Acadians Who Found Refuge in Louisiana, February 1764-early 1800s
[PELL-eh-ranh]
ACADIA
In 1641, Pierre Pellerin, a blacksmith and nail maker, bound himself to Acadian Governor Charles de La Tour. After his term of service ended, or perhaps during the troubles between La Tour and his rival, the sieur d'Aulnay, Pellerin left Acadia and settled at Trois-Rivières on the St. Lawrence River.
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François Pellerin, born in c1636, came to Acadia from Québec by 1665, the year he married Andrée, daughter of Pierre Martin and Catherine Vigneau, at Port-Royal. François died at Port-Royal in c1678, in his early 40s. After François's death, Andrée moved to Chignecto, where she remarried to Pierre Mercier dit Caudebec. Before his death, François had given Andrée seven children, six daughters and a son. Five of their daughters married into the Trahan, Thériot, Hébert, Godin, Caissie, and Moyen families.
François and Andrée's seventh child, son Pierre, born at Port-Royal in c1678, the year his father died, moved to Canada in the early 1700s with his mother and stepfather. Pierre married Marie-Anne, daughter of Canadians Jacques Bélanger and Élisabeth Thibault, at St.-Pierre-du-Sud, below Québec City, in June 1722 and died there in c1731, in his early 50s.
At least two François and Andrée's daughters also moved to Canada. Catherine dit Caudebec married Pierre, son of Laurent dit Châtillon dit Beauséjour Godin and Anne Guérin, probably in Canada in c1697 and died at St.-François-du-Sud, today's Montmagny, below Québec City, in May 1758. The priest who recorded her burial said she was age 85. Jeanne married first to Roger, son of Guillaume Caissie and Marie-Françoise Poirier, probably at Chignecto in c1703, and then to Jacques Moyen, probably a Canadian, in c1711. Jeanne died at St.-Pierre-du-Sud in April 1744, in her late 60s.
As far as is known, no member of this branch of the Pellerin family emigrated to Louisiana, though the family's "blood" did.
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Another Pellerin, Étienne, born in c1647, was, according to Acadian genealogist Bona Arsenault, François's younger brother; however, Acadian genealogist Stephen A. White asserts: "We are ... in no position to affirm, as certain genealogists have claimed, that François and Étienne were brothers." Étienne reached Acadia after the first census was taken in 1671 and married Jeanne, daughter of François Savoie and Catherine Lejeune, at Port-Royal in c1675. They remained in the Port-Royal area. At one time Étienne owned Hog Island on Rivière-au-Dauphin, now the Annapolis River, near Port-Royal. In August 1714, soon after the British took over the colony, Étienne was among the Acadians who traveled to Île Royale, today's Cape Breton Island, aboard the King's vessel La Marie Joseph to look at land with the possibility of removing to the French territory. Evidently he did not like what he saw on Île Royale and returned to Annapolis Royal, enduring British rule there. He died at Annapolis Royal in November 1722, age 75. He and Jeanne had 10 children, including five sons, all born at Annapolis Royal, four of whom created families of their own. Étienne and Jeanne's five daughters married into the Calvé dit LaForge, Gaudet, Doucet, Brun, and Surette families.
Oldest son Pierre, born in c1682, survived childhood but did not marry.
Jean-Baptiste, born in c1685, married Marie, daughter of Pierre Martin and his Mi'kmaq wife Anne Ouestnorouest dit Petitous, at Port-Royal in February 1710. They had six children, including two sons who married into the Girouard and Bourg families. Two of their daughters married into the Doucet and Raymond families.
Charles dit Toc, born in c1690, married, in his mid-30s, Madeleine, daughter of Prudent Robichaud and Henriette Petitpas, at Annapolis Royal in January 1725.
Bernard, born in c1691, married Marguerite, daughter of Pierre Gaudet le jeune and Marie Blanchard, at Annapolis Royal in November 1713. They had 10 children, including four sons who married into the Belliveau, Boudrot, Savoie, Girouard, Préjean, and Thibodeau families. Three of their daughters married into the Brun and Thibodeau families.
Youngest son Alexandre, born in c1694, married Jeanne, another daughter of Pierre Gaudet le jeune and Marie Blanchard, at Annaplolis Royal in January 1716 and settled on what the Acadians called the haute-rivière above Annapolis Royal. One of their sons, Pierre, born at Annapolis Royal in c1718, moved to Canada and married Françoise Morin at Montmagny, below Québec, in April 1749. The others remained at Annapolis Royal.
[For more of this family in pre- and post-dispersal Acadia and Canada, see Book Three]
In 1755, descendants of Étienne Pellerin could still be found at Annapolis Royal, on Île St.-Jean, and in Canada.
LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT
[For the family's travails during the Great Upheaval, see Book Six]
LOUISIANA: WESTERN SETTLEMENTS
Two Pellerin brothers came to Louisiana with the Broussard dit Beausoleil party from Halifax via Cap-Français, St.-Domingue. After a short respite in New Orleans, they followed the Broussards across the Atchafalaya Basin to the Attakapas District, where they helped establish La Nouvelle-Acadie on the banks of Bayou Teche:
Grégoire Pellerin, age 41, came with wife Cécile Préjean, age 33, and perhaps three children, two sons and a daughter, their names and ages unrecorded. Cécile's mother was an older sister of the Beausoleil brothers.
Grégoire's younger brother Charles, age 35, came with wife Élisabeth, or Isabelle, Thibodeau, age 27, and no children, but Élisabeth was pregnant when they reached New Orleans.
Descendants of Grégoire PELLERIN (1724-?; Étienne)
Grégoire, older son of Bernard Pellerin and Marguerite Gaudet, born at Port-Royal in April 1724, married Cécile, daughter of Charles Préjean and Catherine-Josèphe Broussard, at Annapolis Royal in January 1752. They were among the Acadians who seized the British transport Pembroke on its way to North Carolina in December 1755 and sailed it across the Bay of Fundy to the lower Rivière St.-Jean. In the late 1750s, they sought refuge at Restigouche on the Gulf of St. Lawrence Bay but ended up as prisoners at Halifax after Restigouche fell to the British in 1760. British officials counted them with two children at Halifax in August 1763, but when they reached Louisiana with the Broussard dit Beausoleil party in February 1765, they were childless. They followed the Broussards to the Bayou Teche valley and, despite their middle age, had more children there, including a son. Their daughters married into the Auger or Oger, Frere, and Sigur families. Judging by the numbers and the names of the witnesses on Grégoire's daughters' marriage documents, this humble Acadian's children married men of means and influence, none of them fellow Acadians. One of his daughters settled in Iberville Parish on the river, but the others remained on the prairies. One of his granddaughters married a French official, who took her to France.
Frédéric, born at Attakapas in December 1770 and baptized by a Pointe Coupée priest in April 1773, married cousin Marie Anne, daughter of Frenchman François Pecot and his Acadian wife Rosalie Préjean of Mirebalais, Haiti, at Attakapas in July 1805. Marie Anne's family had come to Louisiana from Haiti via Cuba not long before she married Frédéric. He and Marie Anne settled on lower Bayou Teche in what became St. Mary Parish. By the late 1820s, Fréderic had become one of the few sugar planters on lower Bayou Teche. His and Marie Anne's only son Charles Frédéric was born in St. Mary Parish in March 1819. Their daughters married into the Sorrel family. Frédéric's succession was filed at the Franklin courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in July 1833; he would have been age 63 that year. Only his daughters married, so his line of the family, except for its blood, did not survive. Their younger daughter, Marie Angélique Désirée Coralie, wife of Martial Sorrel, avocat of Chautisse arrondissement de St. Martin, Department de Mere, France, accompanied her husband back to France after their 1834 marriage. They did not return to Louisiana. Marie died in France in May 1843, age 32. Older daughter Cécile Rosalie Célenie, married Antoine François Solange, called Solange, Sorrel, also a medical doctor and Martial's older brother, in October 1820 and remained in St. Mary Parish.
Charles Frédéric's succession was filed at the Franklin courthouse, St. Mary Parish, in August 1835, though he did not die until October 1841. The New Iberia priest who recorded the burial said that Chas. Frédéric died "at age 20 yrs."; he was 22. He was buried in "cemetery of Martial Sorrel," a brother-in-law, near New Iberia. Charles Frédéric did not marry, so his family line probably died with him.
Descendants of Charles PELLERIN (1730-c1767; Étienne)
Charles, younger son of Bernard Pellerin and Marguerite Gaudet, born at Annapolis Royal in June 1730, married Madeleine Thibodeau at Annapolis Royal in c1750. They, too, were among the Acadians who seized the British transport Pembroke on its way to North Carolina in December 1755 and sailed it across the Bay of Fundy to the lower Rivière St.-Jean. They also sought refuge at Restigouche on the Gulf of St. Lawrence Bay, where Charles remarried to Élisabeth, or Isabelle, daughter of Paul Thibodeau and Marguerite Trahan, in c1759. A son was born there the December after their marriage. They, too, ended up as prisoners at Halifax. British officials counted them there in August 1763; they had no children, so their son likely had died by then. When they reached Louisiana with the Broussard dit Beausoleil party in February 1765, Isabelle was pregnant. Their daughter Marie was born at Attakapas in August or September 1765. Charles died at Attakapas sometime between 1766 and 1768, in his late 30s. He had no surviving sons, and daughter Marie also probably died young, unless she was the Marie Pellerin who married Joseph Sennet in a civil ceremony in St. Mary Parish in September 1818. No matter, this family line, except perhaps for its blood, did not survive in the Bayou State.
François, born at Restigouche in December 1759 and baptized there the following May evidently died young. When British officials counted the family at Halifax in August 1763, his parents were listed without any children.
NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA
The most prominent, and prolific, Pellerin family of South Louisiana was descended from a high colonial official who came to Louisiana only a year after New Orleans was founded. The son of this high official was the first commandant of the Opelousas District, and two of the commandant's sons created vigorous lines of the family:
Descendants of Gérard PELLERIN (?-?)
Gérard, son of Robert Pellerin and Élisabeth Foulon of Mazieres-sur-Meuse, near Reims, France, came to Louisiana in March 1719. Gérard was serving as "magazine-intendant at the general control of the province of Louisiana, trustee of Parish of New Orleans," and was the widower of Angélique-Catherine Le Cosier, when he married Françoise, daughter of Pierre Ruellan of Pleneuf, Diocese of St.-Brieuc, Brittany, widow of Jean-Baptiste Scolan, "former notary and procurator of St.-Malo," at New Orleans in March 1729. Gérard served as garde-magazin, or storekeeper, of the colony until his ouster from the post in 1736.
Louis-Gérard or Gérard-Louis, called Louis, from his father's second wife, baptized at New Orleans, age unrecorded, in January 1730, became an infantry lieutenant in the colony and married Françoise-Alexandre Vielle at New Orleans in April 1756. They had at least one daughter. Louis remarried to Marie-Marthe, called Marthe, daughter of Jacques Hubert Bellair of Montréal, a captain of militia, at New Orleans in July 1757. Their son Louis-Jacques-Gérard was born at New Orleans in August 1760, Barthélémy-Louis in January 1762, Nicolas-Louis in March 1764, Louis dit Chation in c1771, Jean-Baptiste-Louis in February 1772, and Louis-Joseph in April 1776. Their daughters married into the Boye, Delahoussaye, and Fontenette families and, like most their brothers, settled in the Attakapas District. In 1763, the caretaker French government in New Orleans appointed Louis as first commandant of the Opelousas District. In July 1764, acting governor Jacques-Blaise d'Abbadie granted Louis 63 arpents of prairie and woods near Opelousas Post near present-day Washington; Louis named his holding Ste.-Marthe after his wife. According to one historian, Louis Pellerin's "heavy-handed superior attitude caused unrest among the inhabitants...." In September 1767, several of the district's "principal inhabitants" filed a petition against Commandant Pellerin in a New Orleans court, and Spanish Governor Ulloa removed him from his post. Louis died at New Orleans in April 1785, age 55. Two of his sons settled in the Attakapas District, the older one on upper Bayou Teche, the younger one on lower Bayou Teche near where an Acadian namesake settled. A few of Louis's grandsons married Acadians, but, typical of affluent French Creoles, most married their own kind. Louis's grandsons and great-grandsons settled in St. Martin, St. Mary, and Lafayette parishes.
1
Louis-Jacques-Gérard, by his father's second wife, married Jeanne- or Charlotte-Julie, called Julie, daughter of Joseph Decoux of Pointe Coupée, at Attakapas in October 1786. Their son Eugène-Nicolas was born at Attakapas in April 1790, François-Edmond, called Edmond, in May 1792, Georges-Godefroi, called Godefroi, in May 1794, Jacques-Louis in March 1799, Louis-Alexandre in January 1800, and Barthélémy-Valsin in September 1801. They also had sons named Alexandre and Nicolas-Martin, also called Damartin, Danmartin, Dumartin, Dans Martin, and Martin. Louis's succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in December 1824; he would have been age 64 that year.
1a
Alexandre married Louise Aimée, called Aimée, daughter of Jean Bossier or Boisdore of Bayou Teche, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in February 1808. They settled on lower Bayou Teche. Alexandre's succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse in September 1815. Their daughter married into the Dejean family. Alexandre had no sons, so his line of the family died with him.
1b
Godefroi married Joséphine or Séraphine Selimene Dusua, daughter of Emanuel Dusaua Delacroix, in St. Martin Parish in the late 1810s. Their son Georges Godefroi, fils, called Godefroi, was born in St. Martin Parish in April 1819 but died at age 19 months in October 1820. They also had a son named Alexandre Louis, also called Louis Alexandre, born probably in St. Martin Parish in the 1810s. Godefroi, père died "at the home of Mr. Boutté in New Iberia," then in St. Martin but now in Iberia Parish, in June 1820, age 26; his succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in February 1821.
Alexandre Louis or Louis Alexandre married Madeleine Isida or Nezida, daughter of French Creole Louis Judice, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in May 1837. Their son Joseph Godfroi was baptized at the St. Martinville church, age 3, in November 1842 but died at age 6 in March 1845, Emmanuel Danmartin was baptized, age unrecorded, in November 1842, Jules le jeune was born in c1844 but died at age 3 in September 1847, and Louis was born in Lafayette Parish in July 1849. Their daughters married into the Labby and Rikosky families. Alexandre Louis may have remarried to Acadian Marie Valérie, called Valérie, Boudreaux in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in December 1858. Their son Alexandre was born in St. Martin Parish in May 1861.
Emmanuel Danmartin, by his father's first wife, married Élisabeth, called Elise, daughter of Acadians Émilien Landry and Suzanne Prejean, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in May 1860. They settled near Youngsville. Their son Joseph Édouard was born in July 1867. During the War of 1861-65, Emmanuel Danmartin, called E. D. in Confederate records, served in Company K of the 2nd Regiment Louisiana Reserve Corps, a local defense unit raised in Lafayette Parish that fought area Jayhawkers in the last months of the war. As the birth of his son attests, he survived the war and returned to his family.
1c
François Edmond married cousin Françoise Adèle, called Adèle, daughter of Louis Lepelletier Delahoussaye, in a civil ceremony in St. Martin Parish in April 1822; Françoise's mother was Marie Charlotte Pellerin. Their son, name unrecorded, died at his parents' home in St. Martin Parish, "age about 2 yrs.," in August 1825. Their daughters married into the Decuir and Durand families. François Edmond's succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in November 1840; he would have been age 48 that year. His family line, except for its blood, may have died with him.
1d
Barthélémy Valsin married his brother Godefroi's widow, Joséphine or Séraphine Selimene Dusua Delacroix, in a civil ceremony in St. Martin Parish in November 1822, and sanctified the marriage at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in July 1832. Their son Emanuel Don Martin le jeune was born in St. Martin Parish in July 1823 but died at age 10 in July 1833, Joseph Adolphe, called Adolphe, was born in February 1825, and François Valsin, called Valsin, in February 1827. Barthélémy Valsin died in St. Martin Parish in December 1839; the priest who recorded the burial said that Valsin was age 34 when he died; he was 38.
Joseph Adolphe, called Adolphe, married Marie Caroline, called Caroline, daughter of Spanish Creole Gervais Castille, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in November 1846. Their son François Valsin le jeune was born in St. Martin Parish in September 1847, Louis near Breaux Bridge in July 1850 but died in August, a son, name and age unrecorded, died in October 1857, Joseph Adolphe was born in October 1860, Louis Godefroi in August 1862. Edmond in November 1866, and William Émile in February 1869. Their daughters married into the Broussard, Castille, and Wiltz families. Adolphe remarried to Louisa, daughter of Acadian Colin LeBlanc, at the St. Martinville church in November 1870.
François Valsin l'aîné died in St. Martin Parish in September 1847, age 20, and did not marry.
1e
Nicolas Martin married Marie Zoë, called Zoë, daughter of Louis St. Julien and his Acadian wife Anastasie Broussard, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in March 1825; one of the witnesses to their marriage was future governor Alexandre Mouton. Their son Nicolas Martin, fils, called Martin and Damartin, fils, was born in St. Martin Parish in December 1828, Edmond le jeune in March 1832, Jules Danmartin in c1834 but died at age 8 in October 1842, François Jules was born in August 1836, and Aymar in Lafayette Parish in February 1839. They also had a son named Don Louis. Their daughter married into the Barras family.
Martin, called Damartin, Jr. by the recording clerk, married Zerelda Foreman in a civil ceremony in Lafayette Parish in December 1853. Their son, name unrecorded, died in Lafayette Parish, age 4, in November 1862. Damartin, fil's succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in March 1864; he would have been age 36 that year.
Don Louis married Pauline, daughter of Acadian Ursin Broussard, at the Breaux Bridge church, St. Martin Parish, in May 1867. Their son Armand was born near Breaux Bridge in February 1868.
1f
Eugène Nicolas married Julie Eloise, Cléonide, or Éléonide, another daughter of Louis St. Julien and Anastasie Broussard, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in April 1826. Their son Godefroi le jeune was born in St. Martin Parish in June 1828 but died at age 3 1/2 in November 1831, Eugène, fils died at age 20 days in November 1836, another Eugène, fils was baptized at the Vermilionville church, age 9 months, in June 1839 but died at age 8 in October 1846, and Louis Edmond, called Edmond, was born in December 1841. They may also have had a son named Jean Charles Dubucle, who died in St. Martin Parish, age 11, in February 1846. Their daughters married into the Eastin, Judice, and Renf families. Eugène Nicolas died in St. Martin Parish in October 1867; the St. Martinville priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that Eugène died "at age 79 yrs."; he was 77.
During the War of 1861-65, Edmond, who was single, working as a clerk, and a resident of Lafayette Parish when he enlisted in June 1861, served in Company C of the 8th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. Martin Parish, which fought in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania--one of General R. E. Lee's Louisiana Tigers. Edmond enlisted as a private and was promoted to corporal. Except for bouts of illness in the summer of 1862 and the fall and spring of 1862-63, he was with his unit in its many battles and campaigns during the first half of the war. In early November 1863, he was captured along with many members of his regiment at Rappahannock Bridge, Virginia. The federals sent him to the prisoner-of-war camp at Point Lookout, Maryland, until he was exchanged in March 1864. He was captured again at Winchester, Virginia, in September 1864 and was held briefly at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. According to federal records, he was among the Confederate prisoners who arrived at Harpers Ferry "under [an] assumed name or who assumed one for the purpose of being transferred, exchanged, or released." The ruse did not work; the federals sent him back to the hell hole at Point Lookout. They did not release him until after General Lee's army surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, in April 1865. Edmond was paroled from nearby Lynchburg in late May and made his way home as best he could. He likely married cousin Medaise Broussard at the Youngsville church, Lafayette Parish, in January 1870.
1g
Louis Alexandre married Adélaïde Léonard probably in St. Martin Parish in the late 1820s or early 1830s. Their child, name unrecorded, died in St. Martin Parish, age 4 months, in June 1831. Louis Alexandre remarried to Marie Céleste or Céleste Mathilde, daughter of French Creole Charles du Closel Olivier and widow of François St. Cyr Delahoussaye, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in May 1835. Their son Louis Alexandre, fils, called Alexandre Louis by the recording priest, was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 1, in June 1839. Louis Alexandre, père's succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse in May 1841; he would have been age 41 that year.
Louis Alexandre, fils married Marie or Françoise Adelzenne, Edelizine, Edelsene, or Ethelzinde, daughter of Acadian Gerasin Richard and his Creole wife Cora Delahoussaye of Opelousas, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in May 1861. Their son Barthélémy Joseph was born near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in April 1868, and Pierre Richard near New Iberia, Iberia Parish, in February 1870.
2
Barthélémy-Louis, by his father's second wife, became a lieutenant of the Third Battalion of the Stationary Louisiana Regiment and married Marianne-Isabelle, daughter of Joseph Labat, at New Orleans in January 1801. They were still living in the city two years later.
3
Nicolas-Louis, by his father's second wife, married Adélaïde Gaillard or Gallard probably at New Orleans in the late 1780s or early 1790s. Their son Jean-Antoine was born in the city in February 1794, and Ursin in July 1796. Nicolas remarried to Julie, also called Marie Pouponne, daughter of Nicolas Prevost or Provost of Bayou Teche, at Attakapas in June 1806. They settled at La Côte au Puces, or the Flea Coast, on lower Bayou Teche near present-day New Iberia. Their son Nicolas Louis, fils, also called Jules Nicolas and Louis Nicholas, was born in October 1806, Hubert, also called Pierre, in December 1810, Jules in May 1813, Balthazar in March 1815, Calixte or Caliste, called Cali, in December 1816, and Octave in August 1819. Their daughter married into the Judice family. Nicolas Louis, called Hubert by the recording priest, died in St. Martin Parish in November 1832; the priest said that Hubert was age 58 when he died, but, if he was Nicolas Louis, he was 68. His sons settled on lower Bayou Teche between New Iberia and Charenton.
3a
Jules, by his father's second wife, married Joséphine Claire, called Claire and Clara, daughter of Acadians Valentin Landry and Marinette Hébert, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in May 1834. They settled on the lower Teche between New Iberia and Charenton. Their son Hubert le jeune was born in St. Martin Parish in December 1835, Alcide near New Iberia in August 1842, Joseph near Charenton in June 1850, Arthur in August 1851, and Eusèbe in June 1856. Their daughter married a LeBlanc cousin.
Hubert le jeune married first cousin Marie Éléonide, daughter of his uncle Nicolas Pellerin, at the Charenton church, St. Mary Parish, in May 1856. Their son Alfred was born near Charenton in April 1857, and Hubert, fils in September 1858.
3b
Nicolas Louis, fils, by his father's second wife, married Euphémie, daughter of French Creole Pierre Dartes, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in September 1835. They also settled on the lower Teche between New Iberia and Charenton. Their son Nicolas was born in March 1837, Louis in April 1845, Alcide near Charenton in March 1849 but, called Alcide Leviney, died at age 3 1/2 in August 1852, Gustave Louis was born in January 1851, Ovide in January 1853, and twins Edmund Norbert and Jules Edmonia in February 1855. Their daughters married into the Gigleaux, Leignon or Legnon, and Pellerin families. Nicolas Louis, fils, died near Charenton, St. Mary Parish, in January 1859; the priest who recorded the burial said that "Jules Nicolas," as he called him, died "at age 50 yrs."; he was 52.
Louis married cousin Eugénie, daughter of Joseph Legnon, in a civil ceremony in St. Mary Parish in May 1867, and sanctified the marriage at the Charenton church, St. Mary Parish, in June; Eugénie's mother, also, was a Dartes. Their son Philemon was born near Charenton in February 1868.
3c
Hubert, by his father's second wife, married Elina, daughter of Anglo American Lewis Moore, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in July 1836; the marriage also was recorded in St. Mary Parish; Elina's mother was an Hébert. Their daughter married into the LeBlanc family. Hubert remarried to Célestine Ernestine, another daughter of Pierre Dartes, at the New Iberia church, then in St. Martin but now in Iberia Parish, in December 1842. Their son Pierre Adrien was born near New Iberia in October 1843, and Octave le jeune in November 1845. Hubert's succession was filed at the Franklin courthouse, St. Mary Parish, in February 1848; he would have been age 38 that year. His daughter Marie Alice was born posthumously near Charenton in April 1848.
3d
Caliste, by his father's second wife, married cousin Marie Virginie, daughter of Nicolas Philemon Prevost or Provost, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in January 1838; the marriage also was recorded in St. Mary Parish. They settled near New Iberia and Charenton. Their son Octave was born near Charenton in January 1846, Paul Gustave near New Iberia in June 1849, Caliste Alexandre near Charenton March 1856, Henry in March 1863, and Jules Edmond near New Iberia in September 1865. Their daughter married a Provost cousin. During the War of 1861-65, when he would have been in his late 40s, Caliste may have served in Company B of the 2nd Regiment Louisiana Cavalry, raised in Natchitoches Parish, which fought in Louisiana. At his age, one wonders how effective his service would have been. Caliste died near New Iberia in November 1869; the priest who recorded the burial, and who died not give any parents' names or mention a wife, said that Callixte, as he called him, died "at age 55 yrs."; he was a month shy of 53; his succession, calling him Caliste and indentifying his wife, was filed at the Franklin courthouse, St. Mary Parish, in March 1870.
Paul Gustave died near New Iberia, Iberia Parish, in September 1866. The priest who recorded the burial said that Paul S., as he called him, died "at age 16 yrs." He was 17. One wonders if his death was war-related.
3e
Balthazar, by his father's second wife, married Marie Célina or Célina Marie, daughter of French Creole Maximilien Judice, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in March 1839. They settled near New Iberia. Their son Louis Anatole was born in February 1846 but, called Anatole, died at age 2 1/2 in November 1848, Dominique Nicolas was born in April 1848, Édouard in September 1850, and Joseph Edmond in May 1862. Their daughters married into the Bonsignes, Judice, and Vincent families.
3f
A succession for Octave l'aîné, by his father's second wife, was filed at the Franklin courthouse, St. Mary Parish, in August 1843; he would have been age 24 old that year. One wonders if he married.
4
A succession for "Jean Baptiste Pellerin of New Orleans" was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse, Lafayette Parish, in February 1832. If this was Louis Gérard's fifth son, Jean Baptiste Louis, by his father's second wife, then Jean Baptiste would have been age 60 that year. Did he marry?
5
Louis dit Chation, by his father's second wife, died "at his sister's, Mrs. veuve Fontenette," in St. Martin Parish in March 1835, age 63. One wonders if he, too, ever married.
6
Louis-Joseph, Louis-Gérard's sixth and youngest son, by his father's second wife, may have died at New Orleans in April 1785; if so, he would have been age 9 at the time of his death; the St.-Louis parish priest who recorded Louis Pelerin's burial did not give his parents' names or his age when he died. Or Louis-Joseph may have been the Louis Pellerin who married Acadian Anastasie Boudreaux in the old Attakapas District. Their son Louis, fils married Belzire, daughter of French Creole Pierre Baudoin, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in August 1841; Belzire's mother was an Hébert.
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Areas church and civil records make it difficult to link other Pellerins in the western parishes with commandant Louis-Gérard and his sons:
Françoise Pellerin, widow of St.-Marc Darby or D'Arcy, died at her home in St. Martin Parish in June 1812, age 55. The priest who recorded her burial did not give her parents' names.
Marie Pellerin married Joseph Sennet in a civil ceremony in St. Mary Parish in September 1818. The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. One wonders if she was a descendant of Gérard Pellerin or if she was an Acadian.
Arthur Pellerin married Marie Corinne or Corinne Amelia Carmillin or Armelin in a civil ceremony in St. Mary Parish in August 1854. The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. Their son Aurelien was born near Franklin in September 1856, and Charles in July 1866.
Alzire Pellerin married Aubin Legnon in a civil ceremony in St. Mary Parish in December 1865. The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names.
John Pellerin died in St. Martin Parish in September 1863, age 34. The St. Martinville priest who recorded the burial did not give John's parents' names or mention a wife. One wonders if John's death was war-related.
Casimir Pellerin married Armelise Léocadie Blanchard, place and date unrecorded. They settled near Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, by the late 1860s.
Françoise Celimène Pellerin married Francis F. Palms in a civil ceremony in St. Martin Parish in May 1869. The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names.
Adolphe Pellerin died near Breaux Bridge, St. Martin Parish, in January 1869. The priest who recorded the burial, and who did not give any parents' names, said that Adolphe died "at age 20 yrs."
~
Other non-Acadian Pellerins lived in South Louisiana during the late colonial and antebellum periods and probably were not kin to Louis-Gérard and sons:
Étienne Pellerin and his wife Jeanne Crocbinet lived for a time at Baton Rouge before settling on Bayou Lafourche. Their son François, born at Baton Rouge, moved to St. Martin Parish and died "at the home of Mr. St. Julien at Bayou Tortue," near present-day Lafayette, in January 1816, age 24, and probably did not marry.
Jean Laurent, called Laurent, Pellerin, sometimes called Pilgrim, of St. John the Baptist Parish on the Upper German Coast, married Catherine André, place and date unrecorded, and moved to Bayou Lafourche by the late 1810s. Their son Laurent, born at New Orleans, married Eulalie, daughter of French Creole Louis Rome, at the St. James church, St. James Parish, in August 1823. Their daughters married into the Rouanet and Sigur families.
Joséphine, daughter of Pierre Pellerin and Marie Rose Lartigue, married Simon Théodore, son of Acadian Onésime Landry, at the Donaldsonville church, Ascension Parish, in February 1853.
~
Pellerins who lived in St. Martin Parish during the antebellum and immediate post-war periods were neither French Creole nor Acadian but Afro Creoles who may have been owned, and freed, by members of the family:
Casimir Pellerin, an homme de couleur libre, or free man of color, fathered a "natural daughter" with Denise Trahan in St. Martin Parish in the late 1820s. Casimir died in St. Martin Parish in February 1833, age 24.
Adélaïde Pellerin, a femme de couleur libre, or free woman of color, died in St. Martin Parish in June 1834, age 23. The priest who recorded her burial listed only her mother, Adélaïde Gallard, a free woman of color. Interestingly, a Nicolas Pellerin had fathered a son named Jean-Antoine with Adélaïde Gallard or Gaillard at New Orleans in February 1794, and a Chatillon Pellerin had fathered a son named Ursin with the same woman at New Orleans in July 1796. Were the fathers of these boys two sons of Louis Pellerin--Nicolas-Louis, born in 1764; and Louis dit Chation, born in 1771?
Mathilde Pellerin, a femme de couleur libre, died in St. Martin Parish in February 1833, age 28. The priest who recorded her burial did not give her parents' names.
Léocade Marie, "an Indian," daughter of Émilie Pellerin, married Rémond, son of French Creole Pierre Auguste Bernard, at the Charenton church, St. Mary Parish, in June 1852.
Auguste, "aff[ranchi] de [freedman of] Azie Grozendor," son of Lucie Pellerin, married Louisa, aff[ranchie] de Alcibiade Deblane," actually DeBlanc, daughter of Fanchonette, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in August 1867. The priest who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's fathers' names.
CONCLUSION
Pellerins settled early in Acadia, and were among the earliest Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana. Two middle-aged grandsons of Étienne Pellerin of Port-Royal--Grégoire and Charles--came to the colony from Halifax via Cap-Français, St.-Domingue in February 1765 with the Broussard dit Beausoleil party and followed them to Bayou Teche. Only Grégoire had a son of his own, and his only son had only one son, who died before he could marry. By the 1840s, except for its blood, this thin Acadian line of the Pellerin family died out in South Louisiana.
All of the Pellerins of South Louisiana, then, are descended from French Creoles and Foreign French, not Acadians. During the late colonial and early antebellum periods, two vigorous lines established by sons of the Opelousas District's first commandant settled in what became St. Martin, St. Mary, and Lafayette parishes. Typical of affluent French Creoles throughout South Louisiana, these Pellerins married into some of the area's most prominent families, but few married Acadians. ...
The family's name also is spelled Pelerin, Pellarin, Pellein. They should not be confused with the French-Creole Pellegrin family of the Bayou Lafourche area. [See also Book Ten]
Sources: Arsenault, Généalogie, 710-17, 1662, 2565-66; Bernard, Teche, 65; BRDR, vols. 2, 3, 4, 8; De Ville, Opelousas History, 10, 20, 22-24, 37, 56n28, quote from 22; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 348 (source of quotation); 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, 251; NOAR, vols. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 646-47; White, DGFA-1, 1277-80; White, DGFA-1 English, 271-72 (source of quote).
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):
Ascension |
Lafourche (Lafourche, Terrebonne) |
Pointe Coupée |
|||
Assumption |
Natchitoches (Natchitoches) |
SB | San Bernardo (St. Bernard) | ||
Attakapas (St. Martin, St. Mary, Lafayette, Vermilion) |
San Luìs de Natchez (Concordia) |
St.-Gabriel d'Iberville (Iberville) |
|||
Bayou des Écores (East Baton Rouge, West Feliciana) |
New Orleans (Orleans) |
St.-Jacques de Cabanocé (St. James) |
|||
Baton Rouge (East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge) |
Opelousas (St. Landry, Calcasieu) |
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.
Name | Arrived | Settled | Profile |
Charles dit Lasers PELLERIN 01 | Feb 1765 | Atk | born 5 Jun 1730, baptized 1 Oct 1730, Annapolis Royal; son of Bernard PELLERIN & Marguerite GAUDET; brother of Grégoire; married, age 20, (1)Madeleine THIBODEAUX, c1750, probably Annapolis Royal; likely exiled to NC aboard Pembroke Dec 1755, age 25, but passengers, including 2 of his brothers, seized the vessel, took it to Baie St.-Marie & then in Jan 1756 to lower Rivière St.-Jean, found refuge at Ste.-Anne-du-Pays-Bas, Rivière St.-Jean, winter of 1756, & then went to Miramichi on the Gulf of St. Lawrence shore, summer of 1756; married, age 29, (2) Élisabeth/Isabelle, daughter of Paul THIBODEAUX & Marguerite TRAHAN, c1759, probably Restigouche; on list of Acadian prisoners at Halifax, Aug 1763, called Charle PELLERON, with unnamed wife & no children; arrived LA Feb 1765, age 35, with party from Halifax via St.-Domingue led by Joseph BROUSSARD dit Beausoleil; in Attakapas census, 1766, La Manque District, called Carlos PELLERIN, no age given, with 1 unnamed woman [wife Élisabeth] & 1 unnamed girl [daughter Marie?] in his household; died probably Attakapas between 1766-68, in his late 30s |
Grégoire PELLERIN 02 | Feb 1765 | Atk | born 17 Mar 1724, baptized 16 Apr 1724, Annapolis Royal; son of Bernard PELLERIN & Marguerite GAUDET; brother of Charles; married, age 28, Cécile, daughter of Charles PRÉJEAN & Catherine-Josèphe BROUSSARD, 10 Jan 1752, Port-Royal; exiled to NC aboard Pembroke Dec 1755, age 31, but passengers seized the vessel, took it to Baie St.-Marie & then in Jan 1756 to lower Rivière St.-Jean, found refuge at Ste.-Anne-du-Pays-Bas, Rivière St.-Jean, winter of 1756, & then went to Restigouche, summer of 1756; at Nipisiguit 1761; on list of Acadian prisoners at Halifax, Aug 1763, called Grigoire PELLERAN, with unnamed wife & 2 unnamed children; arrived LA Feb 1765, age 41, with party from Halifax led by Joseph BROUSSARD dit Beausoleil; on list of Acadians who exchanged card money in New Orleans, Apr 1765; in Attakapas census, 1766, La Manque District, called Jorge PELLERIN, with 1 unnamed woman [wife Cécile], 2 unnamed boys, & 1 unnamed girl in his household; in Attakapas census, 1769, called Grégoire PELERIN, age 40[sic], perhaps an engagé working for [Jacques-Joseph] SOREL, with unnamed wife [Cécile], & daughters Émilie age 2 & newborn Marie Joseph; in Attakapas census, 1771, age 45[sic], with unnamed wife [Cécile] age 41 or 44, 1 unnamed boy [Frédéric] age 4 months, 2 unnamed girls ages 4 [Émilie] & 3 [Marie-Josèphe?], 0 slaves, 25 cattle, 4 horses, 10 sheep, 12 arpents without title; in Attakapas census, 1774, with unnamed wife [Cécile], 4 unnamed children, 0 slaves, 50 cattle, 10 horses & mules, 8 pigs, 0 sheep; died by 1777, when his wife was listed in the Attakapas census as a widow |
Marie PELLERIN 03 | Feb 1765 | Atk | born Aug or Sep 1765, Attakapas; baptized 11 Jan 1766, Attakapas; daughter of Charles dit Lasers PELLERIN & his second wife Isabelle THIBODEAUX; arrived LA Feb 1765, in utero, with party from Halifax via St.-Domingue led by Joseph BROUSSARD dit Beausoleil; in Attakapas census, 1766, La Manque District, unnamed, no age given, probably the girl in the household of Carlos PELLERIN; in Attakapas census, 1771, unnamed, age 10[sic, actually 6], with mother & stepfather Joseph MARTIN; in Attakapas census, 1774, unnamed, no age given, with mother, stepfather, & 1 half-sibling; not in Attakapas census, 1777, with mother, stepfather, & 2 half-siblings, so she probably died young |
NOTES
01. Wall of Names, 23, calls him Charles PELLERIN; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2566, the LA section, calls him Charles PELLERIN, gives his parents' names, says he was born in 1730 but gives no birthplace, details his first marriage but says nothing of his second marriage, says his first wife gave him one child, Marie, born in 1766, but gives no birthplace, & says he died at Opelousas on 1 Jan 1809; White, DGFA-1, 1282, calls him Charles [PELLERIN] dit Lasers, gives his parents' names, his birth/baptismal dates, says his godparents were Claude GAUDET son of Bernard & Marie-Marguerite PELLERIN daughter of Bernard [his sister], details his two marriages, does not give his first wife's parents' names, gives his second wife's parents' names, says he was at Halifax in 1763 & at Attakapas in 1766, & that he died between 1766 & 1768 but gives no place of death.
For his likely participation in the Pembroke affair of 1755, the only instance in which Acadian exiles seized a British vessel, see the article entitled "Pembroke Passenger List Reconstructed" by Paul Delaney in <acadian-home.org>. He is not on Delany's reconstructed passenger list, but it stands to reason that if his older brothers were forced aboard the vessel, so was he.
Arsenault's claim that Charles died at Attakapas on 1 Jan 1809 is put to rest by Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:577 (Opel. Ch.: v.1, p. 99), which shows that Charles PELLETIER, "originally from Canada," not Charles PELLERIN, died on that date. White says he died between 1766 & 1768 but gives no place of death.
02. Wall of Names, 23, calls him Grégoire PELLERIN; White, DGFA-1, 1282, calls him Grégoire [PELLERIN], gives his parents' names, says his godparents were Claude GIROUARD & Marie DOUCET, details his marriage, including his wife's parents' names, says they had to secure "disp 3-4 cons" in order to marry, that he was at Halifax in 1763 & at Attakapas in 1766, where he was called Georges, & says nothing of his death/burial. See also Arceneaux, D. J., Attakapas Post in 1769, 25, 37; <thecajuns.com/cardmoney.htm>.
For his participation in the Pembroke affair of 1755, the only instance in which Acadian exiles seized a British vessel, see the article entitled "Pembroke Passenger List Reconstructed" by Paul Delaney in <acadian-home.org>. With him & his wife on the Pembroke was daughter Marguerite, born at Port-Royal on 9 Aug 1754, so she was only a year old when the vessel sailed. Delaney also is the source for his family's presence at Nipisiguit, now Bathurst, New Brunswick, in 1761. Delaney claims that Grégoire died at St. Martinville in 1808 but does not cite his source.
Evidently the 2 children with him & his wife at Halifax died soon after the family reached LA. Note that they seem to be counted at Attakapas in Apr 1766, & then they are gone, unless the children with them in 1766 were relatives.
The Attakapas census of 1769 does not call him an engagé, or hired worker, but his being listed with Jean-Jacques SOREL, a prominent Attakapas cattle rancher, along with SOREL's "Pierre, Negro," age 16, gives the impression that Grégoire was working for the rancher. See Arceneaux, D. J., 25. Note that one of the witnesses to the marriage contract between Grégoire's daughter Émilie to Pierre SIGUR at Attakapas in Nov 1788 was Joseph, likely Jacques-Joseph, SORREL. See Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:613, 708 (SM Ct.Hse.: OA-v.6, #22). J. or Joseph SOREL/SORREL also was a witness to the marriage of Grégoire's daughter Marie to Alexandre FRERE of Paris in Jan 1805. See Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:303, 575-76 (SM Ch.: v.5, #33; SM Cte.Hse.: OA-vol.22-2, #200). Note also that 2 of Grégoire's granddaughters--Cécile Rosalie Silenie & Marie Angélique Désirée--married into the SORREL family in 1820 & 1834, respectively. See Acadian marriage study. So the PELLERIN/SOREL family relationship was a long & intimate one.
03. Wall of Names, 23, calls her Marie [PELLERIN]; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2566, says she was born in 1766; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:615 (SM Ch.: v.1, p.16; SM Ch.: Slave Baptism Register v. 1, p.3), her birth/baptismal record, calls her Marie PELLERIN, & says she was baptized "at age 4 mths." See also De Ville, Attakapas Census, 1771, 12.
If the priest who baptized her was accurate in his record keeping, this means she would have been born in Aug or Sep 1765 & would have been in utero when her mother stepped off the ship at New Orleans in Feb 1765, so she will remain on this listing. Her age in the Attakapas census of 1771 gives her a birth year of c1761, but this contradicts the baptismal record. She is not listed in the British report of Aug 1763 at Halifax with her parents, when, according to the census of 1771, she would have been 2 years old, so the age given in the census of 1771 is off. See Jehn, Acadians Exiles in the Colonies, 251.
What became of her? She is not listed in the Attakapas census of 1777 with her mother & stepfather; she would have been 12 years old that year. See De Ville, Southwest LA Families, 1777, 14, Family No. 83. Unless she was living with a relative at the time, she probably died young.
Copyright (c) 2007-23 Steven A. Cormier