4. Étienne, our first ancestor
According to Placide Gaudet, Acadian genealogist, Louis is the ancestor of all Robichaud of Acadie. He was born in France around 1609. According to Adrien Bergeron, he would have married in La Chaussee his wife Marie, in 1633.1 In 1642, or shortly after, Louis would have moved in Acadie with his wife and two young children, Charles and Estienne (Stephen). Information from André Penot, in Poitou, who has done research on the Acadians, tell us that Louis and his wife Marie would have had four children: Charles in 1637 and Étienne in 1639. Two other children Martin and Perrine, would have stayed in the Chaussée.2 During our visit to La Chaussée in 1988, an amateur genealogist indicated that ancestors of some Acadian families, possibly including Robichaud, were tenants at the castle La Bonnetière of La Chaussee.
Louis and Marie had two sons: (1) Charles, born about 1637, married a daughter of Vincent Brun, and would have had girls. (2) Estienne, born about 1640, married Françoise Boudrot.
Presumably Louis took land at Port Royal and devoted himself to farming. However, he would not live long to see the results of its work. He died January 3, 1649 during a trip to Quebec. The death certificate written in Latin and kept in the archdiocese of Quebec translates as follows: " 4 January 1649 was buried in the cemetery of Quebec Louis Robichaux, died yesterday at the Hotel-Dieu at the age of about forty years ".3
That's what the old genealogy was saying. The link between Estienne Robichaut and this Louis Robichaux, identified in 1671 in Port-Royal, is a hypothesis or a mistake of Placide Gaudet, that was supported by Bona Arsenault, initially by Donat Robichaud and most other genealogists up to a few years ago. It is unlikely that there is a link between Louis and Estienne. According to Régis Brun, "... looking more closely at the act of burial in Quebec, we realize that the name is spelled Rebicher rather than Robichaud. " Ivan Robichaud made the same observation and notes. According to the Directory of baptismal, burial and census of old Quebec, this Louis Rebicher would have been 37 years old when he was buried 4 January 1649.4 The first Robichaud to come to Acadie according Régis Brun would be Étienne, circa 1660. There will always be some doubts. Ivan Robichaud notes "... there were in the eighteenth century, at St-Chartes and Marnes, a few kilometers from La Chaussée, several Rébéchaud families. This surname is found even in the records of the eighteenth century. According to recent information from le Cercle généalogique Poitevin and Annie Boudairon (whose father is Rébéchaud), there would be (in the records of La Chaussée) an Estienne Rébécheau. This is the birth in 1664 of Jeanne Renée Rébéchaud and in 1664 (?) of Denise Rébéchaud, girls of Estienne and Vincent Guiet. ) "5
In a recent publication, Ivan Robichaud says: " Forget the myth of Louis Robichaud born about 1609. (...) Stephen White, Genealogist at the Centre for Acadian Studies (...) concludes that one cannot make a connection between Rebicher Louis and Etienne Robichaud. Our common ancestor would be Étienne Robichaud. " According to Maurice Basque, it must also be recognized that the existence of Charles is unlikely. "If the presence of Étienne is evidenced by the census of Port Royal in 1671, it does not hold true for his alleged brother Charles. Again, genealogist Placide Gaudet seems to have had a great deal of imagination. Indeed, no known historical document mentions a Charles Robichaud which would be in Port-Royal at the same time as Étienne. We must conclude that Étienne Robichaud was the only pioneer of this surname in Acadie. » 6
The Poitevin origin of most Acadian families is also disputed. According to Dr. Claude Massé, President of Racines et rameaux français d’Acadie, Bordeaux, "The Robichaud, Belliveau and other Poirier are not exclusive to the lordship of Aulnay." Jean-Marie Germe, of the Falaise-Acadie-Québec Association, says that Poitou is only "one of the cradles of Acadie as well as the Touraine, Normandy, Champagne, ... " .7
What could have been the experiences of Louis Robichaud for seven years at the most, where he possibly lived in America ? "Léopold Lanctôt says that Louis Robichaud would have arrived in 1632 aboard the Saint-Jehan . (...) (Stephen White, genealogist of the Centre for Acadian Studies, rejects Lanctôt’s book as pure invention). " 8 Three other boats on which it is possible that our unlikely ancestor Louis Robichaud and his family were able to make the crossing are: St. Elie or La Vierge in 1642, and the Grand Cardinal in 1644. These three boats were the property of (our ancestor) Emmanuel Le Borgne, a merchant of La Rochelle, whose business partner was Charles de Menou d'Aulnay. The ship St. Elie (150 tons) left La Rochelle on May 16, 1642. On the 25th of September 1642, a second boat, La Vierge (120 tons), left the port of La Rochelle to arrive in Port-Royal on December 5, probably stopping before at La Have. In 1644, a bigger boat with a capacity of 200 tons, the Grand Cardinal, went to Port-Royal. He remained there until 1645 and participated in the battle at Fort Latour.9
Estienne Robichaud was born, probably in France, circa 1640. Under the assumption that he is the son of Louis, he would have only about 2 years old when he arrived in Canada and approximately 9 years after the death of his father. In 1663, at the age of 23, he married at Port Royal Françoise Boudrot, born in 1642, daughter of Michel Boudrot, justice and lieutenant-general in Port-Royal (1686) and Michelle Aucoin.
Estienne and Françoise had six children, four sons and two daughters: (1) Madeleine said Cadet (c1664), married in 1682, to Pierre Landry (René and Perrine Bourg). They were at Beaubassin in 1700. She died at Port-Royal, buried 8 June 1710. (2) Charles said Cadet (c1667), married in 1686, to Marie Thibodeau (Pierre and Jeanne Terio) and his second wife, in 1703, Marie Bourg (Jean and Marguerite Martin), widow of Jean Dubois. He died before 18 May 1737. (3) Prudent (c1669), married about 1691 to Henriette Petitpas (Claude and Catherine Bugaret), he died in the summer of 1756. (4) Mary (c1672), married before1689 to Denis Petitot dit Saint-Seine, a surgeon at Port-Royal. (5) Alexander (c1675), married at Port Royal in 1700 to Anne Melanson (Charles and Marie Dugas), widow of Jacques St-Étienne de la Tour. He died at Port-Royal March 26, 1742, at about 67 years of age, and (6) François, said Niganne (c1677) married about 1702 to Madeleine Theriot (Claude and Marie Gautrot). He died at Port-Royal on December 8, 1747.
We know little of the life of Estienne. Let us remember what was related by father Laurent Molins, religious friar, priest of Port-Royal, responsible for the census of Port Royal in 1671 (the first census in Acadie): " Ploughman: Estienne Robichaut did not want to see me. He came out of his home and told his wife that she should tell me he did not wish to give the count of his cattle and land ... "
In the next census, in 1678, Estienne is identified as having two acres of land, less than the average of 5.7 acres in Port Royal. He had ten cattles, the average of the village, however he did not have a gun.
According to Maurice Basque, Étienne Robichaud is indistinguishable from the majority of the pioneers of Port Royal by his property assets or livestock. However, his children will show much more pronounced skills in economic and leadership dynamics. Étienne died at Port-Royal in 1686, about 48 years old.10
Father Lanctôt gives us the following information, which he seems to draw from the census of 1704: " Michelle Aucoin lives with her daughter Françoise and her grandson. Françoise Boudrot (62), ... widow of Estienne Robichaud, has four daughters and two sons, including François, all married and settled in Port- Royal. " 11
Estienne, by his marriage with Françoise Boudrot, was entering a well-established family at Port Royal. His father-in-law, Michel Boudrot, became lieutenant general of the king, therefore the head of the administration of justice. According to Maurice Basque, the children of Estienne follow the example of their father by making good marriages. "By their matrimonial strategies, these Robichaud now found themselves parents or allies of economically influential families in Port- Royal, such as Melanson and Thibodeau, of noble families, such as Saint-Étienne de La Tour and LeBorgne de Belleisle and families near the colonial authorities, such as Goutin, Petitot and Petitpas. " According to Jacques Vanderlinden Françoise Boudrot, through the influence of her father and her brothers and sisters, had a determining role in the good marriage of her children. According to Basque, these Robichaud matrimonial strategies will continue until the 20th century.12
Three of the son of Estienne resided on the chemin du Cap (or Équille) Port Royal (now St. George Street, Annapolis Royal). Prudent and François (Niganne) were neighbors while Charles lived farther south. Alexander lived in Village-des-Melanson (near the former Habitation).
Following the burning of his house by the Anglo-Americans, on June 6, 1707, Charles Robichaud said Cadet (the eldest son) went to settle in Grand Cobequid, now Great Village, near Truro. This village was also known, at the time when Charles and his sons lived there, under the name Village-des-Cadets. After the dispersion, we find his descendants in Louisiana, Quebec and France. His grandson Joseph, after living in Saint-Malo, France with his parents moved back to Acadie and became a pioneer of Saint-Charles-de-Kent. Joseph's brothers, Jean-Baptiste and Isidore, settled in Shippagan and Inkerman in the Acadian Peninsula and are among the founders of these villages.
The second son, Prudent Robichaud, who married the daughter of the notary Claude Petitpas was a very successful and renowned merchant. He traded with the English and the Indians, acting as an interpret. He had a good education and was one of the Acadian leaders under British rule. He was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1729. In 1755, at the age of 86 years, he was on board the ship Pembroke, with a group of Acadians to be deported to North Carolina. Acadians seized the ship during the voyage and sailed in the harbor of Saint John River. They then fled upriver to Quebec. They possibly paused at " Eagle's Nest ", where Prudent nephews Pierre and François resided. It is during this perilous journey that died Prudent Robichaud.
Charles Melanson, founder of the “Village-des-Melanson”, was the son of the Huguenot, Pierre Laverdure, who married an Englishwoman, Priscilla Melanson, from England, and emigrated to Acadie in the time of the English governor Temple. When Acadie became again French, two sons, Charles and Peter Melanson, remained in Acadie and took the name of their mother, Melanson. Archaeological excavations in the summers of 1984 to 1985 resulted in an excellent publication, which documents the experiences of residents of the Village-des-Melanson.13 Alexandre Robichaud, husband of Anne Melanson, was one of the members appointed to discuss with the new British government in 1720.
The Louisiana Robichaux are mostly descendants of Charles, said Cadet and Marie Thibodeau, and of Prudent and Henriette Petitpas.
1. BERGERON, Adrien, Le Grand arrangement des Acadiens au Québec, Éditions Élysée, Montréal, 1981, p. 197.
2. ROBICHAUD, Ivan, Généalogie de ma famille Robichaud, La Revue d’histoire de la Société historique Nicolas-Denys, vol. XXII, n° 3, septembre- décembre 1994, Shippagan (N.-B.), p. 41.
3. ROBICHAUD, Donat, Les Robichaud, histoire et généalogie, op. cit., p. 14.
4. BRUN, Régis Un historique de la famille Robichaud, 1660-1994, Tours Placide-Gaudet Inc., Shédiac, (N.-B.), 1994, p. 9; et ROBICHAUD, Ivan, Généalogie de ma famille Robichaud, op. cit., p. 42.
5. ROBICHAUD, Ivan, Généalogie de ma famille Robichaud, op. cit., p. 39.
6. ROBICHAUD, Ivan, Les premiers Robichaud en Acadie, Nouvelles des Robichaud, Publié par l’Association des Robichaud Inc., C.P. 118 Shippagan, N.-B., E0B 2P0, numéro 4 -décembre 1996, p. 2 ; BASQUE, Maurice, Des hommes de pouvoir, Histoire d’Otho Robichaud et de sa famille, notables acadiens de Port-Royal et de Néguac, Société historique de Néguac, C.P. 93, Néguac (N.-B.) E0C 1S0, 1996, p. 24.
7. VENNIN, Loïc, Roman ou histoire, dans la revue Ven’ d’est, Petit-Rocher (N.-B.), hiver 93-94, p.18-19.
8. ROBICHAUD, Ivan, Généalogie de ma famille Robichaud, op. cit., p. 41.
9. BUJOLD, Nicole T., et CAILLEBEAU, Maurice, op. cit., p. 26-28.
10. ROBICHAUD, Donat, Les Robichaud, histoire et généalogie, op. cit., p. 14 ; Ivan Robichaud, Les Premiers Robichaud en Acadie, op. cit., p. 2 ; BASQUE, Maurice, Des hommes de pouvoir, Histoire d’Otho Robichaud et de sa famille, notables acadiens de Port-Royal et de Néguac, Société historique de Néguac, Néguac, N.-B., 1996, p. 29-37. (On n’a pas de preuve du décès d’Estienne Robichaud, autre que son épouse soit veuve en 1704.)
11. ROBICHAUD, Ivan, Généalogie de ma famille Robichaud, op. cit., p. 44.
12. BASQUE, Maurice, Des hommes de pouvoir, Histoire d’Otho Robichaud et de sa famille, notables acadiens de Port-Royal et de Néguac, op. cit., p. 29-37 ; VANDERLINDEN, Jacques, Se marier en Acadie française, XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, Éditions d’Acadie, Moncton, 1998, p. 112.
13. CRÉPEAU, Andrée and DUNN, Brenda, The Melanson Settlement : An Acadian Farming Community (ca. 1664-1755), Research Bulletin, n° 250, Environment Canada – Parks, September 1986, 18 p.
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Translated from ROBICHAUD, Armand, Des Histoires de Robichaud, du Poitou à la mer Rouge, Éditions de la Francophonie, Moncton, 2002, p. 59-70.
