It has a melodic ring to it. As a tenth generation Acadian, I’m Jerry à Theodore à Jos à Joseph à Paulish à Paul à François à Michel à Martin à Michel Richard.
Richard blood runs in both sides of my family. In the sixth generation on my father’s side, five out of sixteen ancestors were Richards. In the sixth generation on my mother’s side, four out of sixteen ancestors were Richards. The vast majority of these Richards were closely related – brothers, sisters or cousins. In spending long hours researching my family history, I realized I am my own cousin several times over !
The first Richard – Michel – arrived in Port Royal, Nova Scotia, from Saintonge, France, in 1651 with the LeBorgne expedition. Known today as Annapolis Royal, it’s one of the oldest towns in Canada and one of the oldest settlements in North America. French and British troops fought seven battles for Port Royal between 1613 and 1710. The British finally won it.
Michel, aged twenty-four waited two years before marrying twelve-year-old Madeline Blanchard. This first marriage consisted of ten children of whom I am a descendant. After being widowed for three years and at the age of fifty-three, Michel married fourteen-year-old Jeanne Babin. They had eight children.
Martin and Marguerite (Bourg) are the second generation ancestors. They moved from Port Royal to Beaubasin where they raised their nine children.
The third generation, Michel and Madeleine (Doucet), moved to Napanne, Nova Scotia, to seek refuge by the lake with their nine children. They escaped deportation in 1755 by crossing to L’Ile St-Jean (now Prince Edward Island).
In the fall of 1758, during the deportation of the Acadians from L’Ile St-Jean, they headed for the Baie des Chaleurs but were later taken prisoner and brought to Beauséjour. A few years later, they were living in Memramcook. Some of the family went to Richibucto and others to Saint-Louis.
Two of the sons, François and Jean-Baptiste, had escaped capture in 1761 and lived in Shippagan or Nipissiguit (West Bathurst) until 1790. It was there that fourth generation François married Marie Daigle in 1768. They moved to L’Ardouane near Richibucto where they raised nine children.
Paul and Marie-Rose (Babineau), followed by Paul (known as Paulish) and Julie (Robichot), are the fifth and sixth generation ancestors. Both families resided at L’Ardouane; each family had twelve children.
Joseph and Marie (D’Aigle) were the seventh generation and my great-grandparents. They resided at Saint-Charles with their eleven children.
Jean-Joseph (known as Jos) and Julie (Chevarie) were the eighth generation and my paternal grandparents. After their marriage, they moved to the United States for a couple of years where they learned to weave. They returned to Sainte-Anne-de-Kent where they purchased a farm and had nine children.
My parents, Theodore and Linda (Thibodeau), are the ninth generation. My father served in the Canadian Armed Forces from 1940 to 1942. He married my mother in 1941, and they moved from Sainte-Anne-de-Kent to Nova Scotia, and later to Saint John .
My father worked as a laborer for the Atlantic Sugar Refinery until his retirement. He wasn’t a farmer as his forefathers had been, but he worked hard to provide for his twelve children, the last of the large Acadian families.
I am the tenth generation and speak proudly about my Acadian heritage.
Reprinted with permission, from Our Stories: Heritage ’94, (A project of the Multiculturalism and Immigration Office, Department of Advanced Education and Labour, Province of New Brunswick.)
