APPENDICES

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

CHIASSON

[CHA-sohn, SHA-sohn]

ACADIA

Guyon, or Dion or Denis, dit La Vallée, son of Pierre Chiasson, a farmer, and Marie Péroché, was born at La Rochelle, France, in c1638.  Guyon came to Acadia and settled at Port-Royal by c1666, when he married Jeanne, daughter of ____ Bernard and Andrée Guyon, at the English-occupied Acadian capital.  They had eight children, including four sons who created families of their own.  Three of their daughters married into the Morin, Poirier dit de France, and Breau families.  Guyon was not listed in the first Acadian census of 1671 because he had moved to Mouchecoudabouet, now Musquodoboit Harbor, near present-day Halifax, by June 1668 and was still there in October 1674.  He and his family moved on to Chignecto, where Jeanne died during the early 1680s.  Guyon remarried to Marie-Madeleine, daughter of Canadians Pierre Martin and Joachine Lafleur of Sillery, at Québec in October 1683.  They settled at Chignecto.  Marie-Madeleine gave him no more sons but four more daughters, all born at Chignecto, three of whom married into the Carret, Pothier, De La Forestrie, and Pineau families.  Guyon died probably in his mid-50s at Chignecto by c1693, when his wife remarried there.  One of his daughters by his second wife moved to Île St.-Jean, today's Prince Edward Island, by the 1720s and was among the earliest European settlers on the island.  Another daughter by the second wife married a Canadian and settled at Rimouski on the lower St. Lawrence.  

Oldest son Gabriel dit Pierre, by first wife Jeanne Bernard, born probably at Port-Royal in c1667, followed his father to Mouchecoudabouet and to Chignecto and was serving as a domestic in the household of Chignecto seigneur Michel Le Neuf de La Vallière in 1686.  Two years later, Gabriel married Marie, daughter of François Savoie and Catherine Lejeune, at Beaubassin.  They had 11 children, including three sons who married into the Boudrot, Pitre, Quimine, Doucet, and Poirier families.  Their five daughters married into the Quimine, Gallet, Patry, Dufaut, Daguet dit Renaud, La Croix dit Durel, and Le Prieur dit Dubois families.  Gabriel dit Pierre and his family lived for a time at Minas.  Gabriel died at Chignecto in April 1741, age 75.  Some of his children moved to the St. Lawrence valley or to Île St.-Jean as early as the 1720s.  The others remained at Chignecto.  

Sébastien, by first wife Jeanne Bernard, born probably at Mouchecoudabouet in c1670, also settled at Chignecto, where he married Marie, daughter of Jacques Blou and Marie Girouard, in c1693.  They had four children, including a son, Jacques, who married into the Arseneau family.  Two of their daughters married into the Vécot and Gaudet families.  Sébastien died at Chignecto in the early 1700s, in his early 30s.  Jacques and one of his sisters moved to Île St.-Jean by the early 1750s.  

Jean, who called himself a Giasson, by first wife Jeanne Bernard, was born either at Mouchecoudabouet or Chignecto in c1674.  When he came of age in the 1690s, he moved to the St. Lawrence valley and married Marie-Anne, daughter of Jean Le Moyne, sieur de Ste.-Marie, and Marie-Madeleine de Chavigny, at Batiscan between Québec and Montréal in November 1697.  In August 1703, Jean "purchased the back fief St-Jean at Boucherville [near Montréal] from René Boucher."  Jean and Marie-Anne had 13 children, including five sons, two of whom married into the Trottier dit Desrivières and Hubert families.  Three of their daughters married into Gamelin dit Maugras, Douarie, and Hubert dit Lacroix families.  Most of Jean's children died young or never married.  One daughter became a nun and lived to be age 80.  Another daughter lived to the age of 60 but did not marry.  Jean died at Montréal in January 1719, age 45.  

Youngest son Michel, by first wife Jeanne Bernard, born probably at Chigecto in c1676, also moved to Canada after he came of age and married Marguerite, daughter of Jean Mourier and Marie Mineau, at St.-Jean, Île d'Orléans, below Québec City, in 1706.  They had 10 children, including five sons, two of whom married into the Quemeneur dit LaFlamme and Gendron families.  Four of their daughters married into Boulet, Gaudreau, Louineau, and Moyen families.  Michel died at St.-François-du-Sud, now Montmagny, below Québec City in March 1759, in his mid-80s. 

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

By 1755, descendants of Guyon Chiasson dit La Vallée of La Rochelle could be found in the St. Lawrence valley, on Île St.-Jean, and at Chignecto.  

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

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

LOUISIANA:  RIVER SETTLEMENTS

Chiassons were some of the earliest Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana:

Pierre Chiasson, age 36, son of Abraham and grandson of Gabriel dit Pierre of Chignecto, reached New Orleans from Halifax via Cap-Français, St.-Domingue, today's Haiti, in 1765.  With him were wife Osite Landry, age 32, son Michel, age 6, infant daughter Marie, and nephew Jean-Baptiste, age 3.  Also with them was Pierre's brother Paul, age 19, who they had picked up at Cap-Français on their way to Louisiana.  They settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river above New Orleans where 20 Acadians from Georgia had settled the year before.   Pierre and Paul remained on the river, but nephew Jean-Baptiste, after he came of age, crossed the Atchafalaya Basin to the Opelousas District and started a western branch of the family.  Pierre and Paul had seven sons between them, but most of their sons died young.  By the eve of the War Between the States, in fact, one line, that of Paul, had disappeared, leaving only its blood, and Pierre's line was barely hanging on in Ascension Parish.  

Descendants of Pierre CHIASSON (c1729-?; Guyon dit LaVallée, Gabriel dit Pierre)

Pierre, elder son of Abraham Chiasson and Marie Poirier, born at Chignecto in c1729, married Osite Landry in c1755.  They escaped the British round up at Chignecto later that year and fled into the wilderness of present-day southeastern New Brunswick.  They fell into the hands of British forces and were held as prisoners at Fort Cumberland, formerly Beauséjour, not far from their old homes.  British officials counted them at Fort Cumberland in August 1763.  They came to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue, today's Haiti, in 1765.  On their way through Cap-Français, Haiti, where they changed ships, Pierre retrieved his younger brother Paul, who had been exiled to South Carolina in 1755 and went to Cap-Français in late 1763.  Pierre's daughter Marie, born perhaps aboard ship in October 1765, was baptized at New Orleans in early December, giving some idea of when the family reached the city.  They settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where Pierre and Osite had more children.  Spanish officials counted them on the left, or east, bank of the river in 1766, 1769, and 1777.  By 1779, Pierre owned two slaves at St.-Jacques.  Pierre died at St.-Jacques before November 1794, when his wife remarried there.  Only one of his three sons married; he settled in Ascension Parish; only one of his grandsons married, but they managed to maintain the family line.  Pierre's great-grandson Adrien, in fact, held 8 slaves on his Ascension Parish farm on the eve of  the War of 1861-65.  

1

Oldest son Michel, born in c1759 during Le Grand Dérangement, died at St.-Jacques in September 1777, age 18, and did not marry.  

2

Jean-Baptiste, sometimes called Baptiste, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in March 1771, married Angélique, also called Leonie Anne and Anne, daughter of fellow Acadians Marcel LeBlanc and Marie Breaux, at St.-Jacques in April 1792.  Their son Jean-Baptiste, fils was born at St.-Jacques in April 1795, Michel le jeune, also called Paul, in June 1797 but died at age 17 in September 1814, Zenon was born in June 1809 but died at age 17 in February 1827, and Louis Charles was born in c1814.  Their daughters married into the Lacoste and Poirier families.  Jean Baptiste died near Convent, St. James Parish, in March 1832, age 63.  

2a

Jean Baptiste, fils married Francoise, daughter of fellow Acadians Athanase Dugas and Françoise Broussard of Ascension Parish, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in January 1817.  Their son Jean Adrien, called Adrien, was born in Ascension Parish in March 1824.  They may have had a son named Adrien Charles, born in c1834.  Jean Baptiste, fils died in Ascension Parish in October 1861, age 66.  

Jean Adrien married Marie Anaïse, daughter of Dominique Drivon and Anna Duval, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in July 1849.  Their son Jean Ernest was born in Ascension Parish in April 1852 but died the following June, Louis Joseph Fernand, called Fernand, was born in June 1853 but died at age 10 in June 1863, Paul John Henry was born in July 1856, Charles Maurice in July 1857, Robert in March 1860 but died at age 7 in August 1867, and René Adrien, also called Victorin, was born in November 1862 but died at age 5 months the following April.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in Ascension Parish counted 8 slaves--5 males and 3 females, all black, ranging in age from 52 years to 3 months, living in 2 houses--on Adrien Chiasson's farm between James Hewitt's plantation, which held 176 slaves, and J. François, a "Negro," who owned 5 slaves, in the parish's Third Ward.  

During the War of 1861-65, Adrien Charles served in Company K of the 8th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Ascension Parish, which fought in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania--one of General R. E. Lee's Louisiana Tigers.  According to his service record, Adrien Charles died in a Confederate hospital at Culpeper, Virginia, in May 1862.  He lies buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Richmond, which may mean that he died in a hospital in the Confederate capital, not in Culpeper.    

2b

Louis Charles died in Ascension Parish in April 1840, age 27, and did not marry.  

3

Youngest son Simon-Pierre, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in May 1773, probably died young.  

Descendants of Paul CHIASSON (c1746-1820; Guyon dit LaVallée, Gabriel dit Pierre)

Paul, younger son of Abraham Chiasson and Marie Poirier, was born at Chignecto in c1746.  In the fall of 1755, when he was still a child, the British deported his family to South Carolina aboard the transport ship Edward Cornwallis.  Paul's parents died in South Carolina.  In August 1763, when he was in his late teens, the colonial officials who counted him in the colony called him an orphan.  He probably went to Cap-Francois, St.-Domingue, today's Haiti, in November 1763 with hundreds of other Acadians from South Carolina.  He came to Louisiana in 1765 with his older brother Pierre and his family, so he and Pierre must have communicated with one another via the Acadian grapevine in the early 1760s.  Most likely Paul joined Pierre's party from Halifax when it changed ships at Cap-Français and followed his older brother to New Orleans.  Paul settled with his older brother's family at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where he was counted on the left, or east bank, in 1766 and on the right, or west, bank three years later.  In c1770, he married fellow Acadian Marie-Madeleine, called Madeleine, Blanchard probably at St.-Jacques.  Seven years later, in 1777, they were living on the "right bank ascending" at St.-Gabriel, upriver from St.-Jacques.  Their daughters married into the Babin, Charpentier, Hébert, Hernandez, Jaeleus, and LeBlanc families.  Paul died at St.-Gabriel in March 1820, age 74.  Only two of his four sons married, but neither of them had sons who lived long enough to marry, so this line of the family, except for its blood, did not survive in the Bayou State.    

1

Oldest son Paul, fils, baptized at St.-Gabriel, age unrecorded, in October 1776, died at St.-Gabriel in December 1790, age 14. 

2

Étienne, born at St.-Gabriel in c1784, married Marie Julie, called Julie, daughter of Joseph Sharp and Marie Anne Choquette of Baton Rouge, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in August 1809.  Their son Lucien was born near St. Gabriel in December 1810.  Their daughter married into the Cobb family.  Étienne died near St. Gabriel in March 1821, age 37.  His only son Lucien probably died young.  

3

Victorin, also called Victor, born at St.-Gabriel in March 1786, married Henriette, daughter of fellow Acadians Simon Joseph Dupuis and Ludivine Landry, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in May 1809.  Their son Victor, fils was born in c1815 but died at age 14 in January 1829.  Their daughter married into the Labauve family.  Victorin remarried to Marie Marguerite, called Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadians Isaac LeBlanc and Félicité Melançon, at the St. Gabriel church in June 1820.  Their daughter married into the Boote family.  Victorin died near St. Gabriel in April 1824; the priest who recorded his burial said that Victorin was age 30 when he died, but he was 38.  He had no sons by his second wife, so this line of the family, except for its blood, died with his only son in the late 1820s.  

4

Youngest son Félicien was buried at St.-Gabriel, age unrecorded, in November 1791.  

Other CHIASSONs on the River

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link at least one Chiasson on the river with known lines of the family there:

Célestine Chiasson gave birth to son Augustin Collet in Ascension Parish in February 1854.  The priest who recorded the boy's baptism four months later did not give the father's name or the mother's parents' names.  

LOUISIANA:  LAFOURCHE VALLEY SETTLEMENTS

Twenty years after the first Chiassons came to Louisiana, more of them reached the colony, from France in 1785.  One of the families chose to settle on upper Bayou Lafourche, creating a second center of family settlement:

Jean-Baptiste Chiasson, age 56, his third wife Frenchwoman Anne-Perrine Joanne, age 40, and two of his sons by his second and third wives--Joseph-François, age 19, and Pierre-Louis, age 15-- crossed aboard L'Amitié, the fifth of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in November.  They followed the majority of their fellow passengers to upper Bayou Lafourche.  Jean and Anne-Pérrine had no more children in France.  Their two sons settled on the upper bayou, and some of their descendants became the early settlers along Bayou Terrebonne, a distributary of the Lafourche:  

Descendants of Joseph-François CHIASSON (1765-?; Guyon dit LaVallée, Gabriel dit Pierre, François)

Joseph-François, son of Jean-Baptiste Chiasson and his second wife Marguerite-Josèphe Dugas, half-brother of Pierre-Louis, and nephew of Pierre and Joseph, was born at St.-Servan, France, near St.-Malo, in October 1769.  He followed his father, stepmother, and younger half-brother to Louisiana aboard L'Amitié, the fifth of the Seven Ships, in 1785.  He settled with them at Ascension on the river above New Orleans, where he married Marie, daughter of François Simoneaux of Lorraine, France, and his Acadian wife Marie-Osite-Anne Corporon, in July 1789; Marie's mother was a Corporon; her family had come to Louisiana from Maryland in 1766.  Spanish officials counted them on the left, or east, bank of the river at Ascension in 1791.  Four years later, however, they had settled on upper Bayou Lafourche.  Their daughter married into the Culere or Tulere family.  Joseph-François remarried to Marie-Marguerite, called Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadians Amand Lejeune and Anastasie Levron, at Assumption on the upper Lafourche in January 1797.  Marguerite also had come to Louisiana aboard L'Amitié, so they probably had known one another for years.  Joseph and Marguerite settled near the boundary of what became Assumption and Ascension parishes.  Their daughter married into the Guidry family.  Four of their six sons married and perpetuated this line of the family in Lafourche Interior and Terrebonne parishes.  Their second son's line was especially prolific; his descendants settled in the Chackbay area of Lafourche Parish, north of present-day Thibodaux.  

1

Oldest son François-Victor, by his father's first wife, born at Ascension in July 1790, married Claire or Clarisse Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadians Benoît Comeaux and Anne Blanchard, probably in Lafourche Interior Parish in the 1810s; Claire had been born aboard the ship L'Amitié on it way from France to Louisiana in 1785, so she was nearly 5 years older than François.  Their son Pierre Eugène was born probably in Lafourche Interior Parish in c1815, and Jean Faustin, called Faustin, in March 1826.  Their daughters married into the Aisenne, Aupied, and Boudreaux families. 

1a

Pierre Eugène married Françoise Hortense or Hortense Françoise, daughter of Jean Lagarde and his Acadian wife Françoise Adélaïde Templet, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in August 1837.  Their son Joseph Justineau was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in December 1840.  Their daughters married into the Aucoin and Thibodeaux families.  Pierre Eugène remarried to Felonise, daughter of fellow Acadian Benjamin Landry and Delphine Breaux and widow of Valéry Boutary, at the Thibodeaux church in October 1860.  Their son Joseph Fernand, called Fernand, was born in Lafourche Parish in December 1863, and François Augustin in April 1866.  Pierre Eugène died in Lafourche Parish in October or November 1867, age 42; a petition for his succession inventory was filed at the Thibodeaux courthouse the following month.  

1b

Faustin married Eulalie, daughter of fellow Acadians Valéry Bourgeois and Rosalie Richard, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in May 1851.  During the War of 1861-65, Faustin served in the Lafourche Parish Regiment of Militia, which fought at the Battle of Labadieville, Assumption Parish, in October 1862.  He was captured with most of his regiment and paroled at Thibodaux a few weeks later.  

2

Pierre-Alexandre, by his father's first wife, born at Assumption in August 1793, married Marcelline or Marcellite, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Baptiste Thibodeaux and Rose D'Amours, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in July 1815.  Their son Pierre Eugène, called Eugène, was born in Assumption Parish in November 1818, Evariste Alexis in Lafourche Interior Parish in February 1824, Sylvain Théodule in May 1826, Paul Adrien, called Adrien, in February 1829, Jean Léon, called Léon in October 1831, Pierre Aurelien Georges Bedford, called George, in June 1834, Henry Octave, called Octave, in July 1837, and Joseph Aurelien died 32 hours after his birth in April 1840.  Their daughter married into the Martin family.  Pierre Alexandre died near Paincourtville, Assumption Parish, in July 1865, age 71.  

2a

Eugène married Sophie, also called Jolivette and Solidele, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Usé and Marie Quimine, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in May 1835.  Their son Pierre Edmond, called Edmond, was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in February 1836, Théodore in July 1840, Joseph Ulysse, called Ulysse, in April 1842, Eugène Ernest, called Ernest, in February 1844 but died at age 18 months in October 1845, and Evariste Adam was born in October 1847.  In August 1860, the federal census taker in Lafourche Parish counted 5 slaves--2 males and 3 females, 2 blacks and 3 mulattoes, ranging in age from 28 to 1--on P. Eugène Chiasson's farm in the parish's First Ward.  

Edmond married Louisa, daughter of Jacques Duet and his Acadian wife Adèle Molaison, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in April 1858.  Their son Pierre was born in Lafourche Parish in October 1866.  During the War of 1861-65, Edmond served in the Lafourche Parish Regiment of Militia, which fought at the Battle of Labadieville, Assumption Parish, in October 1862.  He was captured with most of his regiment and paroled at Thibodeaux a few weeks later.  

During the War of 1861-65, Ulysse served in Company I of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafourche Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Ulysse married Julie, daughter of Célestin Guyot, perhaps a Foreign Frenchman, and his Anglo wife Marie Elizabeth Ferguson, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in September 1865.  Their son Joseph Ulysse, fils was born in Lafourche Parish in September 1865, a child, perhaps a son, name unrecorded, died in Lafourche Parish at age 5 months in July 1868, and Joachim Célestin was born in January 1870.  

During the War of 1861-65, Théodore served in Company E of the 4th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafourche Parish, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Alabama.  One source says he died in July 1863, but he actually was captured near Jackson, Mississippi, forwarded to Snyder's Bluff, and then sent to Camp Morton, Indiana, a prisoner-of-war compound near Indianapolis.  Meanwhile, his unit roster listed him as a deserter.  Théodore survived his ordeal at Camp Morton and married Séverine, daughter of Jacques Adam and Julie Navarre, at the Vacherie church, St. James Parish, in May 1866; the marriage also was recorded in Lafourche Parish the same month.  Their son Eugène le jeune was born in Lafourche Parish in April 1869.  

Evariste Adam married Pauline, daughter of fellow Acadians Hippolyte Hébert and Victoire Boudreaux, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in May 1867.  

2b

Evariste Alexis married Marie Adele, called Adele, daughter of Alexis Hymel and Marcelline Badeaux, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in January 1843.  Their son Pierre Numa, called Numa or Luma, was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in May 1845, Onesime Augustin in November 1848, and Julien Anatole in November 1864.  Their daughter married into the Rodrique family.  

Numa married Célestine, daughter of Michel Montz, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in January 1864.  

Onesime married Céleste, another daughter of Jacques Adam and Julie Navarre, in a civil ceremony in Lafourche Parish in January 1869, and sanctified the marriage at the Vacherie church, St. James Parish, in February.  Their son Camille was born in Lafourche Parish in November 1870.  

2c

Sylvain Théodule married Marie Eugénie, called Eugénie, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph LeBlanc and Celanie Breaux, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in June 1847.  Their son Pierre Octave, called Octave le jeune, was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1848, Léo Oscar near Lockport in September 1853, Henry Isaac in March 1856, Sylvain Osémé near Raceland in July 1862, Joseph near Lockport in February 1865, Jean William in June 1867, and Joseph Félix in August 1869.  

Octave le jeune married Laiza, daughter of fellow Acadian Urbain Aucoin and his Creole wife Céleste Adam, at the Lockport church, Lafourche Parish, in February 1869.  Their son Joseph le jeune was born near Lockport in November 1869.  

2d

Adrien married Marie, also called Clelie, daughter of Jacques Pontiff and Emeranthe Hymel, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in February 1850.  Their son Ernest died in Lafourche Interior Parish at age 2 months in January 1851.  Adrien remarried to Hypoline or Pauline, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Charles Richard and Scholastique Bourgeois, at the Thibodeaux church in April 1853.  Their son Adam Augustin was born in Lafourche Parish in December 1855, and Joseph Alcide in August 1857.  Adrien remarried again--his third marriage--to Estelle, daughter of fellow Acadians Edmond Thibodeaux and Élisabeth Robichaux and widow of T. Richard, at the Thibodaux church in March 1860.  Their son Albert was born in Lafourche Parish in February 1866.  

2e

Jean Léon died in Ascension Parish in October 1853.  The priest who recorded his burial said that Léon was age 26 when he died, but he was 22.  He did not marry.  

2f

George married Doralise, another daughter of Alexis Hymel and Marcelline Badeaux, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in July 1854.  Their son Oleus was born in Lafourche Parish in late 1855 but died at age 2 1/2 in January 1858, Wilfrid Édouard was born in April 1861, Augustin Clerville near Vacherie, St. James Parish, in October 1867, and Joseph Lovinci near Labadieville, Assumption Parish, in March 1870.  

2g

Octave married Marie Estelle, called Estelle, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Molaison and Marie Louise Hébert, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in February 1858.  Their son Pierre Édouard was born in Lafourche Parish in November 1860, Joseph Ernest in October 1864, and Joseph Arthur in December 1866.

3

Joseph-Marcellin, by his father's first wife, born at Assumption in December 1795, probably died young.  

4

Jean-Baptiste-Prudent, by his father's second wife, born at Assumption in June 1800, probably died young.  

5

Joseph Florentin Bernard, by his father's second wife, born at Assumption in August 1804, married Marie Pauline, called Pauline, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Guidry and Marguerite Bergeron, in a civil ceremony in Terrebonne Parish in October 1826.  Their son Jean Pierre, called Pierre, was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in March 1829, Marcellin in May 1834, Bernard in September 1836, and Joseph Justinien, called Justinien, in October 1840.  Their daughters married into the Boucher, Clément, Marcel, and Watkins families.  Joseph died in Terrebonne Parish in May 1854; the priest who recorded his burial said that Joseph was age 45 when he died, but he was 49.  

5a

Jean Pierre married Celina, daughter of fellow Acadians Nicolas Leandre Crochet and Madeleine Bergeron, at the Houma church, Terrebonne Parish, in April 1856.  Their son Adam had been baptized at the Houma church, age unrecorded, in July 1854, Leandre Richard was born in April 1856, Jean Pierre, fils in April 1859, and Joseph Lovenci in February 1867.

5b

During the War of 1861-65, Bernard served in Company H of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Terrebonne Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  He married Eliza, daughter of fellow Acadians Evariste Aucoin and Émilie Boudreaux, at the Houma church, Terrebonne Parish, in March 1864 while he was home waiting to be exchanged with his unit, which has been captured at Vicksburg the previous July.  Their son Élie Joseph was born in Terrebonne Parish in January 1865, Helesse Paulin in December 1866, and Evariste Audressi in October 1869.  

5c

During the War of 1861-65, Justinien served in Company E of the 4th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafourche Parish, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Alabama.  

6

Youngest son Paul François Romain, also called Hippolyte, by his father's second wife, born in Ascension Parish in January 1808, married fellow Acadian Marie Bathilde, called Bathilde, Bergeron in a civil ceremony in Terrebonne Parish in May 1830, and sanctified the marriage at the Houma church, Terrebonne Parish, in July 1855.  Their son Joseph Votcius was born in Terrebonne Parish in March 1850, twins Jean Baptiste and Théodule Léonard in February 1853, and Édouard Henry in July 1854.  Their daughters married into the Escassus, Henry, Klinke, Lacarr, Malbrough, Roos, and Whitney families.  

Descendants of Pierre-Louis CHIASSON (1769-c1833; Guyon dit LaVallée, Gabriel dit Pierre, François)

Pierre-Louis, son of Jean-Baptiste Chiasson and his third wife Anne-Perrine Joanne, half-brother of Joseph-Francois, was born at St.-Servan, France, near St.-Malo, in October 1769.  He followed his parents and older half-brother to Louisiana aboard L'Amitié, the fifth of the Seven Ships, in 1785 and settled with them on upper Bayou Lafourche, where he married Marguerite, daughter of Jean Le Boeuf and Renée Matherne of St.-Jean-Baptiste on the German Coast, in July 1805.  Their daughters married into the Cunningham, Dugas, and Naquin families.  Pierre and Marguerite settled in what became Terrebonne Parish.  Pierre's succession inventory was filed at the Houma courthouse in July 1833; he would have been age 64 that year.  Two of three sons married and remained in Terrebonne Parish, settling near Montegut at the edge of the coastal marshes.  

1

Oldest son Joseph André, called André, born in Assumption Parish in December 1813, married French Creole Félicité Cilda, Ernildor, or Esilda Billiot probably in Terrebonne Parish in the late 1840s or early 1850s.  Their son Andrécis was born in Terrebonne Parish in October 1855, Marcel Florentin in June 1859, Faustin Paul in January 1865, Arthur Adam near Montegut, Terrebonne Parish, in January 1868, and Joseph Alfred in June 1870. 

2

Jean Pierre Gabriel, called Gabriel and Briel, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in August 1819, married Henriette Scholastique, also called Louise, daughter of Jean Dupré, fils and Eléonore LeBoeuf, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in September 1840.  Their son Jean Pierre, called Pierre, was born in Terrebonne Parish in July 1849, Ferdinand Léon in July 1851, Hermogène Maximin in August 1853, and Jean Placide in October 1855.  Their daughter married into the Guidry family.  Gabriel remarried to Elise, daughter of French Creole Jean Pierre Ledet and his Acadian wife Marie Josèphe Roger and widow of W. Bélanger, at the Montegut church, Terrebonne Parish, in August 1869.

Jean Pierre, by his father's first wife, married Marie, daughter of Marcellin Bélanger and Élize Ledet, at the Montegut church, Terrebonne Parish, in February 1870.  

3

Youngest son François Henry, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in December 1821, married Marie Geneviève, also called Élisabeth, daughter of French Creole François André Dubois and Geneviève Durocher of Terrebonne Parish, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in May 1844.  Their son François Martial, called Martial, was born in Terrebonne Parish in May 1845, Apollinaire Marcel in November 1848, and Édouard in October 1850.  Their daughter married into the Bourg and Malbrough families. 

Martial married Basilise Elmire, daughter of French Creole Jean Charles Dupré and his Acadian wife Marie Céleste Naquin, at the Montegut church, Terrebonne Parish, in June 1870. 

Other CHIASSONs in the Lafourche/Terrebonne Valley

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link at least one Chiasson in the Lafourche/Terrebonne valley with known lines of the family there:

Rositte Chiasson gave birth to son Laurent Jean Baptiste in Terrebonne Parish in April 1852.  The priest who recorded the boy's baptism did not give the father's name or the mother's parents' names.  

M. Chiasson married Marie ___ LeBlanc, place and date unrecorded.  Son Léo Oscar was born near Lockport, Lafourche Parish, in September 1853. 

Eugène Chiasson died in Lafourche Parish in October 1867.  The Thibodaux priest who recorded the burial gave no parents' names or Eugène's age at the time of his passing.  One wonders which of the many Eugène Chiassons this may have been? 

LOUISIANA:  WESTERN SETTLEMENTS

One of the Chiasson families who came to Louisiana from France in 1785 chose to go to the Opelousas District, creating a third center of family settlement: 

Descendants of Basile CHIASSON (c1749-c1808; Guyon dit LaVallée, Gabriel dit Pierre, Jean-Baptiste)

Basile, son of Pierre Chiasson and Catherine Bourgeois, born at Pointe Beauséjour, Chignecto, in c1749, went to Île St.-Jean in the early 1750s with his family and was deported with them to Cherbourg, France, in 1758-59.  He married fellow Acadian Monique Comeau probably at Cherbourg in c1772.  They sailed to Louisiana aboard La Caroline, the last of the Seven Ships from France, in 1785 and chose to settle in the Opelousas District.  Monique died soon after the family reached Louisiana, and Basile remarried to Anne-Marie, called Marie, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Thibodeaux and Françoise Sonnier, widow of L'ange Bourg, and sister of one of his daughter's husband, at Opelousas in July 1789; Marie was a sister of Pierre-Cyrille Thibodeaux, who married Basile's daughter Anne-Adélaïde by his first wife in June 1790.  Basile's daughters by his second wife married into the Cormier, Doucet, Dugas, Petit dit Parrain, and Richard families.  Basile's succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse in March 1808.  Only half of his six sons married, and two of them had no sons of their own, but the fifth son, Louis, who married twice, carried on the line in what became Lafayette Parish.  

1

Oldest son Louis-Basile, by his father's first wife, baptized at Ste.-Croix, Nantes, in December 1780, died at age 21 months in August 1782.

2

Charles-Albert, by his father's first wife, born at Nantes in c1782, married Madeleine, daughter of French Canadian Charles Bourassa and his Acadian wife Madeleine Lalande, at Opelousas in September 1802; Madeleine's mother was a Lalande.  Their child, perhaps a son, name unrecorded, died "du mal de machoire (from a hurt jaw; perhaps lockjaw)" at Opelousas in December 1804.  Their daughters married into the Matte family.  Charles's succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse in November 1848; he would have been 66 years old that year.  He and his wife had no sons, at least none who survived childhood, so this line of the family, except for its blood, died with him.  

3

Louis-Joseph, by his father's first wife, baptized at Ste.-Croix, Nantes, in September 1784, died at Chantenay, near Nantes, in September 1785 on the eve of the family's departure for Louisiana.

4

Pierre, by his father's second wife, born at Opelousas in September 1792, married Ludivine or Severine, daughter of Eustache Moreau and Dorothée Roy, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in September 1819.  Their daughter married into the Lanclos family.  Did Pierre father any sons?  

5

Louis, by his father's second wife, baptized at Opelousas, age unrecorded, in October 1796, married Marie dite Doralise, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Sonnier and Marie Thibodeaux of La Butte, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in November 1817.  Their son Louis Dupré, called Dupré and Dupréville, was born in St. Martin Parish in November 1818, Joseph in October 1819, and Pierre, also called Clerville, in Lafayette Parish in July 1823 but died at age 3 in August 1826.  Their daughter married into the Bertrand and Melançon families.  Louis remarried to Susanne, daughter of fellow Acadians Augustin Dugas and Marie Duhon, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in November 1828.  Their son Théogène was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 4 months, in April 1831, Théodule was born in June 1832, a child, perhaps a son, name unrecorded, died at age 3 months in March 1831, another child, perhaps a son, name unrecorded, died 3 days after its birth in November 1835, and Aurelien, also called Chretien, was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 12 days, in November 1839.  Their daughters married into the Albarado and Richard families.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 5 slaves--4 males and 1 female, all black, ranging in age from 35 years to 3 months--on Louis Chiaisson's farm in the parish's western district.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 6 slaves--5 males and 1 female, all mulatto except for 1 black, ages 50 to 6--on Louis Chiason's farm next to Mrs. John Bt. Chiason.  Louis, in his early or mid-70s, may have remarried again--perhaps his third marriage--to Marie Carmélite Sidalise, daughter of fellow Acadians Leufroi Sonnier and Carmelite Comeaux and widow of Pierre Anaclet Richard, in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in February 1869. 

5a

Louis Dupré, by his father's first wife, married Marie Josephine, called Josephine, daughter of Simon Durio and his Acadian wife Marie Madeleine Landry of Grand Coteau, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in February 1840.  Their son Louis Dupré, fils was born in Lafayette Parish in December 1840, and twins Simon Homere, called Homere, and Simonet Emard or Aymar, called Aymar, in August 1848.  Louis Dupré, père died in Lafayette Parish in November 1859, age 41.  

Louis Dupré, fils married Marie Émelie, called Émelie, daughter of Antoine Clavel and his Acadian wife Léontine Hébert, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in April 1860.  Their son Adam Ebrard was born in Lafayette Parish in November 1868.  During the War of 1861-65, Louis Dupré, fils served with his uncle Théogène in Company E of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafayette Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi. 

Homere married cousin Adoiska, daughter of fellow Acadians Théodule Melançon and Elisa Chiasson, at the Breaux Bridge church, St. Martin Parish, in July 1866. 

Aymar married Augustine, another daughter of Antoine Clavel and Léontine Hébert, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in May 1870.  Aymar died in Lafayette Parish in November 1870, age 22.  Did he father any children? 

5b

Joseph, by his father's first wife, married Marie Odile, called Odile, daughter of Francois Begnaud and his Acadian wife Mélanie Robichaux, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in December 1840.  Joseph died in Lafayette Parish in May 1842, age 22.  Did he father any children?  

5c

Théogène, by his father's second wife, married Azema or Azémie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Trahan and his Creole wife Claire Dubois, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in November 1854.  Their son Cleopha was born in Lafayette Parish in August 1855, Jean Louis in August 1856, a child, name and age unrecorded, perhaps a son, died in December 1859, and Joseph Selma was born in May 1864.  During the War of 1861-65, Théogène served with his nephew Louis Dupré, fils in Company E of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafayette Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  His son Joseph was born a month after he returned to his unit following its exchange.  Théogène's succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in February 1867; he would have been age 36 that year.  

5d

Théodule, by his father's second wife, married Adonatille or Donatille, daughter of fellow Acadian Olivier Guidry, fils and his Creole wife Marie Meaux, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in December 1858.  Their son Edgar was born in Lafayette Parish in January 1862, Louis Olivier in February 1864, Hebrard in May 1866 but died the following September, and Adam was born in September 1868.  

5e

Aurelien, by his father's second wife, married fellow Acadian Marie Aphanelie, called Fanelly, Dugas in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in April 1860.  His succession record was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse, Lafayette Parish, in September 1864, age 25.  Did he father any children? 

6

Youngest son Basile, fils, by his father's second wife, born at Opelousas in c1800 and baptized there, age 4, in October 1804, died in Lafayette Parish in October 1862, age 62, and did not marry.  

~

During the late 1780s, a Chiasson who had come to Louisiana as an orphan with two uncles in 1765 and lived with them at St.-Jacques on the river, moved to the Opelousas District and added substantially to that center of family settlement:    

Descendants of Jean-Baptiste CHIASSON (c1762-1854; Guyon dit LaVallée, Gabriel dit Pierre, Abraham)

Jean-Baptiste, son of Joseph Chiasson and Annette Sonnier of Chignecto and nephew of Pierre and Paul, was born at Halifax in c1762 when his parents were being held as prisoners of war there.  He was still very young when he came to Louisiana with his paternal uncles in 1765 and followed them to Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river.  When he came of age, Jean-Baptiste crossed the Atchafalaya Basin to the Opelousas District, where he married Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean LeBlanc and his Anglo wife Marie Hayes, in the late 1780s (their oldest recorded child, daughter Julienne, was born in April 1788 and buried the following June).  They settled along upper Bayou Plaquemine Brûlé near present-day Church Point, on the prairie west of Opelousas.  Their daughters married into the Cart and Dugas families.  Three, perhaps four, of their five sons married and settled near Grand Coteau, east of Plaquemine Brûlé; in what became Lafayette Parish; and in southeast Texas.  One grandson settled near Breaux Bridge, St. Martin Parish.  By 1840, Jean-Baptiste moved to southeast Texas to live with his youngest son Magloire.  He died at his son's home at Beaumont, Texas, on 20 July 1854; his family insisted he was age 109 at the time of his death, but he likely was closer to 92.  Most of the Chiassons on the western prairies descend from Jean-Baptiste, his sons, and grandsons. 

1

Oldest son Jean-Baptiste, fils, called Baptiste, born at Opelousas in April 1792, married Julie, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Olivier dit Pierrot Dugas and  of Prairie Sorel, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in May 1820.  Their son Gédéon, called Zédé, was born near Grand Coteau, Sophie GautreauxSt. Landry Parish, in October 1821 but died in Lafayette Parish at age 8 in September 1829, Jean Baptiste III was born in Lafayette Parish in October 1824, Paul or Hippolyte Oscar, was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 9 days, in February 1828, Pierre at age 5 months in November 1831, Narcisse at age 4 months in January 1834, Edmond le jeune at age 4 months in May 1837, Joseph le jeune at age 3 months in May 1839, and Ignace was born in December 1840 but died at age 2 1/2 in August 1843.  Their daughters married into the Michel (Anglo American, not Acadian), Nezat, and Sonnier families.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 4 slaves--1 male and 3 females, all black, ranging in age from 50 to 1--on Jean Bte. Chiaisson's farm in the parish's western district.  Jean Baptiste, fils died in Lafayette Parish in April 1852; he was 60 years old; his succession was not filed at the Vermilionville courthouse until November 1855.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 6 slaves--1 male and 5 females, all black, ages 58 to 6--on Mrs. John Bt. Chiason's farm next to Louis Chiason; this was Jean Baptiste, fils's widow, Julie Dugas.  

1a

Jean Baptiste III, called fils, married Amelie, daughter of Narcisse Begnaud and Frances Guilbert, in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in April 1845.  Their son Alexandre was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 15 months, in March 1851, Paul Ambroise was born in April 1853, and Jean Baptiste IV in February 1857.  Jean Baptiste III died in Lafayette Parish in November 1868; the Vermilionville priest who recorded the marriage, and who did give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that Jean Baptiste died "at age 50 yrs.," but he was 44; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in December. 

Alexandre married Eveline, daughter of fellow Acadians Sosthène, also called Lasty, Vincent and Oliva Benoit, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in August 1868. 

1b

Hippolyte married Divine, daughter of Adolphe Nezat and Virginia Patin, at the Breaux Bridge church, St. Martin Parish, in May 1848.  Their son Pierre Aniset was born in Lafayette Parish in February 1849.  Divine died two weeks later, probably from the rigors of childbirth.  Hippolyte remarried to Sidalise Morvant probably in the 1850s, and remarried again--his third marriage--to Élisabeth, daughter of John Caruthers and his Acadian wife Adélaïde Hébert, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in June 1859.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted a single slave--a 65-year-old black male--on Hypolite Chiuson's farm.  Hippolyte's succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in March 1863; he would have been age 35 that year.

1c

Pierre married Fanelie, daughter of Francois Guilbert and Émelie Begnaud, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in September 1852.  Their son François was born in Lafayette Parish in October 1853 but died at age 3 in October 1856, Pierre Numa was born in September 1857, Jacques in December 1859, and Pierre, fils in March 1862 but died at age 5 (the recording priest said age 3) in July 1867. 

1d

Narcisse married Julie, daughter of French Canadians Cyprien Roy and Celina Roy, at the Breaux Bridge church, St. Martin Parish, in March 1859.  Their son Joseph Marius was born near Breaux Bridge in November 1861.  Their son Jean Baptiste Genesis was born in Lafayette Parish in February 1869.  During the War of 1861-65, Narcisse, like his brother Joseph le jeune, was a conscript from St. Martin Parish, but Confederate records do not reveal if he served in an organized unit.  He and his family were living near Arnaudville soon after the war. 

1e

Edmond le jeune married Helena or Hélène, daughter of William Beard and his Acadian wife Julie Trahan, at the the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in February 1860.  Their son Joseph Théophile was born in Lafayette Parish in September 1869. 

1f

Joseph le jeune married Adriske or Advise, daughter of fellow Acadians Symphorien Prejean and Eugènie Breaux, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in September 1861.  During the War of 1861-65, Joseph, like his brother Narcisse, was a conscript from St. Martin Parish, but Confederate records do not reveal if he served in an organized unit.  Joseph le jeune's succession record may have been filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in February 1866; he would have been age 27 that year. 

2

Joseph, born at Opelousas in April 1796, married Marie Tarsile, daughter of fellow Acadians Augustin Dugas and Marie Rose Duhon of La Butte and widow of Alexandre Leger, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in February 1818.  Their son Joseph Drosin, called Drosin, was born in St. Martin Parish in July 1819, and Edmond le jeune was baptized at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, age 14 months, in May 1822.  Their daughter married into the Begnaud and Doucet families.  Joseph remarried to Rosalie Vizina in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in February 1826.  They settled near Grand Coteau.  Their son Valmont was born near Grand Coteau in January 1829, Valcour in March 1832, Drosin in August 1837, and Joseph Azolin in March 1846. 

2a

Drosin, by his father's first wife, married German Creole Madeleine Gatt in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in January 1840, and remarried to Marie Myrza Lejeune in the 1850s.  They settled near Grand Coteau.  Their son Alexis was born in November 1857.  Drosin's succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse in December 1865; he would have been age 46 that year.  

2b

Edmond le jeune, by his father's first wife, married Phelonise, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Boutin and his Creole wife Uranie Miller, in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in December 1845.  They settled probably near Carencro.  Their son Théodore was born in November 1849. 

2c

Valmont, by his father's second wife, married Pauline, daughter of fellow Acadians Antoine Hébert and Célestine Trahan, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in January 1850, and sanctified that marriage at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in June 1851.  Their son Valmont, fils was born near Grand Coteau in November 1850.  Valmont remarried to Célestine David, also called Bienville, perhaps a fellow Acadian.  Their son Napoléon was born near Grand Coteau in October 1861, Joseph Adam near Church Point, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in December 1863, Froisin at Coulee Triffe in July 1867, and Paul in January 1870.  During the War of 1861-65, Valmont enlisted in Company K of the 10th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. Landry Parish, which fought in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania--one of General R. E. Lee's Louisiana Tigers.  Valmont's Confederate service was short, however.  Two days after he enlisted at Camp Moore, Louisiana, in July 1861, he was discharged "on account of physical disability," so he did not leave the Bayou State. 

3

Edmond, born at Opelousas in November 1798, died at the home of Louis Lavigne at Prairie du Large, St. Landry Parish, in February 1819, age 21, and did not marry.  

4

Gérard Christopher, baptized at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, age 2, in July 1807, married Aspasie, daughter of fellow Acadians Paul Guidry and Adélaïde Duhon, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in May 1826.  Their son Edmond le jeune was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 16 months, in May 1826, Onésime at age 2 in March 1833, Agerin at age 6 months in September 1834, and Gérard, fils was born near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in September 1848.  Their daughters married into the Gatt family.  Gérard, père, at age 63, may have remarried to French Canadian Susanne, called Suzette, Istre, widow of Édouard Cortine or Courtine, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in June 1868. 

5

Youngest son Magloire, also called McGuire, born at Opelousas in March 1807, settled in Beaumont, Texas, by 1840.  

~

Other CHIASSONs on the Western Prairies

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link some Chiassons on the western prairies with known lines of the family there:  

Guire Chiasson married Texan Elizabeth McFadden in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in June 1835.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names.  

Adeline Chiasson gave birth to son Jean Renaud in St. Landry Parish in February 1837.  The Opelouas priest who recorded the boy's baptism did not give the father's name or the mother's parents' names.  

Célene Chiasson died in St. Landry Parish, age 6 1/2, in August 1856.  The Opelousas priest who recorded the girl's burial, true to form, did not give her parents' names. 

Joseph Chiasson married French Creole Aureline Frugé, widow of Leufroi Blaise, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in November 1860.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names.  Joseph's succession, calling his wife Oreline Frugé, was filed at the Opelousas courthouse in January 1863.  

Joseph Chiasson married Émelie Chiasson, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Jean Baptiste was born in Lafayette Parish in March 1869. 

Marie Émelie Chiasson married fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Leger in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in December 1869.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

Louis Basile Chiasson married German Creole Estelle Wiltz at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in May 1870.  The priest who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names.  Their son Joseph Arcade had been born in St. Martin Parish in August 1868, and Adolphe in January 1870, so they probably had been married civilly. 

CONCLUSION

Chiassons settled early in Acadia and were among the earliest Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana.  Pierre Chiasson and his family reached New Orleans from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765; evidently on their way to Louisiana, they retrieved Pierre's younger brother Paul, who had ended up in St.-Domingue.  They settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river, where Pierre and his wife had more children, and where Paul created a family of his own.  Also with Pierre and Paul was nephew Jean-Baptiste Chiasson, who grew up on the river; however, after Jean-Baptiste came of age, he moved to the Opelousas District during the late 1780s and, with a cousin recently arrived from France, helped create a western branch of the family that stretched all the way to southeastern Texas.  Along with the Héberts, historian Carl A. Brasseaux reports, "the Chiassons rapidly rose to prominence," on the Texas bayous, "and one member of the group held a judgeship by the end of the ninteenth century."  According to family legend, as related in the Franklin, Louisiana, Planters' Banner of 26 January 1870 and cited by Brasseaux, one Joseph dit Joannes was "the patriarch of the Chaisson clan" who "reportedly left his native St. Landry Parish for Texas at the age of 115.  'After several years,'" Brasseaux continues, "he subsequently returned to St. Landry Parish, where he died at the age of 130."  One suspects Joseph dit Joannes was Pierre and Paul's nephew Jean-Baptiste Chiasson, a native of Nova Scotia, not St. Landry. 

Meanwhile, a second wave of  Chiassons appeared in late 1785 on two of the Seven Ships from France.  Jean Chiasson came with his third wife, a Frenchwoman, and his two sons.  They settled on upper Bayou Lafourche, where they and their descendants created another center of family settlement.  Basile Chiasson also came to Louisiana from France in 1785, but he and his family did not settle on the upper Lafourche.  They went, instead, to the Opelousas District, the first of the family to settle west of the Atchafalaya Basin. 

By the late antebellum period, only a single Chiasson family remained on the river, in Ascension Parish.  The others lived on the western prairies or on bayous Lafourche and Terrebonne.  Although they all were related, there seems to have been little interaction between the two branches of the family, such was the barrier imposed by the Atchafalaya Basin even during the steamboat era.  

Church records reveal no non-Acadian Chiassons who came to Louisiana during the colonial period.  Nor do New Orleans port records show any Foreign-French Chiassons coming to the Bayou State during the antebellum period.  All of the Chiassons of South Louisiana, then, at least before the War of 1861-65, are descendants of Guyon dit Vallée of La Rochelle, Port-Royal, Mouchecoudabouet, and Chignecto. 

A few Chiassons owned slaves during the late antebellum period.  The largest slaveholder in the family was Adrien Chiasson of Ascension Parish, who held eight slaves in 1860.  Two of his cousins in Lafayette Parish and a cousin in Lafourche Parish also held a hand full of slaves each, but, like Adrien, none of them owned enough bondsmen to be considered part of the planter class.  The great majority of Chiassons owned no slaves at all, at least none who appeared on the federal slave schedules of 1850 and 1860.  

Over a dozen Chiassons served Louisiana in uniform during the War of 1861-65.  Several of them were captured and held by the Federals, one of them at Camp Morton, Indiana, outside of Indianapolis, but all the Chiasson prisoners of war returned to their families.  Not so lucky was Adrien Charles Chiasson, who served in Company K of 8th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Ascension Parish, which fought under General Robert E. Lee.  According to his Confederate service record, Adrien Charles died in a general hospital at Culpepper, Virginia, in May 1862.  He lies buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Richmond, so one wonders if he was transferred to a hospital in the capital city and died there instead of at Culpepper.

The war took its toll on the Chiasson family fortunes back home.  Even before Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in January 1863, Federal commands controlling the lower Mississippi freed the slaves on every farm and plantation their forces could reach.  Meanwhile, Union navy gunboats shelled and burned dozens of houses along the river.  Successive Federal incursions devastated the Bayou Lafourche valley early in the war, and the valley lay under the hard hand of Federal occupation for most of the conflict.  Federal armies marched three times through the Teche and upper Vermilion valleys, including the Grand Coteau area, and burned and pillaged many farms, some of them no doubt owned by Chiassons.  Thanks to these Federal invasions, emancipation came early to the area, with its resulting economic and social turmoil.  Confederate foraging parties and cutthroat Jayhawkers also plagued the areas where Chiassons lived, adding to the family's misery.  ...

Today, members of the family on both sides of the Atchafalaya Basin use the spelling Chaisson almost as often as they do the older spelling, Chiasson.  The family's name also is spelled Chaison, Chaseant, Cheasson, Chiassond, Chianson, Chiasmon, Chiason, Chieason, Chieçon, Chiesson, Giason, Giasson, Schiasson, Sciasson, Siachon, Siasson, Seisson, Siesson.  [See Book Ten for the family's Louisiana "begats"]

Sources:  1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Lafayette Parish; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Ascension, Lafourche, & Lafayette parishes; Arsenault, Généalogie, 897-908, 1657, 2219-20, 2272-74, 2458-59; Brasseaux, "'Grand Texas,'" 275, 285n8, source of quotation; BRDR, vols. 1a(rev.), 2, 3, 4, 5(rev.), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; De La Roque, "Tour of Inspection," Canadian Archives 1905, 2A:144; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 78-79; Hébert, D., LA Families in Southeast TX, 405, 408; Hébert, D., South LA Records, vols. 1, 2, 3, 4; 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, 234, 236; Milling, Exile Without End, 41-42; NOAR, vol. 2; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/5bateaux.htm>, Family Nos. 53, 57, 58, 62, 152, 156, 182; Richey, Tirailleurs, 269; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 26; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 40-41; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 198-202; White, DGFA-1, 347-58; White, DGFA-1 English, 78-80.

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, 47, calls her Adélaïde CHAISON; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:178-79, 756-57 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A, p.30), her marriage record, calls her Anne Adélaïde CHIASSON "of Châtellreault in Poitou, France," calls her husband Pierre-Cyrille THIBODO, gives her & his parents' names, says his parents were "of Acadia," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Charles COMAU & ____ CHIASSON; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:217 (Opel. Ch.: v.1, p.154), her death/burial record, calls her Adelayde CHIASSON, "originally from Europe in France, married to Cyrille THIBODEAU and lived in the Belle Vue area of this parish for many years," gives her father's but not her mother's name, says she was buried "at age 42 years in the parish cemetery," & that she "Died following a long illness after having received the sacraments." 

Her husband was the brother of her father's second wife. 

02.  Wall of Names, 47, calls him Basile CHAISON; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 40, says that the family sailed on L'Amitié; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:179, 745 (LSAR: Opel.: 1789), a record of his second marriage, calls him Basile CHIASSON, "wid. of Monique COMAU," calls his wife Anne-Marie THIBAUDOT, "wid. of Gang BOURG," says they married on 20 Jul 1789, gives his & her parents' names, says they were "of 'Beu Sejour' (Beauséjour), Acadie," gives no witnesses to his marriage, & notes on p. 745 that "This is not an original but only a typed copy"; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:179, 745 (LSU-E: Opel.: 1789), another record of his second marriage, calls him Basile CHIASSON, "natif de la paroisse de Beau Sejour en (native of the parish of Beauséjour in) Acadie, veuf de (widower of) Monique COMAU," calls his wife Anne-Marie THIBAUDOT, "veuve de (widow of) Lange BOURG, native de la meme paroisse (native of the same parish)," dated their marriage contract on 21 Jul 1789, gives his & her parents' names, but gives no witnesses to his marriage; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:179, 745 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A, p.25), yet another record of his second marriage, calls him Basile CHIASSON, "widow of Monique COMOT," calls his wife Marie THIBODAUX, "widow of Angel BOURG," says they married on 21 Jul 1789," does not give parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Pierre-Cyrille THIBODO & Thomas BRIN. 

The passenger list of L'Amitié includes infant son Louis with Basile & Monique, but the family evidently missed the departure of that vessel in late Aug because they also are on the passenger list of La Caroline, which did not depart France until Oct 19.  By then, Louis, whose full name was Louis-Joseph, had died, buried on 17 Sep 1785 at St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, near Nantes.  The child's illness evidently caused the family to miss the Aug sailing & have to wait for the one in Oct.  Wall of Names includes the family on La Caroline without Louis.

His second wife was the sister of his daughter Adélaïde's husband. 

03.  Wall of Names, 47, calls him Charles CHAISON; Hebert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:89, 170 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A. p.109), his marriage record, calls him Charles-Albert CHIASSON, calls his wife Magdeleine BOURASSA, gives his & her parents' names, says her father was deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to his marriage were Albert CHIASSON [the groom], Jean MOREAU, Magdeleine BOURASSAS [the bride], Cyrille THIBAUDO, & _____ CHIASSON. 

04.  Wall of Names, 14, calls him Jean-Baptiste CHIASSON neveu [of Pierre CHIASSON]; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2459, the LA section, calls him Jean-Baptiste CHIASSON, says he was born in 1762 but gives no birthplace, son of Joseph [CHIASSON] & Anne SAUNIER, says he married Marie LEBLANC, daughter of Jean [LEBLANC] & Marie AYER, in c1786 but gives no place of marriage, says he settled at Opelousas, & lists his children as Julienne, born in 1788, Jean-Baptiste in 1792, Joseph in 1796, Edmond in 1798, Aimé in 1801, Magloire in 1806, & Gérard in 1807. 

If Jean-Baptiste was a nephew of Pierre CHIASSON, we can assume that Jean-Baptiste's father Joseph was a son of Abraham CHIASSON of Chignecto, who was deported to SC.  Arsenault, 2458, says that Joseph, born in c1732, was probablement son of Abraham & Marie POIRIER of Beaubassin, but when he lists Abraham's children on p. 899 of his Beaubassin section, Arsenault does not include Joseph as one of the children.  Arsenault adds on p. 2458 that Jean-Baptiste was born in c1762 "dont les parents avaient été retenus prisonniers des Anglais à Halifax," hence Jean-Baptiste's coming to LA with his paternal uncle Pierre. 

Hébert, D., LA Families in Southeast TX, 406, says:  "Jean Baptiste CHIASSON is a most fascinating person.  He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1745; died at Beaumont, Texas on July 20, 1854 at age 109 yrs. (Perrin [W. H., SW LA] states that CHIASSON died in St. Landry Parish at age about 130 years--an example of the growth of the legend).  He was deported to France at age 13 yrs.  He returned to America; fought at the battle of Germantown, Brandywine, Eutaw Springs and Trenton, and was at Yorktown when General Washington received the surrender of Lord Cornwallis' army.  CHIASSON received U.S. Land grants in Bayou Plaquemine Brule near Church Point, LA about 1807.  He lived in Louisiana until about 1840 then came to Beaumont to live with his youngest son McGuire (Magloire).  He confessed to Fr. P.E. Parisot in 1853 when he was so deaf he screamed at Fr. Parisot.  (from W.T. Block)."  Jean-Baptiste's birth year given here is from the Cabanocé/St.-Jacques census of Apr 1765, which says he was age 3 at the time & places him with 2 uncles, an aunt, & 2 cousins there.  His birth at Halifax, NS, in 1745, was impossible; the settlement did not exist until 1749, & was always British, never Acadian.  After its founding, few, if any, Acadians were born there until the final years of the Seven Years' War, when they were held on Georges Island in Halifax harbor as prisoners of war.  That Jean-Baptiste was born at Halifax is attested to in the 1850 Federal census for Jefferson County, TX, which also lists his age as 105!  An Acadian born on Georges Island at Halifax in 1762 would not have been deported to France.  Fr. Hébert implies that Jean-Baptiste was deported to the mother country in 1758 (1745 + 13 = 1758).  In that year, the British deported most of the Acadians on Île St.-Jean (today's Prince Edward Island) & Île Royale (Cape Breton Island) to France.  However, the British did deport Acadians captured at Cap-Sable & on lower Rivière St.-Jean from Georges Island to England and France in 1759-60, but Jean-Baptiste's family was from Chignecto, not Cap-Sable or Rivière St.-Jean.  Many island Acadians came to LA from France aboard the 7 ships of 1785.  If Jean-Baptiste was born at Halifax in 1762, he would have been taken to LA from Halifax not via France but via French St.-Domingue, today's Haiti, in 1765, which the Apr 1766 census clearly demonstrates.  As to his service in the Continental Army under Washington, the battle of Brandywine was fought in 1777, when this Jean-Baptiste CHIASSON would have been only age 15.  How someone that young would have made his way from the lower Mississippi valley to PA to fight for a cause he may not have understood is difficult to comprehend.  During the late summer of 1779, Jean-Baptiste, age 17, could have fought with the Spanish under Gálvez at Fort Bute & Baton Rouge as a member of the Acadian Coast militia, but his service with Washington in PA, NJ, & VA is likely the stuff of family legend. 

Was Jean-Baptiste's wife Marie an Acadian LEBLANC?  This researcher has not found her parents in local church & civil records.  One wonders where Arsenault got the parents', especially the mother's, names.  The baptismal record of Jean-Baptiste's son Joseph, dated 5 Aug 1798, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:180 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A, p.204), calls the maternal grandparents Jean LEBLANC "& unknown 'se ignora el nombre de su abuela materna' (the name of the maternal grandmother is unknown).:  The baptismal record of son E[d]mond, dated 7 Dec 1800, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:179 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A, p.238), calls the maternal grandparents Jean LEBLANC & Marie HAYES.  The same names, with the spelling HAIZE, can be found in the baptismal record of daughter Aimée, dated 15 Aug 1801, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:170 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A, p.250).  Interestingly, the baptismal record of daughter Adèle, dated 9 Jul 1810, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:170 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-B, p.503), calls the parents Jean Baptiste [CHIASSON] & Mary HAIZE.  I will use the spelling HAYES here. 

05.  Wall of Names, 41, calls him Jean CHAISON; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/5bateaux.htm>, Family No. 58, shows that in the crossing to St.-Malo in 1758-59, he lost his first wife, who was age 25, in the hospital probably at St.-Malo on 4 Feb 1759, as well as both of their children at sea, son Jean, age 6, & daughter Anne, age 4.

See also De La Roque, "Tour of Inspection," Canadian Archives, 2A:144; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 26.  

06.  Wall of Names, 41, calls him Joseph CHAISON; BRDR, 2:187, 675 (ASC-2, 19), the record of his first marriage, calls him Joseph CHIASSON, calls his wife Maria SIMONEAUX, gives his & her parents' names, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Luc LANDRY & Manuel ORDONEZ; BRDR, 2:187(ASM-2, 23), the record of his second marriage, calls him Josef Francisco CHIASSON, "widower of Maria SIMONAUX," calls his wife Maria Margarita LEJEUNE, gives his & her parents' names, says his parents were "Acadians" & hers were "of Acadia," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Jean LEJEUNE & Pierre CHIASSON [his half brother]. 

His wife had a son--Pierre-Félix-Ambroise--by Ambroise HÉBERT in Oct 1794, but she does not seem to have married him. 

07.  Wall of Names, 14, calls her Marie CHIASSON; NOAR, 2:56 (SLC, B5, 110), her birth/baptismal record, calls her Marie CHIASSOND, gives her parents' names, calls her mother Ausede, says they were Acadians, & that her godparents were Alexi (Alexis)-Joseph CARTLIER (CARTIER) & Marie-Marguerite CARLIER.  

What happened to her in LA?

08.  Wall of Names, 14, calls him Michel CHIASSON; BRDR, 2:188 (SJA-1, 56a), his death/burial record, calls him Michel CHIASSON, but does not give his parents' names or his age at the time of his death.  

09.  Wall of Names, 14, calls him Paul CHIASSON frère [of Pierre]; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2458, the LA section, says he was born in 1746 & married Marie-Madeleine BLANCHARD in c1770; BRDR, 4:125 (SGA-8, 93), his burial record, calls him Paul CHIASSON, says he died at age 74 years," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  See also Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 168, 175; De Ville, St. Gabriel Census, 1777, 4.  

He was probably the Paul CHIASSON, orphan, age 18, counted in SC in Aug 1763.  His age is right.  See Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 236.  He may have gone to Cap-Français, St.-Domingue, in Nov 1763 with other Acadians from SC.  If so, he would have been one of the hand full of Acadian exiles in St.-Domingue who joined up with the Halifax exiles when they changed ships at Cap-Français in late 1764 or early 1765 and sailed on to LA.  See Appendix.  That he came to LA in 1765 is attested to by his being in the 1766 census at Cabanocé, which was taken in Apr.  

Arsenault's estimated birth year for him conforms to the Cabanocé census of 1766.  The age given for him at St.-Gabriel in 1777 is way off.  Arsenault's date for his marriage makes sense in light of the Cabanocé census of Sep 1769, which indicates that he was still a bachelor.  His wife, who came to the colony with her family from MD in 1767, lived to age 75. 

10.  Wall of Names, 14, calls him Pierre CHIASSON.  

Since he came to LA with younger brother Paul in 1765, he probably picked up his brother at Cap-Francois, Haiti, on the way to LA from Halifax.  

11.  Wall of Names, 41, calls him Pierre CHAISON.

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