Acadians Who Found Refuge in Louisiana, February 1764-early 1800s
[Brah-SOH, BRASS-oh]
ACADIA
Pierre Brassaud or Brassaux, born in France in c1663, reached Port-Royal by 1691, the year he married Gabrielle, daughter of Michel Forest dit Michel and Marie Hébert. They moved on to Rivière-de-l'Ascension in the Minas Basin and then to nearby Pigiguit. Pierre and Gabrielle had nine children, only two of them sons. Only one of the sons, the younger one, survived childhood. Five of their seven daughters married into the Boudrot, Guédry dit Grivois, Longuépée, and Robichaud dit Cadet families. The surviving son, Pierre, fils, born after the Port-Royal census of 1707, married in c1735, probably at Minas, a woman whose name has been lost to history. At least two of Pierre, père's daughters settled in the French Maritimes. Anne, wife of Louis Longuépée, and Cécile, wife of Antoine Boudrot, were deported to France from Île St.-Jean in 1758 aboard the British transport Supply. Their brother Pierre, fils was counted as a widower with five children in Pennsylvania in June 1763. No member of this family emigrated to Louisiana.
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Mathieu dit La Citardy, born in c1650, probably no kin to Pierre, spelled his surname Brasseur and sometimes Brasseux and Le Brasseur. He married Jeanne, teenage daughter of André Célestin dit Bellemère and Perrine Basile, at Port-Royal in c1702; Mathieu was 39 years older than his wife, who was only 13 years old at the time of their wedding. They settled at Grand-Pré. Mathieu dit La Citardy died at Minas in May 1733, in his early 80s, but not before he had fathered 11 children. Jeanne, at age 52, remarried to Claude Landry, 78-year-old widower of Marie-Catherine Thibodeau and Marie Babin; she gave Claude no more children. Her six Brasseur daughters married into the Doucet, Bernard, Henry dit Robert, Poyer dit Lapintade, Doiron, Benoit, Aucoin, and Poirier families. All five of her Brasseur sons created families of their own:
Oldest son Mathieu dit Le Brasseur, born probably at Minas c1705, married Anne-Marie, daughter of Jean Pitre and Françoise Babin, in c1727. In 1750, they moved to Île St.-Jean, today's Prince Edward Island, and settled at Anse-du-Nord-Ouest, on the south side of the island, where a French official counted Mathieu, Anne-Marie, and their 11 children--Anne-Théotiste, age 24; Pierre, age 21; Marguerite-Josèphe, age 19; Brigitte, age 17; François, age 15; Mathurin, age 13; François-Xavier, age 11; Élisabeth-Gertrude, age 7; Jean-Baptiste, age 6; Marie-Josèphe, age 4; and Pélagie, age 2 months--in August 1752. Anne-Théotiste married into the Lejeune family on the island in September 1753, left the island before the deportation of 1758. She died probably at Québec before April 1757, when her husband remarried on nearby Île d'Orléans.
Cosme dit Brasseux, born at Grand-Pré in December 1712, married Élisabeth, daughter of Pierre Thibodeau le jeune and Anne-Marie Aucoin of Chignecto, at Grand-Pré in January 1738. They remained at Minas.
Jean, born at Grand-Pré in December 1719, married Madeleine, daughter of Philippe Roy and Cécile Mazerolle, in c1750.
Claude dit Paul dit Mathieu, born probably at Minas in c1722, married Marguerite, daughter of Jean Bertrand l'aîné and Marie-François Léger of Chepoudy, at Beaubassin in August 1746 and remained at Chignecto.
Youngest son Joseph, born at Grand-Pré in March 1726, married Marie-Rose, daughter of Jean Daigre and Marie-Madeleine Landry of Pigiguit, at Grand-Pré in October1748. Like brothers Cosme and Jean, Joseph and his family remained at Minas.
[For more of this family in pre- and post-dispersal Acadia and Canada, see Book Three]
By the 1750s, descendants of Mathieu Brasseur dit La Citardy could be found in several major Acadian settlements--at Chignecto, Chepoudy, and on Île St.-Jean, but especially in the Minas Basin, where Mathieu dit La Citardy had spent much of his life.
LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT
[For the family's travails during the Great Upheaval, see Book Six]
LOUISIANA: RIVER SETTLEMENTS
The first descendants of Mathieu Brasseur dit La Citardy to reach Louisiana came from Maryland in July 1767. Élisabeth Thibodeau, age 50, widow of Cosme dit Brasseux, came with six of her children: Marie-Marguerite, age 22, Marie-Madeleine, age 20, Marie, age 18, Blaise, age 15, Anne, age 14, and Marie-Rose, age 12. Also with them was Élisabeth's son Pierre Brasseur, age 25, his wife Élisabeth Richard, age 24, and their infant daughter Marguerite. Spanish Governor Ulloa sent them to the new Acadian community of San Gabriel on the river above New Orleans with the other 1767 arrivals from Maryland.
Marie was the first to wed in Louisiana. She married Hubert, fils, son of Hubert Janis of Langres, France, at Ascension, downriver from San Gabriel, in October 1772.
Meanwhile, Élisabeth Thibodeaux died at San Gabriel in the early 1770s, in her early 50s. Probably soon after her death, most of her children left the river and moved to the Opelousas District. Daughter Marie-Marguerite probably remained on the river. Son Pierre and his wife also remained on the river, where they had more children.
Descendants of Pierre BRASSET (c1742-1794; Mathieu dit La Citardy)
Pierre, elder son of Cosme Brasseur dit Brasseux and Élisabeth Thibodeau, born probably at Grand-Pré in c1742, followed his family to Maryland in 1755. He married fellow Acadian Élisabeth, or Isabelle, Richard in Maryland in c1765. Along with his widowed mother and six siblings, he took his family, which now included an infant daughter, to Louisiana in 1767. They settled with other 1767 arrivals at San Gabriel d'Iberville on the river above New Orleans, where he and Élisabeth had more children. Their daughters married into the Babin, Capdeville, and LeBlanc families. Pierre died at Ascension, just downriver from St.-Gabriel, in September 1794, age 52. Three of his grandsons by his first son moved to the western prairies in the early 1800s, but his second son and his sons remained on the river, where their name was spelled Brasset as well as Brasseaux.
1
Oldest son Joseph, born at San Gabriel in c1771, married Théodose, daughter of fellow Acadian Amand-Paul Gautreaux and Marie Landry of San Gabriel, at Ascension in July 1794. Their son Joseph, fils was born at St.-Gabriel in September 1798, Augustin in August 1800, and Édouard in March 1803. Their daughters married into the Dugas and Richard families, one of them in St. Martin Parish. Joseph, called a Brasset by the recording priest, died at San Gabriel in January 1803, age 32. His three sons and one of his daughters moved to the western prairies not long after his death. His other daughter remained at St. Gabriel.
2
Olivier, born at San Gabriel in c1773, married Marine, daughter of fellow Acadian Firmin Landry and Ludivine Babin, at St. Gabriel in May 1796. Their son Pierre le jeune was born at St.-Gabriel in October 1798, Alexis in March 1809, Olivier Martin in August 1811 but died at age 1 in September 1812, and Louis Augustin died a day after his birth in September 1813. They also had a son named Leufroi, unless he was Pierre le jeune. Their daughters married into the Boush, Hébert, LeBlanc, and Marrionneaux families. His descendants remained on the river.
2a
Leufroi married Marie Adveline, called Adveline, daughter of Anglo-American Bartholomew Hamilton and his Acadian wife Mélanie Dupuis of St. Gabriel, at the Donaldson church, Ascension Parish, in March 1821. Their son Leufroi, fils, also called Émile, was born in Ascension Parish in November 1823 but died at age 10 in April 1833, Octavius Constantin, called Octave, was born in February 1826, Ferdinand Numa, called Numa, in January 1828, and Joseph Edward, called J. Edward, in August 1830. Leufroi remarried to Marie Élisabeth, called Élisabeth, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Henry and Hermengilde Gaudin, at the Donaldsonville church in August 1836. Their son Henri Cleopha was born in Ascension Parish in September 1839, and Jean Olivier, called Olivier, in April 1844.
Octave, by his father's first wife, married Calliste, called Lisa, daughter of fellow Acadians Drosin Gravois and Pauline Landry, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in November 1848. Their son Gratien Constantin was born near Convent in December 1849, Jacques Drosin in Ascension Parish in April 1851 but died at age 15 months in September 1852, Leufroi Hygin was born January 1854, Joachim Armand in March 1865, and Joseph Comes in September 1867.
Numa, by his father's first wife, married Lutesia, daughter of fellow Acadians Destival LeBlanc and Sidalise Boudreaux, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in November 1851. Their son Fostin Schuyler was born in Ascension Parish in February 1865.
J. Edward, by his father's first wife, married Marie Emalise, daughter of fellow Acadian Tecomine Lanoux and his Creole wife Elizabeth Gisclard, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in November 1853.
Jean Olivier, by his father's second wife, married Estelle, daughter of fellow Acadians Lessin LeBlanc and Corrine Lanoux, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in January 1866. Their son Jean Henry died 4 days after his birth in June 1867.
2b
Alexis married Marie Azélie, called Azélie, daughter of fellow Acadian Paul Babin and his Creole wife Céleste Thulaire, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in November 1831.
3
Youngest son Jean-Baptiste, baptized at San Gabriel, age unrecorded, in September 1779, died at age 6 in October 1785.
Other BRASSETs on the River
Area church and civil records make it difficult to link some Brassets on the river with known Acadian lines of the family:
In July 1860, the federal census taker in West Feliciana Parish counted 10 slaves--4 males and 6 females, age 60 to 18, living in 4 houses--on A. Braseux's farm in the parish's Sixth Ward, and 2 more slaves--a 46-year-old black female, and a 45-year-old mulatto female--on A. Braseux's farm nearby.
Ursule Brasset gave birth to son Paul Émile in Ascension Parish in July 1865. The priest who recorded the boy's baptism did not give the father's name or the mother's parents' names.
Lise Brasset died in Ascension Parish, age 15, in September 1870. The Donaldsonville priest who recorded the burial did not give any parents' names.
LOUISIANA: WESTERN SETTLEMENTS
During the late 1760s or early 1770s, probably soon after their widowed mother, Élisabeth Thibodeaux, died at San Gabriel on the river, several of her Brasseur children left St.-Gabriel, crossed the Atchafalaya Basin, and settled in the Opelousas District, creating a western branch of the family.
Marie-Madeleine married Victor, son of fellow Acadian Alexandre Richard, at Opelousas in the mid-1770s. She died in St. Landry Parish in November 1809, in her early 60s.
Anne married Pierre, son of fellow Acadian Honoré Trahan, at Opelousas. She died by 1788, when her husband was listed in an Opelousas census without a wife.
Marie-Rose married Charles, son of fellow Acadian Charles Jeansonne, at Opelousas in the late 1770s or early 1780s. She may have died in St. Martin Parish in May 1861, over 100 years old.
Descendants of Blaise BRASSEAUX (c1752-1820s; Mathieu dit La Citardy)
Blaise, younger son of Cosme Brasseur dit Brasseux and Élisabeth Thibodeau, born probably at Grand-Pré in c1742, followed his family to Maryland in 1755. He came to Louisiana in 1767 with his widowed mother and siblings and followed them to San Gabriel d'Iberville on the river above New Orleans. Probably after his mother died, he and four of his sisters moved to the Opelousas District, where he married Marie-Anne, called Anne, daughter of fellow Acadians Amand Préjean and his first wife Madeleine Martin, in the mid-1770s. They settled in the Bellevue area of what became St. Landry Parish, south of Opelousas. Their daughters married into the Landry, Prather, Richard, Smith, and Wood families. Blaise's succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, in January 1822; he would have been age 70 that year. Only two of his sons married. They settled probably on the upper Atchafalaya River near the boundary between St. Landry and Pointe Coupee parishes. Typical of Acadians who lived in that area, most of Blaise's descendants married Creoles.
1
Alexandre Blaise, born at Opelousas in February 1788, married Geneviève, daughter of French Creole Narcisse Carmouche and Françoise Bock, in a civil ceremony recorded in Pointe Coupee Parish in March 1816, so they must have lived along the upper Atchafalaya near the boundary between St. Landry and Pointe Coupee parishes. Their son Narcisse was born in April 1819, Martin in October 1827, Valmont in August 1829 but died at age 9 months in June 1830, Alexandre, fils in April 1831, and Alcée was born in January 1836. Their daughters married into the Carmouche, Leonard, and Prewett or Prowet families. Alexandre, père died by July 1838, when his succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish; he would have been age 50 that year. Two of his sons married French Creoles and remained on the upper Atchafalaya near the boundary between St. Landry and Pointe Coupee parishes.
1a
Narcisse married Oside Zulma, called Zulma, daughter of French Creole Jean Baptiste Leonard and Charlotte Ortis, at the Pointe Coupee church, Pointe Coupee Parish, in June 1844. Their son Narcisse, fils was born in Pointe Coupee Parish in January 1840. Narcisse, père died in Pointe Coupee Parish in June 1854, age 35.
1b
Alexandre, fils married French Creole Augustine Lavergne. Their son Alexandre Lucien was born in Pointe Coupee Parish in January 1859 but died at age 1 1/2 in November 1860.
2
Blaise, fils, baptized at Opelousas, age unrecorded, in May 1793, may have died young, unless he was Julien.
3
Julien, born in c1794, married Julie, daughter of French Creole Baptiste Porché and his first wife Angelene Bois, in a civil ceremony recorded in Pointe Coupee Parish in 1816. Their son Julien, fils was born in St. Landry Parish in December 1817, and Sosthène in July 1824. Their daughter married into the Lavergne family. They, too, must have lived near the boundary between St. Landry and Pointe Coupee parishes. Julien died in St. Landry Parish in May 1860, age 66; his succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse later that month.
3a
Julien, fils married cousin Louise, called Lise, daughter of fellow Acadians Léandre Landry and Louise Brasseaux, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in September 1841. Their son Reus Landry was born in St. Landry Parish in October 1843, Théoville in March 1845, Joseph in March 1850, Philemon near Church Point, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in February 1852, Aristide in September 1853, Evariste Ducoudray near Opelousas in February 1856, and Raymond in September 1857.
During the War of 1861-65, Reus Landry, called Reul in Confederate records, served in Company K of the 29th (Thomas's) Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. Landry Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi. He was captured and paroled at Vicksburg in July 1863.
3b
Sosthène married Suzette, daughter of Joseph Reaux and his Acadian wife Suzette Thibodeaux, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1850. They settled on Bayou Plaquemine Brûlé. Their son Sosthène, fils was born in St. Landry Parish in August 1855, Onile in August 1859, Ernest in August 1861, and Joseph died "at age 1 mth." in May 1866. Their daughter married into the Smith family. Wife Suzette died "at Plaquemine" probably from giving birth to son Joseph in April 1866, age 36.
4
Caliste, perhaps a twin, baptized at Opelousas, age unrecorded, in July 1795, also may have died young, unless he was Julien.
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In the early 1800s, three Brasseaux brothers from the river joined their cousins west of the Atchafalaya Basin and settled in Lafayette Parish, adding substantially to the western branch of the family:
Descendants of Joseph BRASSEAUX, fils (1798-1840s; Mathieu dit La Citardy, Cosme, Pierre)
Joseph, fils, eldest son of Joseph Brasseaux and Théodose Gautreaux, born at St.-Gabriel on the river in September 1798, crossed the Atchafalaya Basin after her came of age and married Valiene, 15-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Dugas and Madeleine Sonnier, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in January 1822. They settled probably near Carencro. Their daughters married into the Arceneaux family. Joseph may have died in Lafayette Parish in August 1842; the Vermilionville priest who recorded the burial did not bother to give any parents' names, mention a wife, or give the age of the Joseph he buried; this Joseph would have been age 41 that year; his succession was not filed at the Vermilionville courthouse, Lafayette Parish, until December 1849.
1
Oldest son Joseph, fils, baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 4 months, in June 1827, may have died young, unless he was the Joseph Brasseaux who died in Lafayette Parish in August 1842; if so, he would have been age 15.
2
Aurelien, baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 7 months, in December 1829, married Amelia or Aurelia, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Cormier, fils and Céleste Babineaux of Carencro, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in August 1848. They settled probably at Carencro. Their son Joseph le jeune was born in June 1849, Moïse in February 1853, and Pierre Neuville in January 1855. Their daughters married Babineaux and Cormier cousins. Aurelien died in January 1863; the Vermilionville priest who recorded the burial said that Aurelien was age 23 when he died, but he was 34; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse the following March. One wonders if, like his younger brother Octave, Aurelien died in Confederate service.
Joseph, le jeune married cousin Émilia, daughter of fellow Acadian Onésime Babineaux and Julienne Benoit, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in October 1866. They settled probably at Carencro. Their son Aurelien le jeune was born in August 1867, Adam in March 1869, and Julien in November 1870.
3
Alcide, born in Lafayette Parish in April 1833, married Marie Félicie, called Félicie, 16-year-old daughter of fellow Acadian Leufroi Boudreaux and Marie Hébert, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in September 1850. Their son Justinien was born in Lafayette Parish in October 1861, and Jean Euclide was born posthumously in February 1864. Alcide died in January 1864; the Vermilionville priest who recorded his burial said that Alcide was age 26 when he died, but he was 30; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in March 1868. One wonders if, like his younger brother Octave, Alcide died in Confederate service.
4
Euclide, baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 5 months, in July 1835, died at age 8 in September 1843.
5
Octave was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 2 months, in July 1839. During the War of 1861-65, Octave served in Company F of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafayette Parish, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. Octave enlisted in October 1861 but did not survive the war. He was severely wounded in the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, in April 1862, fell into Federal hands, and died in U.S. General Hospital Number 4 at Louisville, Kentucky, the following June, age 23. His succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in September 1863.
6
Youngest son Olivier, born in Lafayette Parish in November 1841, died at age 2 months the following January.
Descendants of Auguste or Augustin BRASSEAUX (1800-1862; Mathieu dit La Citardy, Cosme, Pierre)
Auguste or Augustin, second son of Joseph Brasseaux and Théodose Gautreaux, born at St.-Gabriel on the river in August 1800, followed his older brother and a sister to the western prairies and married Susanne, daughter of French Canadian François Primeaux and Justine Baudoin, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in October 1825. They moved south to the Abbeville area of Vermilion Parish by the 1840s. Their daughter married into the Desormeaux family. In October 1850, the federal census taker in Vermilion Parish counted 6 slaves--2 males and 4 females, all black, ranging in age from 30 to 5--on Auguste Brasseux's farm in Ward Two of the parish's western district. Auguste died near Abbeville in November 1862, age 62.
1
Oldest son Aladin, born in Lafayette Parish in May 1828, married Belzire, daughter of fellow Acadian Don Louis Broussard and Madeleine Benoit of Lafayette Parish, at the Abbeville church, Vermilion Parish, in March 1856.
2
Joachim, baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 8 months, in June 1830, married fellow Acadian Aurelia Broussard. Their son Gustave le jeune was born near Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, in March 1856. They also had an older son named Benjamin. Their daughter married into the Nunez family. Joachim died by July 1867, when he was listed as deceased in a daughter's marriage record.
Benjamin married Azéma or Alzena, daughter of French Creole Philemon Dubois and Sylvanie Thibodeaux, at the Abbeville church, Vermilion Parish, in November 1867. Their son Armance Joseph was born near Abbeville in January 1869.
3
Adrien, baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 7 months, in December 1839, married fellow Acadian Azéma Trahan at the Abbeville church, Vermilion Parish, in February 1858. Their son Cléopha was born near Abbeville in February 1859, Osea in April 1861, and Auguste in May 1866. Adrien may have remarried to Isabelle François and settled near New Iberia, on lower Bayou Teche, in the late 1860s.
4
Joseph le jeune, born near Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, in September 1845, married French Creole Marie Sylvanie, called Sylvanie, Langlinais at the Abbeville church, Vermilion Parish, between April and September 1864.
5
Youngest son Gustave, born near Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, in January 1851, married Émilie, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Thibodeaux and Celanie Boudreaux, at the Abbeville church, Vermilion Parish, in April 1870.
Descendants of Édouard BRASSEAUX (1803-1855; Mathieu dit La Citardy, Cosme, Pierre)
Édouard, third and youngest son of Joseph Brasseaux and Théodose Gautreaux, born at St.-Gabriel on the river in March 1803, followed his older brothera and a sister to the western prairies and married Arsene, also called Jacinte, another daughter of Jean Dugas and Madeleine Sonnier, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in July 1826. In November 1850, the federal census taker in St. Martin Parish counted a single slave--a 30-year-old black male--on Édouard Brusseus's farm; this may have been Édouard Brasseaux. Édouard died in Lafayette Parish in April 1855; the priest who recorded his burial said that Édouard was age 50 years old when he died, but he was 52; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse the following June.
1
Older son Adam, baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 15 days, in February 1836, married Alida, daughter of Narcisse Begnaud and Hortence Patin, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in June 1856. Adam died by March 1863, when his succession record was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse; he would have been age 27 that year. One wonders if he died in Confederate service.
2
Younger son Pierre was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 2 months, in May 1839. During the War of 1861-65, Pierre served as a sergeant, private, and corporal in Company F of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafayette Parish, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana, and in Company I of the Consolidated 18th Regiment and Yellow Jackets Battalion Louisiana Infantry, which fought in Louisiana. Pierre enlisted in October 1861 and was appointed fourth sergeant of his company. After the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, in April 1862, he reported sick "to the interior" and served as a nurse at Jackson, Mississippi, for the next several months. He was reduced to the ranks in August 1862 and captured at the Battle of Labadieville, in Assumption Parish, the following October. He was back with his company in January 1863 but was absent sick again two months later, this time in a hospital at New Iberia. He was promoted to second corporal in the summer of 1863 and to first corporal a few months later. He was still with his unit in early 1864 and probably fought in the Red River Campaign in the spring of 1864.
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Other BRASSEAUXs on the Western Prairies
Area church and civil records make it difficult to link some Brasseauxs in the western parishes with known Acadian lines of the family there:
Laurement Brasseaux married Joasin Prevaux, probably Joachim Prevost, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in April 1835. The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. Laurement probably was a dite.
B. Thomas Brasseaux married Catherine Eveline Lebleu, place and date unrecorded. Their son Neuville Thomas was born in St. Landry Parish in January 1856.
A succession for Élizabeth Brasseaux, wife of Alphonse Courseaux, was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in December 1864. Who were her parents?
Doralise, daughter of Zilia Brasseaux, died "at Bellevue" in St. Landry Parish, age 17, in July 1866. The Opelousas priest who recorded the burial did not give the father's' name or the mother's parents' names.
Adrien Brasseaux married Izabel François, place and date unrecorded. Daughter Mare Adeline was born near New Iberia, Iberia Parish, in December 1869.
John Brasseaux died "at Bellevue," St. Landry Parish, in July 1870. The Opelousas priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names, said that John died "at age 21 yrs." Did he marry?
LOUISIANA: LAFOURCHE VALLEY SETTLEMENTS
In 1785, two unmarried Brasseur sisters, one of them already in her middle age, came to Louisiana from France on La Bergère, the second of the Seven Ships. They followed the majority of their fellow passengers to upper Bayou Lafourche:
Marie Brasseur, age 37, married Olivier, son of fellow Acadian Jean Trahan and widower of Élisabeth Lejeune, at Lafourche in January 1788. Olivier also had crossed on La Bergère. They remained on the upper bayou. Marie did not give him any more children.
Osite, Marie's younger sister, age 24, lived with her older sister and her brother-in-law and did not marry. Osite died at Assumption in February 1799, in her late 30s.
~
Several Brasset/Brasseaux families appeared in the Bayou Lafourche valley by the 1830s. Church and civil records make it difficult to link them to known Acadian lines of the family. After the 1840s, they disappear from the valley:
Joseph Brasseaux married Eulalie LeBlanc, place and date unrecorded. Daughter Eulalie was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in April 1832. One wonders how Joseph was kin to the other Brasseauxs of South Louisiana.
Jean Brasseaux married Delphine Forgeron, place and date unrecorded. Daughter Marie Hélène was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in February 1833. How was Jean kin to Joseph, and, if so, how were they kin to the other Brasseauxs of South Louisiana?
Marie Ludivine Brasset married Reuben Bush at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in June 1844. The priest who recorded the marriage did not give Marie's parents' names. The June 1844 ceremony must have been a blessing of a union that already existed, because Marie Ludivine died in Lafourche Interior Parish the day before her "marriage"!
CONCLUSION
Mathieu Brasseur dit La Citardy created a large family in Acadia, but only a few of his descendants emigrated to Louisiana. Most came from Maryland in 1767 and 1769, and a few from France in 1785. The Acadian Brasset/Brasseauxs of South Louisiana are descended from Pierre and Blaise, the two sons of Cosme Brasseur dit Brasseux and Éisabeth Thibodeau who came with their widowed mother from Maryland in 1767. Older brother Pierre settled on the river at St.-Gabriel, and younger brother Blaise moved on to the Opelousas District and started a western branch of the family. Two of his sons lived on the upper Atchafalaya River near the boundary between St. Landry and Pointe Coupee parishes, and some of his grandsons settled near Church Point in present-day Acadia Parish. During the early antebellum period, the western branch was supplemented by three Brasset brothers, grandsons of Pierre, who left the river and settled in Lafayette Parish, especially near Carencro. Others joined their cousins in the Church Point area, or moved south to the area around Abbeville. While their western cousins spread out on the prairies, members of the eastern branch of the family moved down the Acadian Coast from St. Gabriel into Ascension and St. James parishes, and one of them may have moved upriver to West Feliciana Parish. In 1785, two Brasseur sisters came to Louisiana from France and settled on upper Bayou Lafourche; one married, the other did not. In the 1830s and 1840s, a few Brasseaux families appeared on Bayou Lafourche, but they did not remain there; area church and civil records do not reveal their relationship with known Acadian lines of the family in other parts of the region. By the end of the antebellum period, members of the western branch of the family significantly outnumbered their cousins on the river.
Area church and civil records reveal no Brasseurs in colonial Louisiana other than Acadian immigrants. The Brassets and Brasseauxs of South Louisiana, then, were descendants of Mathieu Brasseur dit La Citardy of Minas.
Judging by the number of slaves they owned during the late antebellum period, the Brasset/Brasseauxs on the river and on the western prairies participated only peripherally in the South's antebellum plantation economy. Auguste Brasseaux of Vermilion Parish owned half a dozen slaves in 1850. A decade later, no one in the family, either on the prairies or along the river, appeared on the 1860 federal slave schedules.
Over a dozen Brasset/Brasseauxs served Louisiana in uniform during the War of 1861-65. At least one of them died in Confederate service. Octave, son of Joseph Brasseaux of Lafayette Parish, enlisted in Company F of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry in October 1861. He was severely wounded in the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, in April 1862, fell into enemy hands, and died in a Federal general hospital at Louisville, Kentucky, the following June. He was only 23 years old. Although Confederate service records cannot confirm it, the deaths of Octave's older brothers Aurelien and Alcide in January 1863 and January 1864, respectively, makes one wonder if they, too, were not fatalities of the conflict. ...
Dr. Carl Brasseaux, retired director of the Louisiana Studies Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a leading authority on Le Grand Dérangement and the Acadians in Louisiana, is a descendant of Cosme Brasseur dit Brasseux and his remarkable wife, Élisabeth Thibodeau. ...
Today, the western members of the family spell their surname Brasseux or, especially, Brasseaux, while their relatives on the river favor Brasset. The family's name in Louisiana also is spelled Baceaux, Bracet, Barfeux, Brakens, Braseau, Brasein, Braser, Braseau, Braseuse, Braseux, Brasoeur, Brasin, Brasio, Brasse, Brasseau, Brasseu, Brasseus, Brassieus, Brinsech, Bruset. [See Book Ten for the family's Louisiana "begats"]
Sources: 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, St. Martin & Vermilion parishes; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, West Feliciana Parish; Arsenault, Généalogie, 1121-25, 1347, 1656, 2437-38; BRDR, vol. 1a(rev.), 2, 3, 4, 5(rev.), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 52; Hébert, D., South LA Records, vols. 1, 2; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A, 1-B, 2-A, 2-B, 2-C, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; <islandregister.com/1752.html>; Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 155, 217; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/Supply.htm>, Family Nos. 16, 27; "Ristigouche, 24 Oct 1760"; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 34; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 161; White, DGFA-1, 267-70; White, DGFA-1 English, 59; Wood, Acadians in Maryland, 92-93.
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):
|
Ascension |
Lafourche (Lafourche, Terrebonne) |
Pointe Coupée |
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|
Assumption |
Natchitoches (Natchitoches) |
SB | San Bernardo (St. Bernard) | ||
|
Attakapas (St. Martin, St. Mary, Lafayette, Vermilion) |
San Luìs de Natchez (Concordia) |
St.-Gabriel d'Iberville (Iberville) |
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|
Bayou des Écores (East Baton Rouge, West Feliciana) |
New Orleans (Orleans) |
St.-Jacques de Cabanocé (St. James) |
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|
Baton Rouge (East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge) |
Opelousas (St. Landry, Calcasieu) |
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.
| Name | Arrived | Settled | Profile |
| Anne BRASSEAUX 01 | Jul 1767 | StG, Op | born c1753, probably Grand-Pré; daughter of Cosme BRASSEUR dit BRASSEUX & Élisabeth THIBODEAUX; sister of Blaise, Marie, Marie-Madeleine, Marie-Marguerite, Marie-Rose, & Pierre; exiled to MD 1755, age 2; in report on Acadians at Georgetown, MD, Jul 1763, called Anne BRASSEUX, with widowed mother & siblings; arrived LA 1767, age 14; in report on Acadians who settled at St.-Gabriel, 1767, called Ana BRASEIN, age 14, with widowed mother & siblings; moved to Opelousas District; married Pierre, son of Honoré TRAHAN & Marie CORPORON, probably St.-Gabriel, early 1770s; moved to Opelousas District; in Opelousas census, 1777, called Anne BRASSEUX, age 23, with husband & 1 daughter; in Opelousas census, 1785, unnamed, with husband & 5 others; died by 1788, when her husband was listed in the Opelousas census without a wife |
| Blaise BRASSEAUX 02 | Jul 1767 | StG, Op | born c1752, probably Grand-Pré; son of Cosme BRASSEUR dit BRASSEUX & Élisabeth THIBODEAUX; brother of Anne, Marie, Marie-Madeleine, Marie-Marguerite, Marie-Rose, & Pierre; exiled to MD 1755, age 3; not in report of Acadians at Georgetown, MD, Jul 1763, with widowed mother & siblings; arrived LA 1767, age 15; in report on Acadians who settled at St.-Gabriel, 1767, called Blas BRASEIN, age 15, with widowed mother & 5 sisters; moved to Opelousas District; married Marie-Anne, called Anne, daughter of Amand PRÉJEAN & his first wife Madeleine MARTIN, mid-1770s, probably Opelousas; in Opelousas census, 1777, called Blaize BRASSEUX, age 25, head of family number 95, with wife Anne age 23, no children, 0 slaves, 15 cattle, 5 horses, 0 hogs, 0 sheep; in Opelousas census, 1785, called Blse BRASSEUX, with 5 unnamed free individuals, 0 slaves; in Opelousas census, 1788, Bellevue, called Blaise BRASSEUR, with 2 unnamed males, 1 unnamed woman [wife Marie-Anne], 3 unnamed girls, 0 slaves, 45 cattle, 10 horses, 11 arpents; on Opelousas militia list, Jul 1789, fusilier, called Blaise BRASSEAUX; in Opelousas census, 1796, Bellevue District, called Blaise BRASEUX, with unnamed wife [Marie-Anne], 3 unnamed white males, 6 unnamed white females, & 1 male slave, next to brother-in-law Jean JOHONSON |
| Marguerite BRASSEAUX 03 | Jul 1767 | StG | born Sep 1766, MD; daughter of Pierre BRASSEUR & Élisabeth/Isabelle RICHARD; arrived LA 1767, age 1; in report on Acadians who settled at St.-Gabriel, 1767, called Margarita, age 10 mos., with parents; in St.-Gabriel census, 1777, right bank ascending, unnamed, age 9, with parents & 2 brothers; married, age 17, Paul, son of Dominique BABIN & Marguerite BOUDREAUX of Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit, 24 Feb 1784, St.-Gabriel; died [buried] St. Gabriel, Iberville Parish, 14 Mar 1809, age 50[sic], a widow |
| Marie BRASSEAUX 04 | Jul 1767 | StG, Atk, Asc, Op | born c1749, probably Grand-Pré; daughter of Cosme BRASSEUR dit BRASSEUX & Élisabeth THIBODEAUX; sister of Anne, Blaise, Marie-Madeleine, Marie-Marguerite, Marie-Rose, & Pierre; exiled to MD 1755, age 6; in report on Acadians at Georgetown, MD, Jul 1763, called Marie BRASSEUX, with widowed mother & siblings; arrived LA 1767, age 18; in report on Acadians who settled at St.-Gabriel, 1767, called Maria BRASEIN, age 18, with widowed mother & siblings; in Attakapas census, 1769, called Marie BRASEAU, age 19, with family of Jean BERARD; married, age 23, Hubert of Langres, son of Hubert JANIS & Catherine PETITOT, 12 Oct 1772, Ascension, now Donaldsonville; moved to Opelousas District; in Opelousas census, 1777, called Marie BRASSEUX, age 28, with husband Hubert JEANNY age 50, head of family number 123, son Hubert [JANIS] age 4, & daughter Théotiste [JANIS] age 2, 0 slaves, 12 cattle, 1 horse, 4 hogs, 0 sheep; in Opelousas census, 1788, Bellevue, unnamed, with husband Hubert JANNIS, 4 unnamed males, 4 unnamed girls, 0 slaves, 16 cattle, 10 horses, 7 arpents; in Opelousas census, 1796, Bellevue District, unnamed, with husband Hubert JANIS, 6 other unnamed whites, & 0 slaves, next to son Hubert; possible succession dated Feb 1820, St. Landry Parish courthouse |
| Marie BRASSEAUX 05 | Aug 1785 | Asp | born c1750, probably Minas; daughter of Joseph BRASSEUR and Marie-Rose DAIGLE; sister of Osite; exiled to VA 1755, age 5; deported to England 1756, age 6; repatriated to France aboard L'Ambition, arrived St.-Malo 23 May 1763, age 13; in Poitou, France, 1773-76; in Fourth Convoy from Châtellerault to Nantes, France, Mar 1776; on list of Acadians at Nantes, Sep 1784, called Marie BRASSEUR, with 2 orphans [1 of them probably sister Osite]; sailed to LA on La Bergère, age 35, single, traveled with sister; received from Spanish on arrival 1 each of axe, hatchet, shovel, & meat cleaver, 2 hoes; married, age 38, Olivier, son of Jean TRAHAN & Marie GIROIR, & widower of Élisabeth/Isabelle LEJEUNE, 27 Jan 1788, Ascension, now Donaldsonville; in Valenzuela census, 1788, left bank, called Marie BRASSEUR, age 39, with husband, stepson, & sister; in Valenzuela census, 1791, left bank, called Marie BRASSEUR, age 44[sic], with husband & sister; in Valenzuela census, 1795, called Maria BRASSEU, age 48[sic], with husband & no children; in Valenzuela census, 1797, called Marie BRASSEUR, age 49[sic], with husband & no children; in Valenzuela census, 1798, called Marie nor surname given, age 50[sic], with husband & sister |
| Marie-Geneviève BRASSEAUX 06 | Oct 1769 | Natc, StG, Op | born & baptized 24 Jan 1724, Grand-Pré; daughter of Mathieu BRASSEUR dit La Citardy & Jeanne CÉLESTIN dit BELLEMERE; aunt of Cosme BRASSEUR dit BRASSEUX's children; exiled to MD 1755, age 31; in report of Acadians at Upper Marlborough, MD, Jul 1763, called Marie BRASSEU, listed singly so probably still unmarried; married, age 41, (1)Pierre-Olivier, called Olivier, BENOIT, widower of Susanne BOUDREAUX, c1765, probably MD; departed Port Tobacco, MD, 5 Jan 1769, aboard English schooner Britannia with husband & stepchildren; lost in the Gulf of Mexico & held by Spanish at La Bahia, TX; arrived Natchitoches Post, LA, 24 Oct 1769, overland from TX, age 46; settled below Bayou Plaquemine, St.-Gabriel District, with other Acadian exiles from the Britannia, Apr 1770; in St.-Gabriel census, 1777, right bank ascending, unnamed, age 35[sic], with husband, 1 stepson, & 2 stepdaughters; moved to Opelousas District; in Opelousas census, 1785, unnamed, with husband & 3 others; in succession of her husband Olivier dated 8 Dec 1787, St. Landry Parish Courthouse, Opelousas; married, age 64 (2)Claude, son of Joseph AUCOIN & Anne TRAHAN, & widower of Marie-Josèphe SONNIER, 23 Nov 1788, Opelousas; died [buried] St. Landry Parish 29 Jan 1813, age 85[sic] |
| Marie-Madeleine BRASSEAUX 07 | Jul 1767 | StG, Op | born & baptized 29 Oct 1746, Grand-Pré; daughter of Cosme BRASSEUR dit BRASSEUX & Élisabeth THIBODEAUX; sister of Anne, Blaise, Marie, Marie-Marguerite, Marie-Rose, & Pierre; exiled to MD 1755, age 9; in report on Acadians at Georgetown, MD, Jul 1763, called Marie Madeleine BRASSEUX, with widowed mother & siblings; arrived LA 1767, age 20; in report on Acadians who settled at St.-Gabriel, 1767, called Maria Magdelena BRASEIN, age 20, with widowed mother & siblings; moved to Opelousas District; married Victor, son of Alexandre RICHARD & Madeleine THIBODEAUX of Chignecto, mid-1770s, probably Opelousas; in Opelousas census, 1777, age 30, with husband & 1 son; in Opelousas census, 1785, unnamed, with husband & 7 unnamed others; in Opelousas census, 1788, Bellevue, unnamed, with husband & 9 unnamed others; in Opelousas census, 1796, Bellevue District, unnamed, with husband & 11 unnamed others; died [buried] St. Landry Parish 7 Nov 1809, "age about 60[sic] yrs." |
| Marie-Marguerite BRASSEAUX 08 | Jul 1767 | StG, Op? | born c1745, probably Grand-Pre; daughter of Cosme BRASSEUR dit BRASSEAUX & Élisabeth THIBODEAUX; sister of Anne, Blaise, Marie, Marie-Madeleine, Marie-Rose, & Pierre; in report on Acadians at Georgetown, MD, Jul 1763, called Marie Marguerite BRASSEUX, with widowed mother & siblings; arrived LA 1767, age 22; in report on Acadians who settled at St.-Gabriel, 1767, called Maria Margarita, age 22, with widowed mother & siblings; moved to Opelousas District?; never married? |
| Marie-Rose BRASSEAUX 09 | Jul 1767 | StG, Op | born c1755, Grand-Pré or MD; daughter of Cosme BRASSEUR dit BRASSEAUX & Élisabeth THIBODEAUX; sister of Anne, Blaise, Marie, Marie-Madeleine, Marie-Marguerite, & Pierre; in report on Acadians at Georgetown, MD, Jul 1763, called Marie-Rose BRASSEUX, with widowed mother & siblings; arrived LA 1767, age 12; in report on Acadians who settled at St.-Gabriel, 1767, called Maria Rosa, age 12, with widowed mother & siblings; moved to Opelousas District; in Opelousas census, 1777, called Marie-Rose BRASSEUX, age 20, a "spinster," head of "family" number 98, with 0 slaves, 2 cattle, 0 horses, 0 hogs, 0 sheep; married (1)Charles, fils, son of probably Charles JEANSONNE & Marie AUCOIN, late 1770s or early 1780s, probably Opelousas; in Opelousas census, 1785, unnamed, with husband & 5 others; in Opelousas census, 1788, Bellevue, unnamed, with husband & 5 others; in Opelousas census, 1796, Bellevue District, called Widow Chs. JEANSON, with 4 white males, 5 white females, & 0 slaves; married (2)Walter MILLS, probably Opelousas, late 1790s; moved to Avoyelles Parish; died Avoyelles Parish 1819, age 64, a widow; inventory dated 5 Nov 1819; probate sale, Avoyelles Parish Courthouse, 11 Dec 1819 |
| Osite BRASSEAUX 10 | Aug 1785 | Asp | born 1 Oct 1759, England; daughter of Joseph BRASSEUR and Marie-Rose DAIGLE; sister of Marie; repatriated to France aboard L'Ambition, arrived St.-Malo 23 May 1763, age 3; at St.-Servan, France, 1763-72; in Poitou, France, 1773-76; in Fourth Convoy from Châtellerault to Nantes, France, Mar 1776; on list of Acadians at Nantes, Sep 1784, unnamed, an orphan with sister Marie & another orphan?; sailed to LA on La Bergère, age 24, traveled with sister; in Valenzuela census, 1788, left bank, called Ositte BRASSEUR, age 26, with sister, brother-in-law Olivier TRAHAM, & his son; in Valenzuela census, 1791, left bank, called Zite, no surname given, age 30, with sister & brother-in-law Olivier TRAHAN; in Valenzuela census, 1798, called Ositte, no surname given, age 35[sic], with sister & brother-in-law Olivier TRAHANS; evidently never married; died [buried] Assumption 23 Feb 1799, age 35[sic] |
| Pierre BRASSEAUX 11 | Jul 1767 | StG, Asc | born c1742, probably Grand-Pre; son of Cosme BRASSEUR dit BRASSEAUX & Elisabeth/Isabelle THIBODEAUX; brother of Anne, Blaise, Marie, Marie-Madeleine, Marie-Marguerite, & Marie-Rose; exiled to MD 1755, age 13; in report on Acadians at Georgetown, MD, Jul 1763, called Pierre BRASSEUX, with widowed mother & sisters; married Élisabeth/Isabelle, daughter of Jacques RICHARD & his second wife Anne GRANGER of Minas, mid-1760s, probably MD; arrived LA 1767, age 25; in report on Acadians who settled at St.-Gabriel, 1767, called Pedro BRASEN & BRASIO, age 25, head of family number 25, assigned farm number 47, with wife Isabel age 24, & daughter Margarita age 10 mos.; in St.-Gabriel census, Mar 1777, right bank ascending, called Piere BRASEUX, age 35, with unnamed wife [Élisabeth/Isabelle] age 28[sic], 1 unnamed daughter [Marguerite] age 9, 2 unnamed sons ages 6 [Joseph] & 4 [Olivier], 17 cattle, 4 horses, 16 hogs, 30 fowl, 12 arpents; died [buried] Ascension 30 Sep 1794, age 52 |
NOTES