APPENDICES

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

LAVERGNE

[luh-VERN]

ACADIA

Nicolas Lavergne, a French soldier, was counted at Port-Royal in 1710, but nothing is known of his wife and children or if he had any.  

~

Pierre Lavergne, born probably in France, was the servant of the Père du Breslay of Port-Royal in the early 1690s.  Pierre married Anne Bernon at Port-Royal in c1693.  They had five children, including a son, Jacques, born at Port-Royal in April 1706, who married Françoise, daughter of Claude Pitre and Marie Comeau, at Annapolis Royal in November 1727.  Two of Pierre's daughters, twins Cécile and Geneviève, born at Port-Royal in March 1708, married brothers:  Cécile married Pierre, son of Michel Haché dit Gallant and Anne Cormier of Chignecto, probably at Annapolis Royal, in c1726; and Geneviève married Pierre's brother Charles at Annapolis Royal in February 1727.  Pierre's wife Anne died at Annapolis Royal in August 1728; she was age 60.  The date and place of Pierre's death has been lost to history.  In the 1730s, members of Pierre's family left Annapolis Royal and moved to Île St.-Jean, today's Prince Edward Island.  Cécile and Geneviève and their families were counted at Port-La-Joye on the island in 1734.  Cécile died at Port-La-Joye in December 1743; she was only 35 years old.  Members of the family were still on the island in 1752, on the eve of Le Grand Dérangement.  

Meanwhile, Pierre's son Jacques and his wife Françoise Pitre had at least 10 children, including three sons:  Joseph, born in c1728, Pierre le jeune in c1730, and Jean-Baptiste in c1736.  Of Jacques's three sons, only the second one, Pierre, seems to have created a family of his own.  Pierre's first wife was Anne, daughter of Pierre Lord and Jeanne Doucet, whom he married at Annapolis Royal in October 1753.  Soon after the marriage, they evidently moved to Ste.-Anne, perhaps Tintamarre in the Chignecto area, before following his family to the French Maritimes later in the decade. 

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

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

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

LOUISIANA:  RIVER SETTLEMENTS

A few weeks after his third wife's death, Pierre Lavergne and three of his unmarried children--Victoire-Bellarmine, age 22, Marie-Madeleine, age 18, and Pierre-Benjamin, age 17--boarded Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships, and sailed to Louisiana (one wonders what had happened to son Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre, who had retreated with the family from Châtellerault to Nantes in November 1775).  Aboard ship, Victoire married Michel, son of Manuel Betancourt and Maria Ignacia ____ of La Gracieuse, Morge, Switzerland, whom she probably had known in France (the marriage was blessed at New Orleans in September 1785, a few weeks after they reached the colony).  After a brief respite in New Orleans, Pierre and his family followed the majority of their fellow passengers to Baton Rouge.  Daughter Victoire and her new husband Michel joined her father and younger siblings there.  Marie-Madeleine married Frenchman Jean, fils, son of Jean Prosper and Marie Rus of St.-Michel, Carcassone, at Baton Rouge in July 1787.    

Pierre's oldest daughter Marguerite, age 32, also crossed to Louisiana aboard Le Beaumont, with husband Joseph Trahan, age 35, and two of their children, ages 4 and 2.  Marguerite was pregnant on the voyage over and gave birth to son François-Antoine Trahan probably at Baton Rouge in early December; the boy was baptized there late that month.  Joseph died probably at Baton Rouge, and Marguerite remarried to Frenchman Jean, son of Étienne Raffray and Françoise Soneru of St.-Malo, and widower of Marie-Madeleine Landry, probably at Baton Rouge.  They moved north and settled in what became West Feliciana Parish. 

Descendants of Pierre-Benjamin LAVERGNE (1768-1819; Pierre, Jacques)

Pierre-Benjamin, son of Pierre Lavergne and his second wife Marguerite Daigle, the second of their sons with the name, was born at Le Havre, France, in March 1768, exactly two years after his namesake brother had died at age 18 months.  Pierre-Benjamin came to Louisiana in 1785 as a teenager with his widowed father and two older sisters and followed them to Baton Rouge.  Not until he was 34 years old did he marry, to Geneviève, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean-Baptiste dit Petit Jean Hébert and Marie-Madeleine Dupuis of San Gabriel, at Ascension on the Acadian Coast in October 1802.  Although Pierre-Benjamin and Geneviève married on the lower Acadian Coast, they settled near Baton Rouge, close to his family.  Their daughters married into the Anselme, Terrell, and Tuttle families.  Pierre Benjamin died probably at Manchac, south of Baton Rouge, in February 1819, age 50.  Since he was the only surviving son of his father Pierre, all of the Acadian Lavergnes of South Louisiana would have descended from him.  There is no evidence, however, that any of Pierre-Benjamin's sons created families of their own.  So when he died in early 1819, his line of the family, except for its blood, probably died with him.  

1

Oldest son Pierre-Lamaire, born at Manchac in January1806, died near Baton Rouge, age 3, in July 1809.  

2

Jean-Baptiste, born at Manchac in March 1810, probably died young.  

3

Youngest son Pierre Élie, born at Manchac in May 1812, probably died young.  

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

Lavergne is a common surname in France and French Canada, so it is no surprise that members of the family came to Louisiana as early as the 1710s, nearly three quarters of a century before their Acadian namesakes reached the colony:

A de La Vergne, whose given name has been lost to history, was a French officer.  Records show he was serving at Pensacola as early as 1719.  In 1758, he was awarded the coveted Cross of St.-Louis.  Nothing is known of his descendants.

Jean, son of Pierre Lavergne and Francoise Simon of Châtellerault, Poitier, France, married Françoise, daughter of Pierre Flassin, at New Orleans in September 1730. 

Charles La Vergne of Paris, a lieutenant of naval reserve troops, came to Louisiana in the mid-1730s.  In 1739, he married Marie-Josèphe Carriere from Mobile.  Their son Charles-Louis was baptized at New Orleans, age unrecorded, in May 1751.  Their daughter married into the Maret DeLatour family.  In the 1760s, Charles may have owned a plantation at English Turn, on the river below New Orleans.  

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One branch of the family traces its ancestry to French nobility and claims to have French royal blood:

Descendants of Pierre LAVERGNE/DE LA VERGNE (c1751-?)

Pierre, son of Jean Lavergne and Marguerite Billeron or Villaron, born at Brive-la-Gaillard, Limousin, France, in c1751, came to New Orleans in c1766 as a young French officer and later earned the coveted Order of St.-Louis.  He married New Orleans native Marie-Élisabeth or -Isabelle, called Élisabeth, daughter of Guillaume DuVerger or DuVerges of Rehon, France, at New Orleans in October 1789. 

1

Older son Hugues, born at New Orleans in September 1792, styled himself a de La Vergne after he came of age.  In 1813, he married Marie-Adéle of the wealthy, prominent de la Villeré family and acquired a large plantation next to his in-laws on the river below New Orleans in what became Plaquemines Parish.  One of his grandsons, Hugues-Jacques, born in 1867 and died in 1923, was a prominent lawyer and civic leader in New Orleans, a role, says one historian, still played by members of the family. 

2

Younger son Jacques Termes, born at Charleston, South Carolina, in July 1797 and baptized at New Orleans in November 1798, died at age 5 1/2 in December 1802. 

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Other Lavergnes who lived on the lower Mississippi during the colonial period had more humble roots:

In 1726, Jean Lavergne, probably a Canadian, and his wife Franchette Tournedou, were counted at Natchitoches Post on the Red River, where their daughter Marie was baptized in 1729.  

Jacques Lavergne married Louise Brognard or Broyart at New Orleans in February 1768.  Their son Jacques, fils was born probably at New Orleans in c1774.  Jacques, père may have died at New Orleans in December 1774, his age unrecorded.  Jacques, fils died at New Orleans in January 1796, age 22, and probably did not marry. 

Charles Lavergne, a carpenter, and his sons Nicolas, Jean, and Jacques, also carpenters, were counted at New Orleans in 1770.

Alain Lavergne married Catherine Pilsem at St.-Jean Baptiste on the Upper German Coast.  Their son Jean was born at St.-Jean Baptiste in April 1779. 

Barthélémy Lavergne married Marie Jacob at St.-Jean-Baptiste in January 1787.  Their son Michel was born at St.-Jean-Baptiste.  Barthélémy died at St.-Jean-Baptiste in December 1788, age 28. 

Françoise Lavergne, widow of _____ Gimberty, died at New Orleans in December 1801.  The priest who recorded her marriage said that she was "cir. 71 yr." when she died. 

Marie Lavergne, widow of ____ Porte, died at New Orleans in March 1802.  She was buried "in the cemetery of the district at mouth of river, in absence of a priest."

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During the late colonial period, a Lavergne from Canada created a family line on the Lower German Coast and at New Orleans: 

Descendants of Jean LAVERGNE (?-?)

In 1731, Canadian Jean Lavergne and his wife, Marie-Françoise, called Françoise, Licenne, Lucelle, or Tournelle, were counted at Anse-aux-Outards near present-day Ama, St. Charles Parish, on what was then called the Lower German Coast.  Their older son perpetuated the family line at New Orleans:

1

Older son François, born at St.-Charles des Allemands on the Lower German Coast in July 1741, seems to have married Françoise Roquigny at New Orleans in the early 1770s.  They settled in the city.  François may have died at New Orleans in October 1785; the priest who recorded the burial said that François was age 50 when he died, but he would have been 44.

1a

Oldest son Abraham was born at New Orleans in November 1774. 

1b

Jean, born at New Orleans in February 1776, died at age 11 1/2 in August 1785.

1c

François, fils, born at New Orleans in December 1777, died at New Orleans in January 1794.  The priest who recorded his burial said that François was age 22 when he died.  He was 16. 

1d

Pierre was born at New Orleans in January 1783. 

1e

Youngest Étienne, also called Nicolas, born at New Orleans in April 1785, died at age 4 1/2 in November 1792. 

2

Younger son Pierre-Jacques, born at St.-Charles des Allemands in c1743, died at age 3 in October 1746. 

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A Lavergne, perhaps from Natchitoches, married twice and settled at New Orleans, where he worked as a master ship's carpenter.  During the late colonial and early antebellum periods, two of sons created vigorous lines at Pointe Coupee and on the Acadian Coast: 

Descendants of Jean LAVERGNE (c1724-1774)

Jean, fils, son of Jean Lavergne, père and Marie Lucel "of New Orleans," born in c1724 perhaps at Natchitoches on the Red River, married Marie-Jeanne LaClef probably at New Orleans in the early 1750s.  She gave him at least five sons.  Jean, fils remarried to Louise, daughter of Louis Roguigny, at New Orleans in January 1765.  She gave him at least two more sons.  Jean, fils, whom the recording priest called a "native of this parish" and a "master ship-builder," died at New Orleans in December 1774, age 50.  During the late colonial period, his oldest son by his first wife moved upriver to Pointe Coupée and created a vigorous line of the family there.  Some of them crossed the river and settled in West Feliciana Parish.  Jean, fils's second son by his second wife settled on the Acadian Coast, where he and all of his sons married Acadians. 

1

Oldest son Nicolas, by his father's first wife, born at New Orleans in July 1755, married Perrine, daughter of French Creole Jean Dugue, at Pointe Coupée in March 1785.   Their son Nicolas, fils was born at Pointe Coupée in June 1786, Zénon-Blaise, called Blaise, in February 1789, and Asenor or Azenor in August 1795.  Their daughter may have married into the Aquitane family. 

1a

Blaise married Louise Marie Ortis at the Pointe Coupee church, Pointe Coupee Parish, in December 1808.

1b

Nicolas, fils married Rosalie, daughter of Spanish Creole Diego Ortis, his brother Blaise's sister, at the Pointe Coupee church, Pointe Coupee Parish, in February 1810.  They settled at Cat Island, south of Angola, in West Feliciana Parish.  Their son Alfred died at Cat Island, age 13 months, in September 1825, and Nicolas III died at False River, Pointe Coupee Parish, age7 months, in June 1835.  Nicolas, fils died probably in Pointe Coupee Parish in April 1835, age 49. 

1c

Azenor married Eléonore Greaux.  He died in Pointe Coupee Parish in October 1833, age 38. 

2

Jean, fils, by his father's first wife, was born at New Orleans in January 1757.

3

Barthélémy, by his father's first wife, was born at New Orleans in April 1760. 

4

Pierre, by his father's first wife, born at New Orleans in November 1762, married Angélique, daughter of  Barthélémy Québec and an Indian woman and native of the Arkansas country, at Arkansas in April 1793. 

5

François, by his father's second wife, was born at New Orleans in April 1772. 

6

Youngest son Louis, by his father's second wife, born at New Orleans in June 1774, married Luce-Henriette, called Henriette, daughter of Acadian Pierre Braud of St. James Parish, at Ascension in February 1802.  They settled near the boundary of Ascension and St. Gabriel on the Acadian Coast.  Their son Sylvain or Sylvestre Brautin or Brausin, called Brausin or Drosin, was born at Ascension in March 1804, Olivier Valsin, called Valsin, in January 1806, Joseph Delmaire or Dolomer, also called Omere, near St. Gabriel in December 1807, and Louis Arcide in Ascension Parish in January 1810 but died at age 2 1/2 in September 1812.  Louis remarried to Marie-Anne, daughter of Acadian Firmin Babin of Ascension and widow of Firmin Poucraste, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in October 1815.  They settled in Ascension Parish. 

6a

Sylvain Drosin, by his father's first wife, married Françoise Cléonise, called Cléonise, daughter of Acadian Pierre Landry, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in March 1824.  Their son Théodore Victorin was born near St. Gabriel, Iberville Parish, in January 1829.  Their daughters married Breaux cousins.  Drosin died near St. Gabriel in July 1834, age 30. 

6b

Olivier Valsin, by his father's first wife, married Marie Carmélite, called Carmélite, daughter of Acadian Édouard Gaudin, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in May 1826.  Their son Simon Adolphe, called Adolphe, was born in Ascension Parish in August 1828 but died at age 5 in October 1833, and Alexandre was born in September 1830.  Their daughter married a Braud cousin.  Valsin remarried to Marine Cléonise, another daughter of Édouard Gaudin, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in June 1833.  Valsin remarried again--his third marriage--to Delphine, daughter of Acadian Jean Landry and widow of Valéry Gaudin, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in December 1836.  Their son Louis Adam was born near St. Gabriel in November 1841.

Alexandre, by his father's father's first wife, married Eugénie, daughter of Acadian Trasimond Babin, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in March 1856.

6c

Joseph Delmaire, by his father's first wife, married Eléonore, called Léonore, daughter of Acadian Olivier Braud, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in February 1831.  Their infant, name unrecorded, perhaps a son, died near St. Gabriel in October 1836.  Their daughters married into the Babin and Poché families.

Lavergnes who probably were descendants of Nicolas of Pointe Coupee can be found in local church and civil records of the antebellum and immediate post-war periods: 

Nicolas Lavergne married Eliza Webb or Webre in a civil ceremony in either West Feliciana or Pointe Coupee Parish in the 1830s.  Their son Jean was born at Cat Island, West Feliciana Parish, in September 1837, and Augustin in Pointe Coupee Parish in March 1842.  

Zénon Lavergne, born in c1810, married French Creole Marie Lemay, place and date unrecorded.  Daughter Angèle married into the Mullen family.  Zénon died in Pointe Coupee Parish in August 1835.  The priest who recorded his funeral said that Zénon was age 25 when he died, "leaving a wife and 2 children," but did not give his parents' names. 

Paulin Lavergne married Thomassinte Lacour in a civil ceremony probably in Pointe Coupee Parish.  Their son Polyte was born in Pointe Coupee Parish in November 1839. 

François Lavergne married Geneviève Legros in a civil ceremony probably in Pointe Coupee Parish.  Their son François, fils was born in Pointe Coupee Parish in December 1839. 

Auguste or Augustin, also called Jean or John, Lavergne, married Spanish Creole Marie Ortis, place and date unrecorded.  They settled at Cat Island in Pointe Coupee.  Their son, name unrecorded, died probably at Cat Island, age 11 months, in June 1844, daughter Carmélitte, born in c1845, died at age 4 in June 1849, Coralie was born in August 1859; son Alfred in September 1851, Valéry in October 1854, Valcourt in February 1857 but died at age 1 1/2 (the recording priest said 2) in July 1858, Jean Vincent was born in January 1862, and Albert in April 1865. 

Auguste Lavergne died in Pointe Coupee Parish 24 hours after his birth in October 1847.  The priest who recorded the burial did not give the newborn's parents' names. 

Therence Lavergne, a resident of Cat Island, died at the home of Charles Decoux in May 1850.  The priest who recorded the burial, and did not give his parents' names or mention a wife, said that Therence was age 40 when he died.  Terence's widow, whose name was not recorded, died in February 1851; she, too, was age 40 when she died. 

Martin Lavergne married Spanish Creole Aspasie Ortis in a civil ceremony probably in Pointe Coupee Parish.  Their son Martin, fils was born in Pointe Coupee Parish in August 1865. 

Charles Lavergne married Hortense Bissette probably in Pointe Coupee Parish, date unrecorded.  Their son Joseph Arthur was born in Pointe Coupee Parish in September 1866.  Charles may have died in Pointe Coupee Parish in December 1869; the Pointe Coupee priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that Charles died at "age ca. 47 years." 

Octave Lavergne married Julie Eugénie Maurain at the Pointe Coupee church, Pointe Coupee Parish, in May 1869.  The priest who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

Charles Lavergne married Octapse Levergne, probably Lavergne, place and date unrecorded, and settled near St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish, by the late 1860s.  Daughter Mary Christine was born there in October 1869. 

During the twentieth century, Lavergnes from Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana parishes moved downriver to the city of Baton Rouge, where many can be found today.  

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Most of the Lavergnes of South Louisiana are descendants of French Canadian Louis, fils, son of Louis Lavergne, père and Marie Simon of Québec.  Louis, fils's, described by the recording priest as "resident on the Pascagoula River" and perhaps a coureur de bois, married Élisabeth, daughter of Pierre Thomelain or Thommelin, at New Orleans in July 1725.  They were counted later that year at Pascagoula, present-day Mississippi, then a part of French Louisiana, but they returned to New Orleans by Christmas Day 1729, when their daughter Françoise was baptized at St.-Louis Church.   In 1731, the couple were living at Cannes Brûlé, present-day Kenner, Jefferson Parish, on the river above the city.  Their daughters married into the Bar, Clermont, Ingimbert, and Leborne families.  Louis, fils died probably at New Orleans in April 1750 (two years later, Élisabeth remarried to Jean Barré of Lyon, France, at New Orleans).  Louis, fils left Élisabeth with two minor sons, Louis III, born in c1743, and Jean-Baptiste, born at St.-Charles des Allemands on the Lower German Coast, above Cannes Brûlé, in July 1745.  It was Louis III who moved to the western prairies and created a large family there:

Descendants of Louis LAVERGNE III (c1743-1814)

Louis III, son of Louis Lavergne, fils and Élisabeth Thomelain of Pascagoula and New Orleans, married Marie-Anne, daughter of Jacques Lacase of Mobile, at New Orleans in c1770.  They moved upriver to St.-Jean-Baptiste des Allemands on the Upper German Coast, present-day St. John the Baptist Parish, where Louis purchased a 3x40-arpent tract of land from Jean-Pierre Cuvillier in 1783.  During the late 1780s, Louis and his family left the crowded Mississippi valley, crossed the Atchafalaya Basin, and settled in the Bellevue area of the Opelousas District, south of Opelousas Post.  Many of the settlers in the Opelousas country were Alibamonts like Louis's wife Marie-Anne, or Canadian French like Louis himself, or French Creoles from New Orleans or the river settlements.  However, by the mid-1790s, Acadians also lived in the area, having come to Opelousas as early as 1765.  (Louis III's daughter Marie-Eugénie, born along the Mississippi in October 1778, was the first member of the family to marry an Acadian; in May 1796 she wed Philippe, son of Pierre Richard, at Opelousas; she died near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in June 1844, age 66.)  Louis III died "from a very long infirmity or weakness" at his home at Bellevue, St. Landry Parish, in February 1814, age 71.  Louis and Marie-Anne had eight sons, the first four born on the river, the other four at Opelousas.  All of them married, one of them twice, and all but two of them had sons of their own.  Most of them married Acadians.  During the antebellum period, Louis's sons and grandsons either remained in St. Landry Parish, at Bellevue and Grand Coteau, or moved a little farther west, to the Church Point area, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish.  After the War of 1861-65, some of Louis III's descendants left the family's center in St. Landry Parish and drifted farther and farther west across the open prairies, where many Lavergnes can be found today.  

1

Oldest son Louis IV, baptized at New Orleans, age unrecorded, in April 1772, married Susanne, daughter of Acadian Joseph Bourg, at Opelousas in January 1802.  Their son Casimir was baptized Opelousas, age 5 1/2 months, in December 1805, Louis V at age 1 in September 1809, Eucher was born in February 1813, Lezaint or Lessin in November 1817, and a son, name unrecorded, died at age 1 1/2 months in March 1829.  They also had a son named Antoine, also called Sidoine.  Louis IV's daughter may have married a Bourg cousin. 

1a

Casimir married Marie, daughter of French Creole André Meche, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in March 1835.  Their son Félix Casimir was born in St. Landry Parish in October 1838 but died at age 8 1/2 in June 1847, a child, perhaps a son, name and age unrecorded, died in July 1841, Julien was born near Grand Coteau in January 1842, Jean Baptiste le jeune in March 1846, Aimé in September 1848, Martin in July 1850, Idide Adam in September 1852, Gérard in October 1855, and Éloi, a twin, in December 1859.  Casimir's daughters married into the Breaux, Primeaux, and Trahan families.

1b

Louis V married Apolline or Pauline, 23-year-old daughter of Acadian Pierre Richard, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1837.  Their son Louis Eugène was born in St. Landry Parish in November 1840, and Adam Omer in September 1852.  Louis V's daughter may have married into the Johnson or Jeansonne family.  Louis V's succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse in January 1867, when he was age 59. 

1c

Antoine married first cousin Marie Azélie, called Azélie, daughter of Acadian Philippe Richard and widow of Jean Baptiste Thibodeaux, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1841; Marie's mother was Antoine's paternal aunt Marie Eugénie Lavergne.  Antoine's and Marie's son Alexandre le jeune was born near Grand Coteau in January 1844.  Antoine's daughter married into the Smith family. 

1d

Lessin died near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in May 1861, age 43.  He may not have married. 

2

Célestin, baptized at New Orleans, age unrecorded, in December 1773, married Louise, daughter of Frenchman Louis Alexandre Henry of Paris and New Orleans, at New Orleans in March 1800.  They lived for a time in the city but settled at Carencro, south of Opelousas.  Their son Pierre-Joseph was born at New Orleans in April 1801, Charles Célestin near Baton Rouge in March 1810, and Célestin probably at Carencro in August 1812 but died at age 16 months in December 1813.  They also had sons named Michel and Urbain, le jeune; Urbain had been born at New Orleans.  Célestin's daughters married into the Bacon, Boutte, Chachere, and Carrière families.  In the early 1800s, Célestin claimed 2,700 acres of land on both sides of Bayou Nezpique at the western edge of St. Landry Parish in present-day Acadia and Jefferson Davis parishes.  Célestin died in January 1847, age 73. 

2a

Michel's succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry, in March 1820.  The parish clerk who recorded the succession noted only that "his [Michel's] sister is Marie Louis Lavergne wid. Carrière," but said nothing of Michel's age or a wife. 

2b

Urbain le jeune, living on Prairie Bellevue, married first cousin Aureline, daughter of Acadian Philippe Richard, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in June 1829; Aureline's mother was Urbain's paternal aunt, Marie Eugénie Lavergne.  Their son Philippe was born near Grand Coteau in October 1832, Célestin le jeune in December 1836, Urbain Dupré in January 1838, Émile in April 1839 but died at age 1 in May 1840, Alexandre Urbain was born in February 1841, Michel le jeune in March 1843, Pierre Joseph in May 1849, Eugène le jeune in June 1853, and Charles Nicaise in December 1855.  Urbain le jeune's daughters married Richard cousins. 

Philippe married cousin Aureline or Aurelia, daughter of Acadian Raphaël Richard, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in September 1852.  Their son Omer died near Grand Coteau at age 7 days in August 1853, and Aurelien was born in January 1856.  Philippe died near Grand Coteau in February 1860, age 27 1/2; his succession had been filed at the Opelousas courthouse a week before his death. 

During the War of 1861-65, Alexandre Urbain served in Company F of the 8th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. Landry Parish, which fought in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania--one of General R. E. Lee's Louisiana Tigers.  Alexandre, called Alexander J., a single student, by the officer who enrolled him, enlisted at Opelousas in March 1862, after he had just turned 21.  He was present on all rolls of his company from his enlistment until the end of October 1863.  In November and December of that year, when his regiment was back in central Virginia, he was absent sick.  Confederate authorities granted him a 30-day furlough to Woodville, Mississippi, in early December 1863.  He disappears from his company's rolls after that date.  He did not surrender with his regiment at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, in April 1865, so he may have gone home during or after his leave in Mississippi.  Alexandre Urbain married Arnieline or Ormeline, daughter of French Creole Jean Baptiste Fontenot, at the Ville Platte church, then in St. Landry but now in Evangeline Parish, in December 1866. 

Michel le jeune married Marie or Maria Attala or Attola, daughter of Solomon D'Avy, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in January 1867. 

2c

Charles married French Creole Adélaïde Dupré in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in November 1838.  Their son Charles, fils was born near Grand Coteau in November 1850.  Their daughter married into the Sittig family.  Charles, père remarried to Célestine, daughter of Acadian Charles Bourque, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in July 1855.  Their son Célestin le jeune was born near Grand Coteau in April 1856 but died at age 4 in June 1860, Valéry was born in March 1859, Urbain Adam in June 1860, Joseph Cristoval in July 1862, Léandre Léoval in October 1864, Pierre Théogène in February 1867, and Eugène in June 1869.

3

Jean-Baptiste, called Baptiste, born at New Orleans in December 1780, married Céleste, 20-year-old daughter of Christophe Knott, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1820.  Baptiste died near New Iberia, then in St. Martin but now in Iberia Parish, in October 1842, age 61.  One wonders if he and his wife were that rare Acadian couple who had no children.  He was the only one of his family who did not remain on the St. Landry prairies. 

4

Joseph, born at New Orleans in March 1785, may have married Clothilde Kenter at Opelousas in the early 1800s.  Their son Joseph, fils was born in c1806.  Joseph, père remarried to Augustine or Gustine, daughter of Acadian Fabien Richard, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in September 1812.  They settled on lower Prairie Fauqetaique near present-day Eunice.  Their child, name unrecorded, died in St. Landry Parish 9 days after its birth in June 1816, Israël was born in November 1817 but died the following January, Eugène le jeune was born in November 1828 but died "very young" in August 1829, and Louis Portalis was born in January 1835.  They also had a son named Olymphe François.  Joseph's daughters married into the Gautreaux, Jeansonne, and Sete families.  Joseph died at Bellevue, south of Opelousas, in May 1864; the priest who recorded the burial said that Joseph was age 82 when he died, but he was 79; his succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse the following July. 

4a

Joseph, fils, by his father's first wife, married Émilie, Émeline, or Émilienne, 27-year-old daughter of Acadian Augustin Jeansonne, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1837.  Their son Joseph Théodule, called Joseph Théo, was born in St. Landry Parish in July 1843, Onésime in September 1845, and Napoléon François in April 1849.  They also had a son named Célestin.  Joseph, fils's daughters married into the Doucet and Miller families. 

Célestin married Elvina, daughter of Alphonse Strother, also called Strawder and Strawley, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in September 1863, and sanctified the marriage at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1864; Elvina's mother was an Acadian Lejeune.  They settled near Eunice. 

Joseph Théodule married Marie Coralie, called Coralie, daughter of Acadian Melon Doucet, at the Church Point church, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in June 1867.  Their son Théodule was born near Church Point in February 1870. 

4b

Olymphe François, by his father's second wife, married cousin Marie Aure, daughter of Acadian Charles Bourque, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in January 1870; Marie Aure's mother, also, was a Lavergne. 

5

Eugène, born at Opelousas in October 1790, married, in early 40s, Cécile, daughter of French Creole Philippe Langlois and widow of Pierre Comeaux, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in July 1832; Cécile's mother was a Jeansonne.  Eugène's succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse in March 1853; he would have been age 63 that year. 

6

Pierre-Duclide or -Dulcide, born at Opelousas in November 1794, married Marie Zelima, daughter of Acadian Pierre Thibodeaux, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1816.  Their son Pierre, fils was born in St. Landry Parish in November 1816, and Valcourt Alexandre, called Alexandre, in November 1820.  Pierre Duclide, in his early 40s, remarried to Adomicile or Domicile, daughter of French Creole Jean Baptiste Duplechin, at the Opelousas church in May 1837; Adomicile's mother was a Trahan.  Their son Louis had been born in St. Landry Parish in February 1832, Joseph le jeune in February 1834, and Pierre Agerin, called Agerin, was born in December 1840.  Pierre's daughters married into the Beard and Gaspard families.  Pierre Duclide died near Grand Coteau in December 1867; the priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that Pierre died "at age 76 yrs."; he was 73; his succession, calling him Pierre D. and his wife Adomecile Duplechin, was filed at the Opelousas courthouse the following March. 

6a

Alexandre, also called Valcourt Alexandre, from his father's first wife, married Azéma, also called Grima and Irma, 17-year-old daughter of Acadian Julien Brasseaux, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in April 1839.  Their son Alexandre, fils was born near Grand Coteau in April 1842 but died the following November, Elphége Demosthène was born in March 1846 but, called Elfège, died at age 12 1/2 (the recording priest said 13) in August 1858, Jean Baptiste Lasty, called Lasty, was born in December 1848, Sosthène in May 1851, Joseph le jeune in November 1853 but died the following January, Eugène le jeune was born in February 1858, and Pierre in December 1862.  Alexandre's daughters married Lavergne cousins. 

Lasty married Aspasie, daughter of Charles Perrodin, at the Church Point church, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in December 1870; Aspasie's mother was an Hébert. 

Pierre married Elizabeth Venable at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in December 1883.  They had 14 children in 26 years.  He died at Church Point, Acadia Parish, in November 1945, age 82. 

6b

Louis, by his father's second wife, married Helen or Helena, daughter of Jean Brousse or Bruce, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in January 1855; Helen's mother was a Richard.  Their son Pierre died near Grand Coteau at age 15 days in January 1856, a week after his mother died from complications of giving him birth.  Louis remarried to Élodie, daughter of French Creole Simon Gaspard, at the Grand Coteau church in December 1858.  Their son Ambroise was born near Grand Coteau in April 1860. 

6c

During the War of 1861-65, Pierre Agerin, from his father's second wife, served in the Miles Legion Louisiana Volunteer Infantry, which fought in Louisiana and Mississippi.  Pierre Agerin was captured with his fellow Legionnaires at Port Hudson, Louisiana, in July 1863, and may have served also in the 2nd Regiment Louisiana Cavalry and the 2nd Regiment Louisiana Reserve Corps, which also fought in Louisiana.  He was paroled by the Federals at Washington, not far from his home in St. Landry Parish, in June 1865.  He married cousin Marie Scholastique, called Scolastie and Colastie, daughter of Ursin Lavergne, fils, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in September 1865.  Pierre Agerin, while a resident of Church Point, Acadia Parish, applied for a state Confederate veteran's pension in 1929, when he was age 92; his pension, for some reason, was denied at first, but was granted in June 1930.  Pierre Agerin enjoyed his pension until his death at Church Point in August 1938, a few months shy of his 98th birthday.  He is buried in Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery, Church Point. 

6d

Joseph le jeune, by his father's second wife,  married Adélaïde, called Délaïde, Biard or Biarbe at the Church Point church, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in April 1868, but probably had married civilly years before.  Their son Israël had been born near Church Point in August 1866. 

7

Ursin, born at Opelousas in November 1795, married Marie Azélie, called Azélie, daughter Acadian Dominique Prejean, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in August 1816.  Their son Joseph le jeune died in St. Landry Parish an hour after his birth in April 1818, Ursin, fils was born in May 1819, and a child, name unrecorded, perhaps a son, died a day after its birth in February 1827.  Their daughters married into the Bihm, Joubert, and Landry families, and perhaps into the Bourg family as well.  Ursin died near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in April 1846; the priest who recorded the burial said that Ursin was age 47 when he died, but he was 50. 

Ursin, fils married Azélie or Azéline, also called Julie, daughter of Christophe Steel, Still, Steen, or Style, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in December 1840; Azéline's mother was a Leger.  Their son Nathaniel was born in St. Landry Parish in July 1842, Eugène le jeune in October 1846, Ursin III in May 1851, Henry in September 1856, Sylvain in October 1860, and Adolphe in October 1862.  One of Ursin, fils's daughter married a Lavergne cousin, and another may have married into the Johnson or Jeansonne family. 

Nathaniel married cousin Marie, daughter of Alexandre Lavergne, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in December 1861.  Their son Ursin le jeune was born in St. Landry Parish in October 1862, Nathaniel, fils near Church Point, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in July 1864 but died "at Plaquemine," age 2 1/2, in December 1866, and Joseph Gerasin was born in February 1867.  During the War Between the States, Nathaniel may have served in Company A of the 2nd Regiment Louisiana Reserve Corps, raised in St. Landry Parish, which fought against Jayhawkers on the western prairies, and in Company D of the 15th (Weatherly's) Battalion Louisiana Volunteer Sharpshooters, which late in the war was stationed in the Red River valley but saw no action. 

Eugène le jeune married Marie Hermine, Hermina, or Ervina, daughter of Acadian Arthur Lucien Bourgeois, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in September 1865.  Their son Joseph Homer was born in St. Landry Parish, in July 1866, and Eugène Joseph near Church Point, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in October 1868. 

8

Youngest son Urbain, born at Opelousas in 1797, married Éloise or Louise, another daughter of Pierre Thibodeaux, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in July 1821.  Their son Cyprien was born in St. Landry Parish in November 1825.  They also had sons named Syphorien and Urbain Dupré.  Urbain, père died in St. Landry Parish in October 1842, age 45; his succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse the following March. 

8a

Cyprien married Caroline, daughter of Acadian François Richard, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in February 1844.  Their son Cyprien, fils was born in St. Landry Parish in January 1846, Urbain le jeune near Grand Coteau in November 1854, and Célestin le jeune in September 1857.  They were living near Church Point, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in the late 1860s. 

Cyprien, fils died near Church Point, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in March 1869.  The priest who recorded the burial said that Cyprien died "at age 21 yrs."; he was 23.  Did he marry? 

8b

Syphorien married cousin Marie Azéma, called Azéma, daughter of Acadian Léon Thibodeaux, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in October 1855.  Their son Syphorien, fils was born near Grand Coteau in September 1858 but died at age 6 1/2 in April 1865.

8c

Urbain Dupré married cousin Alexandrine, daughter of Alexandre Lavergne and Irma Brasseaux, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in December 1856.  They settled on Bayou Plaquemine Brûlé.  Their son Demosthènes was born in April 1860 but died at Bellevue, age 6 1/2, in August 1866, and Alexandre Adam was born in October 1870. 

Lavergnes who probably were descendants of Louis III can be found in local church and civil records of the antebellum, wartime, and immediate post-war periods.  However, some Lavergnes who lived on the prairies during the immediate post-war period were Afro Creoles once owned by descendants of Louis III: 

Louis Lavergne died near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, at age 6 months in September 1842.  The priest who recorded the boy's burial did not give the parents' names. 

Louis Lavergne married Marie Anne Johnson, perhaps Jeansonne, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Louis, fils was born in St. Landry Parish in August 1862. 

Paul Lavergne married Denise McAuley, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Paul Joseph was born in St. Landry Parish in November 1862. 

Célestine Lavergne married Jean Louis Miller in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in July 1865.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couples' parents' names. 

Joseph P. Lavergne married Adélaïde Beard in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in September 1865.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couples' parents' names. 

Célestin Lavergne, freedman, married Marie Mostgros, freedwoman, in a civil ceremony in St. Martin Parish in October 1866.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couples' parents' names. 

Louis Lavergne married Marie Doralise or Doralie Duplechin at the Church Point church, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in February 1867.  Neither the parish clerk nor the priest who recorded the marriage gave the couple's parents' names.  Their son Louis Odile was born near Grand Coteau in February 1870. 

Sarah Lavergne married Francis Blaise in a civil ceremony in St. Martin Parish in February 1867.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couples' parents' names. 

Marianne P. Lavergne married Benjamin Johnson in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in March 1867.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couples' parents' names. 

Elizabeth, daughter of Jean Baptiste Lavergne, married Théodule Simien in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in September 1868.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couples' parents' names. 

Stanislas, son of William Lavergne, died in St. Landry Parish "at age 3 yrs." in January 1869.  The Opelousas priest who recorded the boy's burial did not give the mother's name nor the father's ethnicity. 

Louis Lavergne married Marie Louise Josèphe Fitonot, probably Fontenot, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Louis, fils was born at Washington, St. Landry Parish, in March 1869. 

Benjamin, son of Celia Lavergne, married Elizabeth, daughter of Lyse Collins, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in June 1869.  Neither the parish clerk nor the priest who recorded the marriage gave the couple's fathers 'names.  Their son Joseph Benjamin was born in St. Landry Parish in April 1870. 

Michel Henry Lavergne died in St. Landry Parish in September 1869.  The Opelousas priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names, said that Michel Henry died "at age 19 days." 

Joseph, son of Isidore Lavergne and Marie Green, married Julie, daughter of Charles Fabien Thompson, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in February 1870, and sanctified the marriage at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in March. 

~

During the antebellum period, Lavergnes emigrated from France to Louisiana, where they were called Foreign French by native Louisianians:

Alexandre Lavergne, a 17-year-old mariner, and 14-year-old Paul Lavergne, probably his brother, both natives of France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Nestor out of Nantes, France, in May 1820. 

Benjamin Lavergne, a 27-year-old carpenter from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Bolivar out of Le Havre, France, in November 1835.

______ Lavergne, a 22-year-old druggist from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Vaillant out of Bordeaux, France, in May 1838. 

Antoine Lavergne, a 29-year-old native of France, occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Austerlitz out of Le Havre in November 1849.  He gave his destination as "France," so he may have been only a traveler.

~

Other Non-Acadian LAVERGNEs in South Louisiana

Antoine Lavergne, alias Cadet Patte Grasse and Captain Cadet, a New Orleans baker with privateering experience, was hired by smugglers Pierre and Jean Laffite during the winter of 1812-13 to outfit one of the brothers' new ships, the 136-ton single deck schooner La Diligent, at Grand Isle.  In late February 1815, after the Battle of New Orleans, charges of piracy against Lavergne, the Laffites, and other associates at Barataria, were dropped in recognition of their services against the invading British. 

Alin Lavergne, "a native of New Orleans," died "at the home of Jacques Fabre on Bayou Teche," St. Martin Parish, in February 1826.  The priest who recorded Alin's burial said that he was "age about 62 years" when he died but did not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  One wonders if he was the Alain Lavergne who married Catherine Pilsem at St.-Jean Baptiste on the Upper German Coast during the late colonial period. 

Joseph Lavergne married Élisabeth Louisa McElphin, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Jacques Ilebert was born near Convent, St. James Parish, in May 1831. 

John, "a negro," son of Célestin Lavergne dit Patassa and Eulalie, "slaves," was baptized at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, "at a few mths. of age" in November 1841.  Eulalie died in St. Martin Parish in September 1848, age 35.  One wonders who owned her and her husband.

Euphèmia Lavergne married Acadian Joseph Guidry, place and date unrecorded.  She died near Gonzales, Ascension Parish, in February 1865. 

Malvina, daughter of Omère Lavergne and Eléonore Breaux, married Dozilia, son of Acadians C. Raphaël Babin and Artémise Landry, at the Gonzales church in December 1865. 

CONCLUSION

Lavergne is a large family in South Louisiana.  It was a small family in Acadia, however, and only five descendants of Pierre Lavergne of Port-Royal emigrated to Louisiana--grandson Pierre, his son, and his three daughters, one of them married to a Trahan.  They sailed from France aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships of 1785, and followed most of their fellow passengers to Baton Rouge.  Pierre Lavergne was in his 50s and thrice a widower when he came to Louisiana.  He did not remarry.  His only surviving son, Pierre-Benjamin, born in France, did not marry until his late 20s.  Although Pierre-Benjamin had at least three sons, none of them created families of their own.  Pierre's three daughters did marry, one of them twice, none to Acadians, so at least the blood of the Acadian branch of the family survived in the Bayou State. 

The many Lavergnes of South Louisiana, then, are descendants of French Creoles and French Canadians, not Acadians.  One family in New Orleans even claims to have descended from French royalty.  Three especially vigorous lines arose on the Acadian Coast and on the Opelousas prairies, where they married Acadians, and at Pointe Coupee, where they did not.  During the antebellum period, some of the Pointe Coupee Lavergnes crossed the river to West Feliciana Parish and settled at Cat Island.  The Opelousas branch of the family, descended from French Canadian Louis Lavergne of Montréal, was especially prolific and peripatetic.  During the late colonial and antebellum periods, most of them settled in what became St. Landry, Acadia, and Evangeline parishes.  During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they moved farther out into the wide southwestern prairies, where many of them can be found today.  Meanwhile, during the antebellum period, a few Foreign-French Lavergnes came to Louisiana from France, but, of those who settled in Louisiana, most, if not all, of them remained at New Orleans.  Area church and civil records show no Lavergne families settling in the Lafourche/Terrebonne valley before the War of 1861-65.  ...

The family's name also is spelled Labern, Laberne, Laberny, Laveree, La Vergre, Lavern, Laverni.  [See also Book Ten for the Acadian family's fate in Louisiana]

Sources:  Arsenault, Généalogie, 643-45, 2535-36; Brasseaux, Foreign French, 1:325-26, 3:183; BRDR, vols. 2, 3, 4, 5(rev.), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; Davis, W. C., The Pirates Lafitte, 97, 225; De La Roque, "Tour of Inspection," Canadian Archives 1905, 2A:18, 92; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 95, 280; 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>; NOAR, vols. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 55; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 109-10; West, Atlas of LA Surnames, 95-96, 175-76; White, DGFA-1, 978-79; Tracy Lavergne Bowie, descendant.  

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, 33 (pl. 8L), calls her Margueritte LAVERGNE, & lists her with her husband & 2 children; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 110, Family No. 203, profile for her father's family, calls her Marguerite LAVERGNE, says she was she was born c1753 "in the Parish of Sainte-Anne in Acadie," details her marriage, says that she was "resident of Saint-Nicolas since several years 'au bas de la Fosse'," which was in the city of Nantes, at the time of her marriage, & that, before she was married, she accompanied her father & stepmother to the Poitou settlement of the early 1770s; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 166-67, Family No. 300, calls her Marguerite LAVERGNE, says she was born c1753 "in the Parish of Sainte-Anne in Acadie," gives her parents'  names, says she was "resident since several years in the Parish of Saint-Nicolas below La Fosse," details her marriage, including her husband's parents' names, provides the birth/baptismal records of son Joseph-René TRAHAN, baptized 11 Nov 1780, St.-Nicolas, Nantes, & daughter Antoinette TRAHAN, baptized 17 Nov 1782, St.-Nicolas, Nantes, & details the family's voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 34-35, calls her Margueritte LAVERGNE, sa [Joseph TRAHAN's] femme, age 30, on the embarkation list, Margarita LAVERGNE, su [Josef TRAHAM's] muger, on the debarkation list, & Marguerite LAVERGNE, his [Joseph TRAHAN's] wife, age 30, on the complete listing, says she was in the 18th Family aboard Le Beaumont with her husband & 2 children, details her marriage, including her & her husband's parents' names, but gives no place of marriage, & says daughter Antoinette [TRAHAN] was baptized in 1782 but gives no place of baptism.

I am assuming that the "Parish of Sainte-Anne in Acadie" where Robichaux, 110, says she was born, was the one at Tintamarre in the Chignecto area, not Ste.-Anne at Cheboque, near Cap-Sable.  

That she & her first husband went to Manchac in 1785 is attested to by the baptismal record of son François-Antoine TRAHAN, dated 29 Dec 1785, in BRDR, 2:704 (SGA-11, 4, #9).  François-Antoine was born on 2 Dec 1785, which means that Marguerite was pregnant on the voyage from France to LA. 

Her second marriage is from Lonnie Raffray, descendant of Jean RAFFRAY, who goes on to say that they settled in West Feliciana Parish.  According to Mr. Raffray, Jean was a crewmember, a master cooper, aboard La Ville d'Archangel, & his first wife, who he married at New Orleans in Dec 1785, was a passenger aboard that vessel.   For the burial record of Jean RAFFRAY, see NOAR, 6:230 (SLC, F4, 68), dated 2 Aug 1799, which calls him Juan, son of Estevan [RAFRAY] & Francisca SOMAY, "native of St. Malo in France, resident of Baton Rouge, 42 yr. sp. Margarita LAVERGNE."  One wonders why Jean was buried in New Orleans & not at Baton Rouge or Feliciana.

02.  Wall of Names, 32 (pl. 8L), calls her Marie-Magdelaine [LAVERGNE], & lists her with her widowed father & 2 siblings; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 110, Family No. 203, calls her Marie-Madeleine [LAVERGNE]; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 30-31, calls her Marie-Magdelaine, sa [Pierre LAVERGNE's] fille, age 12, on the embarkation list, Maria Magdalena, su [Pedro LA VERGNE's] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Marie-Magdelaine LAVERGNE, daughter [of Pierre LAVERGNE], age 12, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 5th Family aboard Le Beaumont with her widowed father & 2 siblings; BRDR, 2:456-57, 609 (SGA-14, 9), her marriage record, calls her Magdalena LAVERGNE, gives her parents' names, says they were from Havre de Grace, Normandie, France, gives her husband's parents' names, says they were from St.-Michael in Carcason, France, & gives no witnesses to the marriage.  

Judging from their estimated birth years, she probably was a twin of brother Pierre-Benjamin.

Although her marriage was recorded at St.-Gabriel, she was married probably at the southern edge of the Baton Rouge District, where her family settled.  Baton Rouge had no church until 1793, so before then priests from St.-Gabriel, downriver, or Pointe Coupée, upriver, would administer the sacraments in the Baton Rouge area until it got its own church.

03.  Wall of Names, 32 (pl. 8L), calls him Pierre LAVERGNE, & lists him with no wife & 3 children; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 95, 280, the record of his second marriage, recorded at Notre-Dame, Le Havre, calls him Pierre LAVERGNE, "34 yrs. old, de Ste.-Anne en Acadie, here for 4 1/2 yrs.," calls his wife Marguerite DAIGRE, "veuve d'Eustache BOURG, mort à Plimoth, d'Acadie avant ici à Cherbourg," gives his & her parents' names, but gives no witnesses to the marriage; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 109-10, Family No. 203, calls him Pierre LAVERGNE, says he was born in 1730 but gives no birthplace, gives his parents' names, says he was a carpenter, details his three marriages, including the his first & third wives' parents'  names, says his first wife was born in 1730 but gives no birthplace, death date, or place of death for her, says his second wife was born c1732, died at age 50 & was buried 18 Sep 1782 at Paimboeuf, & that they married c1759 but gives no place of marriage, that his third wife was born c1749 in the Parish of Lanvaudan, diocese of Vannes & was a resident of Paimboeuf at the time of their marriage, names her first husband, says she died at age 36 & was buried 24 Mar 1785 at Paimboeuf, includes the birth/baptismal & marriage record of daughter Marguerite, details his family's participation in the Poitou settlement of the early 1770s, mentioning a son named Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre, & details the family's voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 30-31, calls him Pierre LAVERGNE, charpentier, 54, on the embarkation list, Pedro LA VERGNE, on the debarkation list, & Pierre LAVERGNE, carpenter, age 54, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 5th Family aboard Le Beaumont with no wife & 3 children.

He & his family were at Le Havre, France, in the early 1760s, an indication that they had been living on one of the Maritime islands in the late 1750s, most likely Île St.-Jean, where his family had settled in the 1730s.  Interestingly, daughter Marguerite's marriage record in Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 110, Family No. 203, says that she was born "in the Parish of Sainte-Anne in Acadie," which I suppose is the Ste.-Anne at Tintamarre in the Chignecto area.  The record of Pierre's second marriage, cited above, calls him Pierre LAVERGNE of Ste.-Anne in Acadia.  There was no Ste.-Anne parish on Île St.-Jean.  Perhaps Pierre & his first wife left Port-Royal soon after their marriage there in Oct 1753 and settled at Tintamarre, Chignecto, where daughter Marguerite was born.  They may have left Tintamarre for nearby Île St.-Jean when the British rounded up the Acadians in Nova Scotia in the fall of 1755; the Chignecto Acadians were the first to be deported.  They are not on the passenger rolls of any of the English transports that took Acadians from the Maritime islands to France in 1758-59, listed in <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/index_arrivee.htm>.  These lists evidently do not include the Acadians who ended up at ports other than St.-Malo. 

Was son Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre, who retreated with the family from Châtellerault to Nantes in Nov 1775, from his first or second wife?  He did not go with Pierre et al. to LA in 1785.  Did he marry & choose to remain in France, or did he die young at Paimboeuf? 

As the marriage record cited above shows, Pierre did not marry his second wife in c1759, as Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 109, attests.  The marriage record of daughter Victoire in NOAR, 4:185 (SLC, M5, 40), dated 4 Sep 1785, says that she was the daughter of Ana DE LORD, who was Pierre's first wife, & that Victoire was a native of Normandy, France.  Hebert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 30-31, says that Victoire was 22 in 1785, giving her an estimated birth year of c1763.  Her father remarried in Nov of that year.  One wonders if Victoire's birth had anything to do with her mother's death. 

Sadly, Pierre's third wife died less than 3 months after their marriage & 3 months before the family left for LA.

04.  Wall of Names, 32 (pl. 8L), calls him Pierre [LAVERGNE], & lists him with his widowed father & 2 sisters; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 280, his birth/baptismal record, recorded at Notre-Dame, Le Havre, calls him Pierre-Benjamin LAVERGNE, gives his parents' names, & says his godparents were Charles DOUCET, uncle, & Marguerite LE VERGNE, sister of child; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 110, Family No. 203, calls him Pierre-Benjamin [LAVERGNE] & Pierre [LAVERGNE]; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 30-31, calls him Pierre, son [Pierre LAVERGNE's] fils, age 12, on the embarkation list, Pedro, su [Pedro LA VERGNE's] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Pierre LAVERGNE, his [Pierre LAVERGNE's] son, age 12, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 5th Family aboard Le Beaumont with his widowed father & 2 sisters; BRDR, 2:360, 457 (ASC-2, 101), his marriage record, calls him Paul[sic] LAVERGNE, calls his wife Geneiève HÉBERT, gives his & her parents' names, calls his father Paul, too, says his parents were from Havre de Grace, France, that her parents were from St.-Gabriel, that her father was deceased at the time of the marriage, & that the witnesses to his marriage were Juan Bautiste DUPUIS & Francisco Théodore SULIEN; BRDR, 3:525 (SGA-8, 87), his death/burial record, calls him Pierre LAVERGNE, age 50 yrs., but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife. 

He was the second son of Pierre LAVERGNE & Marguerite DAIGLE named Pierre-Benjamin.  The first one was born at Notre-Dame, Le Havre, France, in Aug 1764 but died at age 18 months in Mar 1766.  See Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 280.  Why does his marriage record call him & his father Paul?  Strange.   

05.  Wall of Names, 32 (pl. 8L), calls her Victoire [LAVERGNE], & lists her with her widowed father & 2 siblings; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 110, Family No. 203, calls her Victoir-Bellarmine [LAVERGNE] & Victoire [LAVERGNE]; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 30-31, calls her Victoire, sa [Pierre LAVERGNE's] fille, age 22, on the embarkation list, does not include her with her family on the debarkation list, & calls her Victoire LAVERGNE, his [Pierre LAVERGNE's] daughter, age 22, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 5th Family aboard Le Beaumont with her widowed father & 2 siblings; Hébert, D., pp. 40-41, does not list him on the embarkation list so he may have been a stowaway or a member of the crew, calls him Franco Miguel BETANCOURT, on the debarkation list, calls her Victoria LA VERGNE, su [Franco Miguel BETANCOURT's] muger, on the debarkation list, calls him Francois-Michel BETANCOURT, no age given, on the complete listing, calls her Victoire LAVERGNE, his [Francois-Michel BETANCOURT's] wife, no age given, on the complete listing, & says they were the 50th Family aboard Le Beaumont, so they evidently married aboard ship; NOAR, 4:29, 185 (SLC, M5, 40), her marriage record, calls her Victoria LAVERGNE, native of Normandy in France, gives her parents' names, says her mother was Ana DE LORD, calls her husband Miguel BETANCOUR, native of Gracieuse, gives his parents' names, & says the witnesses to her marriage were Josef MARTINEZ & Vicente LLORCA.  

I say that she was born in Havre de Grace, or Le Havre, because the marriage record of sister Marie-Madeleine, dated 17 Jul 1787, shows that her parents lived in Havre de Grace, Normandy, while they were in France.  See BRDR, 2:609 (SGA-14, 9).  

Le Beaumont reached New Orleans on 19 Aug, & their marriage at St. Louis Catholic Church was recorded 4 Sep, so, like a good Roman Catholic couple, they did not wait long to sanctify their shipboard union.  The story may be that they fell in love in France, & he stowed away on the ship that her family took to LA to be with his beloved Acadienne, or he may have been a member of the ship's crew & they fell in love aboard ship.

I am assuming that François-Michel's birthplace as given in his marriage record, "Gracieuse," is the one in Switzerland.  Only the passenger list of Le Beaumont calls him François-Michel.  The church records in which I have found him call him simply Michel.  See his marriage record cited above, & the birth/baptismal records of 6 of his children in BRDR, 2:88, recorded either at the Pointe-Coupée church before 1793 or the Baton Rouge church after that date.  

The family did not live in Pointe Coupée & then move to the Baton Rouge District, as the church records may imply.  They settled in the Baton Rouge District in late 1785, where there was no church until 1793.  Before then, priests from either St.-Gabriel downriver or Pointe-Coupée upriver officiated at baptisms, weddings, & funerals in the Baton Rouge area until it got its own church.

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