvias) that fall; there are no markers; a common grave was probably used.
Filles le Roi
Before finding all my Arcadian French Cousins, this amazing amount of History was totally unknown to me. Then there was the story about the Filles le Roi. Daughters of the King. Knowing history, I was unsure if the description aptly described the ladies in question.
In Australia, when the convict ships arrived, there was an overpopulation of males. The Governor didn't want any hanky panky and ordered ship loads of females be sent to marry these men. Closely guarded by officers, almost every one, delivered a child after arrival, after all it was a journey of nine months.! Not easy to match DNA in those circumstances. But the ladies, from France, arrived so neat and tidy, clean, and freshly presented, ready for a settler to chose one for his wife.
One such lady was Claude "Blandina" Deschalets
However these are not yet linked to the leRoys of Canada! But an interesting story no end, just in case they are.
GENERATION #1
Richard LeRoy was born in Creance, Normandie, France. The origin of the LeRoy family in Dutchess County, New York is clearly indicated in the Dictionaire Genealogique Des Familles Canadiennes
Richard and Pilette Jacquet LeRoy were from Creance, Bishopric of Coutanes in Normandie, France. Pilette or Gillette Jacquet was born in Creance, Normandie, France. The son of Richard LeRoy and Pilette or Gillette Jacquet was Simeon LeRoy dit Audy.
GENERATION #2
Simeon LeRoy dit Audy was born in 1640 in Creance, Normandy, France. Simeon LeRoy was born in Creances which is a village about twelve miles northwest Of Coutances, Manche, Normandy. He died in probably shortly after 1710. The Abridged Compendium Of American Genealogy says Simeon LeRoy died about 1713. The origin of the LeRoy family of Dutchess County,N.Y. is covered in Dictionaire Genealogique Des Familles Canadiennes. A five Page article called The Life And Family Of Simeon Leroy was published about this Simeon LeRoy in the New York Genealogical & Biographical Record, volume 64, pages 41-45. He was a master carpenter or contractor. About 1681 or 1682 Simeon and his wife took some of their family to Kingston,N.Y. Nine of their eleven children were recorded in Canada. The two youngest are thought to have been born at Kingston. Simeon was a Roman Catholic but his children became protestants and married protestants.
Simeon settled first in the fief or seigneurie of St.-Joseph or L'espinay, Charlesbourg, near the Charles River which belonged to the Hebert- Couillard de L'espinay family in Quebec, Canada in October 1668 (greffe: Notary Jean leconte, Quebec). His neighbours were his brother-in-law, Jean Giron and Andre Barbaut. He was a resident of St. Joseph's from 1668 to 1679.
On December 13, 1676 Simeon bought a lot with an untenantable house in Quebec (greffe: Notary Pierre Duquet, Quebec).The purchase price was discharged in part October 25, 1678 out of an advance of 100 livres paid to him on account of carpentry work contracted by him to be done for the sisters of the Congregation of Montreal. It is not known what building he was to erect for the sisters. He was in Montreal in July 1679 and bought considerable land there that fronted on the St. Lawrence River in Cote St.-Francois. The deed which is dated July 2, 1679 calls him a resident of Quebec but as of July 30, 1679 becoming a resident of Montreal.
Simeon also bought land in Montreal on April 10, 1680, December 9, 1680 and January 4, 1681. He entered into building contracts on September 7, 1680 and December 22, 1680. On January 6, 1681 he surveyed some land to estimate the amount of timber on it.
On May 15, 1681 Simeon contracted with Antoine Guibord and Francois Huart to work for him as sawyers. The census of 1681 shows Simeon LeRoy and his wife Claude and their 8 children as residents of Montreal.
Simeon's last appearance in the records of Montreal was at the time of the burial of his daughter Marie on may 21, 1681. The next appearance of Simeon on any public record found so far is in Albany, New York when on November 28, 1682 he apprenticed his son Augustin, age 11 to Adam Winne to learn ropemaking for 6 consecutive years.
Sometime between may 1681 and November 1682 Simeon took or sent his second son, Jean, to St. Joseph, Charlesbourg to live with his godfather, Jean Giron and took his wife and most (if not all) of their young children to Albany, New York in the United States. In or before 1689 he moved to Kingston, Ulster county, New York.
In 1689 he rented a house that beonged to Jochem Hendrickse Before 1701 he bought a house and lot from Henry Beekman Simeon fell on hard times in his old age which is proved by the fact that on March 1, 1708 the trustees of Kingston gave him a pair of shoes and a load of wood and paid for the burial of his wife. It is thought that Simeon died soon after his last mention in the Ulster County tax list of 1710.
Simeon's name can be found in the Kingston records for the years 1686 or 1687, 1689, 1691, 1693, 1695, 1697, 1701, 1707, 1708, and 1710. Some have proposed the theory that Simeon was a secret huguenot and only conformed to the Roman catholic religion while in Canada. It is theorised that this is why he Left Canada at the first opportunity. Others dismiss this theory even though Simeon and his wife were the sponsors at their granddaughter's baptism in Staten Island (where they did not live) in the Dutch Reformed Church (non Catholic) there. It is argued that they probably were only represented by a proxy before a Dutch Reformed Dominie who did not know they were Catholic.
To further dismiss the theory that Simeon was a Huguenot a letter written by Claude's brother-in-law, Jean Giron to Marie Anne LeRoy, is cited. In the letter, Jean Giron congratulated Marie Anne on her marriage to Hugo Freer who was a Huguenot. But he also remarks that he would have been more glad to hear of her new state
"if it were that you were married in our religion, if it were with the consent of your father-in-law and mother-in-law"
Some believe that this was Jean Giron's way of expressing his disapproval of Marie Anne marrying outside the Catholic religion even though it is dated 9 years after the marriage.
This letter is preserved in the New Paltz Historical Museum and a full translation is available in Lefevre's History Of New Paltz on pages 356-357. The fact that Simeon and his eldest son Olivier refused to take the oath of allegiance to King William and Queen Mary is also taken as proof by some of Simeon's faithfulness to the catholic church since taking the oath would have meant denouncing catholic doctrines.
Simeon was married to Claude "Blandina" Deschalets, a Filles du Roi from France, on 3 Sep 1668 in Quebec, Canada. Simeon LeRoy and Claude "Blandina" Deschalets were married in the parish of Notre Dame in Quebec Canada by h. De bernieres.
Their witnesses were Pierre Chamare, Michel Riffaut, and Francois Charlet.
The parish register reads
"the third day of the month of September, 1668, after betrothal and the publication of one bann of marriage, between Simeon LeRoy, a son of Richard LeRoy and Gilette Jacquet, his father and mother, of the parish of Notre Dame De fontenay le Comte, Bishopric Of Maitzais (Maillezais), of the second part; Monseigneur the bishop having granted them a dispensation of two banns, and there being discovered no legal impediment, I, the undersigned, Cure of this parish, have married them and have given them the nuptial benediction, according to the form prescribed by the Holy Church in the presence of the known witnesses, Pierre Chamare, Michel Riffaut, Francois Charlet. (signed) H. De bernieres."
Claude "Blandina" Deschalets was born in 1651. she died probably Kingston, New York possibly in February of 1708. Claude Deschalets LeRoy was later known as Blandina, a name that was passed on to many of her descendants. Claude aka Blandina Deschalets LeRoy was still living in 1706. Claude aka Blandina was one of three orphaned sisters who were sent to Canada as a Filles Du Roi (King's daughter). The Filles Du Rois were impoverished or orphan women sent to Canada at royal expense to find husbands and populate the country. She is thought to have been recently arrived in New France (now Quebec) at the time of her marriage because the bishop dispensed with two of the usual three required banns for her marriage to Simeon LeRoy.
In 1669 Claude and her sister Madeleine Deschalets Giron were summoned before the Sovereign Council of New France because of their scandalous talk about the conduct of Francoise Leclerc, the wife of Michel Riffaut on the ship coming to New France. Francoise Leclerc was also a Filles Du Roi. Claude and Madeleine were accused of maliciously and falsely calling Francoise Leclerc a prostitute. They were required to apologize and pay a small fine. Michel Riffaut had been a witness at the marriage of Simeon and Claude Deschalets LeRoy the preceding year.
Children of Simeon LeRoy and Claude"Blandina" Deschalets were:
i. Olivier LeRoy was born on 25 May 1669 in Quebec, Canada.1,3 He was baptized on 30 may 1669 in Quebec, Canada. Olivier LeRoy was baptized five days after his birth by fr. H. De Bernieres. Olivier Morin, Seigneur De Bois Maurice and Jeanne de l'estre, daughter of Seigneur Thierry de l'estre de Vallon were the two witnesses. Olivier LeRoy was living as late as 1689 in Ulster County, New York.
ii. Jean LeRoy was born on 4 Sep 1670 in Quebec, Canada. He was Baptized on 7 Sept 1670 in Quebec, Canada. Jean LeRoy was baptized by fr. H. De bernieres. The Witnesses were Jean Giron and Jeanne Richer, wife of Leonard Treny, "dit la Verdure". When Simeon LeRoy moved his family to Albany, New York, he sent his second son, Jean to live with his godfather, Jean Giron, at st. Joseph, Charlesbourg, Quebec, Canada. Jean LeRoy was the only one of Simeon LeRoy's children to remain in Canada. His descendants carry the surnames of Audy and Roy. He was married to Therese Jobin on 6 Feb 1691 in Charlesbourg, Quebec, Canada
iii. Augustin LeRoy was born on 18 Dec 1671 in Quebec, Canada. he was baptized on 18 dec 1671 in Quebec, Canada. Augustin LeRoy was Baptized by fr. Nichlas Allego. The witnesses were Louis Le Febvre, "dit Basanville" (battanville) and Madelene Deschalets, wife of Jean Giron. Augustin LeRoy was at Kingston, Ulster county, New York in 1682.
No further Record of him has been found after his father apprenticed him at Albany, New York on November 28, 1682 at the age of 11 for six consecutive years to Learn the trade of rope-making.
iv. Marie-Anne LeRoy was born on 7 may 1672 in Quebec, Canada. She was baptized on 11 May 1673 in Quebec, Canada. Marie anne LeRoy was baptized by Fr. Louis Ango. The witnesses were Emmanuel Lops (Lopez), "dit Madere" (Madeira) and Magdelene Deschalets, wife of Jean Giron. Her descendants appear in the Freer Genealogy published in volumes 33 to 35 in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.
She was married to Hugo Freer jr. On 7 Jun 1690 in New Paltz, New York.
Marie-anne LeRoy Freer and Hugo Freer Jr. had many descendants. Several of them intermarried with the LeRoys and associated families. Hugo Freer Jr. was born on 1 Jul 1666 in Mannheim, Germany. He was baptized on 2 Jul 1666 in Mannheim, Germany. The sponsors for the baptism of Hugues Freer were Alard Le Putre and Antoinette Delbse, wife of Jean Leleu. He died in 1732 in New Paltz, New York.
v. Leonard-Remi LeRoy aka Jonas Larroway was born on 15 sep 1674 in St. Joseph, Quebec, Canada. He was baptized on 18 sep 1674 in Quebec. Jonas Laraway [sic] died sometime after 1750. He survived his wife by a few years. He was supposed to have left a will but searchers have failed to locate it.
Leonard-Reni (or Treny) LeRoy's name was corrupted in the Dutch records to the phonetically similiar Jonar Larway. It is under this name that he appears in most New York records. He settled at Scoharie, New York and his branch became the Laraway family.
Many of his descendants chose to return to the LeRoy spelling.
He was married to Marytje Uziele or Uzille on 28 September 1703 in Kingston, New York.
Jonas LeRoy or Laraway and Maria Uzelle moved from Kingston to Poughkeepsie, New York and then to the vicinity of Albany about 1714 and then to Scoharie, New York between 1725 and 1729. The Scoharie Church records list many of their descendants who lived in that town.
vi. Pierre LeRoy was born on 20 April 1676 in st. Joseph, Charlesbourg, Quebec, Canada. Pierre LeRoy was baptized by mgr. Charles Glandelet in the chapel at Charlesbourg. The witnesses were Pierre Moreau, "dit La Topine", and Elizabeth Deschalets, wife of Francois Paris. It is possible that this is the "Peter LeRoy" who is mentioned in Bolton's History of Westchester as having been a vestryman of the Episcopal church at Westchester in 1702. No further record has been found of him.
vii. Charlotte-Gertrude LeRoy was born on 22 Feb 1678 in st. Joseph, Charlesbourg, Quebec, Canada. Charlotte-Gertrude LeRoy was baptized the same day she was born by fr. Henri de bernieres. The witnesses were Jean Baptiste Le Gardeur and Marie Madelene Le Gardeur, daughter of Charles le Gardeur, Knight, Seigneur De Tilly, Royal Councillor of the Sovereign council of this country.
viii. Jeanne-Elizabeth LeRoy was born on 28 March 1679 in st. Joseph, Charlesbourg, Quebec, Canada. A genealogy of the descendants of Jeanne-Elizabeth LeRoy and Denis Relyea Of Esopus (now Kingston New York) appears in volume 55, page 62 of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record
ix. Marie LeRoy was born on 2 May 1681 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Marie LeRoy was baptized the day of her birth by fr. Jean Fremont. The witnesses were Jean de la Croix, master carpenter, and Marie Tetard, daughter of Charles Tetard. She died on 28 May 1681 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Marie LeRoy's age at death was 26 days. She was buried on 28 May 1681 in parish Cemetery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Marie LeRoy was buried the same day she died. The Record of her burial is her father's (Simeon LeRoy) last appearance found on any public record in Montreal.
x. Frans LeRoy Capt. was born in 1683 in Kingston, Ulster County, New York or Albany, New York. The LeRoy family of Duchess County, New York is descended from Capt. Frans LeRoy. He was named after his maternal grandfather. In 1709 he bought land in Poughkeepsie New York north of the Fall Kil from Myndert Harmenszen van de Bogart who was the original patentee. Franz and his wife are present there on the 1714 census which reported them as residents with 3 boys, 2 daughters, and 3 slaves. In 1719 Frans bought more land along the Fall Kil east of his property. In 1719 Frans was appointed assessor. He served again in 1723 and 1727-1728.
He was active in the militia as ensign and as Captain. He and his wife were early members of the Dutch Church. He became a Deacon in 1720 and an Elder in 1739. Frans made his will December 22, 1759.
He divided his property between his 6 children and the daughter of his deceased son, Frans jr.
Until the formation of the church in Poughkeepsie, baptisms were recorded at Kingston. It is assumed that all but Frans' first 2 children were natives of Poughkeepsie, New York
He was married to Celetje or Celia Damen in 1705. Celetje or Celia Damen was baptized in New Utrecht, New York. New Utrecht is now part of Brooklyn, New York.
xi. Sara LeRoy was born in 1685. Sara LeRoy and Johannes Van Pelt of Staten Island were married before 1706. Their descendants are traced in the Van Pelt genealogy.
https://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/nn/surnames/leroy.shtml
During the 10 years of the Filles du Roi program, care was taken to ensure that the women selected for the program were of childbearing age, and were not prostitutes.
Certificates were soon accompanying the girls to certify that they were single and of marriageable age.
During this same time, three Deschalets sisters, Claude, Madeleine and Elizabeth found themselves orphaned and without much future. Claude and Madeleine decided that a dowry and transportation provided by the king, was an offer they could not refuse.
A year later their sister Elizabeth followed them to Montreal.
Simeon LeRoy and Claude/Blandina Deschalets
On Sept. 3, 1668, Claude and Madeleine were married in a double ceremony, Claude to Simeon (le)Roy and Madeleine to Jean Giron.
A year later their sister Elisabeth arrived, and soon married Francois Paris on Nov 26, 1668
In total, about 770 women arrived in the colony of New France (Canada) between 1663 and 1673, under the financial sponsorship of King Louis XIV of France.
Some were given a royal gift of a dowry of 50 livres for their marriage to one of the many unmarried male colonists in Canada. Their gifts were reflected in some of the marriage contracts entered into by the Filles du Roi at the time of their first marriages.
Claude 'Blandina' Deschalets was born in 1651, the daughter of Francis Deschalets and Jacquette Chevallereaux. She was 17 when she traveled to New France. She and her sister were married less than two weeks after arriving, because the bishop dispensed with two of the required three banns for their marriages.
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