APPENDICES

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

POTIER

[POH-tee-ay, PWAH-tee-ay]

ACADIA

On 18 October 1672, Jean Talon, intendant of New France, with the approbation of Acadian governor Hector d'Andigné de Grandfontaine, granted a concession "of some two leagues of river frontage" near the mouth of Rivière St.-Jean, in present-day New  Brunswick, to Jacques Potier, sieur de Saint-Denis.  Unlike other seigneurs on the lower river, Saint-Denis, as he would have been called, seems to have been an absentee landlord. 

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Jean Pothier, also Poitiers, born in France in c1672, came to Acadia in the 1690s and married Anne, daughter of Michel Poirier and Marie Boudrot, probably at Port-Royal in c1699.  They settled at Chignecto and had three children, two sons and a daughter, who created families of their own.  Their daughter married into the Deveau dit Dauphiné family.  After Anne died, Jean remarried to Marie-Madeleine, daughter of Guyon Chiasson and Marie-Madeleine Martin, probably at Chignecto in c1709.  Marie-Madeleine gave him seven more children, three sons and four daughters, who also created families of their own.  Their daughters married into the Chênet dit La Garenne, Renaud dit Arnaud, Oudy, and Lamoureux dit Rochefort families.  Jean died in 1724 or 1725, in his early 50s, place unrecorded, perhaps on Île St.-Jean, where a son was baptized in July 1725, 5 1/2 months after his posthumous birth.  Marie-Madeleine promptly remarried to a LaForest on the island and was counted with her family at Havre-à-l'Anguille on the island's east coast in 1734, a widow again.  She died at Cherbourg, France, in August 1759, age 70, during exile. 

Oldest son Pierre, by first wife Anne Poirier, born probably at Port-Royal in c1700, married Marie Doucet probably at Chignecto.  Pierre died before November 1783.

Jean-Baptiste, called Jean, fils, from first wife Anne Poirier, born at Port-Royal or Chignecto in the early or late 1700s, married cousin Marie-Josèphe, daughter of Joseph Hébert and Anne-Marie Boudrot, probably at Chignecto in c1729 and died in the early 1750s.

Louis, by second wife Marie-Madeleine Chiasson, born probably at Chignecto in c1710, married Cécile, daughter of Jean-Jacques Nuirat and Marie-Jeanne Bourgeois and widow of Pierre Poirier, at Chignecto in February 1733.  Louis died perhaps at Chignecto between 1745 and 1750.

Jacques-Christophe, called Christophe, from second wife Marie-Madeleine Chiasson, born at Chignecto in c1713, married Anne, daughter of Michel Boudrot and Anne Landry, at St.-Pierre-du-Nord, Île St.-Jean, in February 1740.  Christophe died in the crossing from Île St.-Jean to St.-Malo, France, in December 1758, in his mid-40s. 

Youngest son Charles, by second wife Marie-Madeleine Chiasson, born posthumously on Île St.-Jean in January 1725, married Marie-Blanche, daughter of Jean Caissie and Cécile Hébert, at Chignecto in February 1746.  Charles also died in the crossing from Île St.-Jean to St.-Malo, France, in December 1758, in his early 30s. 

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

In 1755, descendants of Jean Pothier could be found at Chignecto, in the trois-rivières area west of Chignecto, on Île St.-Jean, and perhaps at Minas. 

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A noble family with a similar-sounding name, no kin to Jean Pothier of Chignecto and Île St.-Jean, also lived in greater Acadia before Le Grand Dérangement.  According to descendant Louis Le Gendre:  "The original family name is ‘de Poitiers du Buisson’; this name was modified during the course of time in the ‘New France’ period, as was relatively frequent in these times. The parents of the future New France settlers were Pierre-Charles de Poitiers du Buisson, a captain with the French royal army, married to Hélène de Belleau. After they died, their two children were entrusted to their uncle, who sent them to New France in the early 1660s as part of emigration programs sponsored by the Royal government; the son, Jean-Baptiste de Poitiers du Buisson as an ‘écuyer’ (squire) in the famous New France regiment of Carignan – Salières (de Chambly Company), and the daughter, Marie-Charlotte, as an early ‘Filles du Roy’ in 1660, to be educated by nuns and then to be married to New France settlers." 

According to Louis Le Gendre, "Daughter Marie-Charlotte married first Joseph Hébert, a Québec early settler’s son, who was later killed by Indians on the Isle d’Orléans, on the Saint Laurent river (facing Québec city); she remarried with Simon Lefebvre with whom she had 8 children, living in Neuville, just West of Quebec city, along the Saint Laurent river."

In October 1670, at Québec, Jean-Baptiste, at age 24, married Élisabeth, 18-year-old daughter of Gaspard Jossard and Marie Deschamps, of Paris.  "After being demobilized from the Carignan regiment," Le Gendre relates, "Jean-Baptiste became a fur trader in New England (New York and Albany, NY), while also spying and reporting on British troops movements for the governor of New France; he retired in Montreal, QC, where he was for a while the organist at the Montréal cathedral."  He and wife Elisabeth Jossard had seven children, four daughters and three sons.  Louis Le Gendre points out that two of the sons "went to Acadia in different circumstances...." 

Oldest son Robert, born on Staten Island, New York, in December 1682, married Charlotte Arnaud at Montréal in August 1707.  Robert served as subdelegate to the King's commissaire on Île St.-Jean between 1722 and 1744, "reporting to the main royal ‘Intendant based in Louisbourg, Isle Royale, now Cape Breton.  He was in charge of economical and administrative matters on Isle Saint-Jean (PEI), working side by side with the French officer who was in charge of defense and police.  He died on Isle Saint-Jean in 1744 and," Louis Le Gendre adds, "I understand his grave can still be found in Port La Joye, Isle Saint-Jean.  His wife had died earlier, and his daughter Louise-Marguerite stayed in Acadia and died in 1660[1770?] in Restigouche, Acadia (QC)."

Jean-Baptiste's second son Guillaume, born on Staten Island, New York, in c1689, served as lieutenant dans les troupes in Canada and became sieur de Pommeroyd. "During his career, Louis Le Gendre relates, "he was stationed in various parts of New France, including in Acadia, apparently on Isle Saint-Jean, but our records indicate that he died in 1735 in Fort Frontenac (now Kingston, ON), after having been wounded by Indians as he was patrolling on an assignment with his section to prevent illegal fur trading (this is a bit ironic as he had first married ... an Illini Inidian...)" Around 1720, probably at Kaskaskia, Illinois, Guillaume married Marie Apeckicouata, an Indian.  In August 1728, at Montréal, he remarried to Jeanne-Philippe, daughter of Gédéon de Catalogne and Marie-Anne Lemire.  They had two children, a son and a daughter, in 1730 and 1734, probably at Montréal and, as Louis Le Gendre says, Guillaume died in the pays d'en haut in 1735, soon after the birth of his daughter.  Son René-Gédéon became a soldier like his father, serving first as enseigne on Île Royale in 1749, when he was age 19, and then as enseigne en pied there in 1750.  In 1755, at the beginning of the war against Britain, he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the French stronghold at Louisbourg on Île Royale.  At age 27, he married Marguerite, daughter of Pierre-Hector d'Ailleboust de Saint-Vilmé and Renée Daccarette, at Port-La-Joye, Île St.-Jean, in October 1757, and took his bride back to Louisbourg.  After the British captured Louisbourg in July 1758, they deported Lieutenant René-Gédéon Poitier de Pommeroy and his family, along with the other members of the garrison, to France.  René-Gédéon became a capitaine dans les troupes at Guyane in 1764, was awarded the Order of Saint-Louis in 1771, and retired from the King's service at Saintes in Saintogne in 1773.  He remarried to Marie de Grange in France in August 1766, and then to Marie-Jeanne Daccarette, widow of Charles Denis, also in France. 

No member of this family emigrated to Louisiana.  

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

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

LOUISIANA:  WESTERN SETTLEMENTS

All of the Acadian Potiers who came to Louisiana did so aboard three of the Seven Ships from France in 1785.  Most of their fellow immigrants chose to settle on the river above New Orleans or on upper Bayou Lafourche.  A Potier family and a Potier wife were exceptions.  They chose go to the Attakapas District, west of the Atchafalaya Basin, where their spouses' relatives had settled:

Pierre Potier, age 45, sailed to Louisiana with second wife Agnès Broussard, age 31, and five of their children--Charles-Victor, age 16; Marie-Constance, age 14; Anne-Apolline, age 12; Pierre-Laurent, age 10; and François-Constant, an infant--aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships from France, which reached New Orleans in late August 1785.  Most of their fellow passengers went to Baton Rouge on the river, but not this family.  Interestingly, Pierre's first wife had been Anne-Marie Bernard, and that family, too, had settled early at Attakapas.  DaughterMarie Constance Potier, wife of Paul Leger, died in St. Landry Parish in January 1844, age 74; she was perhaps a widow; her succession was filed at the Opelousas courthouse the following March. 

Also aboard Le Beaumont was Charlotte Potier, age 41, second husband Pierre Hébert, age 45, two of her children, a daughter age 11 and an infant son; and Pierre's brother Jean-Baptiste, age 40.  Charlotte died at her home at Carencro, then in St. Martin but now in Lafayette Parish, in September 1815; the priest who recorded her burial said that she was age 65 when she died; she was closer to 72. 

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A Potier from France who went to the western prairies created by far the largest center of family settlement: 

Descendants of Pierre POTIER (c1740-1786; Jean)

Pierre, fils, son of Pierre Potier and Marie Doucet, born at Tintamarre, Chignecto, in c1740, followed his family to Île St.-Jean probably in the early 1750s.  The British deported him to France in late 1758.  He ended up at Le Havre in Normandy, where he married Anne-Marie or Marie-Anne, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Bernard and Marguerite Hébert, in April 1764.  During the early 1770s, they were part of the failed Acadian settlement scheme in Poitou.  In November 1775, they retreated with other Poitou Acadians to the port city of Nantes and lived in the suburb of Chantenay, where Pierre remarried to Agnès, daughter of fellow Acadians Joseph Broussard and Ursule LeBlanc and widow of Dominique Giroir, in November 1783.  They came to Louisiana aboard Le Beaumont, third of the Seven Ships, in 1785 and chose to settle at Attakapas.  Pierre and Agnès had another son at Attakapas only a few months before Pierre died in October 1786; the priest who recorded the burial said that Pierre was age 48 when he died, but he likely was a few years younger; his succession, in which he is called Charles, was filed at what became the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, the day after his burial.  His daughters married into the Léger and Savoie families.  Three of his four sons created families of their own, and two of their lines survived, in St. Martin, St. Landry, and Lafayette parishes. 

1

Oldest son Charles-Victor, by his father's first wife, born at Le Havre, France, in October 1768, married Marie-Madeleine, daughter of Louis-Armand Ducrest and Anne-Catherine Wiltz of Pointe Coupée, at Attakapas in March 1793.  They settled at L'Anse and then at La Pointe on upper Bayou Teche near present-day Breaux Bridge. Their son Louis-Alexandre, called Alexandre, was born in April 1797, and Charles-Armand, also called Charles, fils, in August 1801.  Their daughters married into the Guidry, Guilbeau, and Thibodeaux families.  Charles died "in the morning at this home at la pointe" in August 1827; the priest who recorded the burial said that Charles died "at age about 60 years"; he was 58. 

1a

Louis Alexandre married Claire, daughter of Alexandre Barras and his Acadian wife Madeleine Guilbeau of Bayou Teche, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in October 1821.  They settled at La Pointe.  Their son Louis, fils was born in June 1824.  Their daughter married into the Thibodeaux family.  Louis Alexandre's first succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in February 1842; he would have been age 45 that year; it was not post-mortem.  In November 1850, the federal census taker in St. Martin Parish counted 12 slaves--8 males and 4 females, all black except for one mulatto, ranging in age from 60 to 2--on Alexr. Potier's farm near Charles Potier.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. Martin Parish counted 12 slaves, again--7 males and 5 females, 7 blacks and 5 mulattoes, ages 42 years to 10 months, living in 3 houses--on Alexandier Potier's farm near Widow Charles Potier.  Louis Alexandre's second succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse in November 1867; he would have been age 70 that year; this probably was a post-mortem record.  His family line, except for its blood, may have died with him. 

Louis, fils died in St. Martin Parish in October 1853.  The priest who recorded the burial said that Louis died "at age 27 yrs."; he was 29.  His succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse the following August.  He probably did not marry. 

1b

Charles, fils married Marie Madeleine Marcellite, called Marie Marcellite and Marcellite, daughter of fellow Acadian Anaclet Broussard and his Creole wife Madeleine Wiltz, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in June 1826.  Their son Charles III, also called Victor Charles, was born in St. Martin Parish in August 1829, Joseph, called Jo, in July 1831, a son, name unrecorded, died a day after his birth in March 1835, Sylvain le jeune was born in December 1836 but died at age 5 1/2 in October 1842, Félix was born in March 1841, and Jacques in April 1849.  Their daughters married into the Bienvenu, Broussard, Bulliard, and Voorhies families.  Charles's succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in March 1839; he would have been age 38 that year and was still alive when the sucession was filed.  In November 1850, the federal census taker in St. Martin Parish counted 10 slaves--5 males and 5 females, all black, ranging in age from 38 to 3--on Charles Potier's farm near Alexr. Potier.  Charles died in St. Martin Parish in May 1853; the St. Martinville priest who recorded the burial said that Charles died "at age 55 yrs."; he was 51.  In June 1860, the federal census taker in St. Martin Parish counted 5 slaves--3 males and 2 females, all black, ages 7 years to 4 months, living in 2 houses--on Widow Charles Potier's farm near Alexandier Potier, and 12 more slaves--6 males and 6 females, all black, ages 44 to 8--on Widow Chs. Potier's farm in another part of the parish; these were Marcellite Broussard's slaves. 

Charles III married Marie Athenaise, called Athenaise, daughter of Hippolyte Bérard and Clémence Barras, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in January 1856.  Their son Benjamin was born in St. Martin Parish in January 1862, and Hippolyte in January 1864.  Despite his age, during the War of 1861-65, Charles served in King's Battery Louisiana Artillery, originally a part of the Yellow Jacket Battalion Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. Martin Parish, which fought in Louisiana.  Charles enlisted in July 1862, when he was nearly age 33.  He survived the war and returned to his family. 

Joseph married cousin Émilie, daughter of fellow Acadian Sylvain Broussard and his Creole wife Elisa Wiltz, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in April 1856.  Their son Joseph Adam was born in St. Martin Parish in November 1860, and Louis in March 1867.  During the War of 1861-65, Joseph may have been the J. Poteir who also served in King's Battery Louisiana Artillery. 

During the War of 1861-65, Félix served in Company D of the Orleans Guard Battalion Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. Martin Parish, which fought at Shiloh, Tennessee.  The battalion was disbanded in June 1862, only a couple of months after the carnage at Shiloh.  Confederate records reveal no subsequent service on Felix's part, but there is a good chance that he served the rest of the war in the 30th Regiment/Battalion Louisiana Infantry.  Félix married Osite, daughter of fellow Acadians Charles Theriot and Arsène Babineaux, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in August 1865.  Their son Joseph Willy was born in St. Martin Parish in November 1866.

2

Pierre-Laurent, by his father's first wife, born at Cenan, Poitou, France, in August 1774, married Marie-Modeste, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean dit Chapeau Mouton and his Creole wife Marie-Marthe Borda, at Attakapas in July 1800.  Their son Pierre, fils was born in St. Martin Parish in September 1811, and Louis, also called Octave, in December 1815.  Their daughter married into the Martin family.  Pierre, père died in Lafayette Parish in June 1836; the Vermilionvlle priest who recorded the burial said that Pierre was age 64 when he died, he was 61; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse the following September. 

2a

Pierre, fils married Victorine, daughter of fellow Acadian Victorin Guidry and his Creole wife Azélie Calais, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in August 1833.  Their son Sylvain le jeune was baptized at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, age 8 months, in August 1836, Antoine Émile, called Émile, was born near Grand Coteau in April 1839 but died at age 1 1/2 in September 1840, and Joseph Victorin was born in November 1844.  Their daughters married into the Castille and Guidry families.

During the War of 1861-65, Sylvain le jeune served probably as a conscript in the Consolidated Crescent Regiment Louisiana Infantry, which fought in Louisiana.  Sylvain le jeune married cousin Azélie, daughter of fellow Acadians Edmond Guidry and Josette Sonnier, at the Vermilionville church, Lafayette Parish, in July 1865.  They settled probably near Carencro.  Their son Pierre was born in June 1866 but died 3 weeks after his birth, Adam was born in October 1867, and Jean Berchmans in February 1869. 

During the War of 1861-65, Joseph Victorin probably was the Joseph Pothier who served in Company F of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafayette Parish, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.  When the 18th Regiment became a part of the Consolidated 18th Regiment and Yellow Jacket Battalion Louisiana Infantry in November 1863, Joseph served in Company I of that regiment, which fought in Louisiana.  Did he survived the war and return to his family.  If he did, he did not marry by 1870. 

2b

Louis married Virginie, another daughter of Victorin Guidry and Azélie Calais, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in January 1835.  Their son Louis Ernest, called Ernest, was born near Grand Coteau in November 1835, Joseph Delamara in January 1842, Joseph Demetrius, called Demetrius, in August 1846, and a son, name and age unrecorded, died in Lafayette Parish in January 1848.  Their daughters married into the Andrus, Guidry, Guilbeau, and Smith families.  In September 1850, the federal census taker in Lafayette Parish counted 8 slaves--4 males and 4 females, all black, ranging in age from 45 to 3--on Louis Potier's farm in the parish's Western District.  Louis died in Lafayette Parish in November 1850; the Vermilionville priest who recorded the burial said that Louis died "at age 30 yrs."; he was 34; his succession was filed at the Vermilionville courthouse in August 1854. 

Ernest married double cousin Aurelia, daughter of fellow Acadians Pierre Treville Guidry and Elmire Guidry, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in April 1858.  During the War of 1861-65, Ernest served as a second corporal and then as first sergeant in Company A of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafayette Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  He evidently survived the war and returned to his family.

During the War of 1861-65, Joseph Delamara may have been the Dimebras Potier who served in Company A of the 29th (Thomas's) Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in St. Landry Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  If so, did he survive the war?

During the War of 1861-65, Demetrius, despite his age (he was age 16 in 1862), may also served in Company A of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, as a private.  Demetrius married Marie Anne or Mary Anne, daughter of Charles Miller and Mathilde Burleigh, at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1866.  Their son Alcée was born near Grand Coteau in July 1867, and Louis le jeune in April 1869. 

3

François-Constant, by his father's first wife, born at Chantenay near Nantes, France, in August 1785, married Marie-Madeleine, daughter of Joseph Castille and his Acadian wife Rose-Osite Landry and widow of Joseph Richard, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in June 1807.  François died in Assumption Parish on upper Bayou Lafourche in October 1832; the Plattenville priest who recorded the burial called him "François of Attakapas" and said he died at "age ca. 50 yrs."; he was 47.  His succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, the following month; according to the document, he had 19 heirs, mostly nieces and nephews.  Evidently he and his wife were that rare Acadian couple who had no children, so his line of the family died with him.  What was he doing in Assumption when he died there?  Visiting relatives?  Doing business?

4

Youngest son Sylvain, by his father's second wife, born in June 1786 and baptized at Attakapas the following September, died in Lafayette Parish in November 1836.  The Vermilionville priest who recorded the burial called him "Silvain of Nantes, France," and said he died "at age 53 yrs.," implying that he came to Louisiana with his family.  His parents' ship, Le Beaumont, reached New Orleans on 19 August 1785.  Do the math ... if he was a full-term baby born in June 1786, he was conceived in Louisiana soon after his family stepped off the ship.  He evidently did not marry. 

Other POTIERs on the Western Prairies

Local church and civil records make it difficult to link some Potiers in the western prairies with known Acadian lines of the family there: 

Charles Henri Potier married Louise Émile Derbergue probably in St. Landry Parish in the early 1850s.  Their son Henri Joseph Edwin was born in St. Landry Parish in December 1853 but, called Joseph Edwin, died at age 1 1/2 in May 1855, Edwin was born in January 1858, daughter Irène Valentine in January 1861, and son Théodore Raoul in January 1864.  Was Charles Henri an Acadian?

"Anonyme" Potier died in St. Martin Parish, age 11 months, in January 1858.  The St. Martinville priest who recorded the burial did not give the child's parents' names. 

In 1860, the federal census taker in St. Landry Parish counted 3 slaves--2 males and a female, all black, ages 49, 26, and 16--on Magdeleine Potier's farm. 

Alexandre Septime Potier married Félicité Aimé, place and date unrecorded.  Daughter Marie Edvige was born near Charenton, St. Mary Parish, in January 1863. 

Amestron Potier married Élizabeth _____, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Louis was baptized at the Vermilionville church, "age about 7 mths.," in June 1871. 

LOUISIANA:  LAFOURCHE VALLEY SETTLEMENTS

Some of the Potiers who came to Louisiana from France in 1785 chose to go to upper Bayou Lafourche:

Anne-Marie-Madeleine Savary, widow of Pierre Potier, sailed aboard La Bergère, the second of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in mid-August.  With her were sons Baptiste-Olivier, age 12; and Jacques-Sylvain, age 7.  Anne-Marie-Madeleine remarried at Lafourche in June 1786.  Her sons remained on the upper bayou. 

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Marie-Henriette Potier of Île-St.-Jean, age 46, widow of Jean-Baptiste Rassicot dit Ratier and Pierre Gaudet, came to Louisiana aboard L'Amitié, the fifth of the Seven Ships, which reached New Orleans in early November.  With her were three children from her first marriage, ages 20, 17, and 15.  Marie-Henriette died at Lafourche in January 1787, age 48. 

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The Potiers from France created a second center of family settlement on Bayou Lafourche, but none of their family lines seems to have survived there: 

Descendants of Baptiste-Olivier POTIER (1772-1830; Jean?, ?)

Baptiste-Olivier, called Olivier, elder son of Pierre Potier and his second wife Anne-Marie-Madeleine Savary, born at Plouër-sur-Rance,  near St.-Malo, France, in February 1772, crossed with his widowed mother and younger brother to Louisiana aboard La Bergère, the second of the Seven Ships, in 1785.  He followed them to upper Bayou Lafourche, where he married Élisabeth, or Isabelle, daughter of fellow Acadians Michel Aucoin and Élisabeth Hébert, at Assumption in April 1798.  Élisabeth had come to Louisiana aboard La Ville d'Archangel, the sixth of the Seven Ships.  Their daughter married into the Barrilleaux family.  Olivier died in Assumption Parish in August 1830, age 58.  One of his daughters, Antoinette, born at Assumption in June 1805, became Sister Clémentine Madeleine of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart and a choir teacher; she died at Convent, St. James Parish, on the river, in September 1836, age 31. 

1

Older son Joseph-Baptiste, born at Assumption in January 1799, married Élisabeth Tabithe, daughter of fellow Acadians François Aucoin and Rosalie Landry, at the Plattenville church, Assumption Parish, in June 1820.  Their son Joseph Pierre was born in Assumption Parish in August 1821.  Joseph, père remarried to Mélanie, daughter of fellow Acadians Isaac Hébert and Marie Daigle, at the Plattenville church in May 1825.  Their son Arsène Adrien was born in Assumption Parish in April 1830, and Clairville Guillaume in January 1835.  Their daughter married into the Monté family.  Joseph, père died in Assumption Parish in July 1836, age 37. 

Clairville, by his father's second wife, died in Assumption Parish in June 1857, age 22.  He did not marry. 

2

Younger son Hippolyte, born at Assumption in April 1807, died in Assumption Parish at age 9 1/2 in September 1816. 

Jacques-Sylvain POTIER (c1778-?; Jean?, ?)

Jacques-Sylvain, called Sylvain, younger son of Pierre Potier and his second wife Anne-Marie-Madeleine Savary, born in France in c1778, crossed with his widowed mother and older brother to Louisiana aboard La Bergère, the second of the Seven Ships, in 1785.  Spanish officials counted his family on upper Bayou Lafourche in 1788 and 1791.  Sylvain was with them in 1788 but not in 1791 or in any subsequent census in the upper Lafourche valley, so he probably died young. 

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

French Creoles or French Canadians with similar-sounding surnames--Poitié, Poitier, Portié, Portier, as well as Potier--also lived in South Louisiana during the colonial period: 

In the spring of 1708, in hopes of creating a breadbasket for the Louisiana colony, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, commander of the colony, sent five Canadians from colonial headquarters at Mobile to the site of a portage along Bayou St.-Jean between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River.  He granted each Canadian a 4-arpent-by-36-arpent holding where Bayou Tchoupitoulas meets Bayou St.-Jean.  One of the Canadians was Jean-Baptiste Poitié.  They brought along no wives or children, only Indian slaves.  Poitié and his companions planted two wheat crops along the bayou, but both failed because of the intense heat and humidity.  They abandoned the site in 1710, eight years before Bienville built a new post on a bend of the river near the headwaters of Bayou St.-Jean.  He called the new post Nouvelle-Orléans--today's New Orleans. 

Nicolas, "surnamed Joly," son of Henri Portier and Élisabeth Vautran, married Madeleine, daughter of Pierre Ponson, at New Orleans in February 1722.

Élisabeth, also called Jeanne, Poitier of Illinois, widow of Jacques Milliet, married French Canadian Josèphe De La Mirande of Trois-Rivières and widower of Marie-Louise Frederick, probably at Opelousas in December 1770; the marriage was recorded by a Pointe Coupée priest, who noted that her new husband was a resident of Opelousas.  Jeanne died probably at Opelousas in October 1776; the Pointe Coupée priest who recorded her burial did not give her parents' names or her age at the time of her death. 

Fernand Potier, probably a Frenchman, served as a deputy surveyor in the Attakapas District during the late colonial period. 

François Potier, "single, poor, from France in Europe," died near Opelousas in December 1793, age 65.  One wonders when he came to the colony. 

Pierre, son of Bertrand Portier and Marie Morin of St.-André, France, died at New Orleans, a bachelor, in March 1800, age 38, and, according to the Spanish priest who recorded his burial, oficio gandinero

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A family named Portier, established on the German Coast in the early 1740s, moved upriver to the Acadian Coast during the late colonial period: 

Descendants of Alexandre-Bernard PORTIER (?-?)

Parisian Alexandre Bernard, also called Joseph Alexandre, son Alexandre Portier and Catherine Delorme, married Catherine, daughter of Balthazar Menti, at St.-Charles des Allemands on the Lower German Coast in February 1741. 

1

Jean-Bernard or Jean-Baptiste, born at St.-Charles des Allemands in March 1749, married Anne-Marie or Marie-Anne, daughter of German Creole Jean-Pierre Keller, at St.-Jean-Baptiste des Allemands on the Upper German Coast in January 1778.  Their son Jean-Baptiste, fils was baptized at St.-Jean-Baptiste, age unrecorded, in January 1779, Nicolas was born in December 1781, Georges in October 1783, Jean-Pierre in March 1788, and André le jeune in September 1791.  Their daughters married into the Sichnett and Schexnayder families. 

2

Simon-Alexandre, born at St.-Charles des Allemands in February 1753, married Catherine, daughter of German Creole Jean Schexnayder, at St.-Jean-Baptiste des Allemands in January 1791.  Simon died at St.-Jean-Baptiste in April 1803; the priest who recorded the burial said that Simon was age 45 when he died; he was 50. 

3

André, born at St.-Charles des Allemands in December 1754, married Madeleine, daughter of Jacques Villard, at St.-Jean-Baptiste des Allemands in October 1779.  Their son André, fils was born at St.-Jean-Baptiste in August 1780, François in January 1782, Henry in November 1783, Alexandre le jeune was baptized at St.-Jacques on the Acadian Coast, age unrecorded, in March 1786, and Jean-Baptiste in September 1793.  Their daughter married into the Torel family. 

Alexandre married Adélaïde, daughter of German Creole André Toups, at the St. Jacques church, St. James Parish, in August 1808.  Their son, name and age unrecorded, died in St. James Parish in July 1809, and Thomas died at age 30 months in August 1813.  Their daughter married into the Bouvier family in Lafourche Interior Parish. 

~

During the antebellum period, non-Acadian Poitiers, Portiers, and Potiers settled at New Orleans, on the river above the city, on Bayou Lafourche, and out on the western prairies: 

Jean Baptiste Poitier or Portier died near Convent, St. James Parish, in September 1832, age 50.  Was he a French Creole, Foreign Frenchman, or a wayward Acadian? 

George Potier, "a Frenchman," died near Baton Rouge in October 1843, age 28.  Was he kin to Nicolas? 

Nicolas Potier, "born in Alsace, France," died near Baton Rouge in October 1843, age 30.  Was he kin to George?

In July 1850, the federal census taker in Orleans Parish counted 4 slaves--2 males and 2 females, all black, ranging in age from 39 years to 6 months--in C. Potier's household in the First Ward of the Third Municipality of the city of New Orleans.  The same census taker counted 1 slave--a 20-year-old mulatto female--in E. Pottier's household next to Honoré Pottier, who held 2 slaves--a 24-year-old female and an 18-year-old male, both black. 

Mathieu Potier or Portier married Acadian Artenaise or Arthémise, also called Marie Hélène, Broussard, place and date unrecorded.  Their son Joseph was born near Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, in June 1855, and Mathieu Alphonse near Creole, then in Calcasieu but now in Cameron Parish, in December 1859.  Mathieu, père's succession was filed at the Abbeville courthouse in 1866. 

Mr. Potier "of France" died in St. Martin Parish in October 1855.  The St. Martinville priest who recorded the burial did not give "Mr. Potier's" parents' names, mention a wife, or give his age at the time of his death. 

.

Potié/Potier/Pottiers, whom native Louisianians would have called Foreign French, came to New Orleans from France, Belgium, and the Caribbean Basin during the antebellum period, but not all of them remained in the city:

Charles Potier, a 35-year-old gunsmith from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Hannah & Rebecca out of Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, in July 1820.  Also aboard the ship was his 28-year-old wife whose given name was unrecorded. 

Adélaïde Pottier, a 17-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship James Corner out of Marseille, France, in May 1848.

Alexandre Potier, a 24-year-old farmer from France, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Hannibal out of Le Havre, France, in July 1848.  His destination was Missouri. 

Mathieu Potié, age, gender, and occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Cato out of Marseille in January 1849. 

Sophie Potie, a 67-year-old native of France, occupation unrecorded, reached New Orleans aboard the ship Charles Hill out of Antwerp, Belgium, in November 1850. 

.

The Lafourche/Terrebonne valley was a common destination for German Coast settlers during the late colonial and early antebellum periods.  Descendants of Alexandre-Bernard Portier may have settled in the valley during the antebellum period, or the Portiers who settled there may have come from other families:

Marie Portier married first to Joseph Denecharle and then to François Andras, places and dates unrecorded.  She died in Lafourche Interior Parish in January 1827.  The Thibodaux priest who recorded her burial did not give her parents' names or her age at the time of her passing. 

Valmant Portier died during a yellow fever epidemic in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1853, age 10.  The Thibodaux priest who recorded the burial did not give the boy's parents' names. 

Irma, daughter of Charles Portier or Poitier and Adèle Berlin, married Octave, son of Acadians Marcellin Breaux and Azélie Dugas, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in October 1853. 

.

Descendants of Pierre PORTIER/POTIER (?-?)

Pierre Portier, also called Potier, married Marie Thérèse, called Thérèse, Leche, place and date unrecorded, and settled on Bayou Lafourche.  Their daughter married into the Trosclair family in Assumption Parish.

Pierre, fils married Marie Marcellite, 25-year-old daughter of Acadians Auguste Roger and Marie Hébert, in a civil ceremony in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1838, and sanctified the marriage at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Interior Parish, in January 1846.  Their son Joseph was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in June 1839, and Cyrille in March 1855.  They also had a son named Trasimond

During the War of 1861-65, Trasimond served in Company H of the 30th Regiment/Battalion Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafourche Parish, which fought in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee; he also served in Company G of that regiment.  Trasimond married Élizabeth, daughter of French Creole Camille Olivier and his Acadian wife Lorena Babin, at the Houma church, Terrebonne Parish, in April 1868.  Their son Willy Walter was born in Terrebonne Parish in January 1868. 

.

Another Portier family on Bayou Lafourche was especially prolific:

Descendants of Victorin PORTIER (c1808-1853)

Victorin Portier, born in c1808, married French Creole Marie Désirée Perilloux, Periou, or Perioux in either Assumption or Lafourche Interior Parish by the late 1830s.  Victorin died during a yellow fever epidemic in Lafourche Interior Parish in September 1853, age 45; an "Oath of tutor" in his name, calling his wife Marie Désiré Perillon and listing some of his children--Aristide, Émile, and Olympe--was filed at the Thibodaux courthouse the following January.  He may have lost as many as five of his children in the epidemic that killed him.  Some of his sons settled in Terrebonne Parish.  Some of his descendants married Acadians. 

1

Oldest son Aurestile, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in November 1838, married Florisca or Florestine, daughter of Acadians Valéry Prejean and Marie Josèphe LeBlanc, at the Thibodaux church, Lafourche Parish, in September 1858.  Their son Jean Anatole was born near Labadieville, Assumption Parish, in July 1859, Benoît Israël in March 1861, Émile Aristide in August 1862 but died at age 1 in August 1863, and Émilien Joseph was born in May 1869. 

2

Paul Émile, called Émile, was born in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1840.  During the War of 1861-65, Émile served in Company G of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Lafourche Parish, which fought in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.  When the 18th Regiment became a part of the Consolidated 18th Regiment and Yellow Jacket Battalion Louisiana Infantry in November 1863, Émile served in Company F of that regiment, which fought in Louisiana.  Émile married Angelina, daughter of Acadians Alexis Bergeron and Rosalie Thibodeaux, in a civil ceremony in Terrebonne Parish in April 1867.  Their son Albert Anatole was born near Chacahoula in July 1870. 

3

Onésime Aristide was born in Lafourche Interior Parish, in November 1841. 

4

Victor or Victorin Adrien or Aurelien, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in February 1845, supposedly died at age 1 1/2 months in April, but he probably was the Victorin Portier who, during the War of 1861-65, served in Company F of the 26th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, raised in Terrebonne Parish, which fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Victor married Evela or Evele, daughter of French Creole Neuville Ayo and his Acadian wife Marcellite Prejean, at the Labadieville church, Assumption Parish, in January 1867.  Their son Victorin Auxillade was born near Labadieville in April 1868, and Joseph Albert in December 1869. 

5

Pierre Clémile was born near Labadieville, Assumption Parish, in September 1849. 

6

Youngest son François Israël, born in Lafourche Interior Parish in October 1851, died at 2 in September 1853 during the same yellow fever epidemic that killed his father and several of his siblings. 

.

During the immediate post-war years, freedmen named Potier and Pothier lived in St. Martin Parish: 

Augustin Potier's succession was filed at the St. Martinville courthouse, St. Martin Parish, in December 1868.  The record described him as a "freedman." 

Marie, daughter of Baptiste Vincent Pothier, deceased, and Manon ____, married Jean, fils, son of Jean Jacques and Marianne ____, at the St. Martinville church, St. Martin Parish, in December 1869. 

CONCLUSION

Pothiers settled early in Acadia, but they came "late" to Louisiana.  In fact, if the Spanish government had not coaxed over 1,500 Acadians in France to emigrate to their Mississippi valley colony, there probably would be no Potiers in the Bayou State today, at least none descended from Acadians.  Ten of them in three families came to Louisiana in 1785 on three of the Seven Ships.  A widow took her two young Potier sons to upper Bayou Lafourche; the older son created a family of his own, but the younger son did not.  The Bayou Lafourche line remained a small one and may not have survived the late antebellum period.  Meanwhile, a family of seven, including three sons, chose to settle on upper Bayou Teche in the Attakapas District, where another son was born.  By the end of the antebellum period, most, if not all, of the Acadian Potiers of South Louisiana lived west of the Atchafalaya Basin in St. Martin, Lafayette, and St. Landry parishes. 

French Creoles or French Canadians with similar-sounding surnames also lived in South Louisiana during the colonial and antebellum periods.  Two of these families settled in predominantly-Acadian communities on the river and along Bayou Lafourche. 

Judging by the number of slaves they owned during the late antebellum period, some of the Acadian Potiers on the western prairies lived comfortably on their farms and vacheries.  Alexandre Potier held a dozen slaves on his St. Martin Parish farm in 1850.  A decade later, he still owned 12.  In 1850, Alexandre's younger brother Charles owned 10 slaves in St. Martin Parish.  A decade later, his widow, a Broussard, held 17 slaves on two farms in the parish.  Cousin Louis Potier owned eight slaves in Lafayette Parish in 1850. 

Nearly a dozen Acadian Potiers, all from the western parishes, served Louisiana in uniform during the War of 1861-65.  One was a sergeant, but the others were privates.  Confederate records hint that all of them survived the war.  ...

In Louisiana, the Acadian family's surname evolved from Pothier to Potier, though some members of the family retained the older spelling.  The family's name also is spelled Poitiers, Pottier.  The Acadian Pothier/Potiers should not be confused with the Poitiés, Poitiers, Portiés, Portiers, and other French-Creole, French-Canadian, and Foreign-French families with similar-sounding surnames, including Pothier and Potier!  To further obscure the family's genealogical picture, some of these non-Acadians moved into South Louisiana communities where their Acadian namesakes settled, including the western prairies.  [For the Acadian family's Louisiana "begats," see Book Ten]

Sources:  1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Lafayette, Orleans, & St. Martin parishes; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, St. Landry & St. Martin parishes; Arsenault, Généalogie, 1054-57, 1955-56, 2082, 2135-36, 2569-70; Brasseaux, Foreign French, 1:438, 2:273, 3:242; BRDR, vols. 2, 3, 4, 5(rev.), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; Conrad, Attakapas Domesday Book, 6; De La Roque, "Tour of Inspection," Canadian Archives, 2A:91-92, 142-43; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 367-69; Griffiths, From Migrant to Acadian, 109-10, source of quotation; 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; NOAR, vols. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7; Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies, 281; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/5bateaux.htm>, "Family" No. 26; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 84-85; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 146; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 677-79; White, DGFA-1, 1252-53, 1346-48; White, DGFA-1 English, 285-86. 

Settlement Abbreviations 
(present-day civil parishes that existed in 1861 are in parentheses; hyperlinks on the abbreviations take you to brief histories of each settlement):

Asc

Ascension

Lf

Lafourche (Lafourche, Terrebonne)

PCP

Pointe Coupée

Asp

Assumption

Natc

Natchitoches (Natchitoches)

SB San Bernardo (St. Bernard)

Atk

Attakapas (St. Martin, St. Mary, Lafayette, Vermilion)

Natz

San Luìs de Natchez (Concordia)

StG

St.-Gabriel d'Iberville (Iberville)

BdE

Bayou des Écores (East Baton Rouge, West Feliciana)

NO

New Orleans (Orleans)

StJ

St.-Jacques de Cabanocé (St. James)

BR

Baton Rouge (East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge)

Op

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. 

Names Arrived Settled Profile
Anne-Apolline or Apolline-Luce POTHIER/POTIER 01 Aug 1785 Atk, Op born c1773, Le Havre, France; daughter of Pierre POTIER & his first wife Anne-Marie or Marie-Anne BERNARD; sister of Charles-Victor, Marie-Constance, & Pierre-Laurent, half-sister of François-Constant; in Poitou, France, 1773-75; in Second Convoy from Châtellerault to Nantes, France, Nov 1775; on list of Acadians at Nantes, Sep 1784, unnamed, with parents & siblings; sailed to LA on Le Beaumont, age 12; married, age 19, François, fils, son of François SAVOY & his third wife Anne THIBODEAUX of St.-Jacques, 4 Sep 1792, Opelousas
Baptiste-Olivier POITIER/POTIER 02 Aug 1785 Asp born & baptized 28 Feb 1772, Plouër-sur-Rance, France; called Olivier; son of Pierre POITIER & his second wife Anne-Marie-Madeleine SAVARY; brother of Jacques-Sylvain; on list of Acadians at Nantes, France, Sep 1784, unnamed, with widowed mother & brother; sailed to LA on La Bergère, age 10[sic], traveled with widowed mother; in Valenzuela census, 1788, left bank, age 15, with mother, stepfather Joseph GRANGER, & brother Silvain; in Valenzuela census, 1791, left bank, age 19, with mother & stepfather Joseph GRANGE; in Valenzuela census, 1795, called Olivier POITIERS, age 24, with mother & stepfather Josef GRANGER; in Valenzuela census, 1797, called Olivier, age 25, with mother & stepfather Joseph GRANGE; in Valenzuela census, 1798, called Olivier, age 26, with mother & stepfather; married, age 26, Élisabeth/Isabelle, daughter of Michel AUCOIN & Élisabeth/Isabelle HÉBERT, 30 Apr 1798, Assumption, now Plattenville
Charles-Victor POTHIER/POTIER 03 Aug 1785 Atk born baptized 21 Oct 1768, Notre-Dame, Le Havre, France; son of Pierre POTIER & & his first wife Anne-Marie or Marie-Anne BERNARD; brother of Anne-Apolline, Marie-Constance, & Pierre-Laurent, half-brother of François-Constant; in Poitou, France, 1773-75; in Second Convoy from Châtellerault to Nantes, France, Nov 1775; on list of Acadians at Nantes, Sep 1784, unnamed, with parents & siblings; sailed to LA on Le Beaumont, age 16; married, age 24, Marie-Madeleine, daughter of Louis-Armand DUCREST & Anne-Catherine WILTZ of Pointe Coupée, 22 Mar 1793, Attakapas, now St. Martinville; died "in the morning at his home at la pointe," St. Martin Parish, 25 Aug 1827, age "about 60 years," buried next day "in the parish cemetery"
Charlotte POTHIER/POTIER 04 Aug 1785 Atk born 30 Aug 1743, Havre-St.-Pierre, Île St.-Jean, baptized next day, St.-Pierre-du-Nord; daughter of Jacques-Christophe POTIER & Anne BOUDREAUX; at Havre-aux-Sauvages, Île St.-Jean, Aug 1752, age 8; deported from Île St.-Jean to St.-Malo, France, aboard one of the Five Ships 25 Nov 1758, arrived St.-Malo 23 Jan 1759, age 15, listed singly; married, age 27, (1)Paul, son of Guillaume PATRY & Françoise CHIASSON of Havre-St.-Pierre, 9 Jan 1770, St.-Servan-sur-Mer, France; in Poitou, France, 1773-75; in Second Convoy from Châtellerault to Nantes, France, Nov 1775; married, age 40, (2)Pierre, fils, son of Pierre HÉBERT & Marie BERNARD of Chignecto, 25 Nov 1783, St.-Martin de Chantenay, France; on list of Acadians at Nantes, Sep 1784, with husband, no children, & brother-in-law Jean HÉBERT; sailed to LA on Le Beaumont, age 41; settled at Carencro in Attakapas District; died "at her home at Carencros," then in St. Martin Parish, 26 Sep 1815, age 65[sic], buried next day "in the parish cemetery"
François-Constant POTHIER/POTIER 05 Aug 1785 Atk baptized 9 Aug 1785, St.-Martin de Chantenay, France; son of Pierre POTIER & his second wife Agnès BROUSSARD; half-brother of Anne-Apolline, Charles-Victor, Marie-Constance, & Pierre-Laurent; sailed to LA on Le Beaumont, an infant; married, age 22, Marie-Madeleine, daughter of Joseph CASTILLE & Rose-Osite LANDRY, & widow of Joseph RICHARD, 27 Jun 1807, Attakapas, now St. Martinville; died Assumption Parish 5 Oct 1832, "age ca. 50[sic] yrs.," buried next day; succession dated 27 Nov 1832, St. Martin Parish courthouse
Jacques-Sylvain POITIER/POTIER 06 Aug 1785 Asp born c1778, France; called Sylvain; son of Pierre POITIER & his second wife Anne-Marie-Madeleine SAVARY; brother of Baptiste-Olivier; on list of Acadians at Nantes, France, Sep 1784, unnamed, with widowed mother & brother; sailed to LA on La Bergère, age 7, traveled with widowed mother; in Valenzuela census, 1788, left bank, called Silvain, age 9, with mother, stepfather Joseph GRANGER, & brother Olivier; not in Valenzuela census of 1791 with his family, so he may have died young
Marie-Constance POTHIER/POTIER 07 Aug 1785 Atk, Op born c1771, Le Havre, France; called Constance; daughter of Pierre POTIER & his first wife Anne-Marie or Marie-Anne BERNARD; sister of Anne-Apolline, Charles-Victor, & Pierre-Laurent, half-sister of François-Constant; in Poitou, France, 1773-75; in Second Convoy from Châtellerault to Nantes, France, Nov 1775; on list of Acadians at Nantes, Sep 1784, unnamed, with parents & siblings; sailed to LA on Le Beaumont, age 14; married, age 18, Paul of New York & Opelousas, son of François LÉGER & Madeleine COMEAUX, 28 Jul 1789, Attakapas, now St. Martinville; moved to Opelousas District; in Opelousas census, 1796, Grand Coteau District, unnamed, with husband & 5 others; died St. Landry Parish 10 Jan 1844, age 74, perhaps a widow; succession dated 1 Mar 1844, St. Landry Parish courthouse
Marie-Henriette POTHIER/POTIER 08 Nov 1785 Asp born 20 Apr 1739, Havre-St.-Pierre, Île St.-Jean, baptized next day, St.-Pierre-du-Nord; daughter of Louis POTIER & Cécile NUIRAT; at Havre-aux-Sauvages, Île St.-Jean, Aug 1752, called Henriette, age 13, with mother, stepfather, 4 full siblings, & a half-sibling; married, age 15, (1)Jean-Baptiste dit Ratier, son of René RASSICOT & Marie ACHÉE of Île St.-Jean, 15 Jan 1754, St.-Pierre-du-Nord; deported from Île St.-Jean to France 1758-59; sailed from Cherbourg to St.-Malo, France, aboard La Jeanne, arrived St.-Malo 1 Jun 1771, called Marie-Henriette POTTIER, with husband, 3 sons, & 2 daughters; at Plouër-sur-Rance, France, 1771; returned to Cherbourg aboard schooner La Fortune, Sep 1771; in Poitou, France, 1773-75; married, age 36 (2)Pierre, son of  Augustin GAUDET & Agnès CHIASSON of Chignecto, & widower of Anne GIROIR, 25 Oct 1775, St.-Jean l'Evangeliste, Châtellerault, France; in Second Convoy from Châtellerault to Nantes, France, Nov 1775; sailed to LA on L'Amitié, age 46, widow, head of family; died [buried] Ascension 25 Jan 1787, age 48
Pierre POTHIER/POTIER 09 Aug 1785 Atk born c1740, Ste.-Anne, Tintamarre, Chignecto; son of Pierre POTIER & Marie DOUCET; carpenter & seaman; followed his family to Île St.-Jean; deported from Île St.-Jean to France, 1758; married, age 24, (1)Anne-Marie or Marie-Anne, daughter of Pierre BERNARD & Marguerite HÉBERT, 30 Apr 1764, Le Havre, France; in Poitou, France, 1773-75; in the Second Convoy from Châtellerault to Nantes, France, Nov 1775; married, age 43, (2)Agnès, daughter of Joseph BROUSSARD & Ursule LEBLANC, & widow of Dominique GIROIR, 25 Nov 1783, St.-Martin de Chantenay, France; on list of Acadians at Nantes, Sep 1784, with wife Agnès, 2 sons, & 2 daughters; sailed to LA on Le Beaumont, age 45, head of family; died [buried] Attakapas 26 Oct 1786, age 48[sic]; succession, which calls him Charles, dated 27 Oct 1786, St. Martin Parish courthouse
Pierre-Laurent POTHIER/POTIER 10 Aug 1785 Atk baptized 11 Aug 1774, St.-Hilary, Cenan, Poitou, France; son of Pierre POTIER & his first wife Anne-Marie or Marie-Anne BERNARD; brother of Anne-Apolline, Charles-Victor, & Marie-Constance, half-brother of François-Constant; in Second Convoy from Châtellerault, France, to Nantes, France, Nov 1775; on list of Acadians at Nantes, Sep 1784, unnamed, with parents & siblings; sailed to LA on Le Beaumont, age 10; married, age 25, Marie-Modeste, daughter of Jean dit Chapeau MOUTON & Marie-Marthe BORDA, 6 Jul 1800, Attakapas, now St. Martinville; died Lafayette Parish 2 Jun 1836, age 64[sic]; succession dated 23 Sep 1836, Lafayette Parish courthouse

NOTES

01.  Wall of Names, 33 (pl. 8L), calls her Anne-Pauline [POTIER], & lists her with her father, stepmother, & 4 siblings; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 32-33, calls her Anne-Pauline, sa [Pierre POTIER's] fille, age 12, on the embarkation list, Ana, su [Pedro POTIEU's] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Anne-Pauline POITIER, his [Pierre POITIER's] daughter, age 12, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 14th Family on the embarkation list & the 13th Family on the debarkation list of Le Beaumont with her father, stepmother, & 4 siblings; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:632, 699 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A, p.41), her marriage record, calls her Apolonie-Lucie POTIER "of Havre de Grace, France," calls her husband François SAVOY "of St. James at Cabannoce on  the Mississippi," gives her & his parents' names, & says the witnesses to her marriage were Joseph SAVOIS, Pierre HÉBERT, & Jean-Charles BENOIT. 

The baptismal record of daughter Marie-Eloise SAVOIE, dated 1 Mar 1795, in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:701-02 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A, p.127), calls the girl's mother Apollonie-Lucie POTTERS. 

02.  Wall of Names, 30 (pl. 7L), calls him Olivier [POTTIER], & lists him with his widowed mother & a brother; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 677-79, Family No. 790, his birth/baptismal record, calls him Baptiste-Olivier POITIER, gives his parents' names, says his godparents were Jean METRA & Anne DUGAST, & that his family lived at Plouër from 1763-72; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 18-19, calls him Olivier, son [Anne SAVARY, veuve POTTIER's] fils, age 10, on the embarkation list, does not include him on the debarkation list, calls him Olivier POITIER, her [Anne SAVARY, widow POITIER's] son, age 10, on the complete listing, says he was in the 31st Family aboard La Bergère with her widowed mother & a brother, says he was born in 1772 but gives no birthplace, & details his marriage in LA, calling him Baptiste-Olivier POITIER, & giving his & his wife's parents' names but not the place of marriage; BRDR, 2:39, 600 (ASM-2, 31), his marriage record, calls him Bautista-Olivier POITIER, calls his wife Ysabel AUCOIN "of St.-Malo," gives his & her parents' names, says all parents werer "of Acadia," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Joseph GRANGER [his stepfather] & Michel AUCOIN [his father-in-law].  See also Robichaux, Bayou Lafourche, 1770-98, 42, 60, 94, 174.  

03.  Wall of Names, 33 (pl. 8L), calls him Charles-Victor [POTIER], & lists him with his father, stepmother, & 4 siblings; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2570; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 367, his baptismal record, recorded at Notre-Dame, Le Havre, calls him Charles-Victor POTIER, gives his parents'  names, calls his father a mariner, & says his godparents were Charles-Julien CORNU & Cécille LAVERGNE "of this parish"; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 32-33, calls him Charles-Victor, son [Pierre POTIER's] fils, age 16, on the embarkation list, Carlos, su [Pedro POTIEU's] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Charles-Victor POITIER, his [Pierre POITIER's] son, age 16, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 14th Family on the embarkation list & the 13th Family on the debarkation list of Le Beaumont with his father, stepmother, & 4 siblings; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:267, 632-33 (SM Ct.Hse.: OA-14, 10), one of his marriage records, dated 29 Jan 1793, calls him Charles POTIER "of Havre de Grace, Normandie," calls his wife Marie-Magdaleine DUCREST "of PC," gives his & her parents' names but no witnesses to his marriage; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:267, 633 (SM Ch.: v.4, #73), his marriage record, dated 22 Mar 1793, calls him Charles POITIER, calls his wife Marie-Magdeleine DUCREST, gives his & her parents' names, says his parents were "de Havre de Grace in France," hers "de Point Coupee," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Armand DUCREST [his father-in-law], ____ PEYTAVIN Du Bousquet, Baptiste PREVOST, Augustine BIJOU, & Louis 'DAUTILLE Bertin' (DAUTILLY de Bertin); Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-C:621 (SM Ch.: v.4, #1863), his death/burial record, calls him Charles POTIER, "native of 'du hautes de grace en France' (perhaps Havre de Grace, France), says he "died in the morning at his home at la pointe at age about 60 years," was buried next day "in the parish cemetery," gives his parents' names, but mentions no wife. 

The succession record filed at the St. Martinville courthouse on 9 Mar 1839, listing no parents & mentioning no wife, is probably for his son Charles, fils.  See Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 3:524 (SM Ct.Hse.: Succ. #879).

04.  Wall of Names, 33 (pl. 8L), calls her Charlotte POTIER, & lists her with her second husband, a daughter, & a brother-in-law; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 367, her birth/baptismal record, calls her Charlotte POTIER, gives her parents' names, & says her godparents were Charles POTIER & Cécile MURIAT; <perso.orange.fr/froux/St_malo_arrivees/5bateaux.htm>, Family No. 26, calls her Charlotte POTIER, fille de Christophe; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 1057, the record of her first marriage, calls her Charlotte POTIER, calls her first husband Paul PATRY, gives her & his parents' names, says her father was deceased at the time of the marriage, that both her parents were natives of Acadie, diocese of Québec and residence of this parish [St.-Servan], that she & her first husband had received "the dispensation of relationship of the third to fourth degree, granted by bishop of St.-Malo 23 Dec 1769, & that the witnesses to her marriage were Guillaume PATRY (her husband's father), Chrisostome CHIASSON (her husband's cousin), Jean DELAFORETRIE (her uncle), & Charles ROBICHO (her cousin), all of whom signed; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 139-40, Family No. 255, calls her Charlotte POITIER, says she was born in 1743, gives her parents' names, details her first marriage, says  that her first husband, called Paul PATRY, was born in 1747 but gives no birthplace, gives his parents' names, details her second marriage but does not give her second husband's parents' names, provides the birth/baptismal record of daughter Marie-Modeste PATRY, baptized 8 Jun 1777, St.-Martin, Chantenay, details her first family's participation in the Poitou settlement of the early 1770s & her second family's voyage to LA in 1785; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 94, Family No. 174, calls her Charlotte POITIER, says she was born c1743, gives her parents' names & the name of her first husband, says she was "resident of the Parish of Saint-Martin of Chantenay for several years," details her marriage, including her husband's parents' names, includes the birth/baptismal record of son Pierre-Joseph HÉBERT, baptized 18 Mar 1785, St.-Martin, Chantenay, & details the family's voyage to LA; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 34-35, calls her Charlotte POTIER, sa [Pierre HÉBERT's] femme, age 41, on the embarkation list, Carlotta POTIEU, su [Pedro ÉBERT's] muger, on the debarkation list, & Charlotte POITIER, his [Pierre HÉBERT's] wife, age 41, on the complete listing, says she was in the 22nd Family aboard Le Beaumont with her second husband, a daughter, & a brother-in-law, details her second marriage, including the names of her & her second husband's parents but no place of marriage, & says son Pierre-Joseph [HÉBERT] was baptized in 1785 but gives no place of baptism; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 2-A:762 (SM Ch.: v.4, #988), her death/burial record, calls her Charlotte POTIER,  "(record has POITIER), native of Nantes, spouse of Pierre HÉBERT," says she died "at age 65 years at her home at Carencros," was buried next day "in the parish cemetery," but does not give her parents' names.  See also De La Roque, "Tour of Inspection," Canadian Archives 1905, 2A:142. 

The "daughter" of Pierre HÉBERT on the passenger list of Le Beaumont who was called Anne HÉBERT was not his daughter but Charlotte POTIER's daughter from her first marriage, so the girl's name was actually Anne PATRY.

How was Charlotte kin to Attakapas-bound Pierre POTIER, who also sailed on Le Beaumont?  Is her relationship with Pierre POTIER the reason why she & her family went to Attakapas instead of following the majority of Le Beaumont passengers to the Baton Rouge area?

05.  Wall of Names, 33 (pl. 8L), calls him Francois-Constant [POTIER], & lists him with his parents & 4 half-siblings; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2570; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 146, Family No. 263, his birth/baptismal record, calls him François-Constant POITIER, gives his parents' but not his godparents' names, & details his family's voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 32-33, calls him Francois-Constant, son [Pierre POTIER's] fils, à la mamelle, on the embarkation list, Franco, su [Pedro POTIEU's] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Francois-Constant POITIER, his [Pierre POITIER's] son, a nursling, on the complete listing, says he was in the 14th Family on the embarkation list & the 13th Family on the debarkation list of Le Beaumont with his parents & 4 half-siblings, & that he was baptized in 1784 but gives no place of baptism; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:167, 586 (SM Ch.: v.5, #90), his marriage record, calls him Francois POITIERS "of Nantes," calls his wife Marie Magdeleine CASTILLE "veuve de dec. Joseph RICHARD," says he was a major son U she a major daughter, gives his & his her parents' names, says both fathers were deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to his marriage were Charles POITIERS [his brother], Vallery BARA, & Hypolite BARA; BRDR, 5a(rev.):497 (ASM-3, 226), his death/burial record, calls him François POTIER, "age ca. 50 yrs. of Attakapas," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 3:524 (SM Ct.Hse.: Succ. #701), his succession record, calls him Francois POTIER, wid. is Magdalen CASTILLE, & lists his 19[!] heirs as Pierre, Marie Constance wid. of LEGÉ, Louis Alexandre, Charles, Francois SAVOIS, Hypolite SAVOIS, Alexandre SAVOIS, Louis SAVOIE, Marguerite SAVOIE, Magdeleine SAVOIE, Céleste SAVOIE wid. of ANDRUS, Elouise SAVOIE m. Hypolite MESH, Marie SAVOIE m. Antoine BAUDOIN, Julie POTIER m. Onezime GUIDRY, Magdeleine POTIER m. Antoine GUIDRY, Henriette POTIER m. Rosamond GUIDRY, Louison POTIER m. Joseph GUIDRY, & Clémence POTIER m. Narcisse THIBODEAUX.

His many heirs were mostly nieces & nephews, so evidently he & his wife were that rare Acadian couple who had no children of their own. 

06.  Wall of Names, 30 (pl. 7L), calls him Jacques-Silvin [POTTIER], & lists him with his widowed mother & a brother; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 18-19, calls him Jacques-Silvin, son [Anne SAVARY, veuve POTTIER's] fils, age 7, on the embarkation list, does not include him on the debarkation list, calls him Jacques-Silvin POITIER, her [Anne SAVARY, widow POITIER's] son, age 7, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 31st Family aboard La Bergère with her widowed mother & a brother.  

07.  Wall of Names, 33 (pl. 8L), calls her Constance [POTIER], & lists her with her father, stepmother & 4 siblings; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 32-33, calls her Constance, sa [Pierre POTIER's] fille, age 14, on the embarkation list, Constanza, su [Pedro POTIEU's] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Constance POITIER, his [Pierre POITIER's] daughter, age 14, on the complete listing, & says she was in the 14th Family on the embarkation list & the 13th Family on the debarkation list of Le Beaumont with her father, stepmother, & 4 siblings; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:514, 634 (SM Ct.Hse.: OA-vol.7, #48), her marriage contract record, dated 23 Jul 1789, call her Marie-Constance POTIÉ, "native of Havre de Grace, Province of Normandie," says she was a major daughter, calls her husband Paul LEGER, "native of 'Nouvelle Yoir' (New York), province of New England," says he was a major son, gives her & his parents' names, says her father & both his parents were deceased at the time of the wedding, & that the witnesses to her marriage were Philippe WISSE, Paul ROQUIGNY, Charles POTIER [her brother], François BEGNEAU, & Armand DUCREST [his brother Charles's father-in-law]; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:514, 634 (SM Ch.: v.4, #32), her marriage record, calls her Marie-Constance POTIER, calls her husband Paul LEGER, gives her & his parents' names, says her parents were "of Havre de Grace," says his father was "of 'Neuva Lionque' (New York), now in Opelousas," & says the witnesses to her marriage were Jean-Baptiste DOIRON, Olivier GUÉDRY, Jean MUTON dit Le Jeunne, & Joseph MODENA; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 4:399 (Opel. Ch.: v.2, p.40), her death/burial record, calls her Marie Constance POTIER m. Paul LEGER, says she died "at age 74 yrs." but does not give her parents' names; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 4:399 (Opel. Ct.Hse.: Succ. #1113), her succession, calls her Marie Constance POTIER m. Paul LEGER, says "he" [she?] died 8 Jan 1844, & lists her heirs. 

08.  Wall of Names, 42, calls her Marie-Henriett POTIER veuve RASICAUD; Robichaux, Acadians in St.-Malo, 687-88, Family No. 801; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 41, Family No. 82, calls her Marie-Henriette POTTIER, gives her parents' names, details her birth &  baptism, gives her first husband's name, details her second marriage to Pierre GAUDET, & hints that, despite her recent marriage to GAUDET, she was not with him & 2 of his daughters in the Second Convoy from Châtellerault to Nantes in Nov 1775; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 146-47, Family No. 264, calls her Marie-Henriette POITIER, details her marriage to Jean-Baptiste RASSICOT, says she was in the Second Convoy from Châtellerault to Nantes in Nov 1775 with 5 of her RASSICOT children, with no mention of Pierre GAUDET & his daughters, & details the family's voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 368, her birth/baptismal record, recorded St.-Pierre-du-Nord, p. 114, calls her Marie-Henriette POTIER, gives her parents' names, & says her godparents were Jacques DESVEAU & Claire POTIER; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 368, 376 (recorded St.-Pierre-du-Nord, p. 42), the record of her first marriage, calls her Marie-Henriette POTIER, calls her husband Jean-Baptiste RATIER, gives her & his parents' names, says both fathers were deceased at the time of the wedding, but gives no witnesses to her marriage; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 82-83, calls her Marie-Henriette POTIER, veuve ROSICAUD.  See also De La Roque, "Tour of Inspection," Canadian Archives 1905, 2A:142. 

If she married Pierre GAUDET in late Oct 1775, as Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, cited above, insists, why was she not listed with him & his 2 daughters in the Second Convoy from Poitou to Nantes the following month?  Both Pierre & his daughters & Marie-Henriette & her children were in the Second Convoy, so perhaps they actually were together, although whoever recorded the names of the Acadians in the convoy listed them separately.  Also, why was Marie-Henriette called veuve ROSICAUD & not veuve GAUDET on the passenger roll of L'Amitié?  Was it because she had no GAUDET children, only RASSICOT children, when she crossed to LA?  When did Pierre GAUDET make her a widow again?  Robichaux's studies of the Acadians in France do not say.  Nor does Pierre's burial record appear in Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 147-49.   That Marie-Henriette married Pierre cannot be doubted.  In the long list of witnesses to the marriage of Jean-Baptiste RASSICOT, fils, Marie-Henriette's son, & Rose DAMOUR, who wed at St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, near Nantes, in May 1781, is ... Pierre GODET, described by the recording priest as "step-father of the groom."   See Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 187. 

One wonders why Jean-Baptiste RASSICOT, fils, who married to a fellow Acadian, did not accompany his mother & 3 of his siblings to LA in 1785. 

09.  Wall of Names, 33 (pl. 8L), calls him Pierre POTIER, & lists him with his second wife & 5 children; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2570; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 84-85, Family No. 166; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 146, Family No. 263, calls him Pierre POITIER, says he was born in c1740 "in the Parish of Sainte-Anne in Acadie," which probably was Tintamarre, Chignecto, gives his parents' names, says he was a carpenter & seaman, details his first marriage, calling his wife Anne-Marie BERNARD, says she was born in c1744 but gives no birthplace, gives her parents' names, details his second marriage, including his second wife's parents' names & the name of her first husband, includes the birth/baptismal record of son François-Constant from his second marriage, baptized 9 Aug 1784, St.-Martin, Chantenay, details the family's participation in the Poitou settlement of the early 1770s & their voyage to LA in 1785; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 32-33, calls him Pierre POTIER, charpentier, age 45, on the embarkation list, Pedro POTIEU, on the debarkation list, & Pierre POTIER, carpenter, age 45, on the complete listing, says he was in the 14th Family on the embarkation list & the 13th family on the debarkation list of Le Beaumont with his second wife 5 children, that they paso a los Atacapas, that is, went to Attakapas, details his second marriage, including his & his wife's parents' names but gives no place of marriage, & says son François-Constant was baptized in 1784 but gives no place of baptism.    

His being married to a BROUSSARD explains why he & his family were among the few Acadian immigrants from France who chose to settle in the Attakapas District. 

Various birth/baptism & marriage records in Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:632-34, sometimes call his first wife Marie-Anne BERNARD.  

Why does his succession record call him Charles?  Was this his middle name?  First name?  I have found this name in no other source.

10.  Wall of Names, 33 (pl. 8L), calls him Pierre-Laurent [POTIER], & lists him with his father, stepmother, & 4 siblings; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2570; Robichaux, Acadians in Châtellerault, 84-85, Family No. 166, his birth/baptismal record, calls him Pierre-Laurant POITIER, gives his parents' names, says his godparents were Pierre AMIRAULT & Rose DOIRON, & details his family's participation in the Poitou settlement of the early 1770s; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 32-33, calls him Pierre-Laurent, son [Pierre POTIER's] fils, age 10, on the embarkation list, Pedro Laurenzo, su [Pedro POTIEU's] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Pierre-Laurent POITIER, his [Pierre POITIER's] son, age 10, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 14th Family on the embarkation list & the 13th Family on the debarkation list of Le Beaumont with his father, stepmother, & 4 siblings; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A:588, 634 (SM Ch.: v.4, #205), his marriage record, calls him Pierre-Laurenzo POTIER "of St. Hilary Parish of Cenand, Diocese of Potier in France, now at St. Landry in Opelousas," calls his wife Marie-Modeste MOUTON, give his & her parents' names, says his father was deceased at the time of the wedding, that her father was called "'sobrino' (nephew)" & her mother "of Acadia," & that the witnesses to his marriage were Charles POTIER [his brother], "representing groom's father," Jean MOUTON, "'tyo' (uncle)," Jean ANDRUS, & Jean VILE; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 3:525 (Laf. Ch.: v.3, p.94), his death/burial record, calls him Pierre POTIER "of Nantes, France," says he died "at age 64 yrs.," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 3:525 (Laf.Ct.Hse.: Succ. #323), his succession record, calls him Pierre POTIER m. Marie MOUTON, & lists his heirs as Adélaïde m. Michel ALADIN, Martin[sic], Pierre, fils, & Louis.

The Michel ALADIN in his succession record is Michel Aladin, called Aladin, MARTIN, his son-in-law.  Pierre had no son name Martin, only Pierre, fils & Louis.

Contrary to what her marriage records, cited above, say, Marie-Modeste MOUTON's father was not Jean dit Neveu, the nephew, but Jean dit Chapeau, Jean dit Neveu's first cousin.  The key to unraveling which Jean MOUTON is which, of course, is the brides's mother's name, Marie-Marthe BORDA, who married Chapeau, not Neveu. 

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