9.Chaisson - Hache Corimier- Family
The information regarding the Chaisson Family is from an internet search.
I found that the Charles-Gedeon Giasson who settled in Kahnawa:ke was actually from a pioneer Acadian line – the Chiassons. For those who are unaware, the Chiassons were Acadians and Acadians were deported from their homeland when the British conquered eastern Canada. The Chiassons and others were scattered far-and-wide (including France, the Caribbean, Louisiana) but some also escaped to Quebec (then La Nouvelle France). Here is the line that Charles-Gedeon Giasson descends from.
Pierre Chiasson and Marie Peroche were married in France before 1645.
Guyon Chiasson dit Lavallee married Jeanne Bernard (daughter of Andre Bernard and Marie-Andree Guyon) about 1666 in Acadia.
Jean Chiasson married Marie-Anne Lemoyne (daughter of Jean Lemoyne and Marie-Anne Marie-Madeleine Chavigny) in 1697 in Batiscan, Acadia.
Jacques-Ignace Giasson married Marie-Angelique Hubert (daughter of Pierre Hubert and Catherine Demers) on April 26th, 1745 in Notre Dame Parish (Montreal).
Ignace Giasson married Marie-Louise de Saguespee (daughter of Amable-
Joachim-Benoit de Saguespee and Angelique Daillebout) on January 9th, 1792 in Notre-Dame parish in Montreal.
Charles-Gedeon Giasson married Agathe Macomber (daughter of Gervais Macomber and Charlotte Capitaine Tsinonra) on February 27th, 1832 in St-Francois-Xavier Parish.
"Original Reader Query
Patricia asked me whether there was a Giasson family tree online as she wanted to trace Charles-Gedeon Giasson’s ancestors.
Hello ~ my side of the Brault family has been Metis since the 1600s and I recently found out my Auntie Agnes Brault married into the Giasson family on Kahnawake.
Here is one source: “Charles-Gédéon Giasson et Agathe McComber, de Kahnawake. Charles-Giasson and Agathe McComber married in 1832. They lived in Kahnawake and had many children including Léon-Trefflé Akiohanes Giasson and Napoléon-Antoine Giasson.
The first married Agnès Brault in 1886 and the second married Marguerite Meunier dite Lafleur. … Actually Marguerite Meunier dit Lafleur is also an Auntie… Anyways, does anyone have a tree on the Giasson family from this area? I’ve been able to find nothing else on them."
Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons, map and photograph
This excerpt from the Internet about Chetecamp, proves just how difficult it is to isolate correctly the exact family lineage. Lazard LeBlanc, is my cousin, what would make him change his name to White? So many of these families, link to Elizabeth Robertson.
In 1790, pioneers who settled in Chetecamp obtained a charter dated the 27 Sept. which gave them 7,000 acres of land.
They were Pierre Bois (Peter Wood), Peter O'Quinn (Pierre Aucoin), Joseph Budroit (Boudreau), Joseph Goudeil (Gaudet) , Paul Chaisson, Basile Chaisson, Joseph Desveaux, Gregoire Matllette (Maillet), John Chaisson, Lazard White (Lazard le Blanc), Raymond Poirie (Poirier), Anselm O’Quinn (Aucoin) Joseph O' Quinn (Aucoin) Justin Desveaux.
Since this time and still today, they are called the 14 old ones.
There was a very close blood between them. It was not uncommon that a brother and a sister—marry the sisters and the brothers of another family this created some very difficult situations to figure out, but which contributed to the union of this little group which found itself without other links to the rest of the world except the rare missionary, the hard j,frsais (natives of Jersey), and their hardy schooners for a long time you can say that they formed one large family.
Raymond Poirier
Raymond Poirier was born in Nova Scotia to parents born in Nova Scotia. He was in the region of Madame Island in 1771. This same year upon the arrival of the missionary Charles Bailly, Raymond and Marie Bois, daughter of Pierre Bois, first founder of Chetecamp, got married. Two days later, the 14 August, 1771, they had a son.
In 1780 Raymond was in Gaspesie and then came to Chetecamp. He arrived at Chetecamp in 1785 with his family. He stayed at Platin. His children were Raymond, Pascal, and Henriette.
The Hache Family
Jacques and Josèphte lived in Port LaJoye, Prince Edward Island and sometimes in Tracadie (Bedford Bays, P.E.I.) with Josephte's parents.
From 1724-1738, there were three invasions of field mice. The rodents were so numerous with voracious appetites, that they devastated the cultivated crops and devoured the grassy flats. The crops failed in 1757 and 1758. In 1758, the fortress, Louisborg fell. The British had control of Prince Edward Island. They demanded that all the inhabitants of the island be deported back to France. Ships arrived, the settlements destroyed and the people were put aboard the ships. Over three thousand five hundred people were transported in 1758 to France. Michel's son, Jacques Haché dit GalIant's family fled to the forest. They lived with the Micmac Indians and survived the winter. The Indians helped build their homes again in the spring and they continued to wrestle with the wilderness.
In the Census of 1752 in Tracadie, there were eight families one of which was the family of Jacques and Josephte Haché dit Gallant.
In the Census of 1760 is living with his brother in Restigouche, New Brunswick where on January 7, 1761 the marriage of his daughter, Marie-Jeanne ,to Joseph Boudrot took place.
Jacques returned again to Prince Edward Island with his son, Charles. He and Josèphe are on the 1763 census of Magdelaine Isles, Isle St. Jean.
We find Jacques again in 1773 on the Island of Miscou in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for the occasion of a visit by a priest Abbe' Joseph Mathurin Bourg, the Vicar General of Quebec. There were several marriages celebrated. Among the witnesses were Jacques and his two sons, Joseph and Cyprien.
In 1782 most of the families left the Island of Miscou and moved to Nispisquit (Bathurst) Cape Breton. As for Jacques, he went back to Prince Edward Island with his sons, Joseph and Cyprien.
Jacques died around 1792.
Jacques was married on June 20, 1735 in Port Lajoye, (Rocky Point) Prince Edward Island to Marie Josephe Boutrot (born 17 Oct 1717, the daughter of Francois Boudrot and Jeanne-Anne Laudry of Tracadie). They had ten children:
1. Jacques-Philippe Haché-Gallant was born on June 10, 1736 in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). Jacques Phillipe died Unknown.
2. Marie-Jeanne Haché-Gallant was born on July 14, 1738 in Port LaJoye, I'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). She married Joseph' Boudrot on January 7, 1761at Restigouche, New Brunswick. Marie-Jeanne died on February 15, 1825 in Nipisiquit (Bathurst), New Brunswick, Canada.
3. Joseph Gallant, dit LeGrande was born on December 25, 1740 in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI) and was baptized on May 21, 1741at St. Pierre du Nord Church. Joseph died in 1814 in La Roche (Baie-Egmont), Prince County, l'ile du Prince Edouard.
4. François Haché-Gallant was born in January 10, 1743 (or 1741) in St. Pierre-du-Nord, (near Port-Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI) and was baptized June2, 1743 at St. Pierre du Nord Church. François died in 1752.
5. Marie Anne Haché-Gallant was born in 1747 (or 1750) in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). She married Joseph Arsenau. Marie Anne died on May 13, 1813 in Nipisiquit (Bathurst), New Brunswick, Canada.
6. Cyprien Haché-Gallant was born in 1748 in Port-de-Tracadie, l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). He married Marie Bernard. Cyprien died on March 23, 1814 in Cascumpec, Prince County, l'ile du Prince Edouard.
7. Charles Haché was born in July 1749 (or 18 May 1750) in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). He married Felicité Gautrot. Charles died on June 07, 1842 in Margarée, Cap-Breton, Nouvelle Ecosse, Canada.
8. Geneviève Haché-Gallant was born on October 16, 1751 in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI) and died at birth.
9. Anne Haché-Gallant was born on October 16, 1751 in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). She married François Cormier, Abt. 1771, Prob. St. Pierre-du-Nord, (near Port-Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). François was born Abt. 1751, l'iles-de-la-Madeleine, Nouvelle France anddied Unknown. Anne died on December 27, 1827 in l'iles-de-la-Madeleine, Québec, Lower Canada.
10. Madeleine Haché-Gallant was born about April 1752 in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). She married Jean Arseneau on September 17, 1773 on the Island of Miscou. Madeleine died 1830, Prob. in La Roche (Baie-Egmont), Prince County, l'ile du Prince Edouard.
Semble avoir vécu à Tracadie, Ile-St-Jean et à Port-Lajoye. A Ristigouche en 1760 ou eut lieu le mariage de sa fille M. Jeanne en 1761. Serait alors retourné à Ile-St-Jean avec son frère Charles. En 1773, il est à Ile Miscou. Vers 1782, se rend à Ile-St-Jean à nouveau. A Tracadie en 1752.
Jacques was born about 1712. Jacques Haché-Gallant
Corimier Family
Robert Cormier (colonist)
Robert Cormier (1602 – 1712) was a ship’s carpenter who typified the French colonizer of Acadia.
From the Old World to the New
Robert Cormier was born in the Poitou region of France. About 1634, he married Marie Peraude (Perreau) at La Rochelle. They had two sons, Thomas born in 1636 and Jean in 1643. Like most migrants from France to New France and Acadia, Robert arrived as part of an employment contract for a term of three years. These contracts were different in nature from the indentured servant contracts used in the English colonies. Robert's contract in translation reads as follows:
"Robert Cormier's contract signed in La Rochelle on January 8, 1644 and by which Robert Cormier, vessel's carpenter, Marie Perraude, his wife and Thomas Cormier, elder son, dwelling in this city, shall be compelled as they are promising, to get on the first day upon the first request, aboard the ship le Petit Saint Pierre, of which Pierre Boileau is the master and to go in Cape Breton Island, New France Country and to work for Sieurs Tuffet, Duchanin and deChevery as vessel carpenter and to do other things which could be ordered by Sieur Louis Tuffet, commander of Fort Saint Pierre in the said island and to this end, they shall be compelled to obey and carry the orders during the three next and consecutive years, commencing on the day of their embarkation and ending on the day they will re-embark for their return, the said three years done and over. And this for and on condition that for each year they will receive the sum of one hundred and twenty Tour’s pounds, having already received in advance the payment of the first year made by the said Sieurs Tuffet, Duchanin and deChevery and the balance will be paid or made to their order five months after the return of said ship, deducting for what they will have received in the said island and it is understood that in case the said Cormier and his spouse do not obey or revolt against the said Sieur Tuffet and/or other governor's clerks, they shall be deprived of their wages in whole and kept responsible for all damages and interests. The said parties for the accomplishment of these agreements, having assigned one another all their present and future belongings, and real estate, made in LaRochelle, this Eight day of January 1644. Attorney Francois Marcoux and clerical secretary Martin deHarrabilague, both residing in this city.”
Colonial life
The outposts in Acadia were originally very small fur-trading posts. When Cardinal Richelieu authorized a stronger French presence in the New World, he commissioned Isaac de Razilly to be lieutenant-general of Acadia.
French administrators, including nearby Port Royal's lord, the Sieur Charles de Menou d'Aulnay, thought little of the colonists’ reclaiming tidal marshlands. Denys was very impressed with the "great extent of meadows which the sea used to cover and which the Sieur d’Aulay has drained". It was this extensive system of dikes and wooden drainage sluices (called aboiteaux) that set this colony apart from any others. It allowed the colonists to reclaim land that the Mi'kmaq nation had no use for. This greatly aided peaceful co-existence with their neighbours, and Mi'kmaq trade, friendship and intermarriage was and is an immensely important part of the Acadian identity and heritage.
It was to a more well-established settlement in Port Royal that Robert took his family to settle in 1650. Once the family was established, it isn't certain that Robert and Marie stayed at the colony or eventually returned to France.
His son Thomas appears in the 1671 census as a carpenter at Port Royal, aged 35, married to Magdelaine Girouard, with a 2-year-old daughter and possessing 7 cattle, 7 sheep and 6 arpents (2 ha) of land.[5] This shows a typical early colonial holding, capable of sustaining a small family.
Rather than sprawling the colony outward, the Acadians established villages in several distinct core areas, such as the Minas Basin and Beaubassin. It was to Beaubassin that Thomas Cormier moved his family along with others. The 1686 census shows him and his wife now with 9 children, 4 guns, 40 arpents (14 ha) of land, 30 cattle, 10 sheep and 15 hogs. This is considerably more holding than a French peasant could hope for in Old World France.
Legacy
Robert Cormier's sons remained in Acadia. Like his father, Thomas Cormier became a skilled carpenter. According to the Canadian and U.S. National Archives, Thomas is the ultimate ancestor of the Cormiers in the New World. Robert Cormier died on February 12, 1712. Sources are not agreed as to whether he was residing in France at the time of his death.
Cormier stands typical of most emigrants in that he was an indentured servant who earned his passage, he brought his family over to the New World (unlike, e.g., many early settlers of Virginia or Mexico), and - typically Acadian - enjoyed a longer lifespan than his Old World peasant counterpart.
I found that the Charles-Gedeon Giasson who settled in Kahnawa:ke was actually from a pioneer Acadian line – the Chiassons. For those who are unaware, the Chiassons were Acadians and Acadians were deported from their homeland when the British conquered eastern Canada. The Chiassons and others were scattered far-and-wide (including France, the Caribbean, Louisiana) but some also escaped to Quebec (then La Nouvelle France). Here is the line that Charles-Gedeon Giasson descends from.
Pierre Chiasson and Marie Peroche were married in France before 1645.
Guyon Chiasson dit Lavallee married Jeanne Bernard (daughter of Andre Bernard and Marie-Andree Guyon) about 1666 in Acadia.
Jean Chiasson married Marie-Anne Lemoyne (daughter of Jean Lemoyne and Marie-Anne Marie-Madeleine Chavigny) in 1697 in Batiscan, Acadia.
Jacques-Ignace Giasson married Marie-Angelique Hubert (daughter of Pierre Hubert and Catherine Demers) on April 26th, 1745 in Notre Dame Parish (Montreal).
Ignace Giasson married Marie-Louise de Saguespee (daughter of Amable-
Joachim-Benoit de Saguespee and Angelique Daillebout) on January 9th, 1792 in Notre-Dame parish in Montreal.
Charles-Gedeon Giasson married Agathe Macomber (daughter of Gervais Macomber and Charlotte Capitaine Tsinonra) on February 27th, 1832 in St-Francois-Xavier Parish.
"Original Reader Query
Patricia asked me whether there was a Giasson family tree online as she wanted to trace Charles-Gedeon Giasson’s ancestors.Hello ~ my side of the Brault family has been Metis since the 1600s and I recently found out my Auntie Agnes Brault married into the Giasson family on Kahnawake.
Here is one source: “Charles-Gédéon Giasson et Agathe McComber, de Kahnawake. Charles-Giasson and Agathe McComber married in 1832. They lived in Kahnawake and had many children including Léon-Trefflé Akiohanes Giasson and Napoléon-Antoine Giasson.
The first married Agnès Brault in 1886 and the second married Marguerite Meunier dite Lafleur. … Actually Marguerite Meunier dit Lafleur is also an Auntie… Anyways, does anyone have a tree on the Giasson family from this area? I’ve been able to find nothing else on them."
Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons, map and photograph
This excerpt from the Internet about Chetecamp, proves just how difficult it is to isolate correctly the exact family lineage. Lazard LeBlanc, is my cousin, what would make him change his name to White? So many of these families, link to Elizabeth Robertson.
In 1790, pioneers who settled in Chetecamp obtained a charter dated the 27 Sept. which gave them 7,000 acres of land.
They were Pierre Bois (Peter Wood), Peter O'Quinn (Pierre Aucoin), Joseph Budroit (Boudreau), Joseph Goudeil (Gaudet) , Paul Chaisson, Basile Chaisson, Joseph Desveaux, Gregoire Matllette (Maillet), John Chaisson, Lazard White (Lazard le Blanc), Raymond Poirie (Poirier), Anselm O’Quinn (Aucoin) Joseph O' Quinn (Aucoin) Justin Desveaux.
Since this time and still today, they are called the 14 old ones.
There was a very close blood between them. It was not uncommon that a brother and a sister—marry the sisters and the brothers of another family this created some very difficult situations to figure out, but which contributed to the union of this little group which found itself without other links to the rest of the world except the rare missionary, the hard j,frsais (natives of Jersey), and their hardy schooners for a long time you can say that they formed one large family.
Raymond Poirier
Raymond Poirier was born in Nova Scotia to parents born in Nova Scotia. He was in the region of Madame Island in 1771. This same year upon the arrival of the missionary Charles Bailly, Raymond and Marie Bois, daughter of Pierre Bois, first founder of Chetecamp, got married. Two days later, the 14 August, 1771, they had a son.
In 1780 Raymond was in Gaspesie and then came to Chetecamp. He arrived at Chetecamp in 1785 with his family. He stayed at Platin. His children were Raymond, Pascal, and Henriette.
The Hache Family
There
has been some comprehensive research completed on the Hache family, and
included here.
The interesting point
is that the early settlers who had married into the Hache Family, were also the
ancestors of the Lavergne Family.
History of Michel Haché-Gallant Jacques Hache dit Gallant, son of Michel
Haché and Marie Anne Cormier, was born about 1712 in Beaubassin, Acadie. He was
a navigator and ploughman. Jacques and Marie-Josèphe Boudrot married in Port
Lajoie, Isle St. Jean on 20 Jun 1735.Jacques and Josèphte lived in Port LaJoye, Prince Edward Island and sometimes in Tracadie (Bedford Bays, P.E.I.) with Josephte's parents.
From 1724-1738, there were three invasions of field mice. The rodents were so numerous with voracious appetites, that they devastated the cultivated crops and devoured the grassy flats. The crops failed in 1757 and 1758. In 1758, the fortress, Louisborg fell. The British had control of Prince Edward Island. They demanded that all the inhabitants of the island be deported back to France. Ships arrived, the settlements destroyed and the people were put aboard the ships. Over three thousand five hundred people were transported in 1758 to France. Michel's son, Jacques Haché dit GalIant's family fled to the forest. They lived with the Micmac Indians and survived the winter. The Indians helped build their homes again in the spring and they continued to wrestle with the wilderness.
In the Census of 1752 in Tracadie, there were eight families one of which was the family of Jacques and Josephte Haché dit Gallant.
In the Census of 1760 is living with his brother in Restigouche, New Brunswick where on January 7, 1761 the marriage of his daughter, Marie-Jeanne ,to Joseph Boudrot took place.
Jacques returned again to Prince Edward Island with his son, Charles. He and Josèphe are on the 1763 census of Magdelaine Isles, Isle St. Jean.
We find Jacques again in 1773 on the Island of Miscou in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for the occasion of a visit by a priest Abbe' Joseph Mathurin Bourg, the Vicar General of Quebec. There were several marriages celebrated. Among the witnesses were Jacques and his two sons, Joseph and Cyprien.
In 1782 most of the families left the Island of Miscou and moved to Nispisquit (Bathurst) Cape Breton. As for Jacques, he went back to Prince Edward Island with his sons, Joseph and Cyprien.
Jacques died around 1792.
Jacques was married on June 20, 1735 in Port Lajoye, (Rocky Point) Prince Edward Island to Marie Josephe Boutrot (born 17 Oct 1717, the daughter of Francois Boudrot and Jeanne-Anne Laudry of Tracadie). They had ten children:
1. Jacques-Philippe Haché-Gallant was born on June 10, 1736 in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). Jacques Phillipe died Unknown.
2. Marie-Jeanne Haché-Gallant was born on July 14, 1738 in Port LaJoye, I'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). She married Joseph' Boudrot on January 7, 1761at Restigouche, New Brunswick. Marie-Jeanne died on February 15, 1825 in Nipisiquit (Bathurst), New Brunswick, Canada.
3. Joseph Gallant, dit LeGrande was born on December 25, 1740 in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI) and was baptized on May 21, 1741at St. Pierre du Nord Church. Joseph died in 1814 in La Roche (Baie-Egmont), Prince County, l'ile du Prince Edouard.
4. François Haché-Gallant was born in January 10, 1743 (or 1741) in St. Pierre-du-Nord, (near Port-Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI) and was baptized June2, 1743 at St. Pierre du Nord Church. François died in 1752.
5. Marie Anne Haché-Gallant was born in 1747 (or 1750) in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). She married Joseph Arsenau. Marie Anne died on May 13, 1813 in Nipisiquit (Bathurst), New Brunswick, Canada.
6. Cyprien Haché-Gallant was born in 1748 in Port-de-Tracadie, l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). He married Marie Bernard. Cyprien died on March 23, 1814 in Cascumpec, Prince County, l'ile du Prince Edouard.
7. Charles Haché was born in July 1749 (or 18 May 1750) in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). He married Felicité Gautrot. Charles died on June 07, 1842 in Margarée, Cap-Breton, Nouvelle Ecosse, Canada.
8. Geneviève Haché-Gallant was born on October 16, 1751 in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI) and died at birth.
9. Anne Haché-Gallant was born on October 16, 1751 in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). She married François Cormier, Abt. 1771, Prob. St. Pierre-du-Nord, (near Port-Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). François was born Abt. 1751, l'iles-de-la-Madeleine, Nouvelle France anddied Unknown. Anne died on December 27, 1827 in l'iles-de-la-Madeleine, Québec, Lower Canada.
10. Madeleine Haché-Gallant was born about April 1752 in Port-Lajoye (Lajoie), l'ile Saint-Jean (PEI). She married Jean Arseneau on September 17, 1773 on the Island of Miscou. Madeleine died 1830, Prob. in La Roche (Baie-Egmont), Prince County, l'ile du Prince Edouard.
Semble avoir vécu à Tracadie, Ile-St-Jean et à Port-Lajoye. A Ristigouche en 1760 ou eut lieu le mariage de sa fille M. Jeanne en 1761. Serait alors retourné à Ile-St-Jean avec son frère Charles. En 1773, il est à Ile Miscou. Vers 1782, se rend à Ile-St-Jean à nouveau. A Tracadie en 1752.
Jacques was born about 1712. Jacques Haché-Gallant
Corimier Family
LaRochelle
LaRochelle was founded during the 10th century, and became an important harbour from the 12th until the 15th century, dealing mainly in wine, salt and cheese.
In the early 16th century, a small percentage of LaRochelle's population took up the Protestant ways of John Calvin, and became known as Huguenots. Although small in numbers, they were disproportionately powerful in the affairs of France. They had the wealth and the savy to make alliances. The French Wars of Religion which went on from 1562 to 1598 was as much, if not more, a political struggle for power as it was about religion.
Vassy in 1562 where about 90 Huguenots are killed, and the St. Bartholemew Massacre ten years later which triggered an estimated 10,000 people to be killed throughout the land. Then a respite, a brief period of freedom and prosperity under Henry IV until 1620. Then it starts all over again culminating in La Grand Siege de LaRochelle (1627-1628).
The Catholics prevailed. Louis XIII won. The residents of LaRochelle, a Huguenot stronghold, had resisted for 14 months. During this time, the population had decreased from 27,000 to 5,000 due to casualties, famine and disease. It is at this point that many settlers, Catholics and those willing to become Catholics, made plans to emigrate from the area to New France.
Robert Cormier (colonist)
Robert Cormier (1602 – 1712) was a ship’s carpenter who typified the French colonizer of Acadia.
From the Old World to the New
Robert Cormier was born in the Poitou region of France. About 1634, he married Marie Peraude (Perreau) at La Rochelle. They had two sons, Thomas born in 1636 and Jean in 1643. Like most migrants from France to New France and Acadia, Robert arrived as part of an employment contract for a term of three years. These contracts were different in nature from the indentured servant contracts used in the English colonies. Robert's contract in translation reads as follows:
"Robert Cormier's contract signed in La Rochelle on January 8, 1644 and by which Robert Cormier, vessel's carpenter, Marie Perraude, his wife and Thomas Cormier, elder son, dwelling in this city, shall be compelled as they are promising, to get on the first day upon the first request, aboard the ship le Petit Saint Pierre, of which Pierre Boileau is the master and to go in Cape Breton Island, New France Country and to work for Sieurs Tuffet, Duchanin and deChevery as vessel carpenter and to do other things which could be ordered by Sieur Louis Tuffet, commander of Fort Saint Pierre in the said island and to this end, they shall be compelled to obey and carry the orders during the three next and consecutive years, commencing on the day of their embarkation and ending on the day they will re-embark for their return, the said three years done and over. And this for and on condition that for each year they will receive the sum of one hundred and twenty Tour’s pounds, having already received in advance the payment of the first year made by the said Sieurs Tuffet, Duchanin and deChevery and the balance will be paid or made to their order five months after the return of said ship, deducting for what they will have received in the said island and it is understood that in case the said Cormier and his spouse do not obey or revolt against the said Sieur Tuffet and/or other governor's clerks, they shall be deprived of their wages in whole and kept responsible for all damages and interests. The said parties for the accomplishment of these agreements, having assigned one another all their present and future belongings, and real estate, made in LaRochelle, this Eight day of January 1644. Attorney Francois Marcoux and clerical secretary Martin deHarrabilague, both residing in this city.”
Colonial life
The outposts in Acadia were originally very small fur-trading posts. When Cardinal Richelieu authorized a stronger French presence in the New World, he commissioned Isaac de Razilly to be lieutenant-general of Acadia.
French administrators, including nearby Port Royal's lord, the Sieur Charles de Menou d'Aulnay, thought little of the colonists’ reclaiming tidal marshlands. Denys was very impressed with the "great extent of meadows which the sea used to cover and which the Sieur d’Aulay has drained". It was this extensive system of dikes and wooden drainage sluices (called aboiteaux) that set this colony apart from any others. It allowed the colonists to reclaim land that the Mi'kmaq nation had no use for. This greatly aided peaceful co-existence with their neighbours, and Mi'kmaq trade, friendship and intermarriage was and is an immensely important part of the Acadian identity and heritage.
It was to a more well-established settlement in Port Royal that Robert took his family to settle in 1650. Once the family was established, it isn't certain that Robert and Marie stayed at the colony or eventually returned to France.
His son Thomas appears in the 1671 census as a carpenter at Port Royal, aged 35, married to Magdelaine Girouard, with a 2-year-old daughter and possessing 7 cattle, 7 sheep and 6 arpents (2 ha) of land.[5] This shows a typical early colonial holding, capable of sustaining a small family.
Rather than sprawling the colony outward, the Acadians established villages in several distinct core areas, such as the Minas Basin and Beaubassin. It was to Beaubassin that Thomas Cormier moved his family along with others. The 1686 census shows him and his wife now with 9 children, 4 guns, 40 arpents (14 ha) of land, 30 cattle, 10 sheep and 15 hogs. This is considerably more holding than a French peasant could hope for in Old World France.
Legacy
Robert Cormier's sons remained in Acadia. Like his father, Thomas Cormier became a skilled carpenter. According to the Canadian and U.S. National Archives, Thomas is the ultimate ancestor of the Cormiers in the New World. Robert Cormier died on February 12, 1712. Sources are not agreed as to whether he was residing in France at the time of his death.
Cormier stands typical of most emigrants in that he was an indentured servant who earned his passage, he brought his family over to the New World (unlike, e.g., many early settlers of Virginia or Mexico), and - typically Acadian - enjoyed a longer lifespan than his Old World peasant counterpart.
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