This is the story of Jean Baptiste LaBauve (JBL), Acadian immigrant to Louisiana. While all Acadians are extraordinary, possibly the most interesting would have to be the Acadians who journeyed from Acadia in east Canada to settle in south Louisiana. Acadians, both before and after JBL, suffered but those who lived during the time of this epic journey to the south were especially courageous and resilient. They left a seemingly inhospitable environment, caught in the middle of Britain’s thirst for land. The climate was extreme – cold and harsh. Though Acadia was rife with difficulties, it was their home. And when Acadians refused to be British, they were exiled. Deported Acadians arrived in a new drama zone where land was wedged between and disputed by many nations. The climate was just the opposite of Canada – hot, wet, bug-infested, and prone to flooding and hurricanes. Existing records for emigrants such as JBL are scant and specific information about their lives is minimal. However, adding historical accounts to what we do know (and what we think we know) helps us gain a new appreciation for our ancestors' connections to the Louisiana bayou.
The North American LaBauve family began about 1678 when JBL’s great-grandfather Louis Noel LaBauve, presumably a Frenchman and called Noel, arrived in Acadia, a colony of New France (some believe he was the son of an unknown LaBauve and a Mi’kmaq Native American). He married that same year to Marie Rimbault at the Acadian capital Port Royal. However, he lived at Grand Pre (a large group of hamlets) in the Les Mines region on the Baie des Minas (Minas Basin) where his father-in-law Rene Rimbault made his home. Noel LaBauve was at or near Grand Pre until at least 1714 (1686, 1693, 1701 and 1714 Acadian Census records). He had a large family that included five sons who passed the LaBauve name on to children of their own. One of those, JBL’s grandfather Louis LaBauve, was born on 12 August 1684 and baptized on 13 May 1686 at Grand Pre (in the 1686 Les Mines Census – he was 2 - and the 1693 Les Mines Census – he was 6).
Note: Most genealogies in books and on the internet present Antonio LaBauve as the grandfather of JBL. After researching Antonio LaBauve and his family, I have come to the conclusion that this relationship is not accurate. There are far too many inconsistencies. The real question is why do descendants think that Antonio LaBauve was JBL’s grandfather? The problem seems to revolve around two records that have been used incorrectly and were inaccurately presented in Bona Arsenault’s 1965 book History of the Acadians. First, JBL’s death record of 1803 records his parents as Charles LaBauve and Marie Hebert. I believe, after an in depth review of Charles LaBauve, that Hebert was not the surname of JBL’s mother and that this information must have been erroneously reported at the time of its recording in 1803. Second, a JBL was recorded as an 8 year old living with Antonio LaBauve in 1766 Louisiana. Transcription records note this JBL as Antonio’s “nephew.” It would seem that because of these records, JBL was theorized as a son of Charles LaBauve, who must have been an unknown brother of Antonio LaBauve, and a Marie Hebert. He was also given a birth date of 1750, stemming from the 1766 census record. Since the assumed uncle Antonio LaBauve was the son of a senior Antonio LaBauve, JBL’s ancestry was considered “found.” Another problem with this, Charles’s assumed father Antonio LaBauve’s children are well documented in church records and Charles LaBauve was not one of them. More on this later.
Queen Anne’s War began in 1702 between France and Britain. They were fighting for control of North America, a region in which they were both settling. All along the northeast North American coast, hostilities occurred. The British attacked the French settlements Grand Pre and Chignecto in 1705. Later in 1710, Britain laid siege on French Port Royal and captured the town. The Nova Scotia portion of Acadia would hereafter belong to the British. At least two LaBauves saw action in Queen Anne’s War’s during 1712. French captain Jacques-Francois Morin left port at Cape-Breton (New Brunswick) in May 1712 with a crew of nine aboard the privateer Le Trompeur. JBL’s grandfather Louis LaBauve’s older brother Rene LaBauve and younger brother Antoine LaBauve were named as two of those privateers. The privateer sailors were intent on pillaging British ships. They captured at least two English boats in August 1712 and sold the plunder for a profit in Quebec. Later that year, the war ended.
The family of Louis LaBauve.
In about 1712, JBL’s grandfather
Louis LaBauve married Anne Lavache, probably at Grand Pre (assumed because the
LaBauve family was living there, not sure where the Lavache family was from). Their family started as Queen Anne’s War
ended. Following the war, the Treaty of
Utrecht (1713) placed most of Acadia officially in the possession of the British. Nova Scotia had become a British island. Nearby, Ile Royale and Isle St. Jean remained
under French rule. Acadians were not
forced to leave Nova Scotia and were acually encouraged to live on Nova Scotia as British subjects. Those that stayed, and most did, were far too
reluctant to leave the fertile Nova Scotia shorelines. And, the British benefitted from Acadians
remaining. Acadian crops fed the British
soldiers stationed at Port Royal and Acadian’s friendliness with native
Mi’kmaqs allowed the British soldiers to operate in relative peace. The British also enforced new regulations to
ensure French farmers remained. For
example, Acadians on Nova Scotia could not build boats, sell cattle, or even
sell their land. Leaving would mean
completely starting over.
JBL’s father Charles LaBauve was
born in 4 January 1713 at Les Mines (he was christened at Grand Pre the same
day, according to church records). Les
Mines (or Minas) was the traditional name for the area surrounding the southwest
coastline of the Minas Basin – the region between the Riviere Pereau and the
Riviere Gaspereau. The LaBauve home was
probably located in a hamlet near Grand Pre – which was actually not a town but
an area made up of many small hamlets. The
hamlet where the LaBauves lived may have been designated, at least for a while,
as the home of the Rimbault clan (Ethnogenèse Des Premiers Métis Canadiens,
Denis Jean, 2011). Charles LaBauve was
the first child born to his parents (family of 3 in the 1714 Census). In 1714, the Rimbault clan at Les Mines (location
according to the Census) included 13 families, of which five were LaBauve-connected. JBL’s grandfather Louis LaBauve lived
alongside his own father, two brothers, and a sister. Acadian hamlets were normally clans defined
by small family groups. Charles LaBauve
grew up peacefully at Les Mines and his family was only mildly harassed by the
British.
Note: Charles LaBauve record
transcription – “Charles LABAUVE, son of
Louis and Anne LA VACHE, born/baptized (Grand Pré Register) on 4 January 1713.
Sponsors: Charles GAUTROT and Isabelle DUPUIS”
The first three decades of JBL
father Charles LaBauve’s life (1713 to 1744) are often considered the Golden
Age of Nova Scotia as Acadians thrived in many ways, unfettered by British
regulations. The British were only
present on the island at a garrison in Port Royal and a bank fishery at Canso. Grandfather Louis LaBauve remained at Les
Mines where he raised a large family.
Historical accounts place him at some point in Riviere aux Canards, an
area comprising 21 hamlets adjoining Grand Pre (according to Bona
Arsenault and Acadians in Gray) just to the northwest.
Note: Records from census
enumerations indicate if they were at Riviere aux Canards, it was after 1714. I have not seen the connection between the
LaBauves and Riviere aux Canards. Louis
LaBauve did have some connection to the French Island of Ile St. Jean (his son was
born at Ile St. Jean in 1716, a brother Rene LaBauve went to Ile St. Jean in
late 1720s, a brother Antonio LaBauve moved to Ile St. Jean by 1729, a brother
Francois LaBauve went north to Chignecto about 1712 and then to Ile St. Jean near
1730). Moving to Ile St. Jean would have
been a huge departure from normal.
Though Ile St. Jean offered fertile lands, they paled in comparison to
the marsh farmlands created by arboiteaux at Nova Scotia, the Acadian version
of dykes. Acadians did trickle north to
Ile St. Jean but they usually found the land less desirable and often returned.
Note: Louis LaBauve had five children born between 1713 and 1730 whose
births were recorded in church records.
Four were recorded at Grand Pre – Charles LaBauve (1713), Euphrosine
(1721), Joseph (1725), and Marguerite (1730).
One child’s birth was recorded at Ile St. Jean – Jean (1716). Jean was christened at Beaubassin in June
1717. Jean’s birth may be evidence of a
short move to Ile St. Jean (and/or the Chignecto region) that did not work out.
Acadians in Nova Scotia took an
Oath of Fidelity to the Nova Scotia Governor and the British King George II in
1729 and 1730. The British had required
Acadians to claim their lands but Acadians resisted the British desire for them
to also provide a survey along with the claims.
The oaths would satisfy the British governor for the time being and
loosely gave Acadians the designation of French neutrals. Grandfather Louis LaBauve and his two
children Jean LaBauve (14 years, or maybe this was Uncle Jean LaBauve) and
Charles LaBauve (17 years) took the oath in April 1730 while living in the Les
Mines district that included Pisiquid (all those Acadians recorded adjoining
these LaBauves were from the Les Mines area – Grand Pre, Riviere aux Canards –
and Pisiquid). Those Acadians taking
oaths and whom were recorded along with the LaBauves (adjoining names in the
document) were the Landrys of Pisiquid, the Trahans of Pisiquid, and the Benoits
of Pisiquid. Charles LaBauve was only 17
and preparing for his adult life. His great
uncle Francois LaBauve (grandfather Louis LaBauve’s brother) also took the oath
and may have been living in the Chignecto region (his oath was recorded with a
group of Acadians that were known to have lived there).
Note: No other children of Louis LaBauve were found in church
records. Bona Arsenault (1965, History
of the Acadians) notes that Louis LaBauve had nine children. No information about the source of this
statement is known and in other sources, I have only seen “possibilities” for
subsequent children. Paul LaBauve is
also assumed to have been a Louis LaBauve child, born about 1741. His birth is not found in church records. If there were other children, why had their
births or christenings not been recorded at Grand Pre? Had Louis LaBauve moved to a different
location?
In about 1737 at about age 24,
Charles LaBauve married Marie Benoit in Les Mines, probably near Grand Pre or
Pisiquid. These villages were 20 miles
apart and many clan-populated hamlets were found within these locations and in
between. Marie Benoit was the daughter
of Clement Benoit, whose family was a part of the Roy clan (Ethnogenèse Des
Premiers Métis Canadiens, Denis Jean, 2011).
The Benoits settled at Pisiquid (now Windsor) in Les Mines, southeast of
Grand Pre on the Minas Basin. They are
documented residents of the area around Pisiquid well into the 1730s (birth
records). Two churches served Acadians
in Pisiquid at the time – L’Assomption and La Sainte Famille. The records of these churches have not
survived. Note: The LaBauve-Benoit marriage was also noted by Stephen A. White,
1999, respected Acadian historian who challenged previously published research
that was incorrect.
JEAN BAPTISTE LABAUVE
JBL was born on 31 January 1738,
the first child of parents Charles LaBauve and Marie Benoit-LaBauve. The next day, 1 February 1738, JBL was
christened at Saint Charles aux Mines Church in Grand Pre (the church register
was carried to Louisiana during the Acadian deportation to St. Gabriel Church
in Iberville and therefore survives but only for years 1707 to 1748). JBL’s birth record was recorded at the St.
Charles aux Mines Chapel where his surname and that of his father Charles was
recorded in the chapel registry as LaNoue (A Pierre LaNoue married at Grand Pre
in 1729). Sponsors for JBL’s christening
were Jean G. Benoit (probably mother Marie Benoit’s uncle or cousin) and Marie
Babin (probably mother Marie Benoit’s aunt, sister of her mother Anne Babin.
She was also Charles LaBauve’s aunt – his grandfather Louis LaBauve’s wife’s
brother’s wife).
Note: Most descendants report JBL’s
birth incorrectly as 1750 in pedigree charts (original source probably Bona
Arsenault, 1965, History of the Acadians).
Accurately, our JBL was born on 31
January 1738. Among several other
records that help justify this connection, our JBL’s death record makes me feel
even more certain. JBL died in 1803 at age
65 (St. Martinville Church records, volume 4, 293), which translates to a birth
date of late 1737 or early 1738.
Over the next few years, JBL’s
father and mother added children to their family. A little brother Michel LaBauve arrived on 29
September 1739. He was born and baptized
on the same day at Grand Pre (church record).
This birth/christening record from the St. Charles aux Mines Chapel
Register again gave LaNoue as the surname of the child and his parents. Sponsors for this birth were Antoine LeBlanc
(Charles LaBauve’s aunt was married to a LeBlanc) and Francoise LaBauve (also spelled
“LaNoue,” probably Charles LaBauve’s aunt).
In two years when JBL was three
years old, another brother, Ignace Marie LaBauve, was born on 1 February 1741
at Grand Pre. He was also christened the
same day as his birth (church record). The
record from St. Charles aux Mines Church notes the sponsors were Abraham Dugas
and Marguerite Terriot. A short
statement was added in the record - “le parein Joseph dit autremont cy devant
Abraham Dugas.” The meaning of this,
according Acadian researchers, is unclear. Roughly translated word for word reads "the parent Joseph otherwise (dit autrement) heretofore (cy devant) Abraham Dugas."
JBL’s grandfather Louis LaBauve
and father Charles LaBauve, like most Acadians, farmed and raised livestock (guess
based on the norm) on fertile Les Mines marshlands created by arboiteau, or dyke-like
barriers. They probably remained at or
near their traditional home in Les Mines (Louis LaBauve and Charles LaBauve
children were born at Grand Pre). Acadians
developed communal societies based on family ties. Families remained together, worked together,
and simplified living, as opposed to struggling separately. Together, families built arboiteau and
sluices which drained the swamps for farming, grew and harvested crops, tended
cattle, erected communal homes and barns, and built houses for married children
as the clan grew. Acadians were kind, enjoyed
performing good deeds, and lived for joie de vivre – cheerful enjoyment of
life.
They also hunted, fished, and
trapped for eating and trading with both British and other French settlers
(historical norm). Many of the skills
they enjoyed in the harsh cold environment were taught to them by their native
friends, who were known as Mi’kmaqs. The
LaBauve’s lifestyle was appealing, largely because they, and all Grand Pre
Acadians, usually enjoyed neutrality with British, French, and the Mi’kmaqs. The lack of complex regulations allowed them
to remain relatively immune to issues of space, such as fighting over land
claims. They farmed what they could,
shared, and enjoyed a stress-free standard of living.
The area known as Grand Pre,
within the Les Mines area, was accessed from sea by a wild and insecure
harbor. Trade vessels arriving to and
departing from Grand Pre had to be less than 40 or 50 tons due to the low depth
of the water. Boats waited for high
tides (reportedly differing from low tide by 50 to 60 feet) so they would be able to sail
up the creeks. During trade runs, boats
were often found stranded on 5 to 6 mile beds of mud during low tide. Acadians caught White Porpoise (probably today
called Harbor Porpoises) in the Minas Basin from which they obtained food and oil
– for themselves and for trade (information in this paragraph from Mascarene’s
description of Grand Pre and the Minas Basin in 1720).
The meadow at Grand Pre was built
by the Acadians from marshland. Water
was controlled by the Grand Pre dyke. Grand
Pre’s meadow was about 14 miles wide and gave the Acadians ample space to
produce an excellent yield of wheat and peas.
Cattle were found abundantly all throughout Grand Pre. The family dwellings were “scattered houses
of the town” and were found on the highlands bordering the meadows and along
creeks and rivers (from Mascarene’s description in 1720). The Grand Pre homes were described as “low
houses framed of timber and their chimney framed with the building of wood and
lined with clay except the fireplace below” (from a January 1747 report). Among the Grand Pre hamlets were scattered
Mi’kmaq native Americans who shared this region (from Mascarene’s description
in 1720).
The Charles LaBauve home was,
like most Acadian homes of the 1730s and 1740s, probably a single large
room. Some homes had a loft, cellar,
and/or closet. According to reports,
Acadians were minimalists. For example,
they had few chairs in the home for sitting.
Other reports note they owned very few mugs for consuming
beverages. Instead, they drank from a ladle
dipped into a communal basin. Another
characteristic of Acadians was their resistance to following guidelines (from
Mascarene’s 1720 description of Grand Pre) – “All orders sent to them, if not
suiting their humors, are scoffed at and laughed at, and they put themselves
upon the footing of obeying no government.”
Many of JBL’s LaBauve clan
members remained in the Grand Pre area throughout the 1740s. For example, aunt Euphrosine LaBauve married
about 1740 to Jean Gautrot of Grand Pre (family birth and marriage church
records) and had at least two children whose births were recorded in 1741 and
1748 at Grand Pre (Saint Charles aux Mines Records survive only for years
1707-1748 so they may have been there longer).
That family was therefore living at Les Mines. Euphrosine LaBauve-Gautrot’s husband Jean
Gautrot died in 1748 at Grand Pre and was buried there (Saint Charles aux Mines
Records).
Uncle Jean LaBauve married about
1746 (near age 30) to Agnes Saulnier of Grand Pre (family birth and marriage
church records). Their first child was
born about 1748 and according to tradition, they were at Riviere aux Canards
(birth not recorded in Saint Charles aux Mines Records). Tradition also reports they were at that
location until the early 1750s.
Grand Pre was the site of drama
in 1744 and 1745. The French used Grand
Pre as a staging ground for attacking Port Royal, the home of British soldiers
and the British governor. France was
attempting to overthrow the British rule of Acadia. The attacks were repelled by the British but
the French were not ready to give up. In
1746, they again attacked British Port Royal but were again repelled. The British Governor was not happy and
decided to secure control over Grand Pre, which was viewed as a French hub of
resistance. 500 British soldiers were placed
in Grand Pre in January 1747 where they shielded themselves in Acadian houses
within different hamlets. In February
1747, a 500 soldier force of French and Mi’kmaq snuck up on the British and
attacked the Acadian homes in which they hid.
Hundreds of British were killed or wounded.
The British retreated south back
to Port Royal and the French army retreated in an opposite direction, overland
northeast toward Beaubassin. All those
who lived in the Grand Pre and Les Mines region were affected. British soldiers retuned to Grand Pre and
Pisiquid after the French had left, took possession of the town, and forced the
Acadians there to promise obedience to the British government. The LaBauve families, if they were still at
Les Mines, would have considered leaving the area.
Acadia, 1744 showing the location
of Pisiquid, Grand Pre, and Beaubassin.
According to Saint Charles aux
Mines church books, JBL’s parent had no more child births or christenings
recorded at Grand Pre after 1742. More
than likely, the Charles LaBauve family stayed in the area but moved to another
village serviced by another chapel whose records did not survive – like Riviere
aux Canards or Pisiquid. Maybe, Charles
LaBauve joined his father-in-law’s Benoit (or Roy) clan at Pisiquid? They may have also traveled to a new location
to start a new family – like Ile St. Jean or Beaubassin.
Wherever JBL and his family were,
no known children are known to have been born to Charles LaBauve and his wife
Marie Benoit. Did they have other
children but none survived? Were their
children born but just remain unknown?
Did Marie Benoit die and Charles LaBauve not remarry for some time?
If JBL and his family were still
at Les Mines at the end of the 1740s, their peaceful existence received a new challenge. In 1749, Acadian comfort at Les Mines continued
to deteriorate due to increased hostilities between the British and
Mi’kmaqs. The French gave bounties (payments) to Mi’kmaqs for British scalps and the British gave
bounties to their own soldiers for Mi’kmaq scalps. British soldiers had populated a small fort
at Grand Pre since 1747 and were attacked by a large Mi’kmaq army combined with
some Acadian militia in 1749. In the
aftermath, the British Governor had Acadian militiamen arrested (including
Joseph Broussard, who will be presented shortly) and seized the property of the
inhabitants of Pisiquid, where the Acadian militia was assumed to have
lived. They also built another fort at
Pisiquid to help protect British soldiers.
As a result, many Acadians at Les Mines decided to remove themselves and
seek a more peaceful, quiet life away from the British drama. Grandfather Louis LaBauve’s clan made the decision to leave (if they had not left already).
By 1752, grandfather Louis
LaBauve was no longer in the Les Mines region.
He was at Chipoudy near Petitcoudiac (1752 Chipoudy Census) in a region
known as Trois Rivieres. Chipoudy,
originally settled by Pierre Thibodeau (according to Surette, 1998, 44-46), was
a series of hamlets along the Chipoudy River southwest of the Petitcoudiac
River. Grandfather LaBauve’s family
included his wife, four boys, and one girl (in the census). Living next to him was Jean LaBauve, with his
wife, one boy, and three girls. Note: This was almost certainly JBL’s great uncle
(grandfather Louis LaBauve’s brother) or it could have been JBL’s uncle – Charles
LaBauve’s brother. And next to uncle
Jean LaBauve was uncle Joseph LaBauve, father Charles LaBauve’s younger
brother. Uncle Joseph LaBauve had
seemingly just married as there were no children in their household. In Chipoudy, their neighbors were Martin
Aucoin, Honore Savoie (wife a Commeau), Rene Blanchard (wife a Commeau and
mother a Savoie), and a large Commeau clan.
Note: Charles LaBauve’s brother,
uncle Jean LaBauve, had a son born in Riviere aux Canard about 1748 so these
LaBauves probably moved to Chipoudy between 1748 and 1752.
Charles LaBauve was not in
Chipoudy in 1752, nor was he enumerated in any other location in the 1752
census. The 1752 Census appears to have
covered all of the Chignecto and Beaubassin region. Since Charles LaBauve was not there, he is
assumed to have remained in Les Mines (just a guess).
Aunt Marguerite LaBauve, sister
of father Charles LaBauve, is believed to have married Jacques Dubois circa
1754. Jacques Dubois was the son of Jean Dubois, whose family was originally
from Les Mines and more specifically Pisiquid.
Aunt Marguerite LaBauve was probably single and living with her father
Louis LaBauve at Chipoudy in 1752. Note: Jacques Dubois’ sister Marie Joseph Dubois
married Charles LaBauve either before the marriage or just after. The
assumption is that the marriage occurred just after.
JBL’s mother Marie Benoit-LaBauve
died before 1755 (between 1742 - last child’s birth - and 1755 - Charles
LaBauve’s second marriage). About 1755 or before, Charles LaBauve
married Marie Joseph Dubois, daughter of Jean Dubois (their daughter was
christened in 1756; according to Stephen A. White, this was Charles LaBauve’s
second marriage). An association between
the LaBauve and Dubois families had been formed and Charles LaBauve and his
sister Marguerite LaBauve had now joined the Jean Dubois clan. Note: The marriage is thought to have taken place
in 1755 as their first known child was born in 1756. The marriage could have taken place earlier
and older children are simply unknown.
The LaBauve-Dubois marriage probably took place at or near Petitcoudiac
(location of Charles LaBauve in 1755 Census and Jean Dubois in 1755 Census). Note: Many Acadians left Petitcoudiac and the
Chignecto region during late 1755 and 1756 and so the marriage must have taken
place before that time. Charles
LaBauve was about 42 and Marie Dubois was about 25.
Note: According to Acadian church records, Jean Dubois was in Grand Pre
in 1722, at Beaubassin in 1731, and Petitcoudiac in 1739. Therefore, Charles LaBauve would have moved
to Petitcoudiac to marry Marie Joseph Dubois, daughter of Jean Dubois. Jean
Dubois was at Petitcoudiac in 1752 (1752 census) and probably was living at
Village-des-Dubois on the Petitcoudiac River by that time.
In 1755, Grandfather Louis
LaBauve was again found in Chipoudy among the same men and others who had been there in 1752. Louis LaBauve’s family included a wife, four
boys, and no girls (Marguerite LaBauve must have been the single daughter in
1752 and was not there in 1755 as she had married Jacques Dubois). Next to him in the Census (and assumed to
have been living next to him) was again Jean LaBauve who now had five children
– three boys and two girls. Note: These children do not match the
previous Jean LaBauve of 1752 who was certainly uncle Jean LaBauve. Could this have been grandfather Louis
LaBauve’s brother great uncle Jean LaBauve?
Great uncle Jean LaBauve’s children all married Pierre Vincent
daughters, who were from Petitcoudiac.
Uncle Joseph LaBauve was not there as he had moved (noted later). More than 80 families were enumerated at
Chipoudy in 1755.
The 1755 Census included Chipoudy
and those villages arranged mostly along perimeter of the Bay of
Beaubassin. Some were also found on the
shorelines of rivers that emptied into the bay.
The families located at the Petitcoudiac village were just northeast of
Chipoudy. Petitcoudiac was a large
expanse of swamp along the Petitcoudiac River that was converted to meadow by
Acadian-built arboiteau. These meadows
were at the foot of hills known as Caledoniennes. Like most Acadian locations, Petitcoudiac was
a system of small hamlets or smaller villages populated by family clans which
did not denote one location.
JBL’s father Charles LaBauve was
enumerated at Petitcoudiac in the 1755 Census.
No data was recorded in the census on the size of his family – very few
men did not have their data included in the enumeration (but there were others,
unsure why this occurred). Father
Charles LaBauve and aunt Marguerite LaBauve were members of the Jean Dubois
clan and lived in a village known as Village-des-Dubois, led by Jean
Dubois. The village included Jean
Dubois’ three sons and four son-in-laws.
Charles LaBauve was married to Marie Josephe Dubois (or would be soon)
and aunt Marguerite LaBauve had recently married Jacques Dubois. Note:
Marguerite LaBauve-Dubois had a child christened at Beaubassin in 1755 but was living
at Village-des-Dubois. The Jean
Dubois family was known to have lived in or near Beaubassin between 1732 and
1740.
The hamlets that made up
Petitcoudiac, all along the Petitcoudiac River, were the home to about 80
families (1755 Census). These hamlets
were small, often consisting of three to five houses for only extended families
of the clan leader. Surette
(Metis/Acadian Heritage, 1604-2004, published 1998) identified families in
Petitcoudiac hamlets, which can be accurately matched to the names on the 1755
Census (page 57 and 58). Petitcoudiac
hamlets included Anse-a-Rosette (home of Jacques Leger), Village-d’en-Bas or
Village-des-Bertrand (home of Jean Bertrand), Village-des-Blanchard (home of
the Pierre Amirault family – at Chipoudy/Petitcoudiac by 1732), and
Village-des-Dubois (home of the Jean Dubois family). Note:
More families lived in Petitcoudiac according the 1755 Census and hence,
Petitcoudiac must have included additional villages. For example, Village-des-Lacouline was a
Petitcoudiac village and home to Jacque, Pierre, and Rene Saulnier. Le Cran and Village-des-Beausoleil were
Petitcoudiac villages and both, at times, the home of the Broussards.
Note: Village-des-Dubois is currently the location of Weldon. It was on the Dubois Creek which is now the
Weldon Creek. Village-des-Blanchard is
now known as Hillsborough, and Village-d’en-Bas (also known as
Village-des-Bertrand) is now a location near Surry and Edges Landing.
Also enumerated in the 1755
Census was uncle Joseph LaBauve. He was
found across the Chignecto Bay at Menoudy.
He was newly married (first wife was believed to have been named Marie)
and had one child, a son (according the census), who was probably born in the
last year or so. His wife’s surname is
unknown but he likely moved to Menoudy with or to his wife’s family or clan.
The Seven Year’s War (in the US it was called the French and Indian War) began in
1754 (but not officially until 1756) and the North American east coast served
as one of several battle zones. The war came
about for many reasons and one had to do with Britain’s desire to rid their
land of Acadians. In 1755, the Acadians
reluctantly agreed to another oath for the British. However, the British Governor was not
satisfied with the unenthusiastic pledge of allegiance and after years of
threats, finally activated a plan to deport the Acadians. The decision was easier to make since the Acadians
held the most productive land tracts at Nova Scotia. An attack at Fort Beausejour by a British
force against French soldiers (later called the Battle of Fort Beausejour) in
June 1755 sealed the fate of the Acadians.
Fort Beausejour was lost to the British and on 31 July 1755, forcible
removal of the Acadian population from the entire colony was ordered.
Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil
was an Acadian resistance leader against the British. He was about 10 years Charles LaBauve’s
senior and had lived at Petitcoudiac since before 1730. Broussard was with the French soldiers as an
Acadian militia man in many of the previous French attacks on the British, such
as Grand Pre in 1747 and then Fort Beausejour in 1755. Joseph Broussard and others like him were
well known and encouraged their neighbors to do whatever was necessary to
protect their home. One thing is for
sure, Charles LaBauve and his son JBL knew about Joseph Broussard and likely
revered him as a hero and leader, as most Acadians did. Note: Later
JBL married Joseph Broussard’s daughter in Louisiana and one might conclude
that some familial connection had been made at some point, possibly in Acadia. In 1755, Joseph Broussard lived just a few
miles up the Petitcoudiac River from Charles LaBauve (1755 Acadia Census).
In August 1755, the British
commander at the newly British-controlled Fort Beausejour called Acadian clan
leaders to the fort to distribute gifts, presumably to discuss peace. About 250 clan leaders arrived and were
promptly imprisoned. Over the next few
weeks, nearly 250 more Acadians were captured. One
of those imprisoned was Joseph Broussard.
There is no list of prisoners and one or more LaBauve family leaders may
have been among those captured. Grandfather
Louis LaBauve is not known to have been captured but several sons (including
JBL’s father Charles LaBauve) may have been held at Fort Beausejour or Fort
Lawrence nearby (as they were deported, noted later). Word spread to all imprisoned men’s families
in the Chignecto region that their family and clan leaders were being held,
their land had been confiscated, and they would be deported. The British hoped that these announcements
would lure the others into the fort. The
plan failed and they decided to hunt down the remaining Chignecto Acadians. Some Acadians quickly journeyed to the
Riviere St. Jean for help and found French commander Charles Deschamps stationed
there.
In late August 1755, British schooners
left Fort Beausejour for Acadian villages at Petitcoudiac and Chipoudy. They planned to burn villages so 1) they
would intimidate the men still uncaptured to surrender and 2) the women and
children of those already imprisoned would surrender. On 31 August 1755, British schooners anchored
near the mouth of the Chipoudy River at Chipoudy. The next day, the British set fire to all villages
south and north of Chipoudy along the river (Surette, 1998). Most inhabitants had already escaped to the
forest where they watched their homes, buildings, fields, cattle, and grain
burn.
According to sources (as noted in
Surette, 1998, 44-46), villages to the south of Chipoudy were home to Comeau,
Aucoin, LaBauve, and Blanchard families.
The LaBauve village would have been the home of grandfather Louis
LaBauve and uncle Jean LaBauve (according to the 1752 and 1755 Census, they
lived near Aucoin and Comeau families). With everything they owned now in ashes, the LaBauve families were left without homes with winter looming. Average temperatures for September were tolerable
but by November, harsh cold would set in.
Once December arrived, the cold would become unbearable without proper
shelter. Note: Grandfather Louis LaBauve and/or Jean LaBauve from Chipoudy, were
quite possibly/probably being held at Fort Beausejour and so at the least,
their families were left homeless in the forest. Villages in north Chipoudy were home to Thibodeau,
Pitre, Savoie, Levron, Breau, and Gaudet clans.
A chapel called Notre Dame de la Visitation was also in a north Chipoudy
village location.
In the next few days, the British
schooners entered the Petitcoudiac River.
They passed the lower Petitcoudiac River villages and traveled beyond,
intent on upstream villages. Their goal
was the main villages of the region known as Petitcoudiac, specifically three villages in a wide expanse of meadows along the Petitcoudiac River swamps
formed by arboiteau and dykes. The
villages to be destroyed (which may have been targeted because the men were all
prisoners) were Village-d’en-Bas, Village-des-Blanchard, and
Village-des-Dubois. Village-des-Dubois,
the furthest of these villages upstream, was the home of JBL, who was probably living
with his father Charles LaBauve (JBL was 16 years old), siblings (unknown if
they were still alive), and his father’s new wife Marie Josephe Dubois-LaBauve
(Charles LaBauve was at this village according to the 1755 Census).
As French commander Charles
Deschamps followed the British schooners closely with 120 men, 20 to 30 young
Acadians from Petitcoudiac joined the French soldiers (as noted in Surette,
1998, 57-58). This seems even more
probable when we assume that the older men and fathers in these villages were
already captured and were not available for combat. Note:
The British later reported that they had seen few older men during their
pillaging. The young boys, the last
line of self-defense for the Acadians, were armed with cutlasses and forks, while
Deschamps men were all armed with firearms.
Note: This Jean Baptiste LaBauve was our JBL as the only other Jean
Baptiste LaBauve who was old enough to serve was born in 1723 and was far too
old to be a “young Acadian” that fit the rest of this group…and he did not live
in this region (Surette, 1998, 59-61).
When the British canoed to shore
and started burning all three Petitcoudiac villages simultaneously, Deschamps
men, with some Mi’kmaqs and the Acadian boys, attacked the invaders at Village-des-Blanchard. The British fled but many were killed or
injured. British soldiers hid behind an arboiteau
and the British and French/Mi’kmaq/Acadian forces came to a standoff. Gunfire from both sides was sporadic and was
meant to keep the other from moving.
Deschamps troops dragged themselves along dykes into position for a
charge. A signal was given and the
French attacked, driving the British to again retreat. As they ran across the swamps toward their
schooners, British soldiers were injured, killed, and drowned. The remainder of the British soldiers
immediately returned to Fort Beausejour.
In all, 24 British were killed and 11 injured. Only one French soldier was killed along with
three Mi’kmaqs.
The British were scared by the
audacity of the French and Acadian defensive resolve. They more carefully resumed village
destruction soon but closer to Fort Beausejour.
The goal for the British remained the same – all Acadians were to be
apprehended for deportation. However, the
removal of Acadians would take longer than they had expected. About 30 families left homeless by the
Petitcoudiac destruction were taken by French leader Deschamps back to his
headquarters at Riviere St. Jean after the Chipoudy and Petitcoudiac campaign. The healthier families stayed and hid in the
forests. Other fled to safer locations.
Joseph Broussard, some of his
family, and various neighbors had been held captive at Fort Beausejour over the
previous months. Some of those, including Joseph Broussard (and 85 others from Fort Lawrence), escaped on 1 October 1755.
Men who escaped were reunited with their
families and were forced to fend for themselves as they prepared for the cold
winter. For those that had been captured
and were not able to escape, the threats of deportation became a reality. Note:
Some of these captured men were deported to the British South Carolina Colony
where many died in captivity but - many traveled back to Acadia!
Charles LaBauve and second wife
Marie Josephe Dubois-LaBauve were definitely in the forests since their village
at Petitcoudiac was destroyed. Note: Charles LaBauve may have been captured
and escaped with Joseph Broussard. However, there
are no physical records to show he was captured, no physical records show that he was held at
either Fort Beausejour or Fort Lawrence, and no physical records of deportation. The location of JBL during the ensuing winter is not known. JBL may have stayed
near his father and helped him survive the winter of 1755 and 1756. He was 17 at the time and would be 18 after
January 1756. Two known younger brothers
– Michel and Ignace – could have been 16 and 13 years old. Whether they were still alive is unknown (no
trace of these boys has been found). JBL
also may have been adamant about fighting for Acadian’s right to stay in
Acadia. If so, he may have remained near
Joseph Broussard and joined guerilla-like militias who would harass the
British.
Note: The fate of grandfather Louis LaBauve is unknown. He was alive in 1755 prior to the British
aggressions but afterwards, no records show his location. He still had one son Paul LaBauve (remember Paul is only a possible son) who was
much younger than his older children – Charles LaBauve was 28 years older than
his younger brother Paul (if Paul was even his younger brother). Paul LaBauve seems to have survived the Seven
Years’ War and ended up at the city of Quebec by 1765. How did Paul LaBauve
escape to Quebec?
JBL’s close LaBauve relatives
were not able to control their own destiny.
Charles LaBauve’s brother Joseph LaBauve from Menoudy across the Chignecto
Basin was captured during the Acadian roundup of 1755. His family joined him in captivity at one of
the Beaubassin forts and they were deported on a British ship to the
Pennsylvania Colony in the fall of 1755 (they remained there until 1763 and
then disappeared). Charles LaBauve’s
other brother Jean LaBauve met the same fate. He and his family were deported to the
Virginia Colony in the fall of 1755 (they remained there until spring 1756 when
they were sent to Liverpool, England and then to Morlaix, France in spring
1763).
Note: Acadians were deported to many different locations – England,
France, and British colonies in America.
Those that went to the Virginia Colony suffered the worst fate. When ships filled with Acadians arrived in
Virginia, they were not allowed to disembark for some time and had to remain on
ships. Those that survived and entered
Virginia were not allowed to stay. Those Acadians were loaded up in 1756 on
ships again, this time bound for various ports in England. Once to England, they were treated as
criminals, left on ships for extended time, and often died of smallpox.
Aunt Euphrosine LaBauve-Gautrot,
wife of Jean Gautrot, was also deported to Virginia in the fall of 1755
(assumed time of capture, have seen no record to show date and location). Her capture location is unknown – she and her
family may have been taken at the Les Mines region (where she lived with the
Gautrot clan) or the Chignecto region. Note: Her trail could be followed to England
in 1756 where she died before 1763, the year her family was shipped to France.
Aunt Marguerite LaBauve-Dubois
was at Village-des-Dubois in 1755 and was certainly displaced like the other
Dubois families and Charles LaBauve. She
actually had a daughter born in September 1755 at Petitcoudiac just after
Village-des-Dubois was burned (source listed as Petitcoudiac church records,
record of unknown origin). Her family
was not detained and deported during that year.
On 26 February 1756 at Fort
Beausejour, another mass prison break occurred.
80 more Acadian men who were taken prisoner the previous fall 1755 escaped
from Fort Beausejour. The men who
remained at Fort Beausejour were those that had avoided a fall 1755
deportation to British Colonies in the south.
While some Acadian captives were loaded into ships and sent away, others
were retained as captives. The British
had limited access to ships at this location for the expulsion of
Acadians. The men who escaped this time secretly
tunneled under the fort wall for many nights using horse ribs from the animals
they ate to survive. Once out, they
barely reached the woods ahead of the guards.
The Acadian escapees were anxious to help their families survive. February in Nova Scotia saw average
temperatures in the mid-20s Fahrenheit, rarely climbing above freezing.
By 1756, Charles LaBauve and family were at French controlled Ile St. Jean. Had Charles LaBauve taken his family immediately to Ile St. Jean or had they suffered in the forest through winter and then traveled there once spring set in? At Port-la-Joye, Ile St. Jean, the birth of their first known child was recorded – Rosalie (Rose) LaBauve – on 12 August 1756. Note: This birth date should tell us that Charles LaBauve was not a prisoner in mid-December 1755 since that would be the time of conception! Sadly three days later, little Rose LaBauve was buried there – 15 August 1756. Their assumed safety at Ile St. Jean would be temporary. Though we know Charles LaBauve was present at Ile St. Jean, the location of JBL is unknown. At age 18, he may have followed his father, who was now 43, or he may have stayed to fight the British with Joseph Broussard or some other defense-minded clan. Note: An Acadian roundup on Ile St. Jean occurred in 1758 and the Charles LaBauve family is not known to have been captured.
Map showing Ile St. Jean and Ile Royale in 1757. Charles LaBauve was in Port-La-Joye in 1757 and possibly Louisbourg by 1758. These islands were French land and considered safe from British aggression (map by Mikmaq - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)
The connection between the LaBauve family and the Dubois family ended in 1756 or 1757. After father Charles LaBauve and his second (known) wife Marie Josephe Dubois LaBauve had a child in August 1756, they did not have another known child. On 7 November 1757, Marie Josephe Dubois-LaBauve married Louis Cassagne dit Languedoc at Louisbourg on Ile Royale (or later Cape Breton Island) further east and north of Nova Scotia. Therefore, JBL’s father Charles LaBauve died in 1756 or 1757 on Ile St. Jean or Ile Royale.
Note: According to Bona Arsenault, between 1749 and 1768, Marie Benoit-LaBauve gave Charles LaBauve (Bona Arsenault claimed he was also known as Thomas LaBauve) four more children, three sons and a daughter. Note: Assume this information came from a census record for Thomas LaBauve, a census that I have not seen, probably at Riviere St. Jean in 1769. If they were still on Île St.-Jean in 1758, they likely escaped the roundup there and took refuge on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore. Arsenault says the Thomas LaBauve family was at Restigouche in June 1760, when son Gabriel LaBauve was baptized there (unknown source, I have seen nothing on Thomas LaBauve in Restigouche). The family may have escaped the roundup at Restigouche later that summer. Arsenault places Thomas LaBauve and his family on Rivière St.-Jean in 1765 and 1769. Obviously this scenario differs from the one that reports Marie Josephe Dubois-LaBauve having remarried at Louisbourg in late 1757. Since JBL was incorrectly assigned by Arsenault, I also do not give much credibility to this Charles LaBauve scenario. Arsenault's Thomas LaBauve was more likely a cousin to Charles LaBauve and son of Rene LaBauve.
The Jean Dubois clan all
seem to have remained in the area of Petitcoudiac until at least April
1756. Note: Seven Jean Dubois grandchildren were christened at
Petitcoudiac between 1754 and April 1756, including three in March and April
(not sure of the source for these christenings). By
September 1757, most Jean Dubois clan members had traveled overland west to
Quebec. One Dubois grandchild was born in Quebec City in September
1757, another at Kamouraska, Quebec in September 1757, and Jean Dubois’ wife died
at St. Charles, Quebec in December 1757. At least six of Jean
Dubois’ children were in the Quebec region. However, at least two
others were captured and later deported to France. None went
south. Note: Others died during the Seven Year’s War
period.
The overland route to the St. Lawrence River largely followed the Riviere St. Jean northwest from the Bay of Fundy. The map above shows St. Lawrence River locations that were popular settlements for Acadians such as the Dubois clan (Kamouraska, L'Islet, St. Charles, and Quebec).
JBL’s Aunt Marguerite LaBauve-Dubois, the wife of a Jean Dubois clan member and husband of Jacques Dubois, was at Kamouraska, Quebec on the bank of the St. Lawrence River in 1757 (child’s birth recorded there 25 September 1757). Therefore, at least one LaBauve took the overland route to Quebec to escape the British depredations. Could Aunt Marguerite’s possible younger brother uncle Paul LaBauve (and possibly grandfather Louis LaBauve, if still alive) have also been with this group? Note: Marguerite LaBauve-Dubois died in early February 1861 and was reportedly buried at St. Pierre-du-Sud, Ile St. Jean. Note: Keep in mind that Paul LaBauve is only a possible brother of Charles LaBauve.
Descendants might assume that JBL followed one of three actions during the late 1750: 1) He escaped, following his aunt (and possibly uncle and grandfather) and his step-mother’s Dubois clan (all Acadians from his home at Village-des-Dubois) on an overland route to the St. Lawrence River and Quebec, 2) He escaped, following his father and his young Dubois stepmother to Ile St. Jean and possibly later to Ile Royale, or 3) He stayed and fought the British with Acadian militia, namely Joseph Broussard. Considering he did not marry at any of these locations (that is known), my guess is that he stayed with the Broussards – heroes of the Acadians and neighbors just up the Petitcoudiac River. Note: My guess is substantiated by his deportation to Louisiana and his connection to Joseph Broussard in Louisiana – JBL married Joseph Broussard’s young daughter there!
If JBL
and/or his father Charles LaBauve (who was probably already deceased) were at
Ile St. Jean or Ile Royale in late 1758, he/they would have been forced to
escape capture by the British again. In August 1758, the British
started to hunt Acadians on Ile St. Jean and Ile Royale. Out of the
4,600 Acadians that were on Ile St. Jean, the British captured and deported
3,100 in August alone. On Ile Royale, 4,000 Acadians were captured
and deported. Many ships deporting these captured Acadians sank en
route to France and all aboard died. Many others died of
disease. About half of those captured perished in one way or
another. However, some Acadians continued to escape
capture. Could JBL have been one of those (if he was
there)? Since most of those Acadians captured on these French
Islands were deported, JBL was likely not captured there. Note: I
do not believe he was there. Again, I believe he was fighting with
the Acadian militia and was associated with Joseph Broussard.
Many Acadians not only hid from British patrols searching the countryside, they joined French soldiers to fight. Joseph Broussard’s resistance was headquartered for a time at Petitcoudiac (probably Village-des-Beausoleil or Le Cran), then Shediac on the Gulf of St. Lawrence (a few miles northeast of the Petitcoudiac River), and then later at Miramichi (further north on the Gulf of St. Lawrence). Families that escaped capture worked their way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Others journeyed overland west to the St. Lawrence River. Many perished and others barely survived, clinging to life as hunger, cold weather, and patrolling British sought to end their freedom (for example, at least 600 Acadians died in the winter of 1757 at Miramichi). There were rumors that, due to weather and starvation, some or all children died in certain locations. None of the British records identify the family of Charles LaBauve or JBL at this time.
Many of the Petitcoudiac River
Acadians had remained at that location from 1755 to 1758. During the British invasion of the
Petitcoudiac River in 1755, very few Petitcoudiac hamlets had actually been
destroyed. The area was a haven for
Acadian men who chose to fight back.
Many Acadian resistance activities were organized at the Petitcoudiac
River, usually influenced by the Broussard family. Historians report that Acadian suffering at
Petitcoudiac River greatly increased in the summer 1758. On 1 July 1758, the British, determined to
stop Joseph Broussard and the Petitcoudiac Acadians, arrived at
Village-des-Beausoleil and fought a small battle against about 30 Acadian
fighters. Joseph Broussard himself led
the Acadians and was seriously injured, along with many dead, including his
son.
In November 1758, the British
continued to send expeditions up the Petitcoudiac River to disband the Acadian
resistance headquarters. Acadian men,
women, and children were taken prisoners during these raids. Also hundreds of houses and dozens of
buildings were burned. Joseph
Broussard’s home at Village-des-Beausoleil (present day Boundary Creek) was
targeted and burned (its location had been identified by Acadian
prisoners). The Petitcoudiac River haven
was largely disbanded. During the winter
of late 1758 and early 1759, Acadian fighters moved to Miramichi (Broussard was known to
have frequented Miramichi in 1756 and 1757 at the refugee camp) while only few
Acadians tried to stay at Petitcoudiac River.
Throughout 1759, the living situation deteriorated and in November 1759,
Petitcoudiac River Acadians all surrendered (190 in all) and the next day,
those at and around Miramichi (700 in all) submitted a surrender concept to the
British (if they received their land at Petitcoudiac River back). From those
locations, Acadian families, about 300 individual Acadians in all, were taken on
two schooners to Fort Halifax from a fort on the Riviere St. Jean (and were
prisoners until after the Seven Years War ended and the Treaty of Paris was
signed in 1763, they were supposed to be deported but never were).
The Broussards were at Miramichi in
November 1759 and Joseph Broussard organized the terms of the surrender with
British leaders at Fort Beausejour at Beaubassin. Note:
The terms involved the Petitcoudiac River Acadians retaining their land. Joseph
Broussard’s brother Alexander Broussard was being held at Fort Beausejour (Fort
Cumberland) at the time and was held as a lure for Joseph Broussard. Joseph Broussard did not give himself up as
the British could not make good on their deal to give back the land. He and other resistance leaders remained free
but continued to suffer. Legends state
that displaced Acadian families from the Chignecto region suffered for years in
the forests, eating roots, excrement from animals, and decaying meat (as told by
Father LeGuerne).
Between 1759 and 1761, more
Acadians were rounded up or surrendered to avoid further sufferings. JBL’s cousins were at Restigouche, Quebec on
the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1760 (French Census of October 1760) – they were cousin
Honore LaBauve and cousin Simon LaBauve (who would later share the Fort Halifax
prison with JBL). After the British
attacked Restigouche in 1760, many Acadians either surrendered or were captured
and were placed in Fort Beausejour, Fort Edward, and Fort Halifax. Most would end up in Nova Scotia. Note: Some
Acadian researchers believe the Charles LaBauve family was captured or
surrendered to the British near 1760 and were held in a prison compound on Nova
Scotia (not sure why, possibly because JBL appeared at Fort Halifax in 1763). So far, I have no evidence of this.
Note: The LaBauve family at Restigouche were sons of great uncle Jean
LaBauve (brother of grandfather Louis LaBauve) – Jean Baptiste LaBauve
(born 1723), Antoine LaBauve (born circa 1725), Honore LaBauve (born circa 1727),
and Simon LaBauve (born circa 1730). Three
of these Jean LaBauve sons married daughters of Pierre Vincent of Petitcoudiac
(Census of 1755) between 1755 and 1758 (estimates based on children births, no
actual records). Oldest son Jean
Baptiste LaBauve was at Ile St. Jean in 1758 (child’s christening) and died
before 1760 (wife remarried). Honore
LaBauve and Antoine LaBauve were at Restigouche in 1760 (Restigouche 1760
Census). Simon LaBauve was not listed in
the 1760 Restigouche census but he was there by 1759 (child’s birth recorded
there October 1759). By 1762, Simon LaBauve and family were
prisoners at Fort Edward in Pisiquid (moved to Fort Halifax between August and
October 1762). In 1763, Antoine LaBauve
(with family) and Simon LaBauve (with family) were prisoners at Fort
Halifax. Honore LaBauve must have been a
prisoner somewhere also. Honore LaBauve
and Simon LaBauve were exiled to Haiti where they remained (Honore’s daughter
died there in 1781 at age 14, her parents both deceased). Antoine LaBauve was probably with them but
joined a group of Acadians leaving Haiti destined for Louisiana.
Over the winter of 1759 and 1760,
Acadians who were captured recently from Petitcoudiac and Memramkook and other locations
along the east coast (in late 1759) were detained at Fort Frederic on the mouth
of the Riviere St. Jean. These 300 or
more Acadians were transported to Fort Edward and Fort Halifax in early
1760. Some of the Petitcoudiac prisoners
were at Fort Beausejour (Cumberland) – they were also sent to Fort Edward and Fort
Halifax by the summer 1760.
The British had conquered Quebec,
Louisbourg, and Montreal during 1760 and 1761, among other less significant
locations. Not only had the waning
number of uncaptured Acadians now battled debilitating famine and disease,
their morale was lost as remaining French settlements became British. Making it through another winter was
hopeless. And so, finally in November
1761, just after 1,000 Acadian refugees at Restigouche surrendered and were
captured (probably most captured from the refugee camp at Petit-Rochelle, at
present day Pointe-a-la-Croix), Joseph Broussard and other resistance fighters
surrendered at Fort Beausejour. These
Acadian fighters were transported to Nova Scotia. JBL was probably one of those who had recently
been captured (due to his sudden appearance on the 1763 Fort Halifax prisoner
list). He was nearly 24 years old.
The Acadians held at Fort Edward
and Fort Halifax during 1761 to 1763 were not deported (though one large group
of 915 in seven boats was sent to Massachusetts in August 1762). They were instead used as labor to rebuild
arboiteau and dykes damaged in a huge November 1759 storm that breached all
those previously built. Valuable Nova
Scotia coastal land was worthless without these dykes to keep sea water out of
the marshes. The men also labored to
repair and build new structures, such as wharves and public buildings, for the
imminent British settlements.
Joseph Broussard was at Fort
Halifax on the small island of Georges Island near Port Royal initially in 1762
(British records). Then, he was moved to
Fort Edward for a time in 1762 and 1763.
Broussard proved to be too dangerous on land so he was transferred back
to Fort Halifax in 1763 to 1764.
Three main prisoner lists exist
for British forts – Fort Edward list that includes names for 1761 and 1762,
Fort Beausejour for 1763, and Fort Halifax for 1763. Some Acadians on these lists were connected
to JBL, his family, and neighbors from the Petitcoudiac River. A 1761 list of nearly 250 individuals at Fort
Edward included Alexis Dubois, the young single son of Jean Dubois. Alexis Dubois was the only Dubois there. JBL’s unmarried second cousin Francois LaBauve
was also on this list. On 14 June 1762,
17 individuals were added to the former group but there had been more. The next month, most of the men were sent to
Fort Halifax and the list of families remaining at Fort Edward was extensive –
for example Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, a few sons, and his young family
were held at Fort Edward while he was sent to Fort Halifax. A new list of Fort Edward families was
produced on 9 August 1762 (about 313 individuals) that included Joseph
Broussard and his sons. This list did
not include Alexis Dubois.
Note: Many of these Fort Edward prisoners can be traced back to
Restigouche in 1760, including Simon LaBauve whose family had three
members. Simon LaBauve was JBL’s second
cousin. Two other LaBauves appeared at
Fort Edward in 1762 – brothers Francois LaBauve (single) and Claude LaBauve
(single). They were also JBL’s second
cousins and also second cousins of Simon LaBauve.
The Seven Year’s War ended…what happened?
On 24 August 1763, no LaBauves
were held at Fort Beausejour (Cumberland) according to the one known list of
prisoners there. Oddly, JBL’s former
step-mother Marie Josephe Dubois-LaBauve’s father Jean Dubois was a prisoner at
Fort Beausejour with three children (Rosalie, Marie, and Marguerite). Most of the Dubois families had gone to
Quebec several years earlier. The
prisoners there at that time are assumed to have mostly been Acadian families
that surrendered between 1759 and 1761 at Petitcoudiac and Memramkook. Jean Dubois’ wife Anne Vincent Dubois had died
16 Dec 1757 at St Charles Quebec and Jean Dubois had remarried.
JBL was a prisoner at Fort
Halifax near Port Royal in 12 August 1763 (Fort Halifax prisoner list
supplemental). This was the first
positive identification of his whereabouts since 1755. The main list at Fort Halifax did not contain
his name as he was included on a supplemental notation as sick in another
location with six other sick men (he may have been at Port Royal, called
Annapolis Royal by the British). Regarding
his whereabouts over the previous eight years, the only certainty is that
there were others at Fort Halifax who would have been with JBL when he was
captured or capitulated. More than
likely, those whom JBL had been with followed the same prisoner list pattern –
the 1763 Fort Halifax list was the first record. And quite possibly, it seems likely that we
can learn about his previous associations by looking at those he continued to
be associated with after 1763.
Those at Fort Halifax either went
to France, stayed in Canada, or traveled to Saint Domingue…then to LA.
JBL's (possible) uncle Paul Olivier LaBauve,
at about 24 years of age, was in Quebec and was married there in 1765 (Marie
Laurent) where he became a mariner and carpenter. Note:
Paul LaBauve is consistently placed as a child of Louis LaBauve and Anne
LaVache, and brother of JBL's father Charles LaBauve. He
and his wife raised a large family in Quebec City. JBL’s brothers Michel LaBauve and Ignace
LaBauve never appeared in any other record.
Since so many Acadians died, JBL’s brothers probably perished either
during captivity or in hiding (they also could have died before the deportation
began in 1755).
Many of the Acadians that
remained in Nova Scotia decided to return to France in 1763 and 1764. However, others had no intention of making
the cross Atlantic journey. Once the
France-bound Acadians were gone, the British again offered the remaining
Acadians a chance to stay in Nova Scotia if they became British subjects via
oaths. Some took the deal and stayed but
most did not. About 600 Acadians
prepared to leave Nova Scotia. There
were few good destinations at which to start over. Following an extended investigation, the Joseph
Broussard clan planned a trip to Illinois on the west bank of the Mississippi
River near Cahokia and Kaskaskia (at present day Randolph County, Illinois). A large group of the 600 Acadians would make the journey with the Broussard leaders,
most of whom were connected in some way as family with the Broussards. These Acadians pooled their money that had
been earned over the previous few years from working for new British land
owners around Port Royal. Over 200 Acadian men, women, and children boarded a chartered English
schooner in November 1764 with the Broussard party, destined for Illinois via
the Caribbean. Note: Some 400 other Acadians, still at Fort Halifax, would make
alternate charter plans but also targeted the Illinois country as their
destination.
The Broussard party sailed
directly to Cap-Francais on the island of Saint Domingue (present day Haiti)
where they had been told other Acadians were living (these Acadians had
relocated there after short stays in the lower British Colonies, like the Georgia Colony). After a stop in Cap-Francais, the next leg
of their journey would take them to the Mississippi River. And from there, the plan was to follow the
Mississippi River north to the Illinois Country where they would create a settlement.
Arrival in Saint Domingue was met
by disappointment and despair. Relatives
they expected to see had died or were sick.
The climate was miserably hot and humid, a recipe for deadly diseases. Also, the culture of the island was defined by
slave plantations, which would not give Acadians the freedom and simplicity in
which they were accustomed. The
Broussard party left Saint Domingue as soon as possible. They took on a few Acadians from Saint
Domingue and arrived at La Balize in the Louisiana Territory in February
1765. French officials recorded 193
Acadians that disembarked from the vessel once they arrived in New Orleans.
No passenger list exists for the
Broussard group (an 8 March 1766 Maxent account noted that the Broussard group
included 58 families) but historians have guessed whom they may have been, based
on: 1) the Dauterive Compact on 4 April 1765 (8 men), 2) the Canadian card money
exchange on 30 April 1765 (32 men), 3) death records from the epidemic in 1765 (40
names), 4) individuals who left Attakapas to escape the epidemic in 1765 (82
names), and 5) known family of those named in the previous 4 items (http://www.acadiansingray.com/Appendices-Broussard%20Party,%201765.htm).
JBL was not placed on the hypothesized list.
I believe this is partly because JBL was formerly thought to have lived
with Antonio LaBauve in Cabannoce as his young nephew (and was therefore always assumed to have come to Louisiana after the Broussards when Antonio LaBauve arrived). Since we know this is not the case, I strongly
believe JBL could have (would have, should have) been with this group.
For several months after their
February 1765 arrival, the Broussard party recovered from their journey, worked
to exchange their Canadian money for acceptable currency, and shopped around
for land. The plan to head for Illinois
country changed since the British had recently secured possession of that area. Instead, they found a retired French army
officer named Jean-Antoine-Bernard Dauterive who pitched a deal to Joseph
Broussard. Dauterive operated a major
cattle production business in New Orleans and had a large land grant west of
New Orleans on the Bayou Teche. The deal
gave the Acadians Dauterive’s cattle (each received five cows and one mare) and
Bayou Teche land. The Acadians would
tend the cattle for six years at which time they would receive half the herd’s
increase and the entire Dauterive land grant.
In April 1765, the Broussards and
their party were led up the River Road that ran along the Mississippi River
west from New Orleans. Once to the mouth
of the Plaquemine River, they left the road that was gradually turning north
with the Mississippi River. The Acadian
party, led by Joseph Broussard and his brother Alexandre Broussard, continued on
a westerly trek. After leaving the
river, they would encounter a difficult terrain of lowland swamps. Hence, they relied on boats that transported
the settlers and supplies. A network of
Atchafalaya Basin waterways gave them access to their final destination – the
Attakapas Post. The area was known as
the far west Attakapas frontier region and a rural post had been erected there about
1750 (at a location that was later known as St. Martinville after 1792).
They arrived at a peninsula of
land formed by a hook, or oxbow, in the Bayou Teche. Spanish settlers reported the Acadian group
arrived floating up the Bayou Teche on large flat wooden boats. They propelled themselves with long oars or
sweeps. At the southernmost bend of the Bayou
Teche’s oxbow, they came ashore, climbed tall trees to inspect the land, and after
finding the land adequate, set up camp.
Soon after the Broussard group arrived at this Bayou Teche location, the
Catholic leader at New Orleans sent Father Jean-Francois de Civray to minister
the new settlers (he was there only until January 1766). A New Acadia, commonly called Nouvelle-Acadie,
was organized at Bayou Teche in May 1765.
The specific peninsular area the Acadians settled on the Bayou Teche was
known as Presque Isle, but more commonly called Fausse Point. Fausse
Pointe was about 7 or 8 miles south of the original destination – Attakapas
Post (later St. Martinville). The reason
for the change is unknown.
In May 1765 after the Broussard
group had left New Orleans, another Acadian group of 80 individuals arrived in
New Orleans from Halifax via Saint Domingue. They had departed Saint Domingue just a few
weeks after the Broussard party departed. This second group settled at Cabannoce on the
Mississippi River west of New Orleans about midway to Bayou Teche. From that time on until November 1765, over
300 more Acadians arrived in New Orleans from Fort Halifax, some sailed a
direct route to Louisiana and others stopped at Saint Domingue before
continuing on. One group was led by Jean
Baptiste Bergeron (73 families) and arrived in June 1765 (from a 1766 Maxent
Account). Another group was led by
surgeon Dr. Philippe Lachaussee (37 families) and arrived staggered in ships
during August, September, October, and November 1765 (from a 1766 Maxent
Account). Both Bergeron’s and Lachaussee’s
groups settled on the Mississippi River at Cabannoce and St. Jacques. Note:
JBL was believed to have arrived in one
of these groups with Antoine LaBauve, who made a landing at Louisiana sometime
after the Broussards, presumably with the group that arrived in May 1765. And since JBL was assumed to have been
Antoine LaBauve’s young nephew, JBL has always been theorized to have been a
part of Antoine LaBauve’s group.
However, since we know that JBL was not Antoine LaBauve's nephew, JBL
could have arrived with any of these groups, including the Broussards.
Note: The Antoine LaBauve who settled in Louisiana was not the son of
Antoine LaBauve and Catherine LeJeune, as many believe. Antoine LaBauve who married Catherine LeJeune
moved to Isle Royale, near Louisbourg, prior to 1732. This elder Antoine LaBauve’s only known son
Antoine (Zenon) LaBauve died on 8 October 1732. The next year, this Antoine LaBauve died 26
April 1733 and was buried at Louisbourg, Isle Royale.
A young Acadian Jean Baptiste
Semer, who was a member of the Broussard party, sent a letter dated 20 April
1766 to his father in France. He
provided details of the Broussard party activities that included their arrival
in Louisiana in February 1765, their new home at Bayou Teche, and the epidemic
that decimated the Acadians in fall 1765.
Semer must have dictated the content to another, probably in New Orleans
from where the letter was sent.
According to a 1769 document within which he signed with an “X,” he was
illiterate:
"My
very dear father,
"I arrived here in the month of February 1765 with 202
Acadian persons, including Joseph Bro[u]ssard,
called [Beausoleil] and all of his family, ... all coming from Halifax and
having passed by [Haiti]. Beausoleil led [the group] and paid the passage
for those who didn't have the means [which may explain why Joseph Broussard was
not on Maxent's list of card money holders]. After us, there arrived yet
another 105 in another ship and then eighty, forty, [and] some twenty or
thirty, in three or four others. I believe there are about 500-600 of us
Acadians, counting women and children. We the first ones have been sent
seven or eight men to look over the land and locations in order to find a
suitable site, and we were told that at Attakapas there were magnificent
grasslands with the finest soil in the world. ...
"We went to Attakapas with guns, powder, and shot, but
as it was already the month of May, the heat being so intense, we started to
work in too harsh conditions. There were six plows that worked; we had to
break in the oxen [and] travel fifteen leagues to get horses. Finally, we
had the finest harvest, and everybody contracted fevers at the same time and,
nobody being in a state to help anyone else, thirty-three or thirty-four died,
including the children. ... [We are] hoping for a very fine harvest this
year, with God's help, having cleared a great deal [of land]. We have
only to sow, and we already have oxen, cows, sheep, horses and the finest
hunting in the world, deer, such fat turkey, bears and ducks and all kinds of
game. ...
"The land here brings forth a good yield of everything
anyone wants to sow. Wheat from France, corn and rice, sweet potatoes,
giraumont [a kind of zucchini], pistachios, all kinds of vegetables, flax,
cotton. We lack only people to cultivate it. We produce indigo,
sugar, [and] oranges, and peaches here grow like apples in France. They
have granted us six arpents [similar to acres] to married people and four and
five [arpents] to young men, so we have the advantage, my dear father, of being
sure of our land [ownership], and of saying I have a place of my own. ...
A person who wants to devote himself to property and make an effort will be
comfortably off in a few years. It is an immense country; you can come
here boldly with my dear mother and all the other Acadian families. They
will always be better off than in France. ..."
The Acadians in the Broussard
group at Bayou Teche suffered an epidemic that killed many of their group
members, both old and young. Whether the
culprit was malaria, typhoid, or small pox, July brought disease and then
death. By the end of fall 1765, over
three dozen Acadian settlers died (about one-fifth), including four of the
group’s eight leaders (those who signed the Dauterive Compact). The four group leaders that died were Joseph
Broussard, Alexandre Broussard, Joseph Gilbeau, and Jean Dugas.
Note: JBL’s uncle Joseph LaBauve was still alive in 1766 but was not
near Louisiana – he was in the Pennsylvania Colony. The deported Acadians around the world
managed to somehow remain relatively connected to each other through
letters. The method of this
correspondence is currently unknown but researchers have verified that this
communication existed. Whether JBL knew
his uncle and cousins were in Pennsylvania Colony is unknown. Uncle Joseph LaBauve had been in Pennsylvania
since at least 1763 (Census) with his first wife and four children. In April 1766, uncle Joseph remarried
Marguerite LaVache at Philadelphia. After
that, this LaBauve family disappeared.
They do not seem to have remained in Pennsylvania nor did they travel to
Louisiana. They may have returned to
Canada with other exiled Acadians from the Pennsylvania Colony, as some did.
JBL’s whereabouts in these first
years at Louisiana is assumed and not known for sure. Since marriages, birth, and christenings were
consistently recorded in Catholic Church registers, the locations of most men could
be identified fairly easily. As an
unmarried bachelor, JBL did not appear in any church records. He also had no known immediate family members
that settled in Louisiana. In April 1766,
he also did not appear specifically in the census that was completed
for the Acadian settlements (however he might have been, as is explained
below). Through 1766, several other
groups of Acadians had arrived and they were all sent to settle on the
Mississippi River west of New Orleans. Note: Of the more than 1,000 Acadians exiled
in Maryland and Pennsylvania, nearly 700 left for Louisiana in 1765 and
1766. Of those that arrived, most
settled on the Mississippi River.
In 1766 the Spanish government, after recently taking over
the Louisiana territory from the French in March, conducted a census of men who
qualified for militia. The census
covered most areas the Acadians had settled, including Attakapas and Cabannoce. After the epidemic that killed many Acadians
at Fausse Pointe (in Attakapas) in late 1765, the 1766 census at Cabannoce
included many families who had come with the Broussard group and had originally
settled at Attakapas in 1765. These
families had moved to Cabannoce to escape the mounting death toll. The transplanted Attakapas families were
enumerated along with those that had originally settled with the Cabannoce
Acadians. For example, of the 28
families living around JBL’s cousin Antoine LaBauve at Cabannoce in 1766, eight
of them had been Broussard group members and had originally been at Bayou Teche
(probably at the Fausse Pointe locations known as La Manque where the greatest
death toll had occurred).
Where was JBL in 1766? JBL was almost for sure in Louisiana in
1765. Those that arrived after the 1766
census and throughout 1767 had come from British colonies along the east coast
of North America. These 1766 and 1767
Acadian arrivals had been in those locations since before 1763 and therefore,
JBL would not have been among them (because he was at Fort Halifax in 1763). JBL must have arrived in Louisiana in 1765
and was either in New Orleans or Bayou Teche (because he was not in any of the
other census records).
Regarding the 1766 Spanish census of men who qualified for
the militia, the Attakapas region was enumerated on 25 April where three
locations were reported. Each of these
locations, or camps as they were known, appeared to consist of about 7 to 10
families each (based on the men who were listed). The Camp de la Manque was made up of about 14
men, including Martins and Thibodeaus. The
Camp de la Pointe (15 men) appeared to be a clan of the Alexandre Broussard
family and the Camp du Bayou des Tortue (17 men) was the clan of Joseph
Broussard. A Jean Baptiste (spelled Juan
Baptista since it was a Spanish census) is named as an unmarried man in the
Camp Bayou Tortue, the home of the Joseph Broussard clan. Acadian historians often claim this was Jean
Baptiste Semer (who like JBL, was known to be at this location in the 1769
census). Others identify this man as
JBL. Donald Arceneaux, Attakapas
researcher, wrote that Joseph Broussard’s sons and three son-in-laws (Rene
Trahan, JBL, and Charles Dugas) were at Bayou Tortue in 1766 (assume the source
for that information was the 1766 census).
JBL was not enumerated at any other location in the 1766 census and at
28, should have been named since he would qualify as a militia man. Note:
Jean Baptiste Semer sent a letter from New Orleans dated 20 April 1766, 5 days
before the census took place on 25 April.
So Semer was probably not present at Attakapas to be enumerated.
In April 1766, Bayou Tortue was the home to about 7 families. Though 17 men were listed, they merely represented
the eligible men who could serve in the militia. These men also would have been responsible
for the majority of the land development and cattle tending (census). The figure of 17 certainly does not represent
the number of homes – that would have been closer to 7 homes (single men likely
lived with a family in the earliest days).
Few of these families had been specifically affected by the epidemic in
1765 that killed nearly 40 Acadians at Attakapas (Alexandre Broussard’s family
and clan at La Pointe were decimated). Many families that were affected left in
late 1765 (e.g., Jean Dugas, Joseph Bourgeois, and others from the La Manque
camp) while children which lost both parents may have remained in Bayou Tortue
with foster parents. As stated before, Bayou
Tortue was the home of the Joseph Broussard family. Joseph Broussard had perished late in the
epidemic – 20 October 1765– and his Broussard clan continued living at Fausse
Pointe without their leader. Six sons of
Joseph Broussard were at Bayou Tortue in 1766 along with two sons-in-law and
one future son-in-law – who was JBL.
The land grants of 1772 show the locations of some of the
1766 Bayou Tortue residents. The upper
Fausse Pointe region may have been the location of the earliest Acadian
settlement there. However, Donald
Arceneaux believes the earliest settlement may have been closer to the Fausse
Pointe location of the Bayou La Chute (green circle), which may have been originally known as
Bayou Tortue? The land at this location
was claimed in 1772 by Joseph Broussard.
As a bachelor, JBL would have received less land to settle than a
married Acadian. Married Acadians had
received six arpents while unmarried young men were granted four or five
arpents (four arpents is equivalent to 3.38 acres, 5 arpents is 4.22 acres). For the land, Acadians were required to build
levees and drainage ditches at the part of their land fronting the bayou, clear
the front 2 arpents for cattle grazing, and create a road. They
also received a gun and tools for cultivating their land. After a visit to Acadian settlements in 1766,
Spanish Governor Ulloa reported that “These people
are naturally good, quiet, hard-working and industrious. It is to be admired that they have all
prospered in very little time. In only one year, a single man … has
cleared the 4 arpents that have been given to him; has built a dyke
to contain the river within its banks (and to keep it from) flooding the land;
(and has cleared) a road over which a cart can travel. He has built a
house, and cultivated land, and (built) wooden fences, although those enclose
small areas…This progress shows all that necessity and perseverance can do when
one puts his heart into it.” Note: The Acadians were actually required to
do all those things as a contingency to what they had been given.
JBL married Bayou Tortue camp member Francoise LaBauve, the
daughter of deceased Joseph Broussard.
The marriage is assumed to have occurred about 1769 but they may have
been married before. Note: Not sure why the marriage is not
recorded in Catholic Church records.
Were all the other Broussard marriages recorded in the records? Attakapas did not have a permanent priest
that served the Attakapas Acadians. JBL was 31 years of age through most of
1769. His wife Francoise Broussard was
about 18 years of age. She is estimated
to have been born in 1751 at Petitcoudiac (year based on her age from her death
record), Acadia. During the period of the Seven
Year’s War when the Acadians were being rounded up by the British, Francoise
Broussard would have been between ages 4 and 12. As the Petitcoudiac Acadians hid from the
British, JBL would have definitely known of young Francoise Broussard, the
daughter of the revered British resistance leader Joseph Broussard dit
Beausoleil.
In December 1769, a census of Attakapas was conducted (this
month and year is an approximation of when this census was taken, the census actually
has no date). Unlike the 1766 census,
the 1769 census accounted for all Acadians in the Attakapas region (not just
males) and those inhabitants were not divided into the individual camps (though
all inhabitants were accounted for, only the head of household was listed and
the size of the family). There were 28
households in all. The last 13
households appear to represent the clan present at Bayou Tortue in 1766 (based
on name association). JBL was listed as “Baptiste
Laveauve,” a 27 year old head of household with wife (wife noted but name not stated, this was 24 year old Francoise
Broussard). No
children were reported in the JBL household (while other family's children were reported).
JBL was the owner of 4 cows, 1 suckling calf/yearling, 4 bulls/heifers, 1
horse, and 3 hogs. A comparison of what
others in Bayou Tortue owned demonstrates his rank and status:
In 1769, the Spanish military leaders of the Louisiana
colony ordered that Oaths of Allegiance to the Spanish Government be taken by
all community leaders. Orders to make an oath of allegiance were nothing new to Acadians. Starting in
September 1769, men in various Louisiana locations made their official
commitment to Spain. Rather than a
verbal pledge, men signed, or marked, their oaths onto “documents that
proclaimed their unconditional allegiance to the King of Spain.” Not only did their oath declare a
faithfulness to the Spanish King, they also promised to report any actions they
observed which might be considered acts against the Spanish Crown. On 8 December 1769, JBL and the other male
leaders at Camp Bayou Tortue, Camp La Manque, and Camp La Pointe completed the
action. The oaths were probably given at
Attakapas Post where the new Attakapas military post had been set up. When this location became the official military
post in 1769, a commandant – Gabriel Fuselier de la Claire – was named to
organize military affairs, act as a justice of the peace, and monitor emigrants
entered the region. Commandant de la
Claire would have received the Acadian oaths.
JBL’s signature, as with all the Fausse Pointe Acadians, was only a mark
as he was not able to read, write, or sign his name.
There would have been no need to learn reading and writing
in Acadia since life was so simple. The
goal for Acadian families was joie de
vivre – a cheerful enjoyment of life.
JBL learned how to use the land for survival and protection. For most Acadians in the mid-1700s, reading
and writing was only a novelty and not important for promoting quality of
life. At their new home in Louisiana,
the traditional way of life continued.
According to Bergerie (2000), the Acadians survived quite well in their
first years on the Teche without access to formal education. They were reportedly honest and industrious,
efficient with their assets, orderly in their affairs, and content with the
little they possessed.
A map of the Fausse Pointe region of Attakapas showing the
location of the Atchafalaya swamp land just east of Bayou Teche and north of
Attakapas Post. Also note the location
of the large land owners of the region – Dauterive and Grevemberg (map from All
Things Bayou Pigeon, Cliff LeGrange).
In early 1770 (and possibly throughout 1770 and into 1771),
the Alexandre Broussard clan (JBL's wife's first cousins and their families) at La Pointe moved up the Bayou Teche about 24
miles to a new location, also on the Bayou Teche. This location was the site of available land
from the government and like their La Pointe home, was on a prominent bend in
the river. Their new home would be known
as La Pointe du Repos. Note: In June 1771, the heads of these
families received Spanish land grants.
By early 1772, all the members of this clan had left camp La Pointe at
Fausse Pointe and were living at their new home.
The Attakapas region was well
known for cattle. Most of the settlers
in Attakapas had cattle ranches. The cattle that Acadians raised were very unique – long horns of about 2 to 3 feet, red-brown in color, and long shanks and
feet. At a distant glance, they were
often described as resembling deer. Since most cattle were still roaming free,
cattle owners were required to brand their cattle and record the brand
description. In 1770, JBL’s brand was
listed in the Attakapas and Opelousas Brand Book (brand found on page 89 of the
Brand Book, this brand has not been seen).
Cattle were required to be branded before reaching 18 months of
age. Branding cattle was important since
so many cattle roamed freely across the Louisiana prairies and marshes.
In 1770, Louisiana experienced a
severe grain shortage. Jean Berard
produced a list of Attakapas settlers who had excess unhusked corn which could be sold to
other settlers who were in need. Those in need
were primarily in New Orleans. All Louisiana farmers
outside the city were encouraged to bring grain to New Orleans for those who
had no access to this necessary food staple.
Those who advertised excess corn for sale included Bayou Tortue Acadians Jean Baptiste
Semer, Francois Broussard, and Joseph Broussard. The list featuring these Acadians was dated 5
December 1770. Lists were produced in
other Acadian settlements like Cabannoce and also presented surplus amounts of both
corn and rice, which according to the record were kept in barrels. Note: I
have not seen the full list and only know that these names were included.
In February 1771, Fausse Pointe
Acadians Michel
Doucet, Claude Martin, Joseph Martin, René Trahan, JBL, Joseph Landry, and
Louis Levron asked prominent Attakapas rancher François LeDée for a letter to allow them to travel (normally a passport was used). They were interested in making a journey to New Orleans. The letter was necessary because they needed to travel quickly and reported that they were not
able to obtain one from Commandant de la Claire. The urgency was that they would not be able to "to make
their journey to the city before it was time to begin cultivating their
fields." On 28 February 1771, LeDée notified Governor de Unzaga that the
party of Acadians had traveled to New Orleans in two boats.
JBL was again enumerated in the 1771
Spanish census (no month or date was recorded).
According to the known locations of the men enumerated adjoining JBL in
the census, they were living at Fausse Pointe.
JBL’s location was almost surely in the northern part of Fausse Pointe
on the land he would receive by grant in 1772 (grants were issued years after land was originally claimed).
In the 1771 census, JBL was identified as “Baptiste Le Bau” – a 28 year old
head of household (age hard to read on the record). In actuality and according to his birth date,
he was 33 years old. His wife was listed
as age 25 – this was Francoise Broussard-LaBauve and she was probably closer to
age 20. An “age 8” child was also
present in the JBL household (age was transcribed as 8 but it was noted as
difficult to read. May have been “8
days” or “8 months”). Son Jean LaBauve’s
birth was recorded in Attakapas Post church records as 8 April 1771 (Bona
Arsenault stated this child was named Jean Baptiste LaBauve and was christened
by a Pointe Coupee priest later in April 1771).
This was JBL and his wife's first known child. The JBL family lived on 12 arpents (10.1 acres, with no title) and owned 9 head of
cattle and 5 horses (and no slaves).
On 27 March 1771, Charles Dugas of Bayou Tortue submitted a
requete to the Spanish government for land at the Bayou Teche (La Riviere Teiche
in record). The land he requested
bordered his brother Jean Dugas and Joseph Broussard above and below the
requested land. Less than a year later,
eight men from Bayou Tortue received Spanish land grants. On 17 February 1772, Joseph Broussard’s four
sons, three sons-in-laws, and Jean Baptiste Semer became owners of adjoining
tracts along the Bayou Teche at north Fausse Pointe. The seven children of Joseph Broussard
received land that adjoined each other.
Acadian researcher Donald Arceneaux believes these Acadians had selected
this land in 1765 or 1766 and were receiving the grants in 1772. This makes sense as records note Spanish grants
usually were issued about five to seven years after the survey. So, the Charles Dugas requete was either this
land or adjoining the land issued in 1772, since the requete stated that it
adjoined Jean Dugas land.
JBL’s brother-in-law Amand Broussard was
married on 15 July 1771. This was the 26
year old (approximate age) Amand Broussard’s first marriage. Broussard’s wife was Helene Landry, the 20
year old (approximate age) daughter of Bayou Tortue neighbor Firmin
Landry. The marriage was recorded at the
Pointe Coupee Church and was witnessed by Firmin Landry and JBL. The priest that conducted the marriage would
have been Father Irenee, the permanent priest at Pointe Coupee in 1771 (guess
based on location and the priest assigned there at the time).
JBL’s second known child, a daughter, was
born 28 September 1772. She was named
Anne LaBauve. The birth was recorded in
the Attakapas Post church record book. Note: I have seen a baptism date of 25 April
1773 for Anne LaBauve having been recorded at Attakapas Post. Sadly, her death and burial was reported
later in the year in the same Attakapas Post church records. Note: I have not seen the death record, only
that someone mentioned it was there. There
should be more on the JBL children births and deaths, including information
about christenings and their sponsors. All I have seen is the transcription.
On 16 May 1773, JBL participated in the
election for a second community syndic.
This election revolved around naming a leader who would guide the construction of a church in
the Attakapas District. Note: I have also seen this document described
as an "agreement" signed by 53 Attakapas Acadian heads of households to construct
the church at Attakapas Post. It was
signed by the commandant de la Claire.
The previous syndic was La Pointe camp member Claude Martin (he would
remain connected to the church and served as a trustee until his death in
1798). The building and location were for
the church at Attakapas Post (the old trading post on the Bayou Teche and on
land recently donated in 1771 by an Attakapas cattle rancher). There may or may not have been some type of
church meeting house erected there but as the community grew, an actual building
was needed. Regional lore states that
priests visited and conducted services at individuals' homes. A community syndic was used differently from
location to location over time. In New
Orleans, a syndic for each district was chosen by the Governor. The syndic’s job was to preserve order,
control the local government, run public meetings, act as judge in public
cases, serve as constable, organized road repairs, and supervise building
construction. In other locations outside
of New Orleans, syndics appear to have been an elected position and had a
very similar set of responsibilities. Records show that the church was being built
in 1773 and was completed no later than 1774.
Bona Arsenault reports that the name of the church at this time was
L’Englise de Attakapas and that in 1773, a small framed church building was
built at Attakapas Post.
A new Attakapas District commandant
replaced de la Claire in 1774. Chevalier
Alexandre de Clouet was assigned by the governor from the Spanish Arkansas Post to the north and would handle all military, judge, and emigration issues in the
Attakapas and Opelousas Districts. On a
document dated 10 (and 20) June 1774, JBL was again listed on the Attakapas
militia list, as recorded by newly appointed Commandant de Clouet at the
Attakapas Post on Bayou Teche. JBL was
specifically called a fusilier – the French term for an ordinary
infantryman. JBL was one of 88 men
listed as fusiliers who were led by Captain Augustine Grevemberg. Acadian neighbors Rene Trahan served as
sergeant while former Acadian syndic Claude Martin was a lieutenant.
An interesting theory has been produced regarding the
dispersal of the Fausse Pointe Acadians.
The following situation was probably not the only reason Attakapas
Acadians began to disperse but certainly was a factor. Church services in Nova Scotia had a very
distinct seating tradition – the men sat on one side and the women on the other. This practice kept patrons focused on the
service as opposed to male-female interactions.
The older Acadians wanted to preserve the tradition and the younger
Acadians wanted to adopt the traditions of those in their new home land – that
is, mixed seating. Each side threatened
to relocate, which did occur. The
seating disagreement probably occurred in 1773 to 1774 when the new church was
more formally organized once the new church building had been completed.
The Spanish once again conducted a census
for 1774 consisting of residents in Louisiana. On 30 October 1774, JBL was enumerated as an
Attakapas resident – the location was simply indicated as – Attakapas. JBL was listed with a wife (Francoise
Broussard-LaBauve) and no children (called “Bte. La Bauve et sa femme”
in the record, other enumerations noted children specifically). Note: "et sa femme" means "and his wife." This means that not only did
JBL’s daughter Anne LaBauve die as an infant, his young son Jean LaBauve
perished at some time between 1771 and 1774 (since no records of their deaths
exist, this is an assumption). JBL had
been married for at least five years and he had no live children. His herd of cattle had more than doubled to
20 in three years. The number of
horses/mules had also increased from 5 to 6.
Other assets had not been reported in the 1771 census but in 1774, JBL also
had 20 pigs and no sheep. Adjoining
JBL was Michel Doucet, Francois Broussard, Joseph Broussard, Amand Broussard,
and Firmin Landry (who is known to have lived on a tract at Fausse Pointe near present-day
Loreauville). Since these men were known
to have been at Fausse Pointe, JBL must have remained living at Fausse
Pointe. Charles Dugas was not found
living in this location (this is pertinent since JBL would later remain connected to
Charles Dugas as a neighboring clansman). Note: I have not seen any other details of this
census and cannot report much more than what is listed here.
In the mid-1770s, JBL and several
Fausse Pointe Acadians reportedly moved southeast down the Bayou Teche to an
area known later as Jeanerette. The
earliest known name of this settlement was Chicot Noir, or black stump, which
honored a huge black live oak stump that was present there until after 1900. The men who settled at Chicot Noir received
their Spanish land grants in 1777 but were likely there long before that
time. In the Louisiana Colony, living on
and improving land gave settlers a claim to the tract. Actually, two distinct settlements are known to
have existed at Chicot Noir in the mid to late 1770s. JBL’s settlement was on the east side of the
Bayou Teche and just north of present-day Jeanerette (the settlement may have
been on both sides of the Bayou Teche). The following families lived at this
location – JBL, brother-in-law Amand Broussard, brother-in-law Francois
Broussard, brother-in-law Charles Dugas, Jean Dugas, and Jean Baptiste Hebert (Brasseaux, 1987). At the second Chicot Noir settlement (on the
Bayou Teche just below Jeanerette) were Victor Blanchard, Francois Boudreau,
Baptiste Duhon, Charles Duhon, and Claude Duhon. The settlers at this lower location may have
come a bit later. They were from the
Mississippi River, probably at Cabannoce.
The Chicot Noir transplants from
Bayou Tortue at Fausse Point were following a historical tradition. When a settlement became more densely
populated, Nova Scotia Acadian men set out to start their own family
settlements (or hamlets then) somewhere else. In Louisiana, Acadians
added a new tradition – they moved to where they had better and more access to
land for their cattle ranches or vacheries.
Along the Bayou Teche, most Acadians decided to move west into
uninhabited prairies, instead of south. To the west and
south of Fausse Pointe was available land and if Acadians made the move and
improved tracts there, they could apply and receive much larger land grants
from the Spanish government. Brasseaux
(1999) stated that only a small group of Acadians decided to move southeast from
Fausse Pointe to Chicot Noir. The men
previously identified made up the only ten families who went south (to my knowledge and at that time).
Note: JBL’s brother-in-law Amand Broussard married (his second
marriage) JBL’s first cousin (from his mother Marie Benoit's family) Anne Benoit in 1775. JBL signed as a witness (with Michael Meaux,
Jacques Fostin, Olivier Trahan, Pierre Broussard, and Joseph Landry – all men not
known to have been at Chicot Noir) on 24 May 1775. From the date and witnesses, we might guess that the move from Fausse Pointe had not yet taken place. The marriage did occur in the new church at Attakapas
Post. Anne Benoit was JBL’s first cousin
– Anne's father Alexis Benoit and JBL’s mother Marie Benoit were siblings. Uncle Alexis Benoit had been exiled to
Massachusetts over ten years earlier and it is believed that Alexis Benoit and his
wife died in Massachusetts and that Anne Benoit and her sister Elisabeth Benoit
came to Louisiana in 1765.
The American State Papers for 1813 present a story that may
explain what happened to JBL’s land at Fausse Pointe prior to or just after his
move to Chicot Noir. According to the
record, JBL and Jean Dugas each sold "Philip Duelolange" (actually Alexandre
Philippe Ducloslange from New Orleans who had held land at Attakapas Post
between 1785 and 1790 before returning to New Orleans) two tracts of land in
Fausse Pointe that were each described as 6 arpents of frontage on Bayou Teche,
40 arpents deeps, and on both sides of the Bayou Teche. Combined, the tract was 12 arpents of Bayou
Teche frontage. Note: This appears to be the dimensions of JBL’s and Jean Dugas’ Fausse
Pointe land in the 1772 grant. And, the
Fausse Pointe 1772 grants gave adjoining land grants to JBL and Jean Dugas (and
Charles Dugas was next to Jean Dugas on his east border). The land was passed from Ducloslange to
Isidore Louviere and then to Hebert Landry.
The record also stated that there was apparently no grant to JBL and Jean
Dugas that could be found at the time. Note: Family histories for Isidore Louviere
claim that Louviere and JBL received grants for land at Bayou Teche in February
1772 adjoining each other at Walet Plantation, Fausse Pointe (Louviere’s name in
place of Jean Dugas for the same tract).
This could not have happened since Isidore Louviere was born circa 1763
(he must have purchased the land later from Jean Dugas, as noted in the 1813
American State Papers document). Walet
Plantation was at the location that would later be Loreauville at Fausse Pointe
and was named for John Walet from the late 1800s. Isidore Louviere married the daughter of
Firmin Landry, JBL’s neighbor at Fausse Pointe, in 1787.
A complicated Louisiana court case in 1819 (and after) reveals
some support for JBL’s connection to Chicot Noir. According to the evidence presented in the
case, JBL, Charles Dugas, and Jean Dugas had Spanish land grants they received
in 1777 for land at Chicot Noir (which was specifically noted in the case description) on the east side of the
Bayou Teche. The boundaries for each
tract included 20 arpents (over 3800 feet or about 3/4 of a mile) of Bayou
Teche frontage and about 40 arpents deep (over 8000 feet or more than a mile
and a half). Note: If this was a rectangle with four sides, these dimensions would
equal about 700 acres. A trade of
land occurred about 1787 or 1789 (land “at a spring on a large island in
Attakapas” may have been involved) with Louis Pelletier de la Houssaye. Another trade occurred, according to the case
description, in 1794 (maybe the same trade) where JBL, Charles Dugas, and Jean
Dugas ended up with land on the Vermilion River at Grosse Isle (probably the
large island in Attakapas with a spring mentioned previously) which was in Township 12 South, Range
4 East and Township 13 South Range 4 East.
Note: Land records note that JBL
and the Dugas’ did later own land at Grosse Pointe in that location. Note: This case is hard to understand from the abstracts I have seen. Further analysis may lead to a better understanding of the activities as they were reported.
The Acadians were generally happy living in Louisiana as citizens
of a Spanish Colony. Spain was
anti-British after suffering a losing venture in the French and Indian War,
which ended in 1763. Though Spain gained
extensive land from the endeavor (all lands west of the Mississippi River) by
joining the French as part of a deal, they were forced to cede their Florida
colonies to the Brits after the war was lost.
When Spanish Louisiana’s neighbors – the British American Colonies – decided to
fight the British in 1775 in reaction to Britain’s unfair treatment and
oppressions, Louisiana and her Acadian settlements were (unsurprisingly) supportive. They could
not pass up an opportunity to rid the American continent of the bullies who
were perpetually interfering with navigation of the Mississippi River. However, actions at the time make it hard to
determine where and with whom the Acadian’s loyalties were cast. History tells us that Acadians began to
support the British at Manchac and Baton Rouge in the 1760s and 1770s. The Spanish had taxed bought and sold items
in New Orleans and other Spanish locations.
Selling to the British who held forts along the Mississippi River
allowed the Acadians to avoid taxes.
Ultimately, the Acadians had only one major allegiance –
themselves. They would support whoever
and whatever made life better for Acadians.
The Acadians had been successful during their first decade
in the Spanish Louisiana Colony. Records
show that the number of cattle at Attakapas and Opelousas began at 2000 in 1766
(according the 1766 census) and had climbed to over 10000 by 1774 (1774
census). Early on, the Acadians did not
have enough cattle to warrant cattle drives to New Orleans to sell. They did, however, make cattle drives for the larger
non-Acadian cattle ranchers. For example,
Amand Broussard and his first cousin Pierre Broussard (and others) began
driving cattle from Attakapas to New Orleans in 1773 via the Colette Trail
along Bayou Teche and along the natural levees of Bayou Black and Bayou
Lafourche. These cattle drives averaged the inclusion of between 100 and 150 head of cattle. When
the herds of cattle grew in the second half of the 1770s, the Acadians began to
drive their own herds to sell in New Orleans.
Though the Bayou Teche and Vermilion River Acadians
primarily raised cattle, they all had farms of various sizes that served as
their own self-sustaining food source.
JBL would have learned to farm different crops and new ways to farm
the Louisiana soil. In addition to vegetables, oats,
rye, barley, flax, and wheat, he would have learned to grow corn, rice, beans,
peas, fig trees, cotton, and tobacco.
Acadians often grew extra amounts to sell or trade for items they could
not grow or make themselves. Louisiana
Acadians also had to plow their farm areas and could not just plant seeds close
to the surface as they had in Canada.
The Louisiana rains required deeper seed placement.
A bit more about the Attakapas environment – the number of
horses at Attakapas had increased from 700 in 1766 to more than 2000 in 1774. Horses were much more difficult to raise in
Canada and less valuable. In the south,
horses were an excellent source of income.
The Acadians' neighbors were French cattle ranchers, Spanish cattle
ranchers, and Native Americans. Though
the Native American people were not mentioned often in records, they were
there. From later land records, Native
Americans held rights to land very near Chicot Noir just a few miles to the
east (land in T13S R9E was owned by Native Americans until after 1800). A church building was in use at Attakapas
Post. However, there was not a regular
priest stationed there. Over the previous 10 years, missionaries from Pointe Coupee
and Ascension on the Mississippi River came and preached at Attakapas
Post. After 1776, the church at Attakapas
Post was covered by the regular priest from Opelousas.
After at least seven years of marriage, JBL and wife
Francoise Broussard-LaBauve had no children.
Several had been born but none were alive in 1776. Probably in 1775 or early 1776, JBL had a son
that received the name Francois LaBauve. The
happy parents took him to the Attakapas Post Church and baby Francois LaBauve
was christened on 5 May 1776. The priest
was probably Father Valentin, who was the permanent priest in Pointe Coupee in
early 1776 and then became the first permanent priest at Opelousas in 1776 (the
Ascension priest Father de Revillagodos also may have performed the
service). The sponsors present at
Attakapas Post for the christening were Francois Cezare Boutet (Boutte) and
Emelie Pellerin. Boutet was a young son
of cattle rancher and blacksmith Claude Boutet who owned vast land on Bayou
Teche downriver from Attakapas Post, held dozens of slaves and herds of several
hundred cattle, and was an acquaintance of Governor General de Galvez. Boutet and his brothers were privates in the
Attakapas militia with JBL. Emelie
Pellerin was probably the daughter of Gregoire Pellerin, an Acadian who had formerly been held at Fort Halifax, Acadia with JBL in 1763.
Gregoire arrived with Joseph Broussard in 1765 and was at Attakapas by
1766. This Emelie Pellerin was living on
the Bayou Teche with her father in 1776 and was married there in 1788. Note:
Most histories estimate her birth as circa 1767. Her service as a sponsor would probably place
her birth at a slightly earlier time however, older and related children often
served as christening sponsors. No other
Emelie Pellerin’s are known. Interestingly, all the Acadian Pellerin children married into non-Acadian families who were of a high social
status.
In 1776, the American Colonies issued a Declaration of
Independence and were waging war with Great Britain. As a Spanish Colony, Louisiana was not
involved, directly. However, Spain was
an ally of France and since France was supporting the American Colonists, Spain
would too. Spain organized covert
support through New Orleans and provided the Americans with supplies such as
weapons, gun powder, fabric for uniforms, and medicine. The activity required a covert operation
because Great Britain was using the Mississippi River as a supply route and had
soldiers placed at garrisons along the river at various locations. JBL and his neighbors would have been aware
of these situations through continued participation in the Spanish Colonial militia. British West Florida extended to Baton Rouge
and at only 50 miles from Attakapas, the British were far too close for Spain’s
comfort. The militia meetings and
trainings had probably become more consistent since a war was waging so close.
The May 1777 Spanish Census that enumerated the people of
Opelousas and Attakapas demonstrated continued growth. There were nearly 12000 head of cattle, more
than 2500 horses, over 2700 hogs, and 370 sheep. Attakapas held fewer families and overall
population numbers than Opelousas but, far more livestock. Attakapas was made up of 106 families (139 in
Opelousas) – 89 men, 94 women, 203 boys, 154 girls, and 300 blacks. JBL was noted as 34 years old (actually 39)
and his wife Francoise Broussard-LaBauve was 32 (actual age about 26). They had one son – one year old Francois
LaBauve. In the past three years, JBL’s
herd of cattle had grown from 20 to 30.
He held the same number of horses at 6.
The number of hogs had gone down from 20 to 15 and he still owned no
sheep.
On 1 May 1777, the Attakapas
militia company was led by Captain Augustine Grevemberg. The additional high ranking officers, like
Grevemberg, were large land owners and mega-cattle ranchers. Serving as minor officers were Acadians Pierre
Broussard, a sergeant, and Joseph Landry, who was a corporal. The militia company was made up of 79
privates and included all the service-eligible Acadians who lived at Bayou Tortue – including JBL
(called Baptiste LaBeuve), Jean Baptiste Semer, Francois Broussard, Joseph
Broussard, Amand Broussard, Anselme Thibodeau, Claude Broussard, Rene LeBlanc,
Jean Dugas, Charles Dugas, and many others from various Attakapas Acadian
settlements.
Spain officially entered the
American Revolutionary War on 8 May 1779 when they also declared war on Great
Britain – for Spain the war was known as yet another Anglo-Spanish War
(1779-1783). On 21 July 1779, the Colonial
Louisiana Governor General Bernardo de Galvez learned Spain had authorized
Spanish colonial subjects to use whatever force necessary to engage the
British. General de Galvez immediately
planned to invade British West Florida.
He set out for a small garrison up the Mississippi River with army
recruits and militia. They easily took
the fort but some British escaped and headed toward Baton Rouge where a larger
British contingency was stationed at New Fort Richmond on the Mississippi
River.
General de Galvez and his troops continued
up the Mississippi River and were at Manchac Post (an outpost on the
Mississippi River near Baton Rouge) on 6 September 1779. They arrived at the British Fort Brute at
Baton Rouge on 12 September. General de
Galvez’s force mainly consisted of Spanish regular troops, new recruits, and
militia men. The militia was more than
500 men from the German coast, Pointe Coupee, Attakapas, and Opelousas. Since Lieutenant Colonel Alexandre de Clouet
was present at Manchac, the Attakapas militia was their – including JBL (he was
a patriot listed on the roster of “La Compagnie de Milice des Attakapas” in
“SAR Spanish Records: Spanish-English War 1779-1783,” pages 289-290). Troops were sent to block any communication
to British strongholds upriver. Militia,
noted as significantly untrained, created a diversion in a wooded area to the
north where the British unleased a mass of gun fire. None were killed but this gave time for
General de Galvez to set up gun pits and trenches.
With substantial Spanish
artillery fire from the Spanish gun pits, the British surrendered after three
hours. The surrender terms were that a
well-fortified fort in Natchez further up the Mississippi River be submitted to
his troops. British troops were disarmed
by the Spanish and ordered to return to their homes. Once this was complete, General de Galvez
sent the militia home, left a force to maintain the Baton Rouge fort, and then
returned to New Orleans. In February
1780 General de Galvez was in Mobile where he continued to harass the
British. However, the Acadian militia
units were not utilized in the eastern movements.
In 1780, Francoise
Broussard-LaBauve gave birth to another child.
Daughter Elisabeth LaBauve, commonly called Lise LaBauve, became the
second living child of JBL. JBL’s family
size was now four. JBL himself was 42
and wife Francoise was likely near 30.
Son Francois LaBauve was only about two years old. Note:
Very little is known of Lise LaBauve but she probably died young (if she was a
daughter of JBL, I have not seen the birth record). She is believed by some to have lived to
adulthood and married Joseph Landry, son of Joseph Landry who lived in
Attakapas. However, this is probably not
true as that marriage record notes that she was the minor daughter of Francois
LaBauve. Hence, Lise LaBauve married the brother of her aunt’s husband in 1809.
The April 1781 Attakapas census demonstrates a JBL living
environment that differs from the former Chicot Noir settlement. JBL was enumerated adjoining his
brothers-in-law Amand Broussard and Francois Broussard. Others that were enumerated nearby included two brothers-in-law Joseph Broussard and Rene Landry, Simon Broussard, and Victor
Blanchard. If the census list order indicated home
location, JBL did not live near Charles Dugas, Jean Dugas, or Jean Baptiste
Hebert. These were men that JBL was
supposed to have lived near at Chicot Noir. Note: I suspect that there was a movement of some of the Chicot Noir men. Since I believe JBL moved a little after this, the Dugas men and Hebert had likely left. However, the opposite could have occurred. In 1781, JBL’s household included a wife and two others – one was his
five year old son Francois LaBauve. The
other must have been baby Elisabeth LaBauve, who was about one year old. JBL now had a total of 72 animals, a
medium number of animals in comparison to other Attakapas families. He also owned 20 arpents, or about 17
acres. This was also a medium amount of
land in Attakapas, according to the census.
However, JBL’s brothers-in-law all held far more arpents.
1781 marked the first year the church at Attakapas Post held
a permanent Catholic priest since 1766. Father
Hilaire de Genevaux received the assignment.
In 1782, Father de Arezena came (he had also been at Opelousas) and JBL
was acquainted with him – JBL was a sponsor for Anselm Thibodeau when Father de
Arezena christened Anselm’s daughter Marguerite Thibodeau. And then in 1783, Father Geffrotin arrived at
Attakapas. Father Geffrotin remained at
Attakapas Post for four years. As
smaller settlements grew in the Attakapas region, the Attakapas Post Church
priest would serve as missionary and travel to preach at these growing
settlements. Father Geffrotin christened
JBL’s next child Christine LaBauve on 25 February 1783. She was born three month earlier on 20 September
1782 (according to the christening record).
JBL asked his closest kinsman (as per land records and Chicot Noir
resident) Charles Dugas to be the sponsor for his new daughter. Marguerite Blanchard-Broussard was also a
sponsor for the LaBauve birth – she was the wife of Simon Broussard (who JBL lived near in 1781).
JBL may have lived in the Chicot
Noir settlement for about 10 years (according to several documents and
histories). They moved away from that
settlement in or about 1785 (this year was reported in a published work,
unknown original source). According to
an unpublished history, they sold their land to the Creoles (the French
non-Acadians who owned large land tracts and had grand herds of cattle) and
migrated to the lower Vermilion Valley around Abbeville. Note: The
five men who had lived below Chicot Noir sold their land grants to Catherine
Toupart (a Creole) on 25 January 1782 and migrated to the central and lower
Vermilion Valley (Brasseaux, 1987).
The date of JBL’s emigration to
Grosse Isle may have been earlier than 1785.
Dronet (2000) wrote a history of Erath, Louisiana and noted that it was the
year 1781 when JBL, Charles Dugas, and Jean Dugas “settled near Erath in the
Grosse Isle area on two large land grants and named the area ‘The Spring.’” The
Spring obviously refers to the lone spring in the region, which was indeed
located at Grosse Isle and yielded fresh water. This spring was also noted in the 1819 court
case mentioned earlier.
Note: In December 1813, JBL’s son Francois LaBauve was deposed and stated that his uncle Amand Broussard held land on the east side of the Vermilion River, probably in the vicinity of Grosse Isle. He also stated that from his earliest recollection, Amand Broussard owned that tract and had a Vacherie there. But, in about 1797 Amand Broussard moved his cattle but retained the land. The neighbors honored the land as Broussard’s even though he was not physically there.
According to the previously mentioned 1819 land case, a
trade of land that involved JBL, Charles Dugas, and Jean Dugas with De la
Houssaye occurred about 1787 or 1789 (land “at a spring on a large island in
Attakapas” may have been involved) with De la Houssaye. Another trade occurred, according to the case
description, in 1794 (maybe the same trade) where JBL, Charles Dugas, and Jean
Dugas ended up with land on the Vermilion River at Grosse Isle (probably the
large island in Attakapas with a spring) which was in Township 12 South, Range
4 East and Township 13 South Range 4 East.
Note: Land records note that JBL
and the Dugas’ did later own land at Grosse Pointe in that location. Was the land JBL obtained at Grosse Isle
part of a trade?
Acadians were migrating west to
the Vermilion River but very few went southwest (and those that did so south usually ended up west, like JBL). The Vermilion River area offered Acadians opportunity
to increase the size of their land holdings and live in peace, not bothered by
other people. Northern Vermilion River at
and surrounding a trading post (later known as Vermilionville and still later Lafayette)
was a popular destination for Acadians.
The wooded area in this section of the Vermilion River provided Acadians
with building timbers and firewood. Just
southeast of the trading post on the Vermilion River (and west of Attakapas
Post) was Cote Gelee, the home for many Broussard family members (this would
later be named “Broussard”). Other
Broussards settled on the Vermilion River just north of Grosse Isle (well
before 1800). Anselme Thibodeau settled
on the Vermilion River between the Vermilion trading post and Grosse Isle and
had been in that area (at the present site of the town Milton) since before
1780 (American State Papers). Further
south along the Vermilion River, the land adjoining the river featured abundant
grasslands and treeless prairies.
Brasseaux (1999) reports that only “two Acadians [Labauve and Dugas]
occupied Gros Isle, between [the current locations of] Abbeville and Erath,
venturing into the extreme southern prairie only because the small salt dome
[that made Grosse Isle] contained the area’s only dependable spring.” This information was certainly justified by the
land claims of JBL and Charles Dugas at Township 12 South Range 4 East.
The trading post on the northern
Vermilion River sat at the present day site of Lafayette (but was called
Vermilionville before it became Lafayette).
This settlement grew but would not be large enough to have a permanent
priest stationed at a church there until nearly 1820. During the trading post’s early days of
development, the families in the region were given church services by the
Attakapas Post Church priest who would travel their as a missionary. Services were held at the homes of those
families who held higher social status.
The April 1785 census of
Attakapas residents included JBL. Like
the 1781 census he had four individuals in his household. However, a daughter was born in 1782 so a
member from 1781 had disappeared – daughter Lise LaBauve must have perished
between 1781 and 1785 (no records of her as an adult exist). Hence, the members of this household were
JBL, wife Francoise Broussard-LaBauve, circa 9 year old son Francois LaBauve,
and 2 year old daughter Christina LaBauve.
The family, as was normal for JBL, had no slaves. Other assets were not listed. Note: I
have not seen this census and therefore there is no additional information to
be obtained at this time.
Note: The 1785
immigration of French Acadians exiles…arrived specifically in August 1785. How did this impact JBL and other west migrating Acadians? Unknown.
Note: I have seen several references to a 1785 militia list for
Attakapas but I have not seen the record in any format. Since JBL was about 47, he would been a
member of the militia but not much longer.
Militia only included adult men under 50 which meant JBL’s militia
participation was nearing an end (if he reported the right age, no records existed to prove age!). Also a
1786 Census of Attakapas reference has been noted in several histories and
references. However, I have not seen the
census, transcriptions, or abstracts.
In 1788, New Orleans was a very
busy Spanish port of more than 40000 residents (1788 census). An average of 40 boats were docked at the New
Orleans port at all times. Though the
city enticed many people to visit for various reasons, one was not for its
cleanliness. The streets reportedly flowed
with sewage after rains. Another
uncivilized feature of New Orleans was the infestation of insects and rats that
lived in and among the people there. On
21 March 1788, a huge fire engulfed most of New Orleans and destroyed at least
856 buildings in about 5 hours. JBL and
the Acadians were aware of the tragedy and probably used the catastrophe as an
opportunity to sell cattle and other goods to those in dire need.
While living along the Vermilion
River, JBL must have been supportive of the concerns his river comrades had
with their access to a church. The
church at Attakapas Post was now serving a widespread community and it was
still the only church in the Attakapas district. In 1791, the Attakapas commandant held an
assembly to receive bids for conducting repair work to the church at Attakapas
Post. Vermilion River resident Pierre
Broussard submitted a petition from he and other settlers on the Vermilion River to
suspend repairs to the Attakapas church. This group wanted a new church be erected for
the Vermilion River communities. Unfortunately, the Vermilion River petition was not acted upon by the commandant and over the next year, Pierre
Broussard and others harassed the priest (sadly to no avail) at the Attakapas church to approve a
new church for Vermilion people.
In 1792, Father George Murphy
became the priest at Attakapas. He often
referred to the Attakapas Post church as St. Martin des Attakapas and also St.
Martin de Tours. When the church was
officially named St. Martin de Tours is unknown but, from the time of Father
Murphy and through subsequent priests, the name was recycled and used more
consistently. Attakapas Post would
eventually take on a more town-worthy variation of St. Martin de Tours Church –
St. Martinville.
The Attakapas militia list of
1792 demonstrates continued population growth.
The militia was described as the “inhabitants in and around St.
Martinville” and was led by Captain Nicolas Forstall, Lieutenant Joseph Sorrel,
Second Lieutenant Francois Grevemberg, and Aide Major Amand Ducrest. These men were the lead officers presiding over four
different militia groups (led by eight corporals each) that must have been formed by
living location. The first group of 75
privates (listed as infantrymen) appears to be a location where older Acadians
(ages are listed) Sylvain Broussard, Jean Baptiste Doiron (Louisiana arrival in
1785), Charles Guilbaud, and Joseph Martin lived. These men were from La Pointe du Repos above
Attakapas Post on the Bayou Teche. The second group of 65 privates were from
the community between the Bayou Teche and the Vermilion River. Militia men were ages 16 to 50 and JBL was
now 54 – therefore he was not listed.
His oldest child Francois LaBauve was now 16 and was listed as a militia
man in this second militia group. Those militiamen
listed adjoining JBL’s son were Charles Dugas’ sons Eloy and Louis Dugas
(Charles Dugas was older than 50), the Boutet/Bouttes, brother-in-law Francois
Broussard and his sons, brother-in-law Amand Broussard and his sons, the son of
brother-in-law Rene Trahan (Rene had had recently died), brother-in-law Claude
Broussard, and the Heberts, There were
two other militia groups.
From land records, JBL and his
normal clansmen were living in the Vermilion River lands south of the trading
post that would become Vermilionville (and later Lafayette) by 1793. His clansmen included most of his Broussard
brother-in-laws, Charles Dugas, and the Heberts. Note:
Some of the Vermilion River land grants note that they were there in 1793 but
did not officially receive the grants until much later). Exactly when they arrived is
unclear. For example, the descendants of
brother-in-law Francois Broussard claim he moved his family to Vermilion River
circa 1770 and became syndic
there. Note: There must be a record for this Broussard information but I have
not seen it.
In late August 1794, a hurricane struck Louisiana and produced
heavy flooding, very high winds, and unusually large hail. The damage was extensive but the greatest
loss was to crops. How hurricanes
affected the Acadians living on the low lands adjoining the bayous is unknown. There had been several hurricanes that had
hit Louisiana over the past three decades.
Known hurricanes struck the Louisiana coast in 1772, 1776, 1778, 1780,
1781, and 1793. Details of hurricane
tracks and damages are scarce and usually have been recorded only because they
affected New Orleans, where citizens noted the experiences. Perhaps the worst was in 1779 when a damaging
hurricane struck New Orleans and left flooding and little else standing. For certain, JBL and his family lived through
hurricane flooding along the Vermilion River.
They were on higher ground but not high enough to avoid 10 to 20 foot
storm surges. JBL probably built and
rebuilt their lives many times over the course of three decades in south
Louisiana.
JBL’s son Francois LaBauve had become a man, according to
Spanish authority. He was old enough to
participate in the local militia and was obviously old enough to start his own
family. On 9 June 1795, at the age of 19
years, Francois LaBauve married Eloise Hebert, who was only age 18 or 19
herself. Eloise Hebert was from
“Nouvelle Iberie,” just north of Chicot Noir and just south of Fausse Pointe
(according to the marriage record that identified her place of origin). She was the daughter of Joseph Hebert and
granddaughter of Jean Baptiste Hebert, both of whom had been neighbors of
JBL. Joseph Hebert was also known to
have lived in the Vermilion River district.
The LaBauve-Hebert marriage was performed at newly named St. Martin of
Tours Church in the newly named town of St. Martinville (these names were in
use but may not have been official).
Father Barriere performed the marriage ceremony and the official
witnesses included “Baptiste LaBauve pere de l’epoux [groom’s father]” along
with Antoine Joseph Trahan (to Louisiana from France in 1785), Nicolas Deroussel
(sponsored a Broussard birth the previous year with Christine LaBauve), and
Andre Hebert (the bride’s brother). Only
eight months later, JBL and his wife Francoise Broussard-LaBauve became the
grandparents of twins. They were named
Placide LaBauve and Louise Elisabeth LaBauve and were born 14 February 1796
(christened 1 May 1796 by Father Barriere).
Note: A 1799 Census
seems to have been taken of Attakapas residents. JBL may have been enumerated in that
census. If he was, we might be able to
determine additional information about his family, assets, neighbors, and location at that time.
In 1800, information would have reached the Attakapas
region about a possibility that France would come into possession of
Louisiana. One must wonder if the
Acadians considered this a good thing.
Over the past decade, Acadians were astutely aware of the French Revolution,
the Reign of Terror, the rise to power of Napoleon Bonaparte, and France’s
overall aggressive nature. Not to
mention, the Acadians must have resented the unfair treatment of the Acadians
who had been sent back to France after their expulsion from Nova Scotia in
1763. Note: They would have heard this from those who arrived in Louisiana
from France in 1785. In 1801, the
trade was verified. Note: The actual transfer did not take place until the end of 1802.
At the dawn of the nineteenth century, JBL had turned
62. He had remained married to the same
woman – Francoise Broussard-LaBauve – for over 30 years. JBL and Francoise had two grown children and
four grandchildren. Life had been hard
but good. He had experienced grief in
his earlier days but in the decades leading up to 1800, his family was safe and
growing. January 1801 marked the 63rd
birthday of JBL. Then in February 1801,
JBL’s daughter Christine LaBauve married Agricole Landry, son of Joseph
Landry. Note: The marriage was at St. Martinville, performed by Father
Barriere, and was witnessed by JBL, Jacques Fostin, and others. JBL was probably still living along the
Vermilion River at Grosse Isle. However
son Francois LaBauve appeared to live several miles north near the trading post
that would become Vermilionville (and later Lafayette). Note:
Francois LaBauve records in the first decade of the 1800s state that he lived
at Vermilion – which was synonymous with Vermilionville in the early days of
that community. His children that married
in the 1810s also are noted as living at Vermilion. But as is humanity, comfort and prosperity
are only temporary, for all life is fragile and good fortune can change in an
instant.
JBL’s 63rd year would not end up a happy one. His daughter-in-law Eloise Hebert-LaBauve
died in May 1801 and was buried at St. Martinville on 19 May 1801. JBL’s son Francois LaBauve was left a widower
with four small children between the ages of 2 and 5. Four children soon became three when only
four months after his daughter-in-law’s death, JBL’s grandson Nicolas LaBauve –
having just turned age 2 – died on 30 September 1801. Little Nicolas LaBauve was also buried at St.
Martinville, probably near his young mother.
And then just over a month later, a heavy hearted grandmother mourning
the recent loss of her infant grandson, passed away. At only 50 years of age (as her death record
stated), JBL’s wife Francoise Broussard-LaBauve perished on 8 October 1801. She was buried on 9 October 1801 at St.
Martinville. JBL had outlived his wife
who was about 13 years his younger and he was now living alone.
1802 promised to be a better year. JBL’s daughter Christine LaBauve-Landry gave
birth to her first child – a daughter she named Clarisse Landry. As a widower with three small children, JBL’s
son Francois LaBauve remarried just over 13 months after his first wife’s
death. His new wife was Marie
Angelique Fostin, herself a widow of 18 months and mother to two young Trahan
boys. Angelique Fostin’s brother Jacques
Fostin had been a witness at JBL’s daughter Christine LaBauve’s marriage the
year before. And, Angelique Fostin’s sister Ursule Fostin had been a sponsor at
the birth of Francois LaBauve’s third child in 1797. Francois LaBauve and Angelique Fostin were
married at St. Martinville on 30 June 1802 by Father Barriere.
Note: An 1803 Census of Attakapas apparently exists but I have not been
able to find its location. I am
additionally unsure what information the census included. Therefore, the impact of this enumeration, if
JBL was indeed included, would be to determine, or confirm, his location and
neighbors at Grosse Isle near the Vermilion River.
In early February 1803 (probably
between February 10 and February 14), JBL passed away. He was 65 years old (according to an age
calculated by his birth date and also reported in his burial record) and had
remained a widower since his wife Francoise Broussard-LaBauve’s death only 16
months before (JBL’s wife was listed as Francoise Broussard in his burial
record). On 15 February 1803, JBL was
buried with the rest of his deceased family members at St. Martinville in the
cemetery at St. Martin de Tours Church.
Today, the actual burial location is paved over and lays under the rear
parking lot for the church. A memorial
has been erected nearby that notes “on these grounds lie buried the following
patriots of the American Revolution.”
All the men JBL lived alongside (according to land records) are buried
there - JBL, Jean Baptiste Hebert, Jean Dugas, François Broussard and Amand
Broussard – except Charles Dugas.
JBL officially died a French man
living in a French colony. Did he
realize that his home would soon fall under the jurisdiction of a new nation? JBL was born and lived most of his life as a
French person but never in a French land until his final few years. He was officially a British subject and then a
Spanish subject before finally becoming an actual French man. There was probably no room in his heart for
another change. But it happened, just
after his death. In April 1803, France
sold Louisiana to the United States. In December
1803, the United States began to rule Louisiana, as a territory.