APPENDICES

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

CLÉMENÇEAU

[clay-monh-SOH]

ACADIA

Jean Clémençeau dit Beaulieu of Bordeaux, France, a sergeant in the King's service, reached Port-Royal before 1703, the year in which he ran afoul of Acadian Governor de Brouillan.  The governor had authorized Clémençeau "to work on the distribution of the King's provisions and munitions" at the Port-Royal fort, but one of Clémenceau's superiors received word that Clémençeau "was involved in some malfeasance."  The superior complained to the governor, who ordered the sergeant's arrest when Clémençeau returned to the fort, "but shortly thereafter he was released and his clothing was returned to him ...."  Evidently the sergeant had found an ally in one demoiselle Barat, "who promised to represent him whenever and as often as would be necessary."  Two years later, the war still raging, Clémençeau married Anne, daughter of Jean Roy dit La Liberté and Marie-Christine Aubois, a métisse, in Boston, so the English must have captured him, perhaps during Colonel Bejamin Church's raid up the Bay of Fundy in the summer of 1704.  Back at Port-Royal in 1706, Jean and Anne's marriage was blessed by a priest.  They had six children, including two sons, both born at Port-Royal, one of whom created a family of his own.  Their four daughters married into the Martin, Héon, Lavigne, and Lejeune dit Briard families; most of them moved to Île Royale, today's Cape Breton Island, but one of them settled on Île St.-Jean, today's Prince Edward Island.  In the 1710s, Jean took up with Marguerite, daughter of Jean Corporon, with whom he had a son, born in 1712.  Anne died in c1717, soon after giving birth to her sixth child with Jean. 

Oldest son Louis, by his father's "first" wife, born in April 1712, married Anne, daughter of Jean Caissie dit Roger and his second wife Cécile Hébert, in c1739.  They settled at Chignecto.  

Jean-Pierre, by his father's second "wife," born in March 1712, married twice, first to Marie, daughter of René Martin and Marie Mignier and widow of François Richard, at Annapolis Royal in January 1735, and then to Francoise, daughter of Claude Gautrot and Marguerite Landry, at Grand-Pré in October 1747. 

Youngest son Jean, by his father's "first" wife, born in September 1714, probably died young.  

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

By 1755, descendants of Jean Clemençeau dit Beaulieu and his legitimate wife could be found at Port-Toulouse, Île Royale; on Île St.-Jean; and at Chignecto.  His illegitimate son Jean-Pierre and his family were at Grand-Pré. 

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

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

LOUISIANA:  LAFOURCHE VALLEY SETTLEMENTS

Acadian Clémençeaus--two sisters from Grand-Pré via France--did not reach Louisiana until 1785: 

Marie, age 34, husband Pierre Trahan, age 62, and a 1-year-old daughter, crossed to Louisiana aboard Le St.-Rémi, the fourth of the Seven Ships from France that reached New Orleans in September 1785. 

Marie's younger sister Marie-Madeleine, called Madeleine, age 33, husband Ignace Carret, age 41, and three children, ages 15, 14, and 7, also crossed from France aboard Le St.-Rémi. 

Both sisters and their families followed the majority of their fellow passengers to upper Bayou Lafourche, and both sisters lost their husbands and remarried at St.-Jacques on the river in the early 1790s.  Marie-Madeleine remarried to French Creole Francois L'Autel of Bordeaux, France, in November 1791 and settled with him on the upper bayou, though she may have died in St. James Parish.  Marie remarried to Louis Delanoir of Dunkirk, Flanders, in October 1794 and may have remained on the river. 

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

Juan, or Jean, Clemanson, probably a Frenchman, married Marieanne, daughter of Gil Deplet of St.-Homère, Artois, France, and widow of Hubert Viere, at New Orleans in February 1790. 

CONCLUSION

Only female members of the Acadian branch of the Clémençeau family emigrated to Louisiana, from France, in 1785.  This family, then, except for its blood, did not take root in the Bayou State.  The Clémençeaus of South Louisiana today are descendants of either French Creoles or Foreign French, not Acadians. 

The family's name also is spelled Clémanso, Clémence, Clémenço, Clémenso, Clément.  [See also Book Ten]

Sources:  Arsenault, Généalogie, 483, 908; BRDR, vols. 2, 4, 7; De La Roque, "Tour of Inspection," Canadian Archives 1905, 2A:112; NOAR, vol. 4; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/Reine_d_Espagne.htm>, Family No. 8; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/5bateaux.htm>, Family No. 108; Robichaux, Acadian in Nantes, 78, 169; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 188-89, 202, 428-29, 549, 696; White, DGFA-1, 362-64; White, DGFA-1 English, 82, source of quotations.  

Settlement Abbreviations 
(present-day 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, 37 (pl. 9R), calls her Marie CLÉMENSAU, & lists her with her husband & a daughter; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 202, "Family" No. 246, calls her Marie CLÉMENCEAU, lists her singly, says she was born in c1751 "in the parish of St. Charles in Acadie," which was Grand-Pré, gives her parents' names, says she disembarked with Jeanne DUGAST at St.-Malo on 23 May 1763 from the ship L'Ambition, & that she resided at St.-Servan in 1763, at Plouër in 1764, & at St.-Servan again from 1765-72; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 169, Family No. 305, calls her Marie CLÉMENÇEAU, says she was born in c1751 "in the Parish of Saint-Charles in Acadie," which was Grand-Pré, details her marriage, including her & her husband's parents' & his previous wives' names, says she was resident of St.-Donatien Parish, Nantes, for about 7 years at the time of her marriage, includes the birth/baptismal record of daughter Louise-Renée TRAHAN, baptized 20 Jan 1784, St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, & details the family's voyage to LA in 1785; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 246, the record of her first marriage, calls her Marie CLÉMENÇEAU, says she was 32 years old & a day laborer, gives her parents' names, says they both were deceased at the time of the marriage, says she "native of the parish of Saint Charles" & resided in St.-Donatien Parish, Nantes, for about 7 years, gives her husbands' parents' names, says they, too, were deceased at the time of the marriage, & that the witnesses to her marriage were Pierre TRAHANT, son-in-law of the groom, Joseph SEMER, his nephew, Grégoire BENOIST, cousin of the bride, Honoré CARET, also cousin of the bride, none of whom signed, & BOURIER, COUPEAU, Pauh DESMORANDIERE, & P. JAMBU, who signed; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 54-55, calls her Marie CLÉMENZAU, sa [Pierre TRAHAN's] feme, age 32, on the embarkation list, & Marie CLÉMENÇEAU, his [Pierre TRAHAN's] wife, age 32, on the complete listing, says she was in the 48th Family aboard Le St.-Rémi with her husband & a daughter, details her marriage, including her & her husband's parents' names, & says they were married in 1783 but gives no place of marriage; BRDR, 2:191, 233 (SJA-2, 26), the record of her second marriage, calls her Maria CLEMENCO, "widow of Pedro TRAHAN," calls her husband Luis DELANOIR, gives her & his parents' names, says her parents were "of Virginia" & his were "of Dunkirk, Flanders," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Francisco CROISET & Carlos FREDERIQUE.  See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 499; Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 46.  

Her estimated birth year is taken not from the passenger list of Le St.-Rémi or from the Ascension census of 1788 but from the passenger list of L'Ambition, the ship she took from England to France in May 1763.  She did not go with her parents aboard L'Ambition, so they must have been among the many Acadians who died in England between 1756-63, leaving her & her sister orphans.  Note in the record of her second marriage that her parents were "of Virginia."  They obviously were not born there, but they certainly had gone there. 

Her first husband was old enough to be her father.  She was his fourth wife.  What happened to her daughter Louise-Renée TRAHAN, who would have been 4 years old in 1788?  Did the girl even survive the crossing to LA?  

02.  Wall of Names, 37 (pl. 9R), calls her Magdelaine CLÉMENSAU, & lists her with her first husband & 3 children; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 188-89, Family No. 229, calls her Marie-Madeleine CLÉMENÇEAU, says she was born in c1752 but gives no birthplace, gives her parents' names, details her first marriage, including her husband's parents' names, says he was born in c1744 at Ste.-Famille, Pigiguit, includes the birth/baptismal & death/burial records of daughter Marie-Madeleine CARRET, born 13 Sep 1768, baptized next day, St.-Servan, goddaughter of René REVEILLARD & Marie CARRET, died age 3 mos. & buried 18 Oct 1769, St.-Servan, & son Eustace-Ignace CARRET, born & baptized 9 Mar 1770, St.-Malo, godson of Eustache LEJEUNE & Marie CLÉMENCEAU (her sister), & that her family resided at St.-Servan from 1767-72; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 696, Family No. 814, calls her Madeleine CLEMENCEAU, says she "disembarked at St. Malo from England on May 22, 1763 from the ship, L'Ambition" with the family of Jean RICHARD & Marguerite LANDRY, her aunt, & that Jean RICHARD's family resided at St.-Servan from 1763-72; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 1040, the record of her first marriage, calls her Marie CLEMENSO, "native of the parish of St. Charle in Acadie," calls her husband Ignace CARET, "native of the parish of Sainte Famille in Acadie," says they both were residents of St.-Servan at the time of the wedding, gives her & his parents' names, says all parents were deceased at the time of wedding, & that the witnesses to the marriage were Eustache LEJEUNE, "brother-in-law of the groom," Joseph BOUDRO [who signed], "first cousin of the bride," Francois LEJEUNE, "second cousin of the groom," Charle CORBIN, "and several other friends and neighbors ..."; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 56-57, calls her Magdeleine CLÉMENZAU, sa [Ygnace CARET's] feme, age 34, on the embarkation list, & Magdelaine CLÉMENÇEAU, his [Ignace CARRET's] wife, age 34, on the complete listing, says she was in the 56th Family aboard Le St.-Rémi with her first husband & 3 children, & details her first marriage, including her & her husband's parents' names, says she & her first husband were married in 1767 but gives no place of marriage; BRDR, 2:191, 507 (SJA-2, 13), the record of her second marriage, calls her Maria Magdalena CLÉMANSO, calls her husband Francisco LOTEL, gives her & his parents' names, says her parents were "of Acadia" & his "of Bordeaux," does not mention her first husband, & says the witnesses to her marriage were Eustaquio CARET [her son] & Céleste SONE [probably SONNIER].

She did not go with her parents from England to France aboard L'Ambition, so they must have been among the many Acadians who died in England between 1756-63, leaving her & her sister orphans.

Is she the Marie Magdelaine CARET, age 65 yrs., a widow, who died in St. James Parish on 3 Oct 1825?  See BRDR, 4:116 (SMI-4, 64).  Or is she the Marie Magdelaine CARRÉ, age 92 yrs., who was buried in St. James Parish on 22 Jul 1851?  See BRDR, 7:115 (SMI-4, 216).  

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