APPENDICES

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

GAUDET

[GO-day]

ACADIA

Jean Gaudet or Godet may have been born at Martaizé, near Loudun, south of the Loire valley in France, in c1575.  His first wife's name has been lost to history.  Tradition says that Jean came to Acadia aboard the St.-Jehan in 1636 with three children from his first marriage--Françoise, age 13, Denis, age 11, and Marie, age 3--though they do not appear on the ship's passenger list.  Nevertheless, Jean and his children were among the earliest settlers in Acadia.  His daughters married into the Mercier, LeBlanc, Hébert, and Gareau families.  In 1652, at age 77, Jean remarried to 45-year-old Nicole Colleson, probably a widow, at Port-Royal.  She gave him another son.  In the first census of the inhabitants of Acadia, that of 1671, the census taker noted that Jean Gaudet was "the oldest inhabitant of Port-Royal ..., the venerable doyen of the colony ... then aged ninety-six years."  Jean died at Port-Royal before 1678, over age 100.  Both of his sons grew up to create families of their own.  

Older son Denis, by his father's first wife, born in France in c1625, married Martine Gauthier at Port-Royal in c1645.  They had five children, including two sons, Pierre l'aîné and Pierre le jeune, who married daughters of Jean Blanchard.  Denis's three daughters married into the Vincent, Daigre, Fardel or Fardelle, and Aucoin families.  Denis died at Port-Royal in October 1709, in his mid 80s.  Older son Pierre l'aîné moved his family to Chignecto in the 1690s.  He and his wife Anne Blanchard had nine children.  Later in that decade, he helped pioneer the Acadian settlement on Rivière Petitcoudiac in present-day southeastern New Brunswick.  Along with Pierre Thibodeau, who founded the nearby Chepoudy settlement, Pierre l'aîné defied the claim of the seigneur of Chignecto, Michel Le Neuf de la Valliere et de Beaubassin, that the Chepoudy and Petitcoudiac settlements were part of his seigneury.  Gaudet and Thibodeau won their case before the colonial council at Port-Royal, but their victory was overturned in France.  Their defiance of a powerful Acadian seigneur helped weaken the hold of the local nobility on these sturdy Acadian habitants.  Pierre l'aîné's son Abraham of Chignecto was a hero of Queen Anne's War; in 1711, he set up an ambush that captured a messenger from the English garrison at Annapolis Royal.  After looking at land on Île Royale, today's Cape Breton Island, in 1714 and living for a time on Île St.-Jean, today's Prince Edward Island, in the early 1720s, Abraham took his family to the St. Lawrence River valley decades before Le Grand Dérangement; most likely his exploits in the recent war encouraged him to place as great a distance as possible between himself and the British authorities at Annapolis Royal.  Pierre l'aîné's younger brother Pierre le jeune and his wife Marie Blanchard remained at Port-Royal and had 10 children there.  

Younger son Jean, fils, by his father's second wife, born at Port-Royal in c1653, married three times, first to Françoise, daughter of Pierre Comeau and Rose Bayon, at Port-Royal in c1672.  Françoise gave him two children, including a son, Jean III, who married a daughter of Jean Bourg.  Jean, fils's daughter married into the Doiron family.  Jean, fils remarried to Jeanne Henry at Port-Royal in c1680.  She gave him three daughters, two of whom married into the Lejeune dit Briard and Benoit families.  Jean, fils remarried again, to Jeanne Lejeune dit Briard, widow of François Joseph, at Port-Royal in c1694, but she gave him no more children.  

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

By 1755, descendants of Jean Gaudet could be found in greater Acadia at Annapolis Royal; Beaubassin, Veskak, and Tintamarre at Chignecto; at Petitcoudiac and Memramcook in the trois-rivières area west of Chignecto; at Grand-Pré and Pigiguit in the Minas Basin; at Anse-du-Nord-Ouest on Île St.-Jean and at Port-Toulouse on Île Royale.  They also could be found in the St. Lawrence valley, where the first of them had gone in the 1720s.  

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

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

LOUISIANA:  RIVER SETTLEMENTS

Gaudets were some of the earliest Acadians who found refuge in Louisiana.  Four families, a wife, and a widow--13 Gaudets in all--reached New Orleans from Halifax in 1765.  They settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river above New Orleans where 20 Acadians from Georgia had settled the year before.  The area soon became known as the Acadian Coast. 

Marie Breau of Grand-Pré, age 62, widow of Jean Gaudet of Port-Royal, came with three grown children--Charles, age 35, Rosalie, age 26, and Jérôme, age 25.  They remained at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where Charles married and raised a large family.  

Isabelle Gaudet of Port-Royal, age 46, came with husband Joseph LeBlanc of Grand-Pré age 45, and five children, ages 17 to 3.  They also remained at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where Isabelle died in January 1805, age 84 1/2.  

Anne Gaudet, age 41, widow of Michel Dupuis, came with three children, ages 14 and 11.  Anne remarried to Olivier, son of fellow Acadian Michel Boudreaux, at Cabanocé in October 1767 and remained there.  

Claude Gaudet, age 52, came with wife Catherine Forest and younger son Charles, age 13.  Claude and Catherine also remained at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques but had no more children there.  Son Charles, like his older brother, created a family of his own. 

Joseph Gaudet of Port-Royal, age 26, Claude's elder son, came with wife Marguerite Bourgeois of Port-Royal, age 21, and daughter Rosalie-Victoire, age 1, who had been born at Boston, Massachusetts.  They had more children at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, including two sons who settled on upper Bayou Lafourche.  

Pierre Gaudet came with wife Marie-Madeleine, called Madeleine, Doucet, age 29, and three children children--Pierre, fils, age 5, Charles, age 2, and infant Marguerite.  Pierre died soon after reaching the colony, and Madeleine remarried to Abraham, son of fellow Acadian Francois Roy, at Cabanocé in June 1768.  She and her Gaudet sons remained at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where one of them, Charles, created a family of his own.  Daughter Marguerite Gaudet married into the Ledoux family and died at St.-Jacques in February 1807, in her early 40s.  

Descendants of Charles GAUDET (c1730-?; Jean, Denis, Pierre l'aîné)

Charles, elder son of Jean Gaudet and Marie Breau, born probably at Annapolis Royal in c1730, followed his family into exile on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore and to the prison camps in Nova Scotia in the early 1760s.  He was still a bachelor when he came to Louisiana in 1765 with his widowed mother and two younger siblings.  He married cousin Cécile Breaux, widow of George Clouâtre, at Cabanocé in May 1768.  All three of his sons established family lines in what became St. James and Ascension parishes.  Descendants of his older sons became planters in St. James Parish during the antebellum period. 

1

Oldest son Michel, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in 1773, married Victoire, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Baptiste Bergeron dit d'Amboise, père and Marguerite Bernard, at St.-Jacques in February 1793.  Their Michel-Valéry, called Valéry, was born at St.-Jacques in December 1793, a son, name unrecorded, died 10 days after his birth in August 1799, Ursin-Michel or Michel-Ursin, called Ursin, was born in March 1803, and Drosin in Ascension Parish in July 1810.  Their daughters married into the Becnel, Blouin, Gaudin, and Hébert families.  Michel died in St. James Parish in September 1820, age 47.  His three sons created vigorous lines and became planters in eastern St. James Parish.  By 1850, his oldest son had become a great planter--someone who owned more than 50 slaves.  He held, in fact, over 100 slaves.

1a

Valéry married Anne Belzire, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Richard and Constance LeBlanc, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in June 1814.  Their son, name unrecorded, died in St. James Parish, age 3 months, in September 1816, Pierre Théodule, called Théodule was born in May 1818 but died at age 1 1/2 in March 1820, Adam Joseph or Joseph Adam was born in December 1822, Amédée Michel in February 1827, and Pierre Oscar, called Oscar, in August 1827 but died at age 3 1/2 in June 1831.  Their daughters married into the Chastant and Tete families.  In July 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 101 slaves on Valéry Gaudet's plantation in the parish's Eastern District, between the plantation of his brother Ursin, père's widow and the farms of his nephew Ursin, fils and his sons J. A. and Amédée.  Two months later, in September, the same census taker counted 3 more slaves--a male and 2 females, all black, ages 17, 17 and 14--on Valéry Gaudet's farm in the parish's Eastern District.  Was this the same Valéry who owned the big plantation nearby?  Valéry died in St. James Parish in March 1853, age 60.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted a single slave--a 35-year-old black male--on Valéry Gaudet's farm in the parish's First District of the East Bank; one wonders if this was the slave of Valéry's widow, Anne Belzire Richard. 

Joseph Adam married cousin Marie Arcelite, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Pierre Richard and Marguerite Braud, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in March 1846.  In July 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 11 slaves--9 males and 2 females, 9 blacks and 2 mulattoes, ranging in age from 30 to 6--on J. A. Gaudet's farm in the parish's Eastern District next to his father's plantation.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 140 slaves living in 30 houses on Adams Gaudet's plantation in the parish's Ninth District of the Right Bank; this was Joseph Adam.  During the War of 1861-65, Joseph Adam served as captain of a company in the St. James Parish Regiment Militia before commanding Company K of the 30th Regiment/Battalion Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. James Parish, which fought in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.  He survived the war and returned to his family.  Did he father any sons?

Amédée Michel married Louise Marie, daughter of John Ilsley, Islay, or Isley and Elisa G. Mollere, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in January 1852.  Their son John Valéry was born in St. James Parish in November 1854, and James Amédée in August 1861.  In July 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 6 slaves--2 males and 4 females, 4 blacks and 2 mulattoes, ranging in age from 22 to 3--on Amédée Gaudet's farm in the parish's Eastern District next to brother J. A.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 11 slaves--6 males and 5 females, 3 blacks and  mulattoes, ages 36 to 10, living in 6 houses--on Amédée Gaudet's farm in the parish's Ninth District of the Right Bank between the plantations of brother Joseph Adam and cousins J. K. Gaudet and brothers.  During the War of 1861-65, Amédée served as a private in older brother Joseph Adam's company of the St. James Parish Regiment Militia. 

1b

Ursin married Elise Adèle, called Lise, daughter of fellow Acadian Grégoire Dugas and his Creole wife Françoise Barbet, at the Donaldson church, Ascension Parish, in February 1822.  Their son Michel Ursin, called Ursin, fils, was born in c1822, Jean Baptiste Félix was born in St. James Parish in July 1824, Michel Drausin was baptized at the St. James church, St. James Parish, age 2 months, in June 1826, Charles Grégoire Bienvenu, called Bienvenu, was born in April 1828 but died at age 3 in September 1831, and Charles Théodore or Théodose was born in November 1831.  Their daughter married into the Gautreaux family.  In July 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 40 slaves on Widow Ursin Gaudet's plantation in the parish's Eastern District, next to son Ursin, fils's farm and near brother-in-law Valéry Gaudet's large plantation. 

Jean Baptiste Félix may have married fellow Acadian Marie Melançon in St. James Parish in c1840.  Their son Jean Félicien was born near Convent, St. James Parish, in December 1841.  In 1850, the federal census taker in Ascension Parish counted a single slave--a 25-year-old black female--on B. Gaudet's farm.  Was this Jean Baptiste Félix? 

Ursin, fils married Marie Carmelite, called Carmelite, daughter of fellow Acadians Donat LeBlanc and Marie Melançon, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in February 1842.  Their son Charles Michel Ursin Félix was born in St. James Parish in February 1844, and Joseph N. D. in July 1847.  Their daughter married into the Rybiski family.  In July 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 2 slaves--a 21-year-old black female, and a 7-month-old black girl--on Ursin Gaudet's farm, between his widowed mother's and his uncle Valéry Gaudet's plantations.  Ursin, fils died in St. James Parish in October 1853, in his early 30s. 

Michel Drausin married Marie Célestine, called Célestine, daughter of fellow Acadians Ferdinand Landry and Clarisse Landry, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in July 1846.  Their son Charles Albert was born in St. James Parish in October 1847, Pascal Michel in Ascension Parish in May 1849, a child, name and age unrecorded, perhaps a son, died in June 1852, Vincent Théodose was born in July 1855, Ursin Philippe in May 1859, Paul Parfait in May 1861, George Marc in October 1863, and Joseph Justin in August 1868.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in Assumption Parish counted 4 slaves--2 males and 2 females, all black, ranging in age from 40 to 12--on Michel Gaudet's farm in the parish's Second Congressional District.  Was this Michel Drausin?  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 84 slaves living in 22 houses on Michel Gaudet's plantation in the parish's Ninth District of the Right Bank between cousins Joseph Adam Gaudet's plantation and Amédée Gaudet's farm.  During the War of 1861-65, Michel Drausin may have served Company E of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. James Parish, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.  If so, he enlisted in the company in October 1861, in his mid-30s.  Soon after he joined up, while his regiment was still in the New Orleans area, he was reported absent without leave.  A late autumn 1861 company report proclaims that the planter-turned-soldier was "left at home on urgent business."  His military record then falls silent. 

Charles Théodose died in St. James Parish in March 1850, age 18, and probably did not marry. 

1c

Drosin married cousin Mélanie, daughter of French Creole Jean Gourdain and his Acadian wife Émilie Bergeron, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in May 1829; they had to secure a dispensation for third degree of consanguinity in order to marry.  Their son Émile Gourdain was born probably in St. James Parish in c1831 but died at age 15 in May 1846, Jean Drosin was born near Convent, St. James Parish, in May 1834, Michel Oscar, called Oscar, in May 1838, and Charles Joseph Arthur near St. James in October 1846.  In July 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 23 slaves--18 males and 5 females, all black, ranging in age from 50 to 9--on Drauzin Gaudet's plantation, between the plantations of his older brother Ursin's widow and his cousin J. K. Gaudet.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 25 slaves--19 males and 6 females, all black except for 1 mulatto, ages 50 years to 9 months, living in 10 houses--on Drauzin Gaudet's plantation in the parish's 6th District of the Right Bank. 

Michel Oscar graduated from the Virginia Medical School, Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1857; he was only 19 years old.  During the War of 1861-65, Oscar served first as an assistant surgeon on the field staff of the Orleans Guard Regiment Louisiana Volunteer State Militia, and then as a junior second lieutenant in the 5th and 6th Batteries of Louisiana Light Artillery, raised in St. James and Iberville parishes, which fought in Louisiana.  Oscar married German Creole Aurore Angélique Webre, widow of ___ D'Aquin, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in November 1866.  Their son Oscar Henri was born near Convent in October 1868, and Pierre Georges in July 1870.  Oscar served as coroner of St. James Parish during the post-war years and died in 1907, age 69. 

Was Oscar's older brother Jean Drosin the Dr. Gaudet who served as a sergeant in Joseph Adam Gaudet's company of the St. James Parish Regiment Militia?  

2

Jérôme le jeune, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in September 1775, married Marie-Louise, called Louise, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Bourgeois and and Marie Bergeron, at St.-Jacques in April 1793.  Their son, name unrecorded, died at St.-Jacques 3 days after his birth in June 1794, and Jérôme-Eugène, called Eugène, was born in September 1797.  Their daughter married into the Mire family.  Jérôme died in St. James Parish in April 1831, age 55.  

Eugène married Constance Belivere or Melissaire, called Melissaire, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Richard and Constance LeBlanc, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in June 1814.  Their son Eugène Clément was born in St. James Parish in November 1820 but died the following March, Théophile Séverin was born in February 1824, and Eugène Théodule or Théogène Eugène posthumously in November 1825.  They also had a son named Jérôme Kleber, called Kleber.  Their daughter married into the Landry family.  Eugène, père died in St. James Parish in November 1825; the priest who recorded his burial said that Eugène was age 38 when he died, but he was 28.  In July 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted a single slave--a 40-year-old black male--on Widow Eugène Gaudet's farm in the parish's Eastern District, between the plantation of her sons and that of their cousin Drauzin Gaudet.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted a single slave--a 50-year-old black male--on Widow Eug. Gaudet's farm in the parish's Ninth District of the Right Bank next to her sons' plantation; this probably was the same black man she owned a decade before. 

Jérôme Kleber married cousin Élisabeth Amanda, called Amanda, daughter of fellow Acadian Louis Landry and his Creole wife Carmelite Vives, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in July 1849; they had to secure a dispensation for third degree of consanguinity in order to marry.  Their son Louis Jérôme was born in St. James Parish in January 1852, Pierre Édouard in September 1853, and Eugène Kleber was baptized at the St. James church, St. James Parish, age unrecorded, in October 1857.  In July 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 40 slaves on the plantation owned by J. K. Gaudet and his brothers in the parish's Eastern District, next to their widowed mother.  In July 1760, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 43 slaves living in 38 houses on the plantation owned by J. K. Gaudet and his brothers in the parish's Ninth District of the Right Bank next to cousin Amédée Gaudet's farm.  J. K. himself owned 3 slaves of his own--a 36-year-old black female, a 13-year-old black female, and a 2-year-old black male--next to his widowed mother. 

Théophile Séverin married Rosalie Aisidia, Nesida, or Nisida, daughter of fellow Acadian Ferdinand Theriot and Aspasie Braud, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in May 1851.  Their son Théophile Séverin, fils was born in St. James Parish in October 1856. 

In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 4 slaves--all females, all black, ranging in age from 37 to 3, living in 1 house--on Theo. Gaudet's farm in the parish's First District of the Left Bank.  Théogène Eugène married Mary Ann Ilsley at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in September 1862.  Their son John Jérôme was born in St. James Parish in July 1870.  During the War of 1861-65, Théogène may have served in Company A of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. James Parish, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.  If so, he did not enlist in the company until November 1862, at "Camp Teche," probably Camp Pratt near New Iberia, after the regiment had been transferred from southern Alabama to South Louisiana.  Judging by his age and his late enlistment, he may have been a conscript.  One wonders if he was the Cheogène Gaudet who had served as a second lieutenant in Joseph Adam Gaudet's company of the St. James Parish Regiment Militia during the Lafourche campaign of autumn 1862. 

3

Youngest son Auguste or Augustin, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in November 1778, married Marguerite, daughter of Pierre Lecroix and Marguerite Mollere, at Ascension in June 1801.  Their son Auguste or Augustin, fils was born at St.-Jacques in January 1803, Michel Rosémond in September 1804, and Jean Léonard, called Léonard and Léon, in September 1807.  Their daughters married into the Breaux, Cabern, and Cure families.  Augustin, père died in St. James Parish in November 1831; he was only 53 years old.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in Ascension Parish counted 6 slaves--5 males and a female, all black, ranging in age from 22 to 5--on Mrs. A. Gaudet's farm; these may have been Marguerite Lecroix's slaves. 

3a

Auguste, fils married Marine, daughter of fellow Acadian Alexis Braud and Pélagie Richard, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in February 1825, and remarried to Marie, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Bergeron and Constance Gaudin, at the St. James church in September 1831.  One wonders if he fathered children by either of his wives. 

3b

Léonard married French Creole Marie Louise Tailier, Toelier, Toilier, Toirier, Tonnellier, or Tuilier, probably in St. James Parish in the 1830s.  Their son Léonard, fils was born in St. James Parish in March or May 1840, Rosémond in January 1842, Augustin near Convent in March 1846, and Joseph Camille posthumously in November 1856 but died at age 3 1/2 in May 1860.  Their daughters married into the LeBoeuf and Pertuit families.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 6 slaves--2 males and 4 females, 4 blacks and 2 mulattoes, ranging in age from 35 to 5--on Léon Gaudet's farm in the parish's Eastern District.  Léonard "fell in the Mississippi where he died" in St. James Parish in October 1856, age 49.  His wife was pregnant at the time; son Joseph Camille was born a month after Léonard's drowning. 

During the War of 1861-65, Léonard, fils served in Company A of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. James Parish, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.  He enlisted in October 1861 and was sent to Pass Manchac later that month as a picket guard.  He was relieved the first of November and returned to his unit, which he followed to northern Mississippi in early 1862.  He fell sick at Corinth, Mississippi, and was left there when his company moved north into southern Tennessee and fought gunboats near Pittsburg Landing.  His service record does not say if he fought with his regiment at Shiloh that April.  He was absent sick again in a Mississippi general hospital that spring and summer.  After that, his service record falls silent, so one wonders if he survived the war. 

Rosémond also served in Company A of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry during the War of 1861.  Like his older brother Léonard, Rosémond enlisted in the company in October 1861 and, except for a bout of illness that sent him to a general hospital in Mississippi during the summer of 1862, remained with his company.  Rosémond served also in Company C of the Consolidated 18th Regiment and Yellow Jackets Battalion Louisiana Infantry, which fought in Louisiana.  He was still a part of this unit, serving in northwestern Louisiana, when the Confederate armies surrendered.  He signed his end-of-war parole at Natchitoches in early June 1865. 

Jérôme GAUDET (c1740-?; Jean, Denis, Pierre l'aîné)

Jérôme, younger son of Jean Gaudet and Marie Breau, born in Acadia in c1740, followed his family into exile on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore and to a prison camp in Nova Scotia in the early 1760s.  He was still a bachelor when he came to Louisiana in 1765 with his widowed mother and two older siblings.  He married fellow Acadian Marie Doucet at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques in the 1770s.  They remained there and may have been that rare Acadian couple who had no children.  

Descendants of Joseph GAUDET (c1739-?; Jean, Denis, Pierre l'aîné, Bernard)

Joseph, elder son of Claude Gaudet and Catherine-Josèphe Forest, born probably at Port-Royal in c1739, was deported to New England in 1755.  He married Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadians Claude Bourgeois and Marguerite LeBlanc of Annapolis Royal, probably at Boston, Massachusetts, in the late 1750s or early 1760s.  They reunited with his family at Halifax after the war with Britain and followed his parents to Louisiana in 1765.  His and Marguerite's marriage was revalidated in New Orleans in December 1765 soon after they reached the colony.  They had more children in New Orleans and at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques, where they were counted on the left, or east, bank, of the river in 1777.  Two years later, they had two slaves at St.-Jacques.  Their daughters married into the Charpentier, LeBlanc, and Mouton families.  Joseph remarried to Marie-Marguerite, called Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadians Bénoni LeBlanc and Marguerite Hébert and widow of Germain Bergeron, at Assumption on upper Bayou Lafourche in November 1796.  One of the witnesses to Joseph's second marriage was future Louisiana governor Henry Schuyler Thibodaux.  Joseph's second son, a grandson by his third son, and at least one daughter settled on upper Bayou Lafourche. 

1

Oldest son Joseph-Simon, by his father's first wife, born at New Orleans in November 1766, probably died young.  

2

Jean, by his father's first wife, born probably at St.-Jacques in c1768, married Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Poirier and Marie-Anne Bourgeois, at St-Jacques in January 1791, and remarried to Eulalie, daughter of fellow Acadian Josephs Guidry and Isabelle Comeaux, at St.-Jacques in August 1797, on the same day and in the same place his younger brother Joseph, fils married Eulalie's sister.  Jean and Eulalie settled on upper Bayou Lafourche.  

3

Youngest son Joseph, fils, by his father's first wife, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in March 1774, married Marie-Félicité, called Félicité, daughter of Joseph Guidry, at St.-Jacques in August 1797, on the same day and at the same place his older brother Jean married Félicité's sister.  Their son Joseph III was born at St.-Jacques in June 1798 but died the following September, Rosémond was born in January 1800, and Jean Baptiste, called Baptiste, near Convent in March 1806.  Their daughters married into the LeBoeuf and Oubre families.  Joseph remarried to Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Berteau and Rose Savoie and widow of Joseph Theriot, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in June 1820.  Joseph, fils died near Convent in February 1826, age 52.  

Jean Baptiste, by his father's first wife, married Marie Carmelite, called Carmelite, daughter of German Creole Jean Baptiste Bernard and his Acadian wife Marie Melançon of St. James Parish, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in February 1830.  They remained on Bayou Lafourche.

Descendants of Charles GAUDET (c1752-1799; Jean, Denis, Pierre l'aîné, Bernard)

Charles, younger son of Claude Gaudet and Catherine-Josèphe Forest, born probably at Port-Royal in c1752, followed his family into exile on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore, to a prison camp in Nova Scotia in the early 1760s, and on to Louisiana in 1765.  He married Marie-Josèphe, daughter of fellow Acadians Michel LeBlanc and Marie Aucoin, at St.-Jacques in April 1786.  Marie-Josèphe had been born in England and had come to Louisiana from France with her widowed mother in 1785.  Charles remarried to Anne, daughter of fellow Acadian Charles Comeaux and Marguerite Babineaux dit Des Lauriers of Annapolis Royal, at St.-Jacques in August 1794.  Charles died at St.-Jacques in September 1799; the priest who recorded his burial said that Charles was age 52 when he died, but he was closer to 47.  

Joseph-Flavin or Fabien-Joseph, by his father's second wife, born at St.-Jacques in May 1797, died in Lafourche Interior Parish in November 1832, age 35, and probably did not marry.  

Pierre GAUDET, fils (c1760-?; Jean, ?)

Pierre, fils, elder son of Pierre Gaudet and Marie-Madeleine Doucet, born probably in Nova Scotia in c1760, followed his family to Louisiana in 1765.  Spanish officials counted him with his mother and stepfather, Abraham Roy, at St.-Jacques in 1777.  He probably did not marry.

Descendants of Charles GAUDET (c1763-1841; Jean, ?)

Charles, younger son of Pierre Gaudet and Marie-Madeleine Doucet, born probably in Nova Scotia in c1763, followed his family to Louisiana in 1765.  Spanish officials counted him with his mother and stepfather, Abraham Roy, at St.-Jacques in 1777.  He married Françoise, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Berteau and Rose Savoie, at St.-Jacques in June 1792.  Their daughters married into the Frederick and Leche families.  Charles died near Convent, St. James Parish, in January 1841; the priest who recorded the burial said that Charles died at "age 83 yrs.," but he was in his late 70s.  Only his oldest son seems to have created a family of his own. 

1

Oldest son Pierre, born at St.-Jacques in February 1795, married Eméranthe, daughter of Pierre Loupe and Élisabeth Hautin, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in June 1818.  Their son Pierre Théodolph or Théodule, called Théodule, was born near Convent, St. James Parish, in February 1821, Jérôme Séverin in March 1832, and Firmin Théogène in August 1836.  Their daughters married into the Delatte and Roussel families.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted a single slave--a 28-year-old black male--on Pierre Gaudet's farm in the parish's Eastern District.  Pierre died near Convent in October 1854, age 59. 

1a

Théodule married Marie Séraphine, called Séraphine, daughter of fellow Acadians Amand Paul Bourgeois and Marguerite Bourgeois, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in July 1845.  The son Joseph Edmé was born near Convent in October 1846, Louis Théophile, a twin, in September 1850, Jean or Léon Théodore in August 1852 but died at age 3 in August 1855, and Benjamin was born in June 1856.  Their daughter married into the Ledoux family. 

Joseph Edmé married cousin Marie Augustine, daughter of fellow Acadians Hervillien Bourgeois and Marie Adolestine Bourgeois, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in November 1866; they had to secure a dispensation for third degree of consanguinity in order to marry.  Their son Joseph Pierre was born near Convent in March 1868. 

1b

Jérôme married Félicité Justine, daughter of fellow Acadians Valentin Gaudin and Séraphine Dugas, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in February 1865.  Jérôme died near Convent in September 1866; he was only 34 years old.  His line of the family probably died with him.

2

A son, name unrecorded, died at St.-Jacques a day after his birth in August 1798. 

3

Charles-Valéry, born at St.-Jacques in November 1799, also may have died young, unless he was the Charles Gaudet who died near Convent, St. James Parish in February 1861.  The priest who recorded the burial, and who did not bother to give any parents' names or even mention a wife, said that Charles died at "age 66 years"; Charles Valéry would have been 61. 

4

Youngest son Jérôme Ursin, born at St.-Jacques in January 1804, died at age 9 in September 1813.  

~

A Gaudet who came to Louisiana from France in 1785 settled on the river but did not establish as line of the family there:

Joseph-Ignace Gaudet, age 42, a bachelor, came to the colony alone aboard La Ville d-Archangel, the sixth of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in early December.  He followed the majority of his fellow passengers to the new Acadian community of Bayou des Écores, north of Baton Rouge:

Joseph-Ignace GAUDET (c1743-?; Jean, Jean, fils, Jean III)

Joseph-Ignace, son of Jean-Baptiste Gaudet and Marie-Josèphe Darois, born in British Nova Scotia in c1743, followed his family to Île St.-Jean in 1750.  A French official counted him with his parents and five siblings at Anse-du-Nord-Ouest, on the south shore of Île St.-Jean, in 1752; he was listed as age 9.  His mother died probably at Anse-du-Nord-Ouest the following year.  In his mid-teens, with his widowed father and a younger brother, Joseph-Ignace was deported to France aboard the ill-fated British transport Duke William in the fall of 1758.  He, his father, and brother survived a mid-ocean mishap aboard the vessel, which limped into St.-Malo harbor on the first day of November, but his father died at the Hotel-Dieu, St.-Malo, a day after they reached the port, and younger brother Paul-Marie, only nine years old, died in an area hospital a few weeks later.  Joseph-Ignace, at age 15, lived at St.-Servan, near St.-Malo, perhaps as a sailor, but he did not remain.  At the end of October 1761, now 18, he embarked on the French privateer La Duchesse de Grammont to fight the British.  The Royal Navy captured the ship, and the British held Joseph-Ignace as a prisoner in England until the war ended in early 1763.  After his release--he was now age 20--he returned to St.-Servan and was living there in the early 1770s.  Still a bachelor, in his early 40s, in 1785, he chose to go to Louisiana with hundreds of his fellow Acadians, the only one of his immediate family who emigrated to the colony.  He does not seem to have married.  

~

Other GAUDETs on the River

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link some Gaudets on the river with known Acadian lines of the family there:

Orter, perhaps Arthur, Gaudet died in Ascension Parish in January 1844, age 20.  The Donaldsonville priest who recorded the burial did not give the young man's parents' names. 

Louis Gaudet or Godet married Eugénie Allain, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Ferdinand was born near Baton Rouge in September 1854 but died at age 10 months in July 1855, Eugène Antoine was born in March 1856, and Albert in January 1860.  Was Louis an Acadian Gaudet? 

Roman Désiré Gaudet died in Ascension Parish in October 1865, age 45.  The priest who recorded his burial did not give Roman Désiré's parents' names or even mention a wife.  Was he Acadian? 

"Mrs. Justina Gaudet" died near Convent, St. James Parish, age 28, in September 1866.  The priest who recorded the burial did not give any parents' names or mentioned a husband. 

Uranie Gaudet married Acadian Michel Bienvenu Bergeron, fils, place and date unrecorded, and settled in St. James Parish by the late 1860s.  Interestingly, during the War of 1861-65, Uranie's husband had served as a private in Joseph Adam Gaudet's Company of the St. James Parish militia. 

Rosémond, son of Ferdinand Gaudet and Marie Louise Troxlier, married Letitia, daughter of German Creole Clairville Hymel of Pointe Coupee Parish, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in January 1869.  Their son Joseph Léonard was born near Convent in October 1869.  Were Ferdinand and Rosémond Acadians?

LOUISIANA:  LAFOURCHE VALLEY SETTLEMENTS

A Gaudet who came to Louisiana from France in 1785 chose to take his family to upper Bayou Lafourche:

Louis Gaudet of Chignecto, age 57, crossed on La Caroline, the last of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in December.  With him was wife Marie Hébert, age 54, and three children--Madeleine, age 28, Marguerite, age 20, and François-Louis, age 12.  The family had booked passage on an earlier vessel, L'Amitié, but had not taken that ship to Louisiana.  They followed the majority of the passengers from their ship to upper Bayou Lafourche, where son François created a large family and established a new center of Gaudet family settlement.  Meanwhile, in 1786, daughter Marguerite married into the Arceneaux family at nearby St.-Jacques and died a widow in St. James Parish in November 1843, in her late 70s.  Daughter Madeleine may have married into the Graubert family and died a widow in Lafourche Interior Parish in March 1834, in her late 70s.  Louis's successions were filed at what became the Lafourche Parish courthouse in August 1801 and 3 June 1804 ; in 1801, he would have been in his early 70s.  

Descendants of François-Louis GAUDET (1773-1831; Jean, Denis, Pierre l'aîné, Augustin)

François-Louis, only surviving son of Louis Gaudet and Marie Hébert, born at Nantes, France, in c1773, followed his family to Louisiana aboard La Caroline, the last of the Seven Ships of 1785.  He married Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Caissie dit Roger, at Lafourche in July 1796.  They settled on the upper bayou near his parents.  Their daughters married into the Falgout and Hébert families.  François remarried to Marcelline, daughter of Charles Falgout and Angélique Dufrene of St. Charles Parish, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in October 1816.  Their daughters married into the Evans, Lacapere, Lesseps, and Tucker families.  François-Louis, called François, père, died in Lafourche Interior Parish in December 1831, age 58.  His first succession inventory was filed at the Thibodauxville courthouse the month of his death, and a petition for a new inventory was filed at the same courthouse in July 1835.  François's three older sons by his first wife married three of his second wife's sisters!  All but one of François's eight sons married, and seven of them created families of their own in Assumption, Lafourche Interior, and Terrebonne parishes.  A remarkable number of François's descendants married first cousins.  One of them even married his niece. 

1

Oldest son Joseph, by his father's first wife, born at Assumption in the late 1790s, married Céleste, daughter of Charles Falgout and Angélique Dufrene and his stepmother's sister, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in January 1817.  Their son Joseph, fils was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in June 1822, and Marcel Émile in July 1825.  Their daughters married into the Atkinson, Bourgeois, and Williams families.  Joseph died in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1836, in his late 30s or early 40s; his succession inventory was filed at the Thibodauxville courthouse the same month.  

1a

Joseph, fils married double first cousin Eloise Estelle, 18-year-old daughter of his uncle François Gaudet, fils and Hortense Falgout, in a civil ceremony in Lafourche Interior Parish in April 1844, and sanctified the marriage at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in June 1845; Eloise's mother was Joseph, fils's maternal aunt.  Their son Joseph Armogasse was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in March 1845 and died 12 days later, Théophile died 5 days after his birth in September 1847, Raphaël Pierre was born in January 1850, Émile Hippolyte in September 1851, and François Léon in February 1854.  In December 1850, the federal census taker counted a single slave--an 18-year-old mulatto female--on Joseph Gaudet's farm along Bayou Lafourche. 

1b

Marcel Émile married Anaïse Félicité, daughter of Jean Baptiste Champagne and Anaïse Félicité Beauvais, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in August 1852.

2

François, fils, by his father's first wife, born at Assumption in September 1798, married Hortense, another daughter Charles Falgout and Angélique Dufrene, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in June 1818.  Their son Charles François was born probably in Assumption Parish in c1820, and Raphaël Léon or Léon Raphaël in Lafourche Interior Parish in July 1833.  Their daughters married into the Bourgeois, Gaudet, Smith, Toups, and Waguespack families.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in Lafourche Interior Parish counted 14 slaves--7 males and 7 females, all black except for 1 mulatto, ranging in age from 35 to 2--on François Gaudet's farm along Bayou Lafourche. 

2a

Charles François married Emeranthe, 18-year-old daughter of Jean Louis Waguespack and Emeranthe Waguespack of St. Charles Parish, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in April 1838.  Their son Charles Myrtile, called Myrtile, was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in May 1841, François Léon in February 1846, Guillaume J. died at age 1 1/2 months in February 1850, and Ernest Noël was born in December 1853.  Their daughter married into the Coignet family. 

Myrtile married cousin Justine, daughter of Ulgère Waguespack and Marie Adèle Bourgeois, in a civil ceremony in Lafourche Parish in August 1865.  Their son Charles Édouard was born in Lafourche Parish in February 1867.

2b

Léon Raphaël married first cousin Marie Louise, daughter of his uncle Charles Gaudet and his Creole wife Berthilde Geneviève Cantrelle, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in May 1857.  Their son Philippe Édouard was born in Lafourche Parish in October 1861, Thomas in October 1865, George Edgard in August 1868, and Léon Fernand in July 1870. 

3

Louis le jeune, by his father's first wife, born at Assumption in August 1801, married Clémence, yet another daughter of Charles Falgout and Angélique Dufrene, in a civil ceremony in Lafourche Interior Parish in June 1821.  Their son Louis, fils was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in March 1824, Aimé in c1833, François Justin or Justin François in December 1836, Joachim in August 1841, and Arthur Charles or Charles Arthur in September 1845.  Their daughters married into the Boudreaux, Bourgeois, Legendre (Foreign French, not Acadian), Richard, and Toups families.  Louis le jeune died in Lafourche Parish in October 1858, age 57; a petition for a family meeting was filed at the Thibodaux courthouse the following December. 

3a

Louis, fils married Elisa Adèle, 17-year-old daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Baptiste Guillot and Hortense Pélagie Richard, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in May 1845.  Their son Louis Émile was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in November 1848, Léon in February 1851, Joseph Aristide in September 1852, Louis Prosper in February 1858, and Charles Arthur in December 1860.  Their daughter married into the Toups family. 

3b

Aimé died in Lafourche Interior Parish in May 1851, age 18, and did not marry. 

3c

During the War of 1861-65, F. Justin, as he was called in Confederate records, served as a fourth sergeant in Company G of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafourche Parish, which fought in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana, and in Company F of the Consolidated 18th Regiment and Yellow Jackets Battalion Louisiana Infantry, which fought in Louisiana.  François Justin married Marie Angelina, daughter of Mathurin Philippeau and his Acadian wife Lucille Hébert, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in May 1869.

3d

Charles Arthur married first cousin Marie Edesie, daughter of his uncle Charles Gaudet and Berthilde Geneviève Cantrelle, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in April 1870.

4

Guillaume Hippolyte, called Hippolyte, from his father's first wife, born at Ascension in July 1806, married Marie Eulalie, daughter of Jean Baudoin and Geneviève Andras, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in May 1826.  Hippolyte died in Lafourche Interior Parish in November 1832, age 26.  His line of the family died with him. 

5

Charles, by his father's second wife, born in Assumption Parish in September 1819, married Berthilde Geneviève, daughter of Jean Baptiste Cantrelle and Marie Edisie Daspit, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in September 1839.  Their son Charles Eugène was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in June 1844, Jules François in December 1850, and Émile Arthur in December 1856.  Their daughters married Gaudet first cousins. 

Charles Eugène married cousin Cora Rose or Rosine, daughter of Adolphe Daunaud or Donnard and Esilda Falgout, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in August 1869. 

6

Léon Fregins, by his father's second wife, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in January 1823, married Émilie, another daughter of Jean Baptiste Cantrelle and Marie Edisie Daspit, in a civil ceremony in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1845.  Their son Léon Firmin was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in February 1847, Charles Alphonse in May 1849, and François Ernest in November 1851.

7

Augustin Valsin, by his father's second wife, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1826, married cousin Angélique Amelie or Amelina, daughter of Guillaume Beauvais and , at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in April 1847; Amelina's mother, also, was a Falgout.  Their son Oscar Augustin, also called François, was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in January 1848 but died at age 3 1/2 in September 1851, Louis Alexandre was born in August 1852, and Guillaume Augustin in July 1854 but died at age 1 1/2 in December 1855.  Augustin remarried to niece Mathilde Émilie, daughter of his half-brother François Gaudet, fils and Hortense Falgout, at the Houma church, Terrebonne Parish, in January 1863.

8

Youngest son Marcel Jules, by his father's second wife, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in February 1829, died at age 11 months in January 1830.

~

During the early antebellum period, Gaudets from St. James Parish on the river moved to upper Bayou Lafourche, adding two new lines to that center of family settlement:

Descendants of Jean GAUDET (c1768-; Jean, Denis, Pierre l'aîné, Bernard, Claude)

Jean, second son of Joseph Gaudet and his first wife Marguerite Bourgeois, born probably at St.-Jacques in c1768, married Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Poirier, at St-Jacques in January 1791.  Their daughter married into the Melançon family.  Jean remarried to Eulalie, another daughter of Joseph Guidry and Isabelle Comeaux, at St.-Jacques in August 1797.  They moved to upper Bayou Lafourche.  Their daughters married into the Charpentier, Comeaux, Gaspard, and Ockman families.  Jean died in Assumption Parish in April 1836, age 68.  His two sons remained in Assumption Parish, either on the bayou or near Pierre Part, north of Lake Verret. 

1

Older son Jean, fils, by his father's second wife, born in Assumption Parish in July 1813, married Marie Madeleine or Doralise, called Doralise, daughter of fellow Acadian Simon Gautreaux and his Creole wife Madeleine Petronille Stout,at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in February 1840.  They had a son named Jean Baptiste.  Their daughter married into the Gaspard family. 

Jean Baptiste married Marie, daughter of Foreign Frenchman Louis David and his Creole wife Céleste Gros, at the Labadieville church, Assumption Parish, in August 1867.  They settled probably near the boundary between Assumption and Ascension parishes.  Their son Léo Louis was born in February 1869, and Joseph Ulysse in December 1870. 

2

Younger son Pierre, by his father's second wife, born in Assumption Parish in September 1816, married Marie Delphine, called Delphine, daughter of German Creole Pierre Stout and his Acadian wife Adèle Thériot, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in February 1840; Delphine's mother was a Theriot.  Their son Joseph was born in Assumption Parish in December 1845, Pierre, fils in July 1847, Pierre Dorsino, called Dorsino, in November 1848 and baptized at the Pattersonville church, St. Mary Parish, age 16 months, in March 1850, Pierre Honoré was born in Assumption Parish in July 1849, Anatole in November 1856, and Francis Numa near Pierre Part in February 1862. 

2a

Joseph married Estelle or Esther Ann or Anna, called Anna, daughter of Édouard Clifton and and Jane Witiker, , at the Pierre Part church, Assumption Parish, in April 1866.  Their son Joseph Christofore was born in August 1867. 

2b

Dorsino died in Assumption Parish in November 1867, age 19, and did not marry. 

Fabien-Joseph or Joseph-Flavin GAUDET (1797-1832; Jean, Denis, Pierre l'aîné, Bernard, Claude)

Joseph-Flavin, or Fabien-Joseph, only son of Charles Gaudet and his second wife Anne Comeaux, born at St.-Jacques in May 1797, moved to Bayou Lafourche during the early 1800s and died in Lafourche Interior Parish in November 1832, age 35, and probably did not marry.  

Descendants of Jean Baptiste GAUDET (1806-1845; Jean, Denis, Pierre l'aîné, Bernard, Claude, Joseph)

Jean Baptiste, called Baptiste, youngest son of Joseph Gaudet, fils and his first wife Marie Félicité Guédry, born near Convent, St. James Parish, in March 1806, married Marie Carmelite, called Carmelite, daughter of German Creole Jean Baptiste Bernard and his Acadian wife Marie Melançon of St. James Parish, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in February 1830.  They settled on Bayou Lafourche.  Their daughters married into the Oubre and Roper families, one of them in St. James Parish.  Baptiste died in Lafourche Interior Parish in November 1845; the priest who recorded the burial said that Jean Baptiste died "at age 44 yrs.," but he was 39. 

1

Oldest son Auguste, born near Convent, St. James Parish, in February 1835, married cousin Althée, daughter of German Creole Amand Bernard and his Acadian wife Clémence Préjean, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in November 1860; Althée's mother was a Prejean.  Their son Joseph was born in Lafourche Parish in August 1868.  Their daughter married into the Talbot family. 

2

Émile Honoré was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in May 1839.  During the War of 1861-65, Émile served in Company I of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafourche Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  He was killed during the Siege of Vicksburg on 22 May 1863, age 24. 

3

Youngest son Noël Henry Clay, born in Lafourche Interior Parish on Christmas Day, December 1844, died 8 days later in early January. 

~

Other GAUDETs in the Lafourche Valley

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link some Gaudets in the Bayou Lafourche valley with known Acadian lines of the family there:

Aacin Gaudé married Leisa Breaux, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Benjamin Ozémi was born in Lafourche Parish in March 1854. 

Célestine Gaudet died near Pierre Part, Assumption Parish,  in February 1864.  The priest who recorded the burial did not give any parents' names, mention a husband, or even give her age at the time of her passing. 

Jean Marie Gaudet married Uranie Chauffe, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Antoine Gabriel was born near Labadieville, Assumption Parish, in June 1868. 

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

The great majority of Gaudets in South Louisiana are Acadians, but non-Acadians with a similar-sounding surname lived at New Orleans during the late colonial period, and Gaudets emigrated from France to New Orleans during the late antebellum period; native Louisianians would have called them Foreign French:

Exupert Gaudiet married Marguerite Botson, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Étienne was born at New Orleans in May 1758.  

Joséphine Gaudet, a 34-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Pyramid out of Liverpool, England, in June 1850.  

Jn. Claude Gaudet, a 46-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Caruch out of Liverpool in April 1852.  On the same ship was Jn. Bapt. Gaudet, age 40, also a farmer and probably Jn. Claude's brother; Thérèse Gaudet, a 40-year-old farmer and either a wife or sister; and Joséphine Gaudet, age 3, one of their daughters.  One wonders if they were kin to the Joséphine Gaudet who had come to New Orleans from Liverpool two years before.  

.

A Foreign Frenchman settled in St. Landry Parish during the 1830s and married thrice, each time to a widow.  He seems to have been the only Gaudet, Acadian or non-Acadian, to create a family west of the Atchafalaya Basin before the War of 1861-65.  Typical of non-Acadians in St. Landry Parish, none of the Foreign Frenchman's three wives was Acadian:  

Descendants of Désiré GAUDET or GODET (1820?-1865?)

Désiré, son of Louis or François Gaudet, also spelled Godet, and Adélaïde or Cécile Bauvry of Roan, Normandy, France, born perhaps in c1820, married Sidalise, daughter of Antoine Langlois and widow of Pierre Bossier, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1838.  Their daughters married into the Bordelon and Myer, perhaps Mayer, families.  Désiré remarried to Coralie Godefroy, widow of Raphaël Hollier, at the Opelousas church in February 1855.  He remarried again--his third marriage--to Émilie Close, widow of Théodule Mayer, at the Opelousas church in May 1861.  In October 1850, the federal census taker in St. Landry Parish counted 7 slaves--5 males and 1 female, 4 blacks and 3 mulattoes, ranging in age from 35 to 22--on a farm owned by "D. Gaudet & Mayer" between Valéry Mayer and Widow Marie Langlois; this probably was Désiré.  The following month, the same census taker counted 5 slaves--3 males and 2 females, all black except for 1 mulatto, ranging in age from 30 to 12--on Désiré Gaudet's farm next to Widow André Robin.  In 1860, the federal census taker in St. Landry Parish counted 6 slaves--all males, 4 blacks and 2 mulattoes, ages 40 to 22, living in 1 house--on Désiré Godet's farm next to Edwige Mayer.  In September 1865, Désiré created a partnership with André N. Robin in St. Landry Parish.  One wonders what kind of business they owned and if Désiré was the Roman Désiré Gaudet who died in Ascension Parish in October 1865, age 45, perhaps on a business trip. 

1

Older son Charles, by his father's second wife, was born in St. Landry Parish in October 1855.

2

Younger son Désiré, fils, by his father's second wife, born in St. Landry Parish in March 1857, died at age 4 1/2 in October 1861.

CONCLUSION

Gaudets were among the first families of Acadia and among the earliest Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana.  Relatively few of them came to the colony, however, compared to their kinsmen who remained in Canada.  The first of them, four families, came to New Orleans from Halifax via Cap-Français, French St.-Domingue, in 1765.  They settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river, which became the Acadian Coast, and there most of them remained.  Another family of Gaudets came to the colony from France in 1785.  They settled on upper Bayou Lafourche, creating a second center of family settlement that extended down to Terrebonne Parish by the War of 1861-65.  Meanwhile, during the early antebellum period, Gaudets from the river moved to Bayou Lafourche and added two small lines to that center of family settlement.  Most of their cousins, however, remained on the river in St. James and Ascension parishes.  

Acadian Gaudets remained east of the Atchafalaya Basin during the antebellum period, but a Foreign Frenchman, who sometimes spelled his surname Godet, settled in St. Landry Parish in the 1830s.  A few more Foreign-French Gaudets came to Louisiana in the 1850s, but they probably remained at New Orleans.  Despite the appearance of these latter-day immigrants, the great majority of Gaudets in the Bayou State today are descendants of Jean of Martaizé.

Judging by the number of slaves they owned during the late antebellum period, some Gaudets lived very well on their farms and plantations along the Mississippi River and Bayou Lafourche.  The Gaudets of St. James Parish were especially prosperous.  In 1850, Valéry Gaudet owned over a hundred slaves on his plantation in the parish's Eastern District.  Next door, his brother Ursin's widow held 40 slaves.  Nearby, Valéry's youngest brother Drosin owned 23 slaves.  Cousins Joseph Kleber Gaudet and his brothers owned a plantation with 40 slaves not far away.  In 1860, Valéry's son Joseph Adam owned 140 slaves on his plantation, most of them doubtlessly inherited from his father.  His uncle Drosin held 25 slaves.  Cousin Michel Drauzin owned 84 slaves, and cousins Joseph Kleber and his brothers held 43 slaves that year. 

At least 20 Gaudets served Louisiana in uniform during the War of 1861-65, several of them as officers, and at least one of them died in Confederate service.  Joseph Adam Gaudet of St. James Parish, who owned so many slaves, commanded a company of the St. James Parish Regiment Militia before leading Company K of the 30th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, which fought in the Western Theater.  His cousin Oscar Gaudet, graduate of a Virginia medical school, served as an assistant surgeon in a volunteer state militia regiment before becoming a junior second lieutenant in two Louisiana light artillery batteries, including the Pelican Artillery of St. James Parish, which distinguished itself in the Red River Campaign of spring 1864.  In March 1862, Émile Honoré Gaudet of Lafourche Parish enlisted in Company I of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, which ended up in the trenches at Vicksburg, Mississippi, in the spring and summer of 1863.  Émile was killed in action at Vicksburg on 22 May 1863.  ...

The war took a heavy toll on the Gaudets' economic status.  Even before Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in January 1863, Federal commands controlling the lower Mississippi freed the slaves on every plantation their forces could reach.  This no doubt included the Gaudet holdings in St. James and Ascension parishes.  Union gunboats shelled and burned dozens of plantation and farm houses along the river.  Successive Federal incursions in the Bayou Lafourche valley devastated that region, and Confederate foragers also plagued the area when the Federals were driven off.  ...

The family's name also is spelled Gaudais, Gaudé, Gaudée, Gaudit, Gaudy, Godait, Godé, Goudé.  Some church records confuse this family with their fellow Acadians, the Gaudins of Rivière St.-Jean, who also remained east of the Atchafalaya Basin.  [See Book Ten for the Acadian family's Louisiana "begats"]

Sources:  1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche Interior, St. Landry, & St. James parishes; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, St. Landry & St. James parishes; Arsenault, Généalogie, 554-61, 964-76, 1386-87, 1658, 2232-34, 2278-79, 2339, 2490; Brasseaux, Foreign French, 3:122; 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:56, 85, 102, 164-65; "Fort Cumberland, 24 Aug 1763"; "Fort Edward, 1761-62"; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 98-99, 106-07; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 147-49; Hébert, South LA Records, vols. 1, 2, 3, 4; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A, 1-B, 2-C, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; <islandregister.com/1752.html>; Menn, Large Slaveholders of LA, 1860, 352, 355-56; NOAR, vol. 2; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/Duc_Guillaume.htm>, Family Nos. 2, 14, 45; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/5bateaux.htm>, Family No. 28; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 41; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 187, 228; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 178-79, 334-37; White, DGFA-1, 666-86; White, DGFA-1 English, 139-44, source of quotation.  

Settlement Abbreviations 
(present-day civil parishes that existed in 1861 are in parentheses; 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, 16, calls her Anne GAUDET veuve Michel DUPUIS; Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 171, & Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 424, her marriage record, calls her Anne GAUDET, calls her husband Olivier BAUDROS & BEAUDROS, but does not give any witnesses to her marriage.  See also Arsenault, Généalogie, 557, 560. 

02.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Charles GAUDET; Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 172, & Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 425, his marriage record, calls him Charles GODET, calls his wife Blanche BRAUDE & BRAUD, but does not give any witnesses to his marriage. 

Why does his marriage record call his wife Blanche while all other sources call her Cécile?  Was Blanche her first or middle name?

See Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia, 83, for his participation in the 1768 revolt with Spanish Gov. ULLOA.

03.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Charles GAUDET; BRDR, 2:306-07, 476 (SJA-2, 2), the record of his first marriage, calls him Carlos GODE, says his wife was "born in England," gives his & her parents' names, says his parents were "of Acadia," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Juan GODE & Francisca UBRE; BRDR, 2:307 (SJA-2, 26), the record of his second marriage, calls him Carlos GAUDET, a widower, calls his wife Anna COMO (COMEAU), a widow, but does not give her first husband's name, gives his & her parents' names, & says both sets of parents were "of Port Royal," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Josef GAUDET, Sr. & Josef GAUDET, Jr.  See also "Fort Edward, 1761-62."

04.  Not in Wall of Names.  BRDR, 2:85, 307 (SJA-2, 16), his marriage record, calls him Carlos GAUDET, gives his & his wife's parents' names, says his parents were "of Macamiri," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Joseph ROA & Maria BERTO; BRDR, 6:256 (SMI-4, 152), his death/burial record, calls him Charles GAUDET, "age 83 yrs.," but does not gives his parents' names or mention a wife.  See also De Ville, St. James Census, 1777, 16.

"Macamiri" is probably Miramichi in present-day eastern NB, where many Acadian refugees from the region congregated in the late 1750s & died in large numbers.  See Book Five. 

Why is he not on the Acadian Memorial's Wall of Names?  None of the other Charles GAUDETs in Wall of Names match his age or parentage.

05.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Claude GAUDET; White, DGFA-1, 674, calls him Claude [GAUDET], gives his birth & baptismal date, his godparents, details his marriage, gives his wife's parents' names, says they required "disp 4-4 cons" in order to marry, but says nothing of his going to LA.  See also "Fort Edward, 1761-62"; White, 637. 

06.  Wall of Names, 47 (pl. 12R), calls him François-Louis [GODET], & lists him with his parents & 2 sisters; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 70-71, calls him François-Louis, son [Louis GAUDET's] fils, age 12, on the embarkation list, does not include him on the debarkation list, calls him François-Louis GAUDET, his [Louis GAUDET's] son, age 12, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 24th Family aboard L'Amitié with his parents & 2 sisters; BRDR, 2:307, 645 (ASC-2, 69), the record of his first marriage, calls him François GOUDE, calls his wife Maria ROGER, gives his & her parents' names, says his parents were "of LaRochelle, France," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Joseph Nicolas LANDRY & Anri ROBICHAUD; BRDR, 3:320, 346 (ASM-2, 268), the record of his second marriage, calls him Francisco GAUDET "of Nantes, widower of Maria ROGER," gives his & his wife's parents' names, says his parents were "of Acadia," her father was "of St. Charles Parish," her mother was "of Québec, Canada," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Joseph HÉBERT, Pedro CHAMPAGNE, & Jorge TOUPS.

Although the record of his second marriage says he was "of Nantes," neither he nor his immediate family are listed in

As the debarkation list of L'Amitié & the embarkation/debarkation lists of La Caroline reveal, he & his family sailed to LA on the later ship, not the earlier one.  

07.  Wall of Names, 21, calls her Isabelle GAUDET; White, DGFA-1, 674, calls her Isabelle [GAUDET], gives her parents' names, details her birth & baptism, says her godparents were Antoine BLANCHARD & Jeanne DUPUIS, wife of Guillaume BLANCHARD, details her marriage, including her husband's parents' names, says they had to secure "disp 4-4 cons" in order to marry, that she was at Cabahannocer in 1766, age 47, in 1769, age 50, in 1777, age 57, & that she was buried at St.-Jacques de Cabahannocer 29 Jan 1805, age 84 1/2; BRDR, 3:346 (SJA-4, 25), her death/burial record, calls her Isabelle GAUDET, "age 84 1/2, wife of Joseph LEBLANC," but does not give her parents' names.  See also Arsenault, Généalogie, Port-Royal section, 555-56, 558. 

08.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Jérôme GAUDET; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2490, LA Section.  See also Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 163. 

Did they ever have children? 

09.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Joseph GAUDET; NOAR, 2:31, 134 (SLC, B5, 189; SLC, M2, 20), the record of his first marriage, calls him Joseph GODAIT, calls his wife Marguerite BOURGEOIS, gives his & her parents' names, says the witnesses to his marriage were Joseph TÉRRIO & Simon GOTTEREAUX, & probably was the blessing of a marriage that already existed; BRDR, 2:307-08 (ASM-2, 22), the record of his second marriage, calls him Josef GAUDET, widower of Margarita BOURGEOIS, calls his wife Margarita LE BLANC, widow of Germain BERGERON, gives his & her parents' names, says his parents were "of Acadia & res. of St. James," & hers were "of Acadia," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Joseph LEBLANC & Henry THIBODAUX.  See also "Fort Edward, 1761-62"; Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 206.

That he & his family moved from MA to NS by 1764 is assumed by his coming to LA with Halifax prisoners via Cap-Français, St.-Domingue, in 1765.  (How else would they have been at Cabanocé in Apr 1766?)  There is the possibility, of course, that he & his wife could have gone from MA to French St.-Domingue in 1764 (after the birth of a daughter at Boston in Feb of that year) & hooked up with the Halifax Acadians as they transshipped at Cap-Français on their way to New Orleans in 1765.  Church records in Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 147-48, show that at least 1 family of GAUDETs did go to St.-Domingue, but none of these records relate to Joseph & Marguerite.  Another argument against their going to St.-Domingue is the blessing of their marriage at New Orleans in Dec 1765.  If they had gone to St.-Domingue from MA in 1764, there would have been priests in the French colony to revalidate the marriage months before they reached New Orleans.  This was not the case for the Acadians held in the NS prison compounds in the early 1760s.  Acadians in British-held territory who were considered to be "married" in the eyes of their family & their "community" would have had to wait until they reached a French colony before their marriage could be "revalidated" by a priest.  See Book Ten for a more detailed scenario of his possible movements, based on research by Marc Bourgeois, family genealogist/historian. 

The Henry THIBODAUX who witnessed Joseph's second marriage in Nov 1796 was the Henry Schuyler THIBODAUX who served briefly as governor of LA in late 1824.  THIBODAUX himself married at St.-Jacques in 1793 & moved on to the Lafourche-Terrebonne valley in the early 1800s, where he became a prominent planter & politician.  

10.  Wall of Names, 45, calls him Joseph-Ignace GODET; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 334-35, Family No. 404, calls him Joseph-Ignace GAUDET, says he was born in c1750, gives his parents' names, details his family's presence at Anse-du-Nord-Ouest, Île St.-Jean, in 1752, says that they "disembarked at St. Malo from the ship, Le Duc Guillaume" on 1 Nov 1758, that they resided at St.-Servan from 1758-60, details his embarkation on the ship Le Duchesse de Grammont on 31 Oct 1761, his capture & time in prison in England from 1761-63, & his residence at St.-Servan from 1763-72.  See also De La Roque, "Tour of Inspection," Canadian Archives 1905, 2A:165; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 98-99; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/Duc_Guillaume.htm>, Family No. 45. 

He was the only member of his immediate family to emigrate to LA, & he was a distant cousin of Louis GAUDET who crossed on La Caroline.  South LA church records reveal no marriage for him. 

11.  Wall of Names, 46 (pl. 12R), calls him Louis GODET, & lists him with his wife & 3 children; Arsenault, Généalogie, 1658, the Restigouche section, calls him Louis GAUDET, does not gives his birth year or his parents' names, says he married Marie HÉBERT but gives no date of marriage, says their daughter Félicité was baptized at Restigouche, age unrecorded, on 20 Jul 1760, & that her godparents were Paul GAUDET [her paternal uncle] & Catherine GAUDET; White, DGFA-1, 685, calls him Louis [GAUDET], gives his parents' names, says he was born at Beaubassin in c1728, details his marriage, including his wife's parents' names, says he was at Fort Beauséjour in 1763, on Miquelon in 1767, age 40, at La Rochelle in 1772, age 44, sailed to LA in 1785, age 57, & his succession inventory was held at Thibodaux in Aug 1801; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 70-71, calls him Louis GAUDET, charpentier, age 57, on the embarkation list, does not include him on the debarkation list, calls him Louis GAUDET, carpenter, age 57, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 24th Family aboard L'Amitié with his wife & 3 children.  See also "Fort Cumberland, 24 Aug 1763." 

Evidently he was one of the Acadians still being held in NS in 1763 who chose to go to Île Miquelon & not to LA.  Deportations from Miquelon to France, a French initiative to relieve overcrowding on that island & on nearby Île-St.-Pierre, began in Oct 1767.  The venture was not popular with the Acadians, & some of them returned to Île Miquelon soon after they reached France.  Evidently Louis & his family chose to remain in the mother country, until they voluntarily emigrated to LA in 1785.  Family marriage records in LA, along with White, reveal that the family lived at La Rochelle & Nantes during their 18-year sojourn in France.  As the debarkation list of L'Amitié & the embarkation/debarkation lists of La Caroline reveal, Louis & his family sailed to LA on the later ship.  Such delays often were the result of family illness.  One wonders is this was the case with Louis & his family. 

12.  Wall of Names, 46 (pl. 12R), calls her Magdalaine [GODET], & lists her with her parents & 2 siblings; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 70-71, calls her Magdeleine, sa [Louis GAUDET's] fille, age 28, on the embarkation list, does not include her on the debarkation list, calls her Magddlaine GAUDET, his [Louis GAUDET's] daughter, age 28, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 24th Family aboard L'Amitié with her parents & 2 siblings.  See also "Fort Cumberland, 24 Aug 1763."

As the debarkation list of L'Amitié & the embarkation/debarkation lists of La Caroline reveal, she & her family sailed to LA on the later ship. 

The Marie GAUDET, daughter of Louis GAUDET & Marie HÉBERT & widow of Guillome GAUBERT, who died in Lafourche Interior Parish "at age 90 yrs." in Mar 1834, was her oldest sister.  See Arsenault, Généalogie, 968, the Chignecto section; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:232 (Thib.Ch.: v.1, #635); note 19, below.

13.  Wall of Names, 17, calls her Marguerite GAUDET; NOAR, 134 (SLC, B5, 108), her birth/baptismal record, calls her Margueritte GAUDAIS, gives her parents' names, & says her godparents were Louis ARMAND & Margueritte _____; BRDR, 2:308, 489 (SJA-2, 13), her marriage record, calls her Margarita GODE, calls her husband Antonio LEDU (LEDOUX), gives her & his parents' names, says her parents were "of Acadia" & his "of Baren," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Carlos GODE & Francisca BERTO; BRDR, 3:347 (SJA-4, 29), her death/burial record, also found in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:317 (BRDA: SJ: v.4, 329), calls her Marguerite GAUDET, "age 40 yrs., wid. of Antoine LEDOUX," but does not give her parents' names.

14.  Wall of Names, 46 (pl. 12R), calls her Margueritte [GODET], & lists her with her parents & 2 siblings; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 70-71, calls her Margueritte, sa [Louis GAUDET's] fille, age 20, on the embarkation list, does not include her on the debarkation list, calls her Marguerite GAUDET, his [Louis GAUDET's] daughter, age 20, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 24th Family aboard L'Amitié with her parents & 2 siblings; BRDR, 2:24, 308 (SJA-2, 2), her marriage record, calls her Margarita GODE, calls her husband Guiyon ARSENO, gives her & his parents' names, says both sets of parents were "of Acadia," & that the witnesses to her marriage were Miguel GODEN & Maria Juana ARSENO; BRDR, 6:257 (SJA-4, 71), her death/burial record, calls her Margueritte GAUDET, "age 80 yrs., widow Guillaume ARCENEAU, res. this parish[,] nat. of Nantes, France," but does not give her parents' names; Hébert, D., South LA Records, 2:161 (Thib.Ct.Hse.: Succ. #154), a decree for family meeting, calls her Marguerite GAUDÉ m. Guillaume ARCENAUX.   

She was not a "nat. of Nantes, France," only a resident there with her parents when she was in her late teens.  Her birth likely took place in greater Acadia in the early or mid-1760s. 

As the debarkation list of L'Amitié & the embarkation/debarkation lists of La Caroline reveal, she & her family sailed to LA on the later ship.  

Her burial record shows that she died in St. James Parish in Nov 1843.  So why was a family meeting called in Lafourche Interior Parish 6 1/2 years later?  Did her ARCENEAUX children settle in that parish?  Her husband Guillaume died in St. James Parish in Dec 1818, & their only married son died in nearby Ascension Parish less than 2 years later.  Marguerite did have several daughters, however, who married into the COX, PAHUD, & TASSIN families, so they or, more likely, their descendants, called for the meeting. 

15.  Wall of Names, 17, calls him Pierre GAUDET.

Who were his parents?  How was he kin to the other GAUDETs in LA? 

For evidence of his family taking refuge at Miramichi, present-day eastern NB, see the marriage record of son Charles, dated 9 Jun 1792, in BRDR, 2:307 (SJA-2, 16), which describes his parents as "of Macamiri."  

16.  Not in Wall of Names.  See De Ville, St. James Census, 1777, 16.  

17.  Wall of Names, 17, calls her Rosalie GAUDET.

18.  Wall of Names, 17, calls her Rosalie-Victoire GAUDET; NOAR, 2:134 (SLC, B5, 111), her birth/baptismal record, calls her Rosalie-Victoire GAUDAIS, gives her parents' names, says her father was Acadian, that she was born "at Boston," & that her godparents were Daniel DANVILLE & Marie-Victoire DANNEVILLE; BRDR, 2:309-10, 560 (SJA-1, 51a), her marriage record, calls her Rosalie GAUDET, gives her & her husband's parents' names, says "both parties natives of Acadia," meaning the parents, & says the witnesses to her marriage were Francois TÉRRIO & Joseph LEBLANC; BRDR, 4:424 (SJA-4, 59), her burial record, calls her "Widow Georje" MUTON & gives no parents' names. 

She died a week after her husband, & the both of them outlived by 7 years their only child, daughter Madeleine, who married an OUBRE. 

19.  Not in Wall of Names.  See Arsenault, Généalogie, 968, the Chignecto section, which called her Marie, gives her parents' & the names of her siblings, & says she was born in c1752; Braud, Les Acadiens en France, Family #173. 

Her burial record in Hébert, D., South LA Records, 1:232 (Thib.Ch.: v.1, #635), reads: "GAUDET, Marie (Louis [GAUDET] & Maris[sic] HÉBERT), m. d.Guillome GAUBERT; d. 30 March 1834 at age 90 yrs."  She was closer to age 82 at the time of her death.  Her marriage details are from Braud, cited above. 

Her estimated arrival date is based on the marriage records of a son, André GAUBERT, & 2 stepsons, Guillaume Joseph & Pierre Jacob GAUBERT, in BRDR, 3:344, the earliest of which was dated 24 Apr 1809.  Braud, cited above, notes that "Family remained in Nantes [after 1785] where Marie GAUDET received relief as a refugee in 1797."  She emigrated to LA to join her parents & siblings between that date & 1809, most likely in the early 1800s, hence her absence from the Acadian Memorial's Wall of Names.

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