APPENDICES

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

MIRE

[MEER]

ACADIA

Pierre LeMire dit Mire, born in Paris in c1705, came to British Nova Scotia in the 1720s and married Marie-Josèphe, daughter of Michel de Forest and his first wife Marie Petitpas, soon after his arrival.  They settled at Pigiguit in the Minas Basin.  Marie-Josèphe gave Pierre two children:  Pétronille, born in c1727; and Joachim dit Bénoni in c1736.  Pierre dit Mire remarried to Isabelle, daughter of Claude Thibodeau and Isabelle Comeau, at Annapolis Royal in July 1738.  Isabelle gave him five more children:  Marie, born in c1741; Élisabeth; Joseph, born in c1742; David in c1743; and Simon in c1744.  Pierre dit Mire also may have had sons named Pierre, fils and Jean.  Pierre dit Mire died before 1757, probably in Canada, in his 50s.

One researcher speculates that Pierre dit Mire took his family to Montréal before Le Grand Dérangement of 1755, but this is unlikely.  Son David died at Québec in December 1757, age 14, perhaps a victim of the smallpox epidemic that struck the Acadian exiles in the Québec area that fall, winter, and spring; daughter Marie married André Terrien at Nicolet across from Trois-Rivières, in February 1761; and younger daughter Élisabeth married Joseph Coltret at Nicolet in April 1765.  The family most likely had escaped the British roundup at Pigiguit in the fall of 1755, and some of them made their way to Canada via the Rivière St.-Jean portage.  That Pierre dit Mire's oldest son Joachim dit Bénoni and Bénoni's half brothers Joseph and Simon came to Louisiana from Halifax in 1765 hints that they, too, had escaped the roundup at Pigiguit in 1755, become separated from the rest of the family, and sought refuge not in Canada but on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore. 

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

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

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

LOUISIANA: RIVER SETTLEMENTS

Mires settled "late" in Acadia, but they were among the earliest Acadians to seek refuge in Louisiana.  Joachim dit Bénoni Mire, age 29, and his half-brothers Joseph, age 23, and Simon, age 21, came to Louisiana from Halifax in 1765 and settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river above New Orleans where 20 Acadians from Georgia had settled the year before.  Joachim dit Bénoni remained at Cabanocé, as did one of his younger half-brothers.  The other half-brother settled elsewhere: 

Descendants of Joachim dit Bénoni MIRE (c1736-?)

Joachim dit Bénoni, eldest son of Pierre LeMire dit Mire and his first wife Marie-Josèphe Forest, born at Pigiguit in c1736, came to Louisiana, perhaps a widower, with two of his younger half-brothers in 1765.  He married, or remarried to, Madeleine, daughter of fellow Acadians Jacques Melanson and Marguerite Broussard of Minas, at Cabanocé in June 1768.  They remained at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques.  Their daughters married into the Bourg, Bourgeois, Lanoux, LeBlanc, Melançon, and Richard families.  One of his sons settled on Bayou Lafourche, but the others remained on the Acadian Coast in what became St. James and Ascension parishes. 

1

Oldest son Benjamin, by his father's second wife, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in March 1772, married Marie-Modeste, called Modeste, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Arceneaux and Marie Bergeron, at St.-Jacques in February 1798.  Their son Pierre Orten was born near Convent, St. James Parish, in April 1819, and Benjamin Désiré, called Désiré, in December 1830 but died the following July.  Their daughter married into the Rennes family.  Benjamin died near Convent in September 1832, age 60.  His line of the family, except for its blood, may have died with him. 

2

Jean-Baptiste, called Baptiste, by his father's second wife, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in December 1775, married Esther, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Arceneaux and Marie Dupuis, at St.-Jacques in October 1799.  Their son Jean-Baptiste-Evariste, called Evariste, was born at St.-Jacques in August 1800.  Their daughter married into the Hébert family.  Jean Baptiste "established a sizable plantation, called Arcadia, near present Welcome in St. James, and he and his son, Evariste, became well-known antebellum sugar planters."  Jean Baptiste died in St. James Parish in February 1836, age 60.  In July 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 16 slaves--6 males and 10 females, 7 blacks and 9 mulattoes, ranging in age from 46 to 1--on Widow J. B. Mire's farm in the parish's Eastern District; these probably were Esther Arceneaux's slaves.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 23 slaves--on Widow J. B. Mire's plantation next to E. Camil Mire's huge plantation in the parish's Right Bank District 9; again, these probably were Esther Arceneaux's slaves. 

Evariste married Clémence, daughter of fellow Acadians Jérôme Gaudet and Louise Bourgeois, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in February 1819.  Their son Jean Baptiste Telesphore was born in St. James Parish in May 1820 but died the following September, Evariste Camille was born in June 1821, and Jérôme Elphége, called Elphége, in January 1823.  Their daughters married into the Landry family.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 52 slaves on Evariste Mire's plantation next to E. Camille Mire's farm in the parish's Eastern District.  These were enough slaves to qualify Evariste as a "large planter." 

Evariste Camille married Claire Odalie or Odile, daughter of Pierre Pedesclaux and his Acadian wife Arthémise Landry, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in February 1845.  They settled on the river near the boundary of Ascension and St. James parishes.  Their son Benjamin Camille was born in November 1845, Evariste, fils in October 1846 but died at age 1 in October 1847, Jérôme Trasimond was born in January 1848, Philippe Octave, called Octave, in June 1850 but died at age 11 months in May 1851, a second Philippe Octave was born in May 1854, and Joseph Eugène in August 1855.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 19 slaves--10 males and 9 females, all black, ranging in age from 30 years to 1 month--on E. Camille Mire's farm next to Evariste Mire's plantation in the parish's eastern district.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 112 slaves living in 34 houses on the plantation of E. Camil Mire & Co. between Elphése Mire and Widow J. B. Mire in the parish's Right Bank District 9.  The federal agricultural schedule for that year noted that the real property value of Camille's "company" was $90,000; its personal property value, mostly slaves, was $98,200; and its plantation consisted of 2,425 total acres, 575 of them "improved."  Camille also owned a farm near brother Elphége that held 11 more slaves--5 males and 6 females, all black except for 3 mulattoes, ages 41 years to 2 months.  During the War of 1861-65, Evariste Camille served as captain of Company E of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. James Parish, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.  He assumed command of the company at Camp Moore, Louisiana, in June 1861, soon after he turned 40.  In late 1861 and early 1862, he spent much time on sick leave.  He received a discharge, probably for medical reasons, in May 1862, while his unit was stationed in northern Mississippi and after it had fought in the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee.  Did he have a plantation in Lafayette Parish also? 

During the War of 1861-65, Benjamin Camille, called B. C. in the Confederate records, served in the Pelican Artillery, later called the 5th Battery Louisiana Light Artillery, raised in St. James Parish, which fought in Louisiana.  He survived the war. 

Jérôme Elphége married cousin Marie Ophelia, called Ophelia, daughter of fellow Acadians Éloi Hébert and Doralise Mire, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in April 1847.  Their son Jean Baptiste le jeune was born in St. James Parish in May 1850, Joseph Ferand in November 1853, Paul Gustave in May 1856, Jérôme Elphége, fils in January 1858, Joseph Clément in February 1863[sic], Michel Marie in October 1863[sic], and Joseph Septime in October 1867.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 6 slaves--5 males and a female, all black, ranging in age from 30 to 20--on Elphége Mire's farm in the parish's Eastern District.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 3 slaves--on Elphése Mire's farm next to E. Camil Mire's huge plantation in the parish's Right Bank District 9.  Elphége may have held a share in his older brother's large plantation "company."  During the War of 1861-65, Elphége, in contrast to his brother the captain, served as a private in Company E of the St. James Parish Regiment Militia. 

3

Pierre-Bélonie, by his father's second wife, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in September 1777, married Henriette, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean-Baptiste Bernard and Pélagie-Madeleine Dugas, at St.-Jacques in October 1796.  Their children were born in what became St. James Parish.  The family moved to Bayou Lafourche during the early 1820s and settled on Bayou Guillot west of present-day Thibodaux.

4

Alexandre Paschal, called Paul, by his father's second wife, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in May 1779, married Marie-Céleste or -Scholastique, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Lanoux and Catherine LeBlanc, at St.-Jacques in February 1802.  Their son Béloni le jeune was born at St.-Jacques in December 1802, a son, name and age unrecorded, died at St.-Jacques in January1805, Joseph Drosin, called Drosin, was born in May 1808, and Pierre Nicolas, called Colin, near Convent, St. James Parish, in January 1819 but died at age 14 in April 1833.  They also had son named Paul Dumesnil, called Dumesnil.  Their daughters married into the Blouin and Sarassin families.  Paul died near Convent in December 1824, age 44.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 6 slaves--2 males and 4 females, all blacks, ranging in age from 48 to 15--on Widow Paul Mire's farm between Drauzin Mire and the Widow Charleville Blouin in the parish's eastern district.  Were these Marie Céleste Lanoux's slaves on a farm that lay on property between one of her sons and one of her daughters? 

4a

Béloni le jeune married Marie Mélanie, called Mélanie, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Baptiste Bourgeois and Marguerite Sonnier, at the Donaldson church, Ascension Parish, in February 1822.  They settled on the river near the boundary of Ascension and St. James parishes. Their son Paul Comesse, called Comesse and Come, was born near Convent, St. James Parish, in November 1823, Jean Baptiste Doradon or Douradou, called Douradou, Douradoux, J. B., and Rado, in March 1826, Victor in April 1835, Pierre Valsin or Valsin Pierre in Ascension Parish in August 1837, and Dominique Armand in September 1841 but died at age 12 in October 1853.  Their daughters married into the Bertaud (French Creole, not Acadian), Dicharry, Lasselle, Marchand, and Theriot families.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in Ascension Parish counted 10 slaves--6 males and 4 females, all black, ranging in age from 53 years to 6 months--on Bélony Mier's farm.  In June 1860, the federal census taker counted 17 slaves--10 males and 7 females, all blacks except for 1 mulatto, ages 45 to 1, living in 4 houses--on B. Mirre's farm in the parish's Fifth Ward; this probably was Béloni le jeune. 

Paul Comesse married Noémie, daughter of Jérôme Bertaud and his Acadian wife Madeleine Breaux, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in February 1848. 

Douradou married Marie or Marine Apolline, daughter of fellow Acadians Drosin Gravois and Pauline Landry, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in June 1856.  Their son Nicolas was born near Convent in December 1858 but died at age 8 1/2 in November 1867, and Mederique was born in Ascension Parish in August 1865.  They were living near Gonzales in 1870. 

Valsin Pierre married cousin Joséphine, daughter of Éloi Dicharry and Claire Bourgeois, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in January 1869.  Their son Joseph Frenzei was born in Ascension Parish in February 1870. 

4b

Drosin married Marie Eulalie, called Eulalie, daughter of fellow Acadians Michel Boudreaux and Théotiste Bergeron, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in January 1828.  Their son Joseph Dumisiel or Dumesnil, called Dumesnil, was born near Convent, St. James Parish, in April 1831, Jean Baptiste Prudent, called Prudent, in June 1833, Césaire Sylvanie was baptized at the Convent church, age 5 months, in November 1836, and Joseph Osémé, called Osémé, was born in January 1839 or 1840.  Their daughters married into the Ayme and Richard families.  Drosin remarried to Aureline, daughter of fellow Acadians Emérant Crochet and Eugénie Gautreaux, at the Convent church in February 1843.  Their son Jean was born near Convent in July 1847, Adolphe in September 1848 but died at age 1 in November 1849, Joseph Emérant, called Emérant, was born in March 1850 but died at age 2 in July 1852, and Evariste Telesphore was born in Ascension Parish in May 1857.  Their daughters married into the Bercegeay and Parent families.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted a single slave--a 22-year-old black female--on Drauzin Mire's farm next to the widow of Paul Mire in the parish's eastern district. 

Dumesnil, by his father's first wife, married Scholastique, daughter of fellow Acadians Noël Richard and Joséphine Babin and sister of his sister Silvanie's husband Telesphore, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in January 1853.  Dumesnil died near Convent in September 1853, age 22.  His line of the family probably died with him.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 4 slaves--a male and 3 females, all black, ranging in age from 23 to 2--on Dumunil Mire's farm in the parish's Left Bank District 4; these may have been the slaves of Dumesnil's widow Scholastique Richard. 

Prudent, by his father's first wife, married cousin Émelie or Amelie, daughter of fellow Acadians Augustin Landry and Phelonise Dugas and widow of Cyprien Bourgeois, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in November 1856; they had to secure a dispensation for third degree of consanguinity in order to marry.  Their son Joseph Clément was born near Convent in November 1857, Camille in June 1859, Joannis Baptiste Prudent, fils near Labadieville, Assumption Parish, in January 1864, and Michel Ernest near Convent in July 1869.  During the War of 1861-65, Prudent served with younger brother Osémé in Company A of the Ogden Regiment Louisiana Cavalry, raised in Ascension Parish towards the end of the war, which fought in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.  After the war, he returned to St. James Parish. 

Osémé, by his father's first wife, married fellow Acadian Nezida Bourg at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in February 1862.  During the War of 1861-65, Osémé served with brother Prudent in Company A of the Ogden Regiment Cavalry.  Like his brother, Osémé survived the war.  Osémé remarried to Elizabeth, daughter of Louis Charles Adolphe Bercegeay and his Acadian wife Marie Baseline Guédry, at the Gonzales church, Ascension Parish, in December 1869. 

4c

Paul Dumesnil married Marguerite Arthémise, called Arthémise, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Dugas and Marguerite Poirier, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in February 1830.  Their son Paul Théodule, called Théodule, was born near Convent in June 1831.  Paul Dumesnil remarried to Marie Belzire or Delphine, another daughter of Michel Boudreaux and Théotiste Bergeron, at the Convent church in November 1836.  Their son Léon Dumesnil was born near Convent in November 1837, Ursin in April 1844, and Cleopha in September 1846.  Their daughter married into the Oubre family.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 4 slaves--a male and 3 females, all black, ranging in age from 23 to 2--on Dumunil Mire's farm in the parish's Left Bank District 4; this may have been Paul Dumesnil. 

Paul Théodule, by his father's first wife, called P. Théodore by the recording priest, married Carmélite, daughter of fellow Acadians Augustin Landry and Phelonise Dugas widow of Valsin Melançon, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in April 1858.  Their son Edmond, also called Félix, was born near Convent in July 1859 but died at 8 months in April 1860, and Louis Alfred was born in December 1860. 

Léon, by his father's second wife, married cousin Rosalie, daughter of fellow Acadians Neuville Savoie and Rosalie Lanoux of Ascension Parish, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in October 1867; they had to secure a dispensation for third degree of consanguinity in order to marry.

During the War of 1861-65, Cléopha, by his father's second wife, served in the Grosse Tete Flying Artillery, later called the 6th Battery Louisiana Light Artillery, raised in Iberville Parish, which fought in Louisiana.  After the war, he settled in St. Martin Parish, where he died in April 1941, age 94. 

5

Youngest son Joseph le jeune, by his father's second wife, born probably at St.-Jacques in c1783, married Clarisse or Claire, daughter of fellow Acadian Pierre Paul Arceneaux and his Creole wife Élisabeth Fontenot, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in February 1811.  Their son Adélard was born near Convent in August 1813, Dominique Arestille or Aristide, called Aristide, in August 1819, and Paul le jeune in March 1827.  They also had a son named Théodule Amand.  Their daughters married into the Hébert, Houlon, Jacob, Richard, and Roussel families.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 8 slaves--3 males and 5 females, 6 blacks and 2 mulattoes, ranging in age from 70 to 12--on Joseph Mire's farm in the parish's Eastern District.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 11 slaves--6 males and 5 females, all mulattoes except for 2 blacks, ages 27 to 2, living in 3 houses--on "Ww." J. Mire's farm next to Widow Mire in the parish's Left Bank District 2; this may have been Joseph le jeune.  Joseph le jeune died near Convent in August 1863; the priest who recorded the burial said that Joseph died at "age 80 years." 

5a

Adélard married Clarisse, daughter of fellow Acadians Charles Comeaux and Marie Joséphine Bourgeois, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in June 1836.  Were they that rare Acadian couple who had no children? 

5b

Théodule married Célestine, daughter of fellow Acadians Amand Bourgeois and Françoise Gaudin, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in August 1836.  Their son Joseph le jeune was born near Convent in July 1838, Jean Baptiste in February 1857, Aristide le jeune in July 1858, Amand in November 1862, and another Joseph le jeune was baptized at the Convent church, age unrecorded, in March 1865.  Their daughters married into the Bourgeois, Champton, Richard, and Rouiller families, including to two first cousins.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 4 slaves--2 males and 2 females, all black, ranging in age from 24 years to 4 months--on Théodule Mire's farm between Jn. Bte. Bourgeois and Widow Estival Bourgeois in the parish's eastern district.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 8 slaves--4 males and 4 females, 5 blacks and 3 mulattoes, ages 24 to 1, living in 4 houses--on Théo Mire's farm in the parish's Left Bank District 3; this may have been Théodule. 

5c

Aristide married Marie Ernestine, called Ernestine, daughter of Christophe Roussel and Eméranthe Poché, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in May 1848.  Their son Dominique Decalogne was born near Convent in January 1853.  Their daughter married into the Chauvin family.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted a single slave--a 26-year-old black female--on Aristide Mire's farm in the parish's Eastern District.  Aristide died near Convent in September 1857; the priest who recorded the burial said that Aristide died at "age 35 yrs."; he was 38. 

Descendants of Joseph MIRE (c1742-1792)

Joseph, son of Pierre LeMire dit Mire and his second wife Isabelle Thibodeau, born at Pigiguit in c1742, came to Louisiana with two of his brothers in 1765 and followed them to Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river.   By the late 1780s, in his early 40s, Joseph had moved upriver to Manchac, where he married Marie-Marguerite, daughter of fellow Acadians Simon-Pierre Daigre and his first wife Marie-Madeleine Thériot, in May 1786.  He died probably at Manchac in January 1792, in his late 40s.  Only one of his three sons married; he settled on upper Bayou Lafourche. 

1

Oldest son Joseph, fils, born at Manchac in July 1787, may have died young.

2

Élie, born at Manchac in August 1789, died in Ascension Parish in April 1832.  The priest who recorded Élie's burial said that he was age 40 when he died; he was closer to 43.  He probably did not marry. 

3

Youngest son Jean-Baptiste, born at Manchac in April 1791, married Arthémise, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Baptiste Bergeron and Marie Babin, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in January 1817.  They settled on Bayou Lafourche and helped create a third center of family settlement. 

Other MIREs on the River

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

Jean Baptiste Mire married Catherine Barouvier, place and date unrecorded, and settled near Convent, St. James Parish, by the late 1810s. 

Joseph Mire married Clarinde Gaudin, place and date unrecorded.  Daughter Coralie was born probably in St. James Parish in c1819 and died at age 24 near Convent in May 1843.  

James Fort Mire married Marguerite Adeline Bourgeotte, place and date unrecorded, and settled in Ascension Parish by the late 1820s.  One wonders if he was Acadian. 

Dumini Mire died "only a few days old" in St. James Parish in November 1848.  The Convent priest who recorded the boy's burial did not give any parents' names. 

Hippolyte Meretienne Mire married Célestine Blouin, place and date unrecorded.  Daughter Félicité was born near Convent, St. James Parish, January 1856, and Marie Célestine in September 1857. 

Marie Aimée Mire died in St. James Parish, age unrecorded, in April 1857.  The St. James priest who recorded the burial also failed to give Marie Aimée's parents' names. 

In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 3 slaves--a male and 2 females, all black, ages 43, 18, and 2, living in a single house--on Ww. Mire's farm next to Ww. J. Mire in the parish's Left Bank District 2. 

In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. James Parish counted 4 slaves--a males and 3 females, all black, ages 22 to 3--on T. Mire's farm near Dumunil Mire in the parish's Left Bank District 4. 

A Mire, name and age "omitted," died near Convent in October 1862.  One wonders why the priest at Convent, likely Father E. Vinonet, gave no more details about the death and burial of this member of the Mire family. 

____ Mire, age 2, died near Convent in June 1864.  The priest who recorded the burial did not give the child's parents' names. 

Alfred, son of Julie Mathurine Mire, married Marie Fabre and remarried to Helena, daughter of Charlotte Thureaud, also called Lanoue or Lanoux, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in February 1867.  How was Julie Mathurine and Alfred kin to Joachim dit Bénoni?  Were they even Mires?   Daughter Marie Anna was born near Convent in February 1868, and Marie in March 1870.  The priest(s) who recorded the girls' baptisms called the parents Alfred Mire and Helen/Helena Lanoux/Lanoue. 

Pierre Mire married French Canadian Marie Levert, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Augustin died in Iberville Parish and was buried at St. Raphaël Cemetery, age unrecorded, in December 1867.  How were Pierre and Augustin kin to Joachim dit Bénoni? 

Pauline Mire married Joseph Constantin at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in June 1868.  The priest who recorded the marriage did give the couple's parents' names. 

Venzule Mire died near Convent, St. James Parish, in October 1869.  The priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that Venzule died at "age ca. 31 years."  How was he kin to Joachim dit Bénoni? 

LOUISIANA:  WESTERN SETTLEMENTS

During the early 1780s, one of the Mire brothers who had come to Louisiana in 1765 took his family to the Attakapas District and created a western branch of the family:

Descendants of Simon MIRE (c1744-1807)

Simon, son of Pierre LeMire dit Mire and his second wife Isabelle Thibodeau, born at Pigiguit in c1744, came to Louisiana with two of his brothers in 1765 and followed them to Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river.  He married Madeleine, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean-Baptiste Cormier, père and Marie-Madeleine Richard, at Cabanocé in March 1766.  Madeleine had come to Louisiana with her family in February 1764--among the first Acadian exiles to settle in the colony.  Simon and Madeleine did not remain on the river.  They crossed the Atchafalaya Basin and settled at Côte Gelée in the Attakapas District.  Simon claimed 5 x 40 arpents of land on Bayou Tortue at the eastern edge of the Côte Gelée, which the Spanish surveyed in 1795.  Their daughters married into the Boulet, Granger, Landry, and Trahan families.  Simon, père died at his home at Côte Gelée, then in St. Martin but now in Lafayette Parish, on Christmas Day 1807; the priest who recorded the burial said that Simon was age 70 when he died; he was closer to 63; his succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, the following February.  His many descendants settled in what became St. Martin, St. Landry, Lafayette, Vermilion, and Acadia parishes, and perhaps in St. Mary Parish as well. 

1

Oldest son Joseph le jeune, also called Joseph-Zéphirin, born at St.-Jacques in c1768, before he married, fathered a "natural son," Joseph-Simon, born at Attakapas in September 1796, by Madeleine, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Granger and his first wife Geneviève Babin of Opelousas.  Joseph le jeune married Émilie, daughter of fellow Acadians Charles Guilbeau and Anne Trahan, at Attakapas in August 1796.  They settled at Carencro and Côte Gelée.  Their son Placide was born in c1796, a son, name unrecorded, died at age 3 weeks in June 1797, Joseph-Zéphirin, called Zéphirin, was born in October 1801, Joseph, fils died, age unrecorded, in March 1804, Onésime was born in October 1805 but died at age 2 1/2 in April 1808, and Élisée was born in February 1808.  They also had a son named Benjamin le jeune.  Their daughters married into the Dubois, Granger, Plaisance, and Primeaux families.  Joseph le jeune died "at his home at La Côte Gelée" in December 1820, age 50; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in April 1823. 

1a

Natural son Joseph Simon married Lucie Félicité, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Florentin Bourg and Félicité Trahan, of Vermilion, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in November 1818.  Their son Joseph Simon, fils was born in Lafayette Parish in April 1840.  Joseph Simon, père may have remarried to Louise Bourque, perhaps a kinswoman of his first wife. 

1b

Joseph Zéphirin married Marguerite Françoise, daughter of Balthazar Plaisance and his Acadian wife Henriette Breaux of Assumption Parish and Côte Gelée, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in October 1821.  Their child, name unrecorded, died in Lafayette Parish at age 26 days in February 1823, Joseph was born in April 1824, and Maxile or Maximilien in July 1841 but died at age 2 in September 1843.  They also had a son named Léon.  Their daughters married into the Breaux and Hébert families.  Joseph Zéphirin died in Lafayette Parish in February 1843, age 42; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse later that month. 

Joseph married Adeline Lancou in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in September 1843. 

Léon married Marie Mélanie, called Mélanie, daughter of Auguste Royer and his Acadian wife Caroline Bourque, in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in November 1849, and sanctified the marriage at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in August 1854.  Their son Euphémon was born in St. Martin Parish in October 1850, Zéphirin near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in May 1852, Léon, fils in August 1857, Thomas in December 1860, and Joseph Théo in Lafayette Parish in March 1862.  During the War of 1861-65, Léon served in Company D of the 7th Regiment Louisiana Cavalry, raised in Lafayette and St. Landry parishes, which fought mostly against local Jawhawkers.  Léon survived the war.  He and his family were living near Church Point, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in the late 1860s. 

Euphémon married Clarisse, daughter of fellow Acadian Alexandre Cormier and his Creole wife Susanne Ledoux, at the Church Point church, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in December 1869. 

1c

Placide married French Creole Marguerite Azélie Gisclard probably in Lafayette Parish by the mid-1820s, remarried to Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadians Olidon Broussard and Anne Bernard and widow of Jean Baptiste Duhon, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in August 1829, and remarried again--his third marriage--to Marie Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadians Julien Louvière and Héloise Granger, in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in June 1847.  Placide died in Lafayette Parish in January 1859, age 63.  His line of the family probably died with him. 

1d

Élisée married Anne Marie, called Marie, daughter of Joseph Reaux and his Acadian wife Marie Granger, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in July 1826.  Their son Melizer or Bélisaire was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 2 months, in September 1829, Théodule at age 2 in November 1835, Théogène at age 2 months in March 1836, Joseph was born in November 1848, Policarpe in January 1851, and a child, name and age unrecorded, died near Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, in July 1854.  Their daughters married into the Boulé or Boulay, Breaux, Primeaux, Schexnayder, Simon, and Trahan families. 

Bélisaire married Marie, daughter of Éloi Simon and his Acadian wife Adélaïde Boudreaux, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in April 1848.  Their child, name and age unrecorded, died in Lafayette Parish in June 1850, and Robert was born near Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, in August 1853.  Bélisaire's succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in February 1860; he would have been age 31 that year. 

Théodule married cousin Arthémise, daughter of fellow Acadian Adrien Richard and Anastasie Granger and widow of Pierre Arvillien Roy, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in March 1856.  They settled probably near Carencro.  Their son Désiré was born in September 1858, Élisée le jeune in May 1861, Lasty Joseph in January 1864, and Pierre Onésime near Church Point, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in January 1868.

Théogène married Uranie, daughter of French Creole Alexis Bertrand and his Acadian wife Marie Carmélite Trahan, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in July 1859.  Their son Jean was born near Youngsville, Lafayette Parish, in April 1861.  Théogène's succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in September 1865; he would have been age 29 that year.  One wonders if his death was war-related.  

2

Simon, fils, called Simonet, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in January 1773, married Constance, daughter of fellow Acadians Augustin Broussard and Anne Landry, at Attakapas in May 1797.  They settled on the Vermilion.  Their son Édouard was born at Attakapas in March 1799.  Simon, fils's succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in May or June 1814; he would have been in his early 40s that year and a widower. 

Édouard married cousin Aspasie, daughter of fellow Acadian Joseph Thibodeaux and Pélagie Broussard of Vermilion, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in September 1819.  Their son Édouard, fils was born in Lafayette Parish in January 1824, and a child, name and age unrecorded, perhaps a son, died in June 1829.  Their daughter married into the Bourg family.  Édouard died in Lafayette Parish in April 1831; the priest who recorded the burial said that Édouard was age 30 when he died; he was 32. 

Édouard, fils married Marie, 18-year-old daughter of Joseph Baker and Azarie Royer, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in January 1847.  Their son Joseph Simon was born near Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, in November 1855.  In August 1850, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 2 slaves--a 10-year-old black male and a 20-year-old black female--on Édouard Mire's farm in the parish's western district. 

3

Youngest son Benjamin, born at Attakapas in November 1783, married Marie Éloise or Louise, called Louise, daughter of fellow Acadians Michel Bernard and Marguerite Broussard of Côte Gelée, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in October 1810.  They settled at Côte Gelée.  Their son, name unrecorded, died "at his parents' at Côte Gelée" two days after his birth in April 1812, Édouard le jeune was born in August 1818, Evariste in Lafayette Parish in April 1822, Norbert in April 1824, Clément in December 1826, and Léo was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 3 months, in March 1829.  Their daughters married into the Boulet or Boullé, Breaux, and Broussard families.  Benjamin died in Lafayette Parish in February 1842; the Vermilionville priest who recorded the burial said that Benjamin died "at age 55 yrs."; he was 58; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in February 1843.  In October 1850, the federal census taker counted 8 slaves--4 males and 4 females, all black, ranging in age from 45 to 1--on Widow Benjamin Mire's farm next to Norbert Mire in the parish's western district; these were Marie Éloise Bernard's slaves.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 11 slaves--5 males and 6 females, 6 blacks and 5 mulattoes, ages 55 to 1, living in a single house--on Mrs. Bnin. Mire's farm next to Norbert Mire; again, these were Marie Éloise Bernard's slaves. 

3a

Édouard le jeune married Caroline Renée, daughter of fellow Acadians Éloi dit Petit René Broussard and Angélique Julie Girouard, in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in July 1842.  They settled near Youngsville.  Their son Éloi was born in June 1855, Joachim in July 1860, Onésime in December 1862 but died at age 3 1/2 in June 1866, and Jean Édouard was born in July 1865.  They also had a son named Benjamin le jeune.  Their daughter married into the Boulet family. 

Benjamin le jeune married Louise, daughter of Édouard Teal, Teel, Till, Tille, or Liel and his Acadian wife Felonise Richard, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in July 1868.  Their son Donat was born in Lafayette Parish in October 1870. 

3b

Evariste married Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Giroir and Madeleine Thibodeaux, in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in December 1842.  Did they have any children?  In June 1860, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 7 slaves--4 males and 3 females, all blacks except for 1 mulatto, ranging in age from 50 to 2, living in a single house--on Evariste Mire's farm.  Evariste remarried to Mary Celaise, Celisie, Selasie, or Silasie, perhaps another daughter of Édouard Teal and Felonise Richard, in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in May 1866, and was sanctified at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in September 1867.  They settled probably near Carencro.  Their son Norbert le jeune was born in May 1867. 

3c

Clément married Estelle, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Breaux and his Creole wife Apolline Mallet, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in April 1849.  They settled near Youngsville.  Their son Paul was born in April 1850, Clément Clémile in May 1854, and Sevigne in August 1859.  Their daughter married into the Dubois family.  Despite his age--he was 35 years old in 1861--during the War of 1861-65, Clément served probably as a conscript in the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.  When the 18th Infantry became part of the Consolidated 18th Regiment and Yellow Jacket Battalion Louisiana Infantry in November 1863, Clément served in that unit as well, in Louisiana.  He survived the war. 

3d

Norbert married Félicia, also called Delcide, Delzere, Telside, and Adélaïde, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Baptiste Melançon and Susanne Landry, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in February 1850.  They settled near Youngsville.  Their son Alexandre was born in October 1850, Joseph in July 1855, and Nicolas in December 1862.  In October 1850, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted a single slave--a 5-year-old black male--on Norbert Mire's farm next to the widow of Benjamin Mire in the parish's Western District.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 4 slaves--2 males and 2 females, all black except for 1 mulatto, ages 25 to 1, living in a single house--on Norbert Mire's farm next to Mrs. Bnin. Mire.  Despite his age--he was 37 years old in 1861--and being a resident of Lafayette Parish, during the War of 1861-65, Norbert served probably as a conscript in Company A of the Crescent Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in New Orleans, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.  When the Crescent Regiment became part of the Consolidated Crescent Regiment Louisiana Infantry in November 1863, Norbert served in that unit as well, in Louisiana.  Like his brother Clément, Norbert survived the war. 

Other MIREs on the Western Prairies

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link many Mires in the western parishes with known Acadian lines of the family there.  Some may have not been Mires at all but non-Acadians named Mayer, Mier, Myers, or the like.  Others may have been Afro Creoles who took the surname Mire, or the like: 

Pierre Mire married fellow Acadian Adélaïde Dugas probably at Attakapas, date unrecorded.  Pierre Mire "of Bayou Tortue" died in St. Martin Parish in February 1807.  The priest who recorded the burial did not give any parents' names, mention a wife, or give Pierre's age at the time of his death. 

Joseph dit Adam Mire's daughter, name unrecorded, died in Lafayette Parish, age 5, in November 1848, and his child, name unrecorded, died there in September 1853, age 10.  The Vermilionville priest(s) did not give the children's mother's name. 

Marie Urazie Mire was named in husband Louis Hébert's succession, filed at the Vermilionville courthouse, Lafayette Parish, in January 1851.  Who were her parents?

Adam Mire married Marie Anne Sailes, place and date unrecorded.  Son Valentine was born near Charenton, St. Mary Parish, in May 1852.  Was Adam an Acadian Mire? 

Jean Simon Mire married cousin Adélaïde Mire, place and date unrecorded, and settled near Abbeville, where Adélaïde died at age 30 in July 1854.  The priest who recorded her burial did not give Adélaïde's, or Jean Simon's, parents' names. 

Mary Mire died in Lafayette Parish in October 1854, age 1.  The Vermilionville priest who recorded her burial did not give her parents' names. 

In June 1860, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 2 slaves--a 50-year-old black male, and a 45-year-old mulatto female--on Camilien Mire's farm.  Camilien's daughter Marie Selvina was baptized at the Vermilionville church, "at age 12 or 14 mths.," in February 1871.  According to this church record, Camilien was married to Céleste Padiot.  Was he the Evariste Camille Mire who married Claire Odalie Pedesclaux at Donaldsonville, Ascension Parish, in February 1845?  Evariste Camille appears on the July 1860 federal census slave schedule for St. James Parish, owning 112 slaves in that parish!  Did he own a plantation in Lafayette Parish as well and spend some time there? 

A. Mire married Joséphine Guth, place and date unrecorded.  Daughter Marie Lizima Gabrielle was born in Lafayette Parish in July 1861. 

Benjamin Mire married Mathilde Cachot, place and date unrecorded, and settled near Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, by the early 1860s.  Daughter Élisabeth was born near Abbeville in August 1861.  A succession for Benjamin Mire was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, in October 1865.  Was this his? 

Mathilda Mire married Isaac Popcett in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in November 1862.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

Auguste Mire "of Lafourche Parish" died in Lafayette Parish in August 1863, age 22.  The Vermilionville priest who recorded the burial did not give Auguste's parents' names.  One wonders if the young man's death was war-related. 

Asposie, probably Aspasie, Mire gave birth to daughter Adelina near Abbeville in June 1865.  One wonders who were Aspasie's parents. 

Lewis Mire's succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse, St. Landry Parish, in October 1865.

Joséphine Mire married Ebenezor Vaughn in a civil ceremony in St. Mary Parish in November 1865.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage gave no parents' names. 

Victorin Mire married Azéma Bearb, probably Beard, place and date unrecorded, and settled near Church Point by the late 1860s. 

Martin Mire married Maria Broussard, place and date unrecorded, and settled in Lafayette Parish by the late 1860s.  Their daughter Coralie was born in Lafayette Parish in October 1867, son Silvestre was born in c1869 and baptized at the Lafayette church, Lafayette Parish, "at age 15 yrs.," in June 1884, and Joseph Washington was born near Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, in October 1870.  Was Martin a Mire? 

Don Louis Mire married Célestine Bellard, place and date unrecorded.  Daughter Onezia was born near Church Point, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in March 1868. 

Lessin Mire married Annoncïade Godefroy, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Nicholas was born near Youngsville, Lafayette Parish, in April 1868.  Was Lessin a Mire? 

Azélie, daughter of Lessin Mire and Julie Benoit, married Joseph, son of François Pradier, at the Youngsville church, Lafayette Parish, in January 1869.  Both the priest and the parish clerk who recorded the marriage spelled the bride's surname Mhyrre.  Was this Lessin a Mayer or Myers and not a Mire? 

John Mire married Virginia Roy, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Adam was born near Church Point in March 1870.  Was John a Mire?

Joachim Paul Mire married Numa[sic] Cormier, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Joseph Gérard was born near Youngsville, Lafayette Parish, in May 1870. 

.

A family that settled in St. Landry and St. Mary parishes during the late antebellum and wartime periods cannot be linked to other Mires in the area:

Descendants of James MIRE (?-; Pierre dit Mire?)

James Mire married Marie, also called Marguerite, Guillory, place and date unrecorded, and settled near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, by the early 1840s.   Their daughter married into the Chartres family.  In neither their daughter's, nor James, Jr.'s, nor William's marriage records did the parish clerk give the couple's parents' names.  Were James, Sr. and his family related to Simon Mire?  Were they even Mires?

1

James, Jr., perhaps their son, married Carmélite Garry, probably Gary, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in June 1859.  Their son James III was born near Grand Coteau in January 1861, Adam near Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, in December 1863, and William in Lafayette Parish in January 1870. 

2

William, born near Grand Coteau in March 1846, married Louisa Elizabeth Rupert in a civil ceremony in St. Mary Parish in November 1865. 

LOUISIANA:  LAFOURCHE VALLEY SETTLEMENTS

During the early antebellum period, Mires from Manchac and St. James Parish settled on Bayou Lafourche, creating a third center of family settlement that soon rivaled in numbers their cousins on the river and the prairies:

Descendants of Pierre-Béloni MIRE (c1777-1833; Pierre dit Mire)

Pierre-Béloni, third son of Joachim dit Bénoni Mire and his second wife Madeleine Melançon, baptized at St.-Jacques, age unrecorded, in September 1777, married Henriette, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean-Baptiste Bernard and Pélagie-Madeleine Dugas, at St.-Jacques in October 1796.  They and their children, including the married ones, moved to Bayou Lafourche during the early 1820s and settled on Bayou Guillot west of Thibodauxville.  Their daughters married into the Aucoin, Dugas, Gautreaux, Guillot, Lessart, Levert, Morvant, Poirier, and Robichaux families.  Pierre died in Lafourche Interior Parish in July 1833, age 56.  Most of the Mires in the Bayou Lafourche valley are descendants of Pierre and his five sons.  In December 1850, the federal census taker in Lafourche Interior Parish counted 4 slaves--3 males and a female, all black, ranging in age from 25 to 3--on the Widow P. Mire's farm between Widow Morvant and Valéry Guillot; these may have been Henriette Bernard's slaves. 

1

Oldest son Benjamin-Pierre, born at St.-Jacques in November 1797, married Céleste, daughter of fellow Acadians Laurent Arceneaux and Félicité Bourgeois, at the Convent church, St. James Parish, in February 1816.  Their son Joachim le jeune was born near Convent in February 1817, Ortaire in c1818 but died in Lafourche Interior Parish, age 5, in December 1823, and Vincent died in Lafourche Interior Parish a day after his birth in July 1823.  Their daughters married into the Hébert, Jonannetaud, and Michel families.  Benjamin died in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1830, age 32. 

Joachim le jeune married Malvina or Malvine Gagneaux, Gagnoux, or Jagneaux probably in Assumption Parish by the mid-1840s.  Their son Numa was born near Labadieville in October 1848, Justilien in September 1851, and Léo in January 1857.  Their daughter married into the Thibodeaux family.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in Assumption Parish counted 5 slaves--3 males and 2 females, all blacks, ranging in age from 50 to 16, living in a single house--on Joachim Mire's farm at Bruly St. Vincent in the parish's Ninth Ward. 

2

Pierre Neuville or Neuville Pierre, born at St. James in December 1806, married Basilise, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Olivier Gautreaux and Julie Arcement, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in August 1827.  Their son Magloire Aristide, called Aristide, was born in October 1830 and baptized in Ascension Parish a decade later, Joseph Théodule, called Théodule, was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in January 1831, Pierre Éloi, called Éloi, in February 1833, and Jean Baptiste in Assumption Parish in December 1842 but died there the following August.  Neuville died in Lafourche Interior Parish in February 1847; the Thibodaux priest who recorded the burial said that Neuville died "at age 38 yrs."; he was 40. 

2a

Aristide died in Assumption Parish in March 1849, age 18.  He did not marry. 

2b

Éloi married first cousin Domithilde, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Boudreaux and Marie Mélanie Gautreaux, his uncle and aunt, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in April 1855; they had to secure a dispensation for second degree of consanguinity in order to marry.  Their son Joseph Aristide was born near Canal, today's Napoleonville, Assumption Parish, in March 1858, Camille in March 1860, Jean Baptiste in May 1862, Alexis Volcare in December 1866, and Eugène Volsi in March 1869.  During the War of 1861-65, Éloi served as a conscript, along with dozens of other men from Assumption Parish, in Company B of the 1st Regiment Louisiana Heavy Artillery, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  When his unit surrendered at Vicksburg in July 1863, Éloi, along with most of the conscripts in the regiment, refused parole.  He spent the rest of the war at Camp Morton, Indiana, as a prisoner of war.  As the births of his younger sons attest, Éloi survived his prisoner-of-war ordeal and returned to his family. 

2c

Théodule married Angelina, daughter of fellow Acadian Hilaire Breaux and his Creole wife Venerante Martin, at the Attakapas Canal church, Assumption Parish, in January 1858.  Their son Pierre Oleus was born near Canal in December 1858, and Sylvère Séverin in February 1862. 

3

Joachim, born probably near Convent, St. James Parish, in c1818, married Célesie, another daughter of Pierre Olivier Gautreaux and Julie Arcement, at the Thibodauxville church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in November 1831.  Their son Joachim Auguste or Augustin, called Augustin, was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in August 1832, Jean Baptiste Siméon, called Baptiste, in February 1836, and Pierre Orestile or Aristide, called Aristide, in June 1838.  Their daughters married into the Boudreaux, Bourg, and Richard (French Creole, not Acadian) families.  Joachim died in St. Martin Parish in September 1845; the St. Martinville priest who recorded the burial said that Joachim was "Born in Baillou Lafourche" and died "at age 27 yrs."  One wonders what he was doing in St. Martin Parish at the time of his death.  Two of younger sons remained on Bayou Lafourche, but his oldest son lived in Iberville Parish on the river. 

3a

Augustin married Marie Élodie, called Élodie, daughter of fellow Acadians André Aimable LeBlanc and Adélaïde Allain, at the St. Gabriel church, Iberville Parish, in May 1854.  They lived near St. Gabriel on the river before moving to upper Bayou Lafourche.  Their son Augustin, fils was born near St. Gabriel in December 1860, André Aimable near Labadieville, Assumption Parish, in August 1862, and Gabriel Nemours in October 1867.  In July 1860, the federal census taker in Iberville Parish counted 3 slaves--a male and 2 females, all black, ages 50, 16, and 14--on Augustin Mire's farm.  He and his family had moved to the Attakapas Canal, Assumption Parish, east of Lake Verret, by the mid-1860s, but they evidently returned to Iberville Parish a few years later.  They may have lived near the boundary between Assumption and Iberville parishes. 

3b

Jean Baptiste Siméon married Joséphine, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Bourg and Rosalie Boudreaux, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in January 1858.  Their son Joseph Sylvère was born in Lafourche Parish in March 1859, and Émile Oleus near Labadieville, Assumption Parish, in March 1864.  During the War of 1861-65, John B., as the Confederate records called him, served in the Lafourche Parish Regiment Militia.  He was captured at the Battle of Labadieville, near his home, in October 1862 and released by the Federals early in November. 

3c

Aristide married Joséphine Victorine, called Victorine, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Boudreaux and his Creole wife Pauline Bouvet, at the Thibodaux church in December 1861. 

4

Evariste le jeune, born near Convent, St. James Parish, in May 1817, married cousin Marie Zéline, Zélanie, or Zélire, 19-year-old daughter Joseph Morvant and his Acadian wife Marie Éloise Bernard, in a civil ceremony in Lafourche Interior Parish in August 1837.  Their son Arvillien, also called Aurelien, was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in July 1839, Pierre Dorville, called Dorville, in November 1841, and André Émile, called Émile, in February 1844 but died at age 6 1/2 in December 1850.  Their daughters married into the Aucoin and Bernard families.  Evariste le jeune remarried to Marie Pauline, called Pauline, daughter of fellow Acadian Théodore Boudreaux and Marie LeBlanc and widow of Cyprien Hébert, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in May 1850.  Their son Joseph Aurestile was born in Lafourche Parish in May 1864.  Their daughter married into the Henry family. 

4a

Arvillien, by his father's first wife, married Marie Melina, called Melina, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Charles Aucoin and his Creole wife Marie Hélène LeLoret and sister of his sister Marie Odilia's husband Ulysse, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in June 1861.

4b

Dorville, by his father's first wife, married Lesida or Nezida, daughter of German Creole Zenon Bernard and Acadian wife Azéline Roger, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in February 1864.  Their son Toussaint Alcide was born in Lafourche Parish in November 1870.  During the War of 1861-65, Dorville served in the Lafourche Parish Regiment Militia.  He was captured at the Battle of Labadieville, near his home, in October 1862, but the Federals soon released him. 

5

Youngest son Jean Baptiste le jeune born near Convent, St. James Parish, in June1819, married Adèle, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Pierre Guillot and Marie Eléonore Hébert, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in November 1841.  Their son Evariste Rosémond was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in January 1844, Augustin Orsine in April 1847, Julien Justinien in June 1849, and Jean Baptiste Aurelien in January 1855 but died at age 10 in August 1865.  Their daughters married Bernard and Guillot cousins. 

During the War of 1861-65, Evariste served in Company D of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafourche Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Evariste married cousin Aurelie, daughter of fellow Acadian Valéry Guillot and his Creole wife Arthémise Morvant, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in December 1866.  Their son Aurelien Joseph was born in Lafourche Parish in December 1870. 

Descendants of Jean Baptiste MIRE (1791-c1848; Pierre dit Mire)

Jean-Baptiste, called Jean, youngest son of Joseph Mire and Marie-Marguerite Daigle, born at Manchac in April 1791, married Arthémise, daughter of fellow Acadians Jean Baptiste Bergeron and Marie Babin, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in January 1817.  They settled down bayou in Lafourche Interior Parish.  Their daughters married into the Cheramie, Danos, Guillot, Mobley, Rocheleau or Rochelot, and Tourrel families.  Proceedings of a family meeting were filed at the Thibodaux courthouse, Lafourche Interior Parish, in July 1848; Jean Baptiste would have been age 57 that year.  His oldest son remained on Bayou Lafourche, but his youngest son settled on lower Bayou Teche after the War of 1861-65. 

1

Oldest son Jean Baptiste Séraphin, called Séraphin, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in July 1820, married Geneviève Cécile, called Cécile, daughter of fellow Acadians François Achille Foret and Geneviève Bergeron, in a civil ceremony in Lafourche Interior Parish in April 1842.  Their son Félix Armand was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in January 1851.  Their daughters married into the Basile and Danos families. 

2

Drosin was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in March 1829. 

3

Jean Prosper was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1836. 

4

Victor Justin, called Justin, born probably in Lafourche Interior Parish in the late 1830s or early 1840s, married Mélasie, daughter of fellow Acadians Ludger Guidry and Césaire Savoie, in a civil ceremony in Lafourche Parish in March 1863.  Justin died by September 1865, when Mélasie remarried in Lafourche Parish.  A petition for Justin's succession inventory was filed at the Thibodaux courthouse, Lafourche Parish, in March 1867.  One wonders if Justin's death was war-related. 

5

Youngest son Jules Valsin, called Valsin and Valsume, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in June 1847, married Mathilia, daughter of Leufroi Bonvillain and his Acadian wife Rosalie Vincent, at the Patoutville, now Lydia, church, Iberia Parish, in May 1870. 

~

Other MIREs in the Lafourche Valley

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

Émilie Mire married Sylvère, son of fellow Acadian Joseph Bourg, in a civil ceremony in Lafourche Parish in July 1863.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

NON-ACADIANS FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

Non-Acadians named LeMire, Mire, and Miré lived in French Louisiana during the early colonial period decades before their Acadian namesakes reached the colony:

In August 1703, the supply ship Loire reached Mobile, the new capital of French Louisiana.  Aboard the vessel were brick makers who had volunteered to serve in Louisiana, among them Charles Miré of Poitou.

Gilles, son of Guillaume Lemirre and Perrine Roy of La Fresnay, Brittany, France, married Marie-Louise, daughter of Phalio de Montfrim and Marie Brunet of Paris at New Orleans in August 1720, soon after the town was founded. 

Louise, daughter of Jean Mire and Marie-Thérèse Roy, married Pierre, fils, son of Pierre Foure, at Old Biloxi, then part of French Louisiana, in July 1721. 

~

During the early antebellum period, a Mire born in New England before the Acadian Grand Dérangement of 1755 lived among his Acadian namesakes on the river.  On the western prairies, at least one Mire family sprang from Afro Creoles:

Jacques Mire, "nat. Angleterre (New England)," died near Convent, St. James Parish, in October 1821.  The priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that Jacques died at age 71, which means he was born in c1750.  Was he French Canadian, a native of France, or a wayward Acadian? 

James Fort Mire, perhaps a Myr or Myre, not a descendant of Pierre LeMire dit Mire, married Marguerite Adeline Bourgeotte, place and date unrecorded, and settled in Ascension Parish.  Daughter Annette Thérèse was born there in July 1826, and Marguerite Helena in September 1827.  Daughter Élizabeth married into the Chartres family. 

Zéphyrin Mire married Marguerite Louise Morrison, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Camilien, described as a "coloredman," married Céleste, called "colored," daughter of Charles Padilleau and Marie Louise Senegal, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in June 1858.  The priest who recorded the marriage called Camilien's parents "colored people," so one may assume that they were free persons of color.  Was Zéphyrin once a slave of one of the Acadian Mires? 

Joseph M. Mire was a carpenter from New Orleans when, in June 1861 at Camp Tangipahoa, Louisiana, he enlisted in Company A of the 7th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Orleans Parish, which fought in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania--one of General R. E. Lee's Louisiana Tigers.  Joseph was age 17 at the time of his enlistment.  He followed his unit to Virginia, where he was captured in the summer of 1862.  He was exchanged at Aikens Landing, Virginia, in September and rejoined his regiment.  He was captured again at Marye's Heights, Fredericksburg, Virginia, in May 1863 and spent time in the prisoner-of-war compound at Fort Delaware before he was exchanged later that month at City Point, Virginia.  Joseph was captured a third time, at Hancock, Maryland, on the retreat from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in July 1863.  This time he was not exchanged.  The federals sent him to the prisoner-of-war compound at Camp Chase, Ohio, where they held him for the rest of the war.   One wonders if Joseph was kin to the Acadian Mires. 

CONCLUSION

Mires settled "late" in Acadia, and some of them may have resettled in Canada before Le Grand Dérangement, but the ones who remained in Nova Scotia were among the earliest Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana.  Three brothers from Pigiguit came to Louisiana from Halifax via St.-Domingue in 1765 and settled at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques on the river, on what became known as the Acadian Coast.  The oldest brother remained at St.-Jacques.  One of the younger brothers moved upriver to Manchac, south of Baton Rouge, by the late 1780s.  About the same time, the other younger brother crossed the Atchafalaya Basin, settled at Côte Gelée in the Attakapas District, and created a western branch of the family.  During the early antebellum period, Mires from Manchac and St. James moved to upper Bayou Lafourche, creating a third center of family settlement that soon rivaled in numbers their cousins on the river and at Côte Gelée.  Out on the prairies, members of the family moved from Côte Gelée north, south, and west into present-day St. Landry, Vermilion, and Acadia parishes.  According to one authority, "Unlike many of their French-speaking compatriots, the Mires did not migrate in large numbers into Calcasieu Parish or into southeastern Texas.  However, many of the St. James branch ... moved into Baton Rouge, Gonzales, and New Orleans" during the twentieth century. 

Non-Acadians named LeMire and Mire lived in Louisiana as early as the 1720s.  A Mire born in New England before Le Grand Dérangement lived among his Acadian namesakes in St. James Parish during the antebellum period.  He evidently left no descendants.  One wonders if he was French Canadian, French, or perhaps a wayward Acadian.  At least one Mire family living in Lafayette Parish during the late antebellum period was created by a free man of color.  But most of the Mires of South Louisiana are descendants of Pierre LeMire dit Mire of Pigiguit.

Judging by the number of slaves they owned during the late antebellum period, some members of the family, especially in St. James Parish, lived well on their farms and plantations.  Jean Baptiste, second son of Joachim dit Bénoni Mire of St. James Parish, created a large sugar plantation called Arcadia, near present-day Welcome, and passed it on to his only son Evariste.  By 1850, Evariste owned 52 slaves; his widowed mother owned 16, and his sons Evariste Camille and Jérôme Elphége owned 25 more.  A decade later, Evariste Camille held 112 slaves on his major holding and 11 more slaves on another farm, making him one of the largest slaveholders in the state.  Several of his cousins in St. James and Ascension parishes also owned slaves, though none of them held enough (20) to qualify as planters.  But one came close; in 1860, Béloni Mire held 17 slaves on his Ascension Parish farm.  On the western prairies, Benjamin Mire owned eight slaves in Lafayette Parish in 1850; a decade later, he held 11.  A few of his cousins owned a hand full of bondsmen each.  The same held true for the Mires on Bayou Lafourche, where most of them held none, at least none who appeared on the federal slave schedules of 1850 and 1860. 

Over two dozen Mires served Louisiana in uniform during the War of 1861-65, one of them as a captain.  ...

Before they came to Louisiana, the family's name evolved from LeMire to Mire, embracing the Acadian progenitor's dit.  The family's name also is spelled Lemire, Meyr, Meyre, Mhire, Mhyrre, Mier, Mir, Mirre, Mires, Mirr, Mirre, Myers, Myr, Myre, Myrre.  The Acadian family should not be confused with the Mayer, Mier, Myers, and other families with similar-sounding surnames who lived in South Louisiana during the antebellum period.  [For the Acadian family's Louisiana "begats," see Book Ten]

Sources:  1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Ascension, Lafayette, Lafourche Interior, & St. James parishes; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Ascension, Assumption, Iberville, Lafayette, & St. James parishes; Arsenault, Généalogie, 1419-20, 2558-60; BRDR, vols. 2, 3, 4, 5(rev.), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 329; Hébert, D., South LA Records, vols. 1, 2, 3, 4; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A, 1-B, 2-A, 2-B, 2-C, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 218, 249; Menn, Large Slaveholders of LA, 1860, 355-56; NOAR, vol. 1; West, Atlas of LA Surnames, 111-12, 181-82, quotations from 111-12. 

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, 23, calls him Joachim dit Bénoni MIRE, & lists him with half-brother Joseph; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2558, the LA section, calls him Bénoni-Joachim MIRE, says he was born in 1736 but gives no birthplace, gives his parents' names, does not record a first marriage, says that wife Madeleine MELANÇON was born in 1741 but gives no birthplace, gives her parents' names, says he married her in c1760 but gives no place of marriage, says he occupied lot number 101 on the east bank of the Mississippi at St.-Jacques in 1769 with his brother-in-law François PART, born in 1753 but gives no birthplace, & lists his children as Scholastique, born in 1769, Marie-Madeleine in 1770, Félicité in 1771, Benjamin in 1772, Rosalie in 1773, & Jean-Baptiste in 1774 but gives no birthplaces; Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 172, & Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 425, the record of his second marriage, calls him Joachim MIRRE, calls his wife Marguerite/Margaritte BROUSSARD[sic], & gives no witnesses to his marriage.   See also Bourgeois, 167, 176; Jehn, Acadians Exiles in the Colonies, 249.  

Arsenault's estimated birth year conforms to the Cabanocé census of 1766.  Arsenault's claim that Joachim dit Bénoni married Madeleine MELANÇON in c1760, however, is refuted by Wall of Names, which shows him unattached when he reached LA with half-brother Joseph.  However, the repatriation list at Halifax in Aug 1763 indicates that Joachim dit Bénoni was married to someone, if not to Madeleine, before he came to LA.  Since François PART was his brother-in-law, Joachim dit Bénoni could have married a PART. 

One has to ask--how did someone from Pigiguit end up a prisoner at Halifax when the Acadians at Pigiguit were deported to MD, MA, PA, & VA in 1755?  As Jehn, Acadians Exiles in the Colonies, 218, reveals, a repatriation list in PA counted Pierre MIRE, his wife Madeleine, & 3 children in that colony in Jun 1763.  How was Pierre kin to Joachim dit Bénoni & his half-brothers?  Arsenault lists no Pierre as a brother of Joachim dit Bénoni, so we must eagerly await Stephen A. White's DGFA-2 to do justice to this family during Le Grand Dérangement. 

Marguerite BROUSSARD was his mother-in-law, not his second wife.  There can be no doubt that he married Madeleine, daughter of Jacques MELANÇON & Marguerite BROUSSARD of Grand-Pré.  Madeleine came to LA from MD in Sep 1766 with her widowed mother & siblings & settled with them at Cabanocé/St.-Jacques.  Marguerite BROUSSARD did not remarry. 

02.  Wall of Names, 23, calls him Joseph MIRE frère [of Joachim dit Bénoni]; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2558-59, the LA section, calls him Joseph MIRE, says he was born in 1744 but gives no birthplace, gives his parents' names, details his marriage, including his wife's parents' names, says he occupied lot number 132 on the east bank of the Mississippi at St.-Jacques in 1769, & does not list any children; BRDR, 2:218, 548 (SGA-14, 4, #8), his marriage record, calls him Josef MIR, calls his wife Marie-Margarita DAIGRE, gives his & her parents'  names, says his parents were "of Acadia" & hers "from/of England," but gives no witnesses to his marriage; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:214, 576 (BRDA: SG: v.1786, p.4), a copy of his marriage record, calls him Josef MIR, calls his wife Marie-Marguerite DAIGLE, but gives no parents' names or witnesses to his marriage; BRDR, 2:548 (SGA-3, 16, #79), probably his death/burial record, calls him Joseph MIRE, but does not give his parents' names, mention a wife, or give his age at the time of his death.  

Although his marriage was recorded at St.-Gabriel, it probably was performed at Fort Bute, Manchac, north of the bayou & south of Baton Rouge, where her family settled.  The area north of Bayou Manchac did not have a church of its own until 1793, when Baton Rouge was given a parish, so priests from St.-Gabriel downriver, or from Pointe Coupée across the river, administered the sacraments in the Baton Rouge/Fort Bute/Manchac area until Baton Rouge got its own priest.  Why did he wait so long to marry?  Her parents were "from/of England" only in the sense that they were sent to England from VA in 1756 after being sent to that English colony from Minas in 1755.  Marie-Marguerite was born at Falmouth, England, in Oct 1759, accompanied her family to France in May 1763, & came to LA aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the 7 Ships from France, in Aug 1785. 

Looking at the sparseness of his burial record, one wonders if this was Joseph, père's or Joseph, fils's burial.  Joseph, père's wife remarried at Baton Rouge in Sep 1792, so it probably was his burial. 

03.  Wall of Names, 23, calls him Simon MIRE, & lists him with Madeleine CORMIER; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2559, the LA section, calls him Simon MIRE, says he was born in 1744 but gives no birthplace, gives his parents' names, says he married Madeleine CORMIER in 1766 but gives no place of marriage, gives her parents' names, says he occupied lot number 100 on the east bank of the Mississippi at St.-Jacques in 1769, lists his children as Marie-Anne, born in 1767, Joseph in 1768, Pierre in 1770, Simon in 1773, Pélagie in 1774, Isabelle in 1780, Constance in 1781, & Benjamin in 1783, but gives no birthplaces, & says he died sur sa ferme à Côte Gelée on 26 Dec 1807; Bourgeois, Cabanocey, 171, & Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians, 424, his marriage record, calls him Simon MIRE/MIRRE, calls his wife Madelaine/Madeleine CORMIER, but gives no witnesses to his marriage; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:528 (SM Ch.: v.4, #490), his death/burial record, calls him Simon MIRE "of Acadia," says he died "at his home at La Côte Gelée ... at age 70 yrs," & was buried next day, but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife; Southwest LA Records, 1-B:528 (SM Ct. Hse.: Succ. #16), his succession, calls him Simon MIRE, wid. is Magdaleine CORMIER. 

It is unlikely that his marriage at Cabanocé in Mar 1766 was merely the blessing of a marriage that already existed.  First, the ceremony was conducted not by a priest but by Cabanocé's commandant.  Second, Madeleine probably reached LA in Feb 1764 with her parents via GA & Mobile, a year before Simon arrived via Halifax & St.-Domingue.  The likely scenario is that Simon met Madeleine soon after he settled at Cabanocé.  They were married by the commandant on the same day that Madeleine's sister Marie married Michel POIRIER, another young Acadian who had recently arrived in the settlement.  

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