APPENDICES

Acadians Who Found Refuge in Louisiana, February 1764-early 1800s

BABINEAUX

[BAH-beh-noh, BAB-eh-noh]

ACADIA

Nicolas Babineau dit Deslauriers, born in France in c1653, came to Acadia probably as a soldier.  At one time or other he was a fur trader or a fisherman.  He married Marie-Marguerite, daughter of Laurent Granger and Marie Landry, in c1687 probably at Port-Royal.  Nicolas and Marguerite were counted at Pentagöuet, present-day Maine, in 1693, but they returned to Port-Royal by July 1701, when Nicolas purchased from Martin Bourg a homestead on the north side of Rivière-au-Dauphin, now the Annapolis River, not far below the village.  A map of the river basin, dated 1707, shows Nicolas's homestead lying at the head of a large marsh at a place called Les Coriers, between the homesteads of Bernard and Abraham Bourg and not far from the homes of his brothers-in-law Claude and René Granger and his mother-in-law, the widow Laurent Granger.  Nicolas and Marie-Marguerite had six children.  Most of their four sons, all born at Port-Royal, remained in the area and raised large families.  Their youngest son settled in the Minas Basin before moving on to Petitcoudiac in present-day southeastern New Brunswick.  Their two daughters married into the Savoie and Forest families.  

Oldest son René dit Renaud dit Des Lauriers married Marie-Madeleine, daughter of Germain Savoie and Marie Breau, at Annapolis Royal in April 1711.  They had 11 children, including three sons who married into the Darois, Comeau, Bourg, and Michel families.  Their daughters married into the Egan, Doucet, Comeau, Lanphere, Dumas, and Chane dit Ladéroute families.  

Clément married Renée dite Renoche, daughter of Bernard Bourg and François Brun, at Annapolis Royal in January 1717.  Two of their sons married into the Bourg, Doucet, and Guilbeau families.  

Joseph dit Des Lauriers, born in c1700, married Marguerite, daughter of Claude Dugas and Jeanne Bourg, at Annapolis Royal in November 1723.  Their son married into the Darois family.  Two of their daughters married into the Comeau family.  

Youngest son Jean-Pierre dit Des Lauriers, born in February 1709, married Isabelle, daughter of Pierre Breau and his second wife Anne LeBlanc of Minas, in c1730 and settled at Rivière-aux-Canards in the Minas Basin before moving on to Terre-Rouge on upper Rivière Petitcoudiac, now Moncton, New Brunswick, in the early 1750s.  Like his older brothers, Jean-Pierre raised a large family, including four sons who married into the Richard, Belliveau, Bastarache, Léger, Girouard, and Gautrot families.  His daughters married into the Maillet, Thibodeau, Richard, and Suret families.  

[For more of this family in pre- and post-disperal Acadia and Canada, see Book Three]

In 1755, descendants of Nicolas Babineau dit Des Lauriers could be found at Annapolis Royal and at Petitcoudiac in the trois-rivières area west of Chignecto. 

.

Meanwhile, Jean Babineau, probably Nicolas's younger brother, born in France in c1660, married Marguerite, daughter of Michel Boudrot and Michelle Aucoin, at Port-Royal in c1691.  Jean must have been considered a leader of the community.  In December 1705, he was one of the men "who assessed the properties expropriated for the extension of the fort at Port-Royal."  He and Marguerite had two daughters who married into the Landry and Melanson families, but no sons, so the Babineaus of Acadia are descended from Nicolas dit Des Lauriers and Marguerite Granger, not from Jean and his wife Marguerite.   

[For more of this family in pre- and post-dispersal Acadia and Canada, see Book Three]

 

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

[For the family's travails during the Great Upheaval, see Book Six]

LOUISIANA:  WESTERN SETTLEMENTS

Babineaus from Annapolis Royal were among the earliest Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana.  Louis-Charles, called Charles, Babineau, age 37, his second wife Anne Guilbeau, age 30, and their two sons, Charles-Dominique, age 4, and Julien-Joseph, age 1, reached New Orleans with the Broussard dit Beausoleil party from Halifax via Cap-Français, St.-Domingue, in early February 1765.  Charles was one of the members of the party who exchanged Canadian card money for Louisiana currency at New Orleans in April.  After a short respite in the city, he and his family followed the Broussards to the Attakapas District, where they helped create La Nouvelle-Acadie on the banks of Bayou Teche:  

Descendants of Louis-Charles BABINEAUX (1728-1770s; Nicolas)

Louis-Charles, called Charles, fifth and youngest son son of Clément Babineau and Renée dite Renoche Bourg, born at Annapolis Royal in March 1728, married Marguerite, daughter of René Doucet and Marie Broussard, at Annapolis Royal in January 1745.  According to Bona Arsenault, between 1745 and 1753, Marguerite gave Charles four children, two sons and two daughters.  They escaped the British roundup there in the fall of 1755 and took refuge on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore.  Marguerite and most of their children evidently died during exile.  Charles remarried to Anne, daughter of Joseph dit L'Officier Guilbeau and Madeleine Michel of Annapolis Royal, at Restigouche at the head of the Baie des Chaleurs in February 1760.  The following October, Charles Babinau and his family of three (the child most likely one of his sons or daughters from his first marriage) appear on a list, dated 24 October 1760, of 1,003 Acadians at Restigouche who surrendered to a British naval force from Québec.  The British sent them to a prison compound in Nova Scotia for the rest of the war, where Anne gave Charles another son perhaps in the prison camp at Fort Edward, formerly Pigiguit, in c1761.  If so, they did not remain there.  British officials counted Cherle Babinos, his wife, and their child on Georges Island, Halifax Harbor.  Anne gave Charles another son there in c1764.  Charles, Anne, and their two sons came to Louisiana in February 1765 with the the Broussards and followed them that spring to lower Bayou Teche.  Despite the epidemic which struck down so many of the Teche valley Acadians that summer and fall, Charles and his family remained at Attakapas, where, between 1766 and 1774, Anne gave him more children, two daughters and two sons--10 children, four daughters and six sons, in all by two wives between 1745 and 1775.  "Grand Louis," as his neighbors called him, died at his farm near La Pointe on the middle Teche in the mid-1770s, in his early 50s.  A daughter from first wife Marguerite did not accompany her father, stepmother, and stepbrothers to Louisiana but went, instead, to French St.-Domingue, today's Haiti.  There, she married into the Bruyard, Pincer, and Martin families, probably all Frenchmen, and she evidently remained in the tropical colony after her third marriage.  One wonders why she did not follow her father and stepmother to Louisiana from Halifax in 1764-65, or two of Babineau dit Des Lauriers cousins to the Spanish colony later in the decade.  His ollder daughter by his second wife married into the Poirier family.  His older sons settled along Bayou Carencro at the northern edge of the Attakapas District.  His younger sons remained near their father's farm at La Pointe near present-day Breaux Bridge.  Amazingly, not until the 1810s did a descendant of Grand Louis Babineaux, a granddaughter, marry a non-Acadian.  

1

Oldest son Charles-Dominique, called Dominique, by his father's second wife, born at Fort Edward, formerly Pigiguit, in c1761, while his parents were being held as prisoners of war, married Marguerite-Blandine, -Blondine or -Claudine, daughter of fellow Acadians Amand Thibodeaux, and Gertrude Bourg, at Attakapas in February 1783.  Their son Charles-Dominique, fils was born at Attakapas in November 1783, and Alexandre was baptized at the Attakapas church, age 5 months, in May 1795.  Their daughters married into the Benoit, Broussard, Cormier, LeBlanc, Mathias, and Richard families.  In 1809, on his farm at Carencro, Dominique held a frontage of only five arpents with a valuation of $1,000, but he owned five slaves.   He died at his home at Carencro in August 1815; he was only 54 years old.  

1a

Charles-Dominique, fils married Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Melançon and Madeleine Prejean of Carencro, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in September 1807.  Their twin sons Arsène and Marcellin were born at Carencro in July 1808 but Marcellin died at age 13 in November 1820, Charles Treville was born in April 1810, Achilles in September 1811, a son, name unrecorded, died 8 days after his birth in July 1813, a son, name unrecorded, died at age 6 weeks in October 1814, Antoine Gerasin or Sarasin was born in August 1816, Onésime in November 1818, Jean Euclide in December 1825, and a child, perhaps a son, name unrecorded, died a day after its birth in April 1830.  Their daughters married into the Benoit and Prejean families.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 8 slaves--5 males and 3 females, all black, ranging in age from 30 to 3--on Charles Babineau's farm in the parish's western district; this was probably Charles Dominique, fils.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 6 slaves--5 males and 1 female, all black except for 1 mulatto, ranging in age from 47 to 12, 1 of them, a 25-year-old male mulatto--on Charles Babineaux's farm; again, this was probably Charles Dominique, fils.  Charles-Dominique, fils died at Carencro in June 1864; the Vermilionville priest who recorded his burial said that Charles was age age 83 when he died.  He was 80. 

Antoine Sarazin died at Carencro in June 1829 "from falling off a horse," age 14.

Arsène died at Carencro in October 1829.  The priest who recorded his burial said that Arsène was age 19 when he died, but he was 21.  He probably did not marry. 

Charles Treville married cousin Céleste Louise, daughter of fellow Acadians Louis André Richard and Julia Babineaux, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in February 1835.  Their child, name unrecorded, perhaps a son, died probably at Carencro 9 days after its birth in April 1838, Clairville died at age 3 months in November 1839, Honoré was born in January 1844, Horace in May 1848, Alphonse in September 1851, Joseph Dernas in September 1853, and Joseph Alse in January 1856.  Their daughter married into the Cormier family.  Charles Treville died at Carencro in September 1869; the Grand Coteau priest who recorded the burial said that Charles, fils, as he called him, died "at age 62 yrs.," but Charles Treville was 59; his succession, calling him Charles Treville, was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse the following November. 

Honoré married Azélie, daughter of French Canadian Louis Roger and his Acadian wife Azelima Prejean and a widow, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in September 1866; Azélie's mother was a Prejean.  They settled probably at Carencro.  Their child, name unrecorded, perhaps a son, died "at age 8 days" in January 1868. 

Onésime married cousin Julienne, daughter of fellow Acadians Augustin Benoit and Anastasie Babineaux, at the Vermilionville church in October 1836.  Their son Séverin, also called Sevenne, Sevigne, and Sevignier, was born at Carencro in September 1837, Arvenne was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 5 months, in August 1839, Joseph Bélisaire was born in November 1843, and Jules Alvigue in May 1845.  Their daughters married into the Brasseaux, Breaux, Leger, Prejean, and Simoneaux families.  Onésime remarried to Émelie or Emeline Landry in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in September 1850 and sanctified the marriage at the Grand Coteau church in December 1851.  Their son Joseph Neuville was born at Carencro in May 1856, Paul in February 1860, André in January 1864, Eucharis in March 1868 but died at age 10 months in January 1869, and Émilien was born in January 1870.  Their daughter married into the Richard family.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 6 slaves--2 males and 4 females, all black except for 1 mulatto, ages 48 to 6, 1 of them, a 12-year-old mulatto--on Onez Babineaux's farm next to Charles Babineaux's; this probably was Onésime.  

Arvenne, by his father's first wife, married Idalie, daughter of fellow Acadian André Landry and his Creole wife Céline Cabier, in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in July 1860, and sanctified the marriage at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in July 1865.  Their son Jules was born in Lafayette Parish in July 1866 but died at age 2 in August 1868. 

During the War of 1861-65, Sevenne, by his father's first wife, served probably as a conscript in Company B of the 2nd Regiment Louisiana Cavalry, raised in Natchitoches Parish, which fought in Louisiana.  Sevenne married Onezia, daughter of Alexis Jacqueneau and his Acadian wife Joséphine Savoie, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in March 1863 while still serving in the Confederate cavalry; Onezia's mother was a Savoie.  Their son Martial had been born at Carencro in February 1863, Onésiphore was born in March 1865 a few months before his father returned from the war, and Louis Solivain, perhaps Sullivan, was born in April 1867.  Sevenne remarried to Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Aurelien Brasseaux and Aurelia Cormier and widow of Jean Murphy Cormier, at the Vermilionville church in October 1869.  Their son Jean Murphy was born in Lafayette Parish in July 1870. 

Joseph Bélisaire, by his father's first wife, married Josette Ophelia, daughter of French Canadian Louis Roger and his Acadian wife Azelima Prejean, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in April 1864.  Joseph Bélisaire may have been in Confederate service at the time of his marriage.  They settled probably near Carencro.  Their son Théophile was born in June 1866, and Teophe in January 1870.  

Jean Euclide married fellow Acadian Marie Philomène, called Philomène, Broussard in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in May 1860.  Their son Jean Anill was born probably near Carencro in June 1861.  They were living near Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, by the late 1860s. 

In 1860, the federal census taker in St. Landry Parish counted a single slave--a 30-year-old black male--on Achile Babineau's farm.  This was Achilles, who would have been age 49 that year and may not have married.  

1b

Alexandre married Marie Cléonise, called Cléonise, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph-Simon dit Joson Dugas and Céleste Dugas, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1821. (In 1819, Grand Coteau had become the closest church to Carencro, which lay south of Grand Coteau, across the bayou, in what soon would become Lafayette Parish.  In 1821, a new church at Vermilionville, south of Carencro, would become the closest church to Carencro, which did not get a church of its own until 1874.)  Their son Edmond was born at Carencro in March 1822, Valmont in August 1823 but died at age 7 weeks the following October, and Wilmont was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 6 months, in June 1835.  Their daughters married into the Benoit, Caruthers, Mouton, and Prejean families.  Alexandre died at Carencro in January 1850, age 57; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse the following month.  

Edmond married fellow Acadian Uranie Guilbeau at the Grand Coteau church in May 1844.  Their child, name unrecorded, perhaps a son, died at birth in February 1845, and Alexandre Neuville was born in October 1846.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 3 slaves--a 20-year-old black female, a 5-year-old black male, and a 1-year-old black male--on Édouard Babineau's farm in the parish's western district; this was probably Edmond.  Edmond died at Carencro in June 1854, age 32; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse the day before his death. 

Alexandre Neuville married Arthémise, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Baptiste LeBlanc and Adrienne Guilbeau, at the Breaux Bridge church, St. Martin Parish, in April 1866.  They settled near Arnaudville.  Their son Jean Baptiste Shermann was born in March 1869. 

During the War of 1861-65, Wilmont, living in Calcasieu Parish, served in the first Company A of Daly's/Ragdale's Battalion Texas Cavalry, which recruited heavily on the southwestern Louisiana prairies later in the war.  Wilmont may have married fellow Acadian Céline Aucoin. 

2

Julien-Joseph, called Joseph, by his father's second wife, born at Halifax in c1764, married Félicité, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Cormier and his first wife Marguerite Sonnier of Opelousas, probably at Attakapas in c1786.  Their son Joseph, fils, called Joson, was born at Attakapas in October 1787, David le jeune in July 1789, François in December 1790, Julien in January 1792, and Jean in September 1810.  Their daughters married into the Benoit and Richard families.  In 1809, Joseph's farm at Carencro had a frontage of 11.5 arpents and was valued at $2,000; he owned two slaves.  He died at his home at Carencro in June 1827, age 63; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse later that month.  

2a

Joson married Céleste, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Comeaux and Esther LeBlanc of Carencro, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in January 1809.  Their son Gérard was born near Carencro in August 1813, and a son, name unrecorded, died shortly after his birth in September 1823.  Their daughters married into the Benoit, Cormier, and Hébert families.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 12 slaves--7 males and 5 females, all black, ranging in age from 60 to 3--on Joseph Babineau's farm in the parish's western district; this probably was Joson.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 15 slaves--6 males and 9 females, all black except for 1 mulatto, ranging in age from 50 to 2--on Joseph Babineaux's farm.  Joseph dit Joson died at Carencro in April 1865; the Grand Coteau priest who recorded his burial said that Joson was age 79 when he died, but he was 77.  Only one of his sons survived to create a family of his own, and he had only daughters, so, except for its blood, Joson's family line did not survive.  

Gérard married Eugènie, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Bourque and Marguerite Richard, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1831.  Their daughters married into the Benoit, Caruthers, Forestier, and Prejean families.  Did Gérard father any sons?

2b

Julien married Marie Christine, called Christine, daughter of fellow Acadians Marin Prejean and Marie Rose Benoit, at the St. Martinville church in April 1813.  Their son Julien, fils was baptized at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, several months old, in July 1819.  Their daughters married into the Benoit, Green, Perry, and Vasseur families.  Julien, père died in November 1852, age 60; the Vermilionville priest who recorded his burial said Julien was "of Marmento," which means he was living in the Mermentau River valley, west of Vermilionville, at the edge of the Calcasieu prairie.  His son may not have survived childhood, so this family line, except for its blood, may have died with him.  

2c

David le jeune married Marie Éloise, Héloise, or Louise, another daughter of  Marin Prejean and Marie Rose Benoit, at  the St. Martinville church in December 1816.  Their son Joseph le jeune was born at Carencro in December 1817, Ursin in May 1819, Don Louis, a twin, in August 1821, and Onésime in September 1823 but died at age 11 months in June 1824.  Their daughters married into the Boudreaux, Breaux, and Stelly families.  David le jeune died at Carencro in March 1852; the priest who recorded his burial said that David was age 65 when he died, but he was 62.  

Ursin married cousin Mélasie, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Cormier, fils and Céleste Babineaux, at the Grand Coteau church in November 1841.  Their son Honoré was born at Carencro in November 1844 but died at age 2 1/2 in September 1847, Placide was born in November 1848, Alcide in February 1850 but died at age 1 1/2 in October 1851, Émile Ursin was born in September 1852, Pierre Clémile, called Clémile, in January 1855 but died at age 7 in August 1862, a child, name unrecorded, perhaps a son, died a day after its birth in February 1862, and another child, named unrecorded, perhaps a son, died at birth in May 1866.  

Placide married Marie Coralie, called Coralie, daughter of fellow Acadians Gédéon Richard and Elisa LeBlanc, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in February 1867.  They settled probably at Carencro.  Their son Gédéon was born in August 1870. 

Don Louis married Emeranthe, daughter of Toussaint Quebedeaux and Marie Barbe Frossard, at the Vermilionville church in January 1854.  They settled probably at Carencro.  Their son Joseph Emérant was born in December 1857.  

Joseph le jeune married cousin Aurelia, daughter of fellow Acadians Lucien Cormier and Céleste Babineaux, at the Vermilionville church in August 1865; Aurelia's mother was a Babineaux; Joseph was 47 years old at the time of the wedding.  One wonders if this was his first marriage.  

2d

François's son Julien le jeune died probably at Carencro at age 5 in August 1823; the priest who recorded the boy's burial did not bother to give Julien le jeune's mother's name, so François may not have been married to her.  In October 1850, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 18 slaves--10 males and 8 females, all black except for 2 mulattoes, ranging in age from 50 to 1--on François Babineaux's farm along Bayou Queue de Tortue, a tributary of the Mermentau River west of Vermilionville.  A month later, François lost a nephew, name and age unrecorded, who was probably living with him; the Vermilionville priest who recorded the boy's burial did not give the parents' names.  François died probably at his home on Bayou Queue de Tortue in October 1854, age 64; the Vermilionville priest who recorded his burial said nothing of a wife. (François may have cohabitated with Anne Ringuet of Vermilion Parish and fathered a son by her named Joseph Amédée.)  François's succession records were filed at the courthouses at Vermilionville, Lafayette Parish, and Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, the following November and December, so he must have owned property in those parishes. 

Joseph Amédée, called Amédée, Babineaux of St. Martin, son of Anne Ringuet, married Felnire, Selmire, or Zelmire, daughter of Paul Toups and Suzette Corner, probably Conner, at the Abbeville church, Vermilion Parish, in October 1855.  (The priest who recorded the marriage did not give the groom's father's name, only the surname Babineaux, but one wonders if it was François Babineaux, late of nearby Bayou Queue de Tortue, who may have simply co-habited with Anne Ringuet.  François had died probably at his home on the bayou the previous October; the priest who had recorded François's burial did not mention a wife, but François had buried a 5-year-old son named Julien back in August 1823; on that occasion, also, the recording priest had not recorded a wife for François Babineaux, but some church records link him with Anne Ringuet.)  Amédée' and Anne's son Joseph Edgard was born near Abbeville in September 1856, Paul Trasimond in July 1858, and Philemon in St. Martin Parish in March 1864.  Amédée's succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in February 1868. 

2e

Jean married Hortense, daughter of William Perry and Marguerite Roger, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in May 1825.  Their son Hippolyte was born at Carencro in May 1826 but died at age 7 in October 1833, and Jean Clairville was born in August 1838.  Their daughters married into the Benoit, Breaux, Cormier, and Gary families.  Jean died by July 1841, when his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse; he would have been age 31 that year.  

3

Théodore, by his father's second wife, born at Attakapas in c1766, married Julie, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Dugas and Marguerite Dupuis, at Attakapas in May 1788.  Their son Jean-Baptiste was born at La Pointe in April 1789, Isidore or Théodore, fils died 8 days after his birth in October 1790, Maximilien, sometimes called Maxilien, was born in November 1797, Louis Valéry, called Valéry or Valière, in January 1803, and Joseph Théodore in January 1808.  Their daughters married into the Breaux and Broussard families.  Théodore died at his home at La Pointe in July 1808; the St. Martinville priest who recorded his burial said that Théodore was age 35 when he died, but he was in his early 40s; his succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse in September 1817.  Nicolas Cormier of La Pointe became Théodore's son Joseph Théodore's tutor when the boy got older, and Nicolas became the boy's cousin-in-law when he married a daughter of Théodore's brother David.  

3a

Maximilien married Marie Clémence, called Clémence, daughter of fellow Acadian Paul Breaux and his Creole wife Marie Pelletier, probably in St. Martin Parish in the early 1820s.  Their son Dolsin was born probably at La Pointe in c1823 but died at age 3 in September 1826, Maximilien, fils was born in February 1824, Eugène in November 1825 but died at age 1 1/2 in August 1827, Bélisaire was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 1 1/2 months, in August 1830, Hippolyte was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 5 months, in January 1838, Louis Desincourt, called Desincourt, was born in August 1839, George in August 1841, and Aurelien in December 1843.  Their daughter married into the Melançon family.  Maximilien died near Breaux Bridge, St. Martin Parish, in November 1848; the priest who recorded his burial said that Maximilien was age 56 when he died, but he was 51; his succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse the following month.  

Hippolyte died by October 1854, when his succession record was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish.  He would have been age 17 that year and probably did not marry.  

Desincourt married Louise Célestine, called Célestine, daughter of Émile Latiolais and his Acadian wife Malvina Guidry, at the Breaux Bridge church, St. Martin Parish, in May 1860.  Their son Alcide was born near Breaux Bridge in May 1861.  In early 1862, Desincourt enlisted in Company D of the Orleans Guard Battalion Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. Martin and St. Mary parishes.  He followed his unit to Tennessee and was mortally wounded in the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862.  He died perhaps at his home near Breaux Bridge the following July, age 22.  His second son Alcée was born posthumously the following September.  

George died near Breaux Bridge, St. Martin Parish, in March 1863.  The priest who recorded his burial said that George was age 18 when he died, but he was 21; he never married.  No George Babineaux appears in Confederate service records, so he probably died at home of natural causes.  

3b

Louis Valéry married Marguerite Arthémise, daughter of fellow Acadian Charles Theriot and his Creole wife Justine Lahure, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in June 1825.  Their son Louis Bélisaire or Bélisaire Louis was born probably at La Pointe in December 1826, Charles le jeune in March 1829, Jean Senville in May 1831, Joseph Théodore le jeune, sometimes called Théodore, in January 1837, Athanase in May 1839, Maxile Marie in November 1841, Pierre in November 1845, and Damas in December 1849.  In November 1850, the federal census taker in St. Martin Parish counted 4 slaves--3 males and a female, 3 black and 1 mulatto, ranging in age from 34 to 7--on Valière Babineau's farm; the was probably Louis Valéry.  Louis Valéry died in St. Martin Parish in August 1852, age 49; his succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse in February 1864. 

Bélisaire Louis married Marie Cléonide, daughter of Charles Vallot and Julie Romero, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in September 1851.  Their son Joseph was born in St. Martin Parish in August 1851.  Bélisaire remarried to Marguerite Marcellite, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Trahan and his Creole wife Clarisse Dubois and widow of Matthew Sellers, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in December 1856.  Their son Louis Mirtile was born near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in September 1858, and Charles Alexandre near New Iberia, then in St. Martin but now in Iberia Parish, in March 1867.  Bélisaire remarried to fellow Acadian Alix Duhon--his third marriage--in c1868 and settled near New Iberia. 

Joseph Théodore le jeune married Josephine, daughter of fellow Acadians Marcellin Dubois and Élise Mire, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in May 1858.  Their son Joseph Omer was born in St. Martin Parish in March 1860.  Joseph Théodore le jeune's succession record was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse in February 1864.  A Théodore Babineaux serving in Company A of 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry at Vicksburg, Mississippi, had died there in June 1862, probably of disease, so this may have been him; he would have been age 26.  His daughter Marguerite had been born in March, three months before his death.  

Athanase, serving with Company A of the 26th Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafayette Parish in early 1862, died probably of disease at Mississippi Springs, Mississippi, in July 1862, age 23, and probably did not marry.  

Jean married Louise, daughter of Foreign Frenchman Louis Édouard Galtier and his Acadian wife Adeleine Boudreaux, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in April 1864; Louise's mother was a Boudreaux. 

3c

Joseph Théodore married Marie Sylvanie, called Sylvanie, daughter of fellow Acadian Anaclet Broussard and his Creole wife Madeleine Wiltz, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in October 1828.  Their son Joseph Théodore, fils died at age 2 months at his maternal grandfather's home in November 1829.  Joseph Théodore remarried to Marie Uranie, called Uranie, daughter of fellow Acadians Julien Breaux and Eurasie Melançon, at the St. Martinville church in February 1833, and remarried again--his third marriage--to Marie Adeline, Azélie, or Zélie, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Melançon and Marie Savoy, at the St. Martinville church in November 1836.  Their son Pierre Oscar, called Oscar, was born in St. Martin Parish in April 1839 but died at age 1 in July 1840, Charles was born in February 1847, Joseph Elmar near Breaux Bridge in January 1850, Casimir in March 1852, and Joseph Aladin, called Aladin, in March 1854.  Their daughters married into the Cormier, Doré, and Melançon families.  In November 1850, the federal census taker in St. Martin Parish counted 1 slave--a 35-year-old black male--on J. T. Babineau's farm; this was probably Joseph Théodore.  Joseph Théodore died in St. Martin Parish in March 1854, age 46; his succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse the following month; his youngest son was born the day before Joseph Théodore died.  

Joseph Aladin, by his father's third wife, died in St. Martin Parish in June 1870.  The St. Martinville priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names, said that Aladin, as he called him, died "at age 17 yrs."  He was 16.  Successions in Joseph Aladin's name were filed at the St. Martinville courthouse in February and June 1870; the first succession called him and a cousin, Eve Melançon, "Two orphans," but did not say who raised them. 

3d

Jean Baptiste died probably at La Pointe in January 1846, age 57, and evidently did not marry.  

4

Youngest son David, by his father's second wife, born at Attakapas in April 1772, married Marie-Osite, called Osite, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Melançon and Barbe Babin, at Attakapas in July 1800.  Their son David, fils was born at La Pointe in June 1801 but died at age 2 1/2 in October 1803, Joseph David was born in March 1804, Jean Baptiste in February 1806, and Louis in February 1810.  Their daughters married into the Cormier, Guilbeau, and Theriot families.  David, père died at his home at La Pointe in January 1828, age 55; his succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse later that month. 

4a

Joseph David married Rosalie Manuel, daughter of Spanish Creole François Segura of Lake Tasse, now Spanish Lake, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in November 1822.  Their son, name unrecorded, died at his home at La Pointe 4 days after his birth in January 1824, and Joseph, fils was born in January 1844.  Their daughters married into the Bayard, Dautreuil, Gondran, and Viand families.  In November 1850, the federal census taker in St. Martin Parish counted 48 slaves--20 males and 28 females, all black except for 1 mulatto, ranging in age from 60 to 1--on Joseph Babineau's plantation; this probably was Joseph David.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. Martin Parish counted 37 slaves--16 males and 21 females, 26 blacks and 11 mulattoes, ranging in age from 69 years to 4 months, living in 9 houses--on J. D. Babineaux's plantation.  Joseph David died in St. Martin Parish in December 1865, age 61.  His surviving son does not seem to have created a family of his own, so this family line, except for its blood, may have died with him.  

4b

Jean Baptiste married Eugènie, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Charles Guilbeau and Céleste Dupuis, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in June 1830.  Their son Désiré was born in St. Martin Parish in July 1831, Joseph in March 1833 but died at age 2 1/2 in September 1835, Charles was born in September 1835, and David le jeune posthumously in August 1837 but died at age 5 in July 1842.  Jean Baptiste died in St. Martin Parish in June 1837, age 31; his succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse later that month.  

Désiré married Marguerite Uranie, called Uranie, daughter of fellow Acadian Michel Onésime Cormier and Céleste Dupuis, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in January 1850.  Their son Jean Baptiste le jeune was born near Breaux Bridge in November 1850 but died at age 9 months the following August, Césaire was born in October 1854, and Michel in July 1862.  Désiré died in St. Martin Parish in November 1862, age 31; his succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse later that month. 

Charles married cousin Élise, daughter of fellow Acadians Charles Theriot and Tarsile Babineaux, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in December 1857.  Charles's succession record was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse in November 1862, so he, too, may have died by then.  A Charles V. Babineaux serving in Company A of the 26th Louisiana Regiment Infantry at Vicksburg, Mississippi, died there in December 1862, probably of disease, so this may have been him; he would have been age 27.  

4c

Louis, also called Don Louis, married Carmélite, daughter of Olivier Blanchet and his Acadian wife Carmelite Boudreaux, at the New Iberia church, then in St. Martin but now in Iberia Parish, in February 1843.  Their daughter married into the St. Julien (French Creole, not Acadian) family.  Louis died in St. Martin Parish in August 1844, age 34; his succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse the following November.  His family line, except for its blood, probably died with him.  

Other BABINEAUXs on the Western Prairies

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link some Babineauxs in the western parishes with known lines of the family there.  One suspects that some of the Babineauxs who lived on the western prairies during the immediate post-war period were Afro Creoles once owned by Acadian Babineauxs:

Charles Babineaux married fellow Acadian Marguerite Sonnier, place and date unrecorded, but it probably was in Lafayette Parish by the late 1820s.  Son How were he and his father Charles connected with the other Babineauxs on the prairies? 

Séverin Babineaux married Marcellite Babineaux, place and date unrecorded.  Their son, unnamed, died at birth probably at Carencro in August 1842.  

Thaïse Babineaux, wife of Louis Grey, died in Lafayette Parish in July 1851, no age given.  The Vermilionville who recorded the burial called Thaïse's parents Julien Babineaux and François Babineaux.  Who were they?  Were they Julien Babineaux and his only wife Marie Christine Prejean, and was Thaïse their second daughter Anastasie, born in March 1815, who married Elisah Green in May 1836?

Simonet Babineaux died near Charenton, St. Mary Parish, in January 1852, age 50.  The priest who recorded the burial did not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  

Edmond Babineaux died in St. Martin Parish at age 3 in May 1852.  The St. Martinville priest who recorded the burial did not give the boy's parents' names.  

"Anonymous" Babineaux, so-called by the St. Martinville priest who recorded the burial, died in St. Martin Parish, age 20 days, in June 1853.  So why did the recording priest not give the child's parents' names?  Did he know who they were? 

Clara Babineaux died in St. Martin Parish, age 15, in October 1853.  The St. Martinville priest who recorded the burial did not give any parents' names. 

Louis Oscar, son of Marie Babineaux, was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 2, in October 1854.  The priest who recorded the boy's baptism did not give the father's name.  

Marguerite Babineaux died in Lafayette Parish, age 2, in November 1854.  The Vermilionville priest who recorded the burial did not give the girl's parents' names. 

Eurlyde Babineaux died in Vermilion Parish in January 1860, age 35.  The Vermilionville priest who recorded the buria, true to form,l did not give any parents' names or mention a spouse.  May we assume that "Eurlyde" is a feminine name? 

Thérèse Babineaux died near Breaux Bridge, St. Martin Parish, age 18, in December 1864.  The priest who recorded the burial gave no parents' names nor mentioned a husband.  Was her death war-related? 

Joseph Babineaux's succession was filed at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in February 1866.  One wonders which of the Joseph Babineauxs this might have been. 

Jean Baptiste, son of Céleste Babineaux, deceased, married Antonia or Antoinette, daughter of Clarisse Segura, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in December 1869.  Their son Louis Vincent had been born near Youngsville, Lafayette Parish, in January 1868, and daughter Marie Louise near New Iberia, Iberia Parish, in August 1870.  Was Jean Baptiste Acadian? 

Joseph Babineaux's succession was filed at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in March 1870.  One wonders which of the Joseph Babineauxs this might have been. 

Joseph, son of Eustis Babineaux and Céleste ____, married Carmélite, daughter of Francis Dugas, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in August 1870.  Were Joseph and Carmélite, and their parents, Acadians?

Polytte, perhaps Hippolyte, Babineaux married Rose _____, place and date unrecorded.  Daughter Rosa was born in Lafayette Parish in September 1870. 

LOUISIANA:  RIVER SETTLEMENTS

Two Babineau sisters, Madeleine and Marie-Marguerite, called Marguerite, daughters of Joseph Babineau dit Des Lauriers of Annapolis Royal, who used the surname Des Lauriers and not Babineau, came to Louisiana directly from French St.-Domingue, today's Haiti, in the late 1760s.  They would have been Louis-Charles Babineaux's first cousins.  Marguerite came to Louisiana with husband Charles, son of Alexandre Comeau of Annapolis Royal, whom she had married probably in Connecticut a decade before, and their young daughter Anne.  Sister Madeleine probably came with them.  Spanish officials counted Madeleine at New Orleans in July 1767 and noted that she was among those Acadians who had "received their food supplies for the month...."   Madeleine married widower and fellow Acadian Joseph Comeau at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques in January 1768.  Marguerite and her family were living on the left, or east, bank of the river at St.-Jacques in 1777.  

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

The great majority of the Babineauxs in South Louisiana are Acadian, but at least one non-Acadian with a similar surname lived on the river:

Anne Élisabeth, daughter of André Babino and Anne-Élisabeth Guenve of Nantes, France, married Jean, son of Georges Ilon of Montmarte, Paris, France, at the Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in January 1825.  

~

Babineaux slaves took the surname of their masters before and after the War of 1861-65:

Betsy Babineaux, slave of "M. Amide" Babineaux, died in St. Martin Parish in August 1847.  The St. Martinville priest who recorded the burial did not give her parents' names or her age at the time of her death.  

Arsène Babineaux, a "freedwoman," married Abraham Isaac Fitz in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in December 1865.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

Onésime Babineaux, a "freedman," married Uranie Broussard, a "freed-woman," in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in February 1866.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

CONCLUSION

Only one Acadian Babineau family was established in Louisiana.  Louis-Charles, called Charles and "Grand Louis," Babineau and his second wife brought two young sons with them to Louisiana and had two more sons there not long after they settled on upper Bayou Teche.  From these four sons sprang the Babineaux clan of southwest Louisiana, who, like their kinsmen the Cormiers, remained largely where they first settled in the 1760s.  None of "Grand Louis's" sons, grandsons, or even great-grandsons moved to the river parishes or to the Bayou Lafourche valley before the War of 1861-65.  Every one of them remained west of the Atchafalaya Basin.  (The only Acadian Babineauxs on the river, in fact, were two sisters who preferred the surname Des Lauriers, not Babineau.  They came to Louisiana in the late 1760s directly from French St.-Domingue, and both married Comeaus.)  During the antebellum period, some of "Grand Louis's" descendants fanned out into the nearby prairies, one of them moving to Bayou Plaquemine Brûlé and on to the Mermentau River valley before drifting even farther west into the Calcasieu country.  Another lived along Bayou Queue de Tortue, on the prairie south of present-day Rayne, at the southwestern edge of the old Attakapas District.  Others moved up and down the Teche from their ancestor's homestead at La Pointe as far north as Arnaudville and as far south as New Iberia.  

Judging by the number of slaves held by Babineauxs during the late antebellum period, some of them lived comfortably on their farms and vacheries on the western parishes.  In 1850, Joseph David, son of David Babineaux, owned 48 slaves on his plantation along the upper Teche; 10 years later he still held 37 slaves.  His St. Martin Parish cousins, descendants of Théodore Babineaux, owned only a hand full of slaves in 1850 and do not appear on the 1860 federal slave schedules.  Some of the Babineaux cousins in Lafayette Parish also held slaves, though none of them owned as many as Joseph David.  In 1850, François, son of Joseph, père, held 18 slaves on his farm along Bayou Queue de Tortue on the western edge of the parish.  Older brother Joseph, fils at Carencro held 12 slaves in 1850 and 15 in 1860.  Cousin Charles at Carencro owned 8 slaves in 1850, and Charles's nephew Edmond held 3 slaves at Carencro that year.  Charles owned only 6 slaves in 1860.  His son Onésime, whose farm was next to his, also held 6 slaves in 1860, and Charles's older son Achilles owned a single slave on his farm in St. Landry Parish on the eve of the War of 1861.  The majority of the Babineauxs who owned slaves, however, owned fewer than the 20 needed to qualify as planters.  And many members of the family held no slaves at all on their vacharies and farms.

At least 17 Babineauxs served Louisiana and Texas in uniform during the War of 1861-65.  And the war took the lives of at least four members of the family, three of them in the same company.  In March 1862, cousins Athanase, Belisaire, Charles V., Émilien, and Théodore Babineaux enlisted in Company A of the 26th Louisiana Regiment Infantry--the "Lafayette Prairie Boys''--at Vermilionville.  After the fall of New Orleans in April, Confederate authorities sent the 26th Louisiana to Mississippi.  Théodore was the first of the Babineaux cousins to die.  He fell ill and died at Masonic Hall, Vicksburg, in June.  The next month, cousin Athanase died probably of disease at Mississippi Springs.  Charles V. died at Vicksburg the following December.  Only Bélisaire and Émilien were still alive when the regiment fought at Chickasaw Bluffs in late December and in the Siege of Vicksburg the following spring and summer.  They surrendered at Vicksburg with the remnants of the regiment on 3 July 1863, returned home as parolees, reported to a parole camp at Alexandria, Louisiana, in early summer 1864, were exchanged the following August, and returned home from the war in late spring of 1865.  Another Babineaux cousin died in Confederate service, but not from disease.  In late winter of 1862, Louis Desincourt, called Desincourt, joined the "DeClouet Guards," an elite militia company raised in St. Martin and St. Mary parishes that became Company D of the Orleans Guard Battalion Louisiana Infantry.  The battalion mustered into Confederate service for 90 days in early March 1862.  Confederate authorities sent it to Corinth, Mississippi, to reinforce the command of Louisiana native General P. G. T. Beauregard.  The Orleans Battalion fought in the first truly bloody battle of the war, at Shiloh, Tennessee, in early April 1862.  On the first day of battle, the Orleans Guard lost heavily in the massive Confederate assault against Federal General Ulysses S. Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing.  The Guard's blue militia uniforms proved to be especially troublesome; their fellow Confederates fired on them in the confusion of battle.  When the battalion's loses were tallied after the second day of fighting, it had lost a frightful 17 killed, 55 wounded, and 18 missing.  Among the wounded was Desincourt Babineaux, who may have been sent home to recuperate.  Desincourt's wound proved mortal; he died in late July 1862, only 22 years old.  A dozen other Babineauxs served the Southern Confederacy in uniform, most of them honorably.  One Louisiana Babineaux even served in a Texas cavalry unit.  When the war began, Wilmont, son of Alexandre Babineaux of Carencro, was living in Calcasieu Parish, west of the Mermentau River.  As a war historian notes:  "On several occasions during 1863 and 1864, Texas Confederate troops moved into southwestern Louisiana. These soldiers entered the state to collect supplies or to assist in protecting the area from Union invasion. While performing these tasks, the Texans took advantage of their situation to recruit local men into their military units. One unit that enlisted a sizeable number of Louisianians was Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Daly’s Texas Cavalry Battalion (later commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel G. Ragsdale). Some of the Louisianians had served previously in units from their own state, while others were enlisting for the first time."  Wilmont Babineaux joined Company A of Daly's Battalion.  

During the war, Federal armies marched three times through the Teche and upper Vermilion valleys, including the Bayou Carencro area, and burned and pillaged many farms and plantations, some of them no doubt owned by Babineauxs.  Thanks to these Federal incursions, emancipation came early to the area, with its resulting economic and social turmoil.  Confederate foraging parties and cutthroat Jayhawkers also plagued the area where Babineauxs lived, adding to the family's misery.  

After the war, seeking new opportunities in a free-labor Southern economy, especially as part of the Louisiana rice and petroleum industries, a few more Babineauxs moved west into the southwestern prairies, especially to the burgeoning city of Lake Charles, and, in the early twentieth century, on into east Texas.  A few moved east to Baton Rouge or southeast to New Orleans, where they helped to add an Acadian flare to that unique urban culture.  After World War II, as a result of military service and job opportunities in a material economy that Cajuns inevitably embraced, Babineauxs became part of a new Acadian Diaspora and moved to every corner of the United States.  According to a recent study of Louisiana families with French and Spanish surnames, however, most of them remained where their immigrant ancestors had settled, in St. Martin, Iberia, and especially Lafayette Parish, the heart of Acadiana.   One of the most prominent Cajuns of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries came from the Teche valley branch of the family.  Former Louisiana governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of New Iberia is a direct descendant of "Grand Louis" of La Pointe (and, thus, one of the author's distant cousins). 

The family's name also is spelled Babinau, Babineau, Babinos, Babinot, Bobino.  [See Book Ten for the Acadian family's Louisiana "begats"]

Sources:  1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Lafayette & St. Martin parishes; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Lafayette Parish; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Lafayette, St. Landry, & St. Martin parishes; Arsenault, Généalogie, 395-401, 1654, 2413-14; Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr. to the author, February 1997 (source of quotation); BRDR, vols. 2, 4; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 19; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A, 1-B, 2-A, 2-B, 2-C, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Historical Atlas of Canada, 1: plate 29; West, Atlas of LA Surnames, 23-24, 150; White, CEA; White, DGFA-1, 65-69; White, DGFA-1 English, 14-15. 

Settlement Abbreviations 
(present-day civil parishes that existed in 1861 are in parenthesis; hyperlinks on the abbreviations take you to brief histories of each settlement):

For a chronology of Acadian Arrivals in Louisiana, 1764-early 1800s, see Appendix.

The hyperlink attached to an individual's name is connected to a list of Acadian immigrants for a particular settlement and provides a different perspective on the refugee's place in family and community. 

NOTES

01.  Wall of Names, 10, calls him Dominique BABINEAU; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A: 29, 752 (SM Ct.Hse.: OA-vol.3, #71), his marriage contract record, calls him Dominique BABINEAUX, "native of Pissiqui, Territory of Acadie," calls his wife Marguerite-Blandine THIBODEAU, dates their marriage contract 18 Feb 1783, gives his & her parents' names, says his father was deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to his marriage contract were Joseph BABINO [his brother], ____ DECLOUET, fils, Philippe WISSE, Joseph BABIN, Antoine PATIN, Joseph BOURQUE, Amant THIBODEAUX [his father-in-law], & Louis Armand DUCREST; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A: 28, 752 (SM Ch.: v.2, #97), his marriage record, calls him Charles-Dominique BABINEAU, calls his wife Marguerite-Claudine THIBAUDAU, calls him a minor son & her a minor daughter, dates their marriage on 24 Feb 1783, gives his & her parents' names, but gives no witnesses to his marriage; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:31 (SM Ch.: v.4, #976), his death/burial record, calls him Dominique BABINEAUX, gives his parents' names, says he died "at age 54 years at his home at Carencros," that he was buried "in the parish cemetery," & was signed by Aman DUGAT; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-B:35 (SM Ct.Hse.: Succ. #331), his succession, calls him Dominique BABINEAUX m. Marguerite THIBODEAUX.  See also Arceneaux, D. J., Attakapas Post in 1769, 19; De Ville, Attakapas Post Census, 1771, 14; De Ville, Southwest LA Families, 1777, 33; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 280; West, Atlas of LA Surnames, 23, 150.

"Pissiqui" was Pigiguit, one of the Minas Basin settlements & site of British Fort Edward, where his family was held as prisoners of war in the early 1760s. 

Evidently his & brother Joseph's ages were switched by the census taker at Attakapas in 1769.  See D. J. Arceneaux.

Carencro did not have a church--St. Peter--until 1874, so Dominique may have been buried at the St. Martin de Tours cemetery at the Attakapas Post, now St. Martinville, unless there was a "parish cemetery" at Carencro.  

02.  Wall of Names, 10, calls him Joseph BABINEAU; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2413, calls him Julien-Joseph & Joseph BABINEAUX, & says he was born c1762, but the Atakapas censuses of 1771 & 1777 indicate that he was born a few years later.  See De Ville, Attakapas Post Census, 1771, 14; De Ville, Southwest LA Families, 1777, 33.  Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-C:25-26, his death/burial record, calls him Joseph BABINEAUX, spouse of "de feu Dame Felix [the dec. Mrs. Félice] CORMIER."  See also Arceneaux, D. J., Attakapas Post in 1769, 19;Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 280; West, Atlas of LA Surnames, 23, 150.

Evidently his & brother Dominique's ages were switched by the census taker at Attakapas in 1769.  See D. J. Arceneaux.

03.  Wall of Names, 10 (pl. 1L), calls him Charles BABINEAU, & lists him with wife Anne GUILBEAU & sons Dominique & Joseph; Arsenault, Généalogie, 396, the Port Royal section, shows a Louis-Charles born to Clément BABINEAU dit DESLAURIERS & Renée BOURG in 1723, & a Charles born to the same couple in 1728; Arsenault, Généalogie, 398, the Port Royal section, says Louis-Charles BABINEAU dit DESLAURIERS, born in 1723, married both Marguerite DOUCET & Anne GUILBEAU, & settled in LA, but says nothing of a family for Clément & Renée's son Charles, born in 1728; Arsenault, Généalogie, 1654, the Ristigouche section, calls him Louis-Charles BABINEAU, gives his parents' names, calls his mother a BOURQUE, details his second marriage, & says the witnesses to the marriage were Jean LANDRY, Joseph MARTIN, & Joseph GUILBEAU; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2413, the LA section, calls him Louis-Charles BABINEAU, says he was born in 1723 at Port-Royal, gives his parents' names, details his first & second marriages, says his children by his first marriage were Jean-Baptiste, born in 1745, Marie-Josèphe in 1746, Charles in 1749, & Marguerite in 1753, says his children by his second marriage were Dominique, born in c1761, Julien-Joseph in c1762, Scholastique in c1766, Théodore in c1768, David in 1771, & Anne in 1774, & says he settled at Attakapas.  See also Arceneaux, D. J., Attakapas Post in 1769, 7, 19, 37; <thecajuns.com/cardmoney.htm>; De Ville, Attakapas Post Census, 1771, 14; Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 251; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 280.  

The birth year given for him in Arsenault, likely based on the baptismal record of a Charles, son of Clément BABINO & Renée dite Renoche BOURG of Annapolis Royal, born on 14 Mar & baptized on 24 Apr 1723, makes no sense in light of the ages given in the Attakapas censuses of 1769 & 1771.  See D. J. Arceneaux; De Ville.  A second Charles BABINO, with the same parents, was born & baptized at Annapolis Royal on 4 Mar 1728, so this likely was the Charles who made it to LA.  West, Atlas of LA Surnames, 150, says "widow Grand Louis" registered a cattle brand in 1772 & that in 1774 she possessed 33 cattle, 10 horses, & 40 hogs.  But how could Anne GUILBEAU have been a widow in 1772 if her daughter Anne by Charles BABINEAUX was born in Oct 1774?  See Anne's baptismal record, dated Nov 1774, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:28 (SM Ch.: v.1, p.42; SM Ch.: Folio B-1), which calls her parents Mr. BABINAU & Anne GUILLEBAUT.  Note also that neither Charles's birth/baptismal nor his first marriage record call him anything but Charles.  Moreover, the church records in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A & 1-B, covering the years 1765-1810, associated with Charles BABINEAUX & his family, as well as the LA censuses in which he is found, invariably call him Charles.  Yet, Arsenault & West call him Louis-Charles or Grand Louis.  West, 23, in fact, claims that he was "Often called 'Grand Louis....'"  The birth/baptismal record of granddaughter Aimee, daughter of David BABINEAUX, dated 23 Feb 1812, in Hebert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:30 (SM Ch.: v.6, #1282), calls him Jean Louis; his widow's burial record, dated 15 May 1813, in Hebert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:461 (SM Ch.: v.4, #827), calls her Anne GUILBEAUX, native of Acadie, widow of Louis BABINEAU; the birth/baptismal record of granddaughter Marie Arthemise, daughter of David BABINEAUX, dated 8 Apr 1814, in Hebert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:33 (SM Ch.: v.6, #1625, calls him Louis; & the burial record of son Dominique, dated 30 Aug 1815, in Hebert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:31 (SM Ch.: v.4, #976), calls him Louis so one wonders if this is the basis for the name Louis-Charles.  

None of his children by his first wife made it to LA, so one wonders if the Charles born in 1723 may have been the one who married Marguerite DOUCET & the second Charles, born in 1728, married only once, to Anne GUILBEAU. 

04.  Wall of Names, 10, calls her Madeleine BABINEAU dit DES LAURIERS, & lists her with sister Marie-Marguerite.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 427; White, DGFA-1, 65.  

Did she come to LA directly from St.-Domingue with her sister & her sister's husband?  My guess is ... yes, she did.  Their father died at Le Mirebalais in Jan 1765, age 65.  See White.  Evidently she & sister Madeleine moved on to LA not long after their father's passing.  Like her sister, she used the surname DESLAURIERS or DES LAUVIERS, not BABINEAUX.

05.  Wall of Names, 10, calls her Marie-Marguerite BABINEAU dit DES LAURIERS, & list her with sister Madeleine; White, DGFA-1, 382, profile of first husband Charles COMEAU's family, calls her Marguerite BABINEAU dit Des Lauriers & details their marriage, including their sojourn in Haiti; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 424, the record of her second marriage, calls her Marie BABINOS; Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 171, the same record, erroneously calls her Marie BABIN.  See also De Ville, St. James Census, 1777, 15.  

Their being in CN in 1763 hints that they were among the Acadians in that colony who went to French St.-Domingue in the early 1760s, so they probably were among those few Acadian families who immigrated to LA directly from St.-Domingue, not from Halifax via Cap-Français, like the 1765 arrivals.  See Appendix. 

Like her sister, she used the surname DESLAURIERS or DES LAUVIERS, not BABINEAUX. 

[top of page BABINEAUX]

Copyright (c) 2006-24  Steven A. Cormier