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Jacques Bourgeois, the elder, came to Acadia in 1632*, it is thought with his brother in law, Germain Doucet dit Laverdure who were most likely officers in the contingent of soldiers who came to the colony of Acadia with Isaac de Razilly. De Razily retook Acadie from the English in the name of the King of France in 1632. It is believed Jacques son, Robert, may have come with his father to Acadia. It is believed that Jacques had a wife named Marguerite, who may have remained in France until a later date. Jacques son, who was also named Jacques, was born on
9 Jan,1621** in La Ferte-Gaucher church parish of Saint Romain, France to Jacques and Marguerite Bourgeois. and migrated to Acadia in 1642 (or 1643), arriving on the ship Aulnay. He held the rank of military doctor, and was in fact a surgeon. He married Jeanne Trahan, who was the daughter of Guillaume Trahan and Francoise Corbineau (who were on of the oldest Acadian familes**), in 1643 in Port Royal, Acadia. Jeanne was born at Bourgueil* in the French province of Anjou, France and was only 14 at the time of her marriage to Jacques. In 1646, the Governor d�Aulnay granted Jacques, the younger, and his wife Jeanne, an island called Isle aux Cochons situated on the Dauphin River just upstream from Port Royal. In 1654, a battle ensued after an English Major attacked Port Royal and the fort was subsequently surrendered to the English.
After the battle in 1654, Jacques, the elder, and his son Robert were forced to leave the colony of Port Royal, which they lived nearby, and return to France. Jacques, the younger, and his wife Jeanne remained. In 1671, Jacques founded of the village of Bourgeois, which later beame Beaubassin***, Nova Scotia and is now called Amhearst. Jacques then returned with his son, Guillaume, to Port Royal, although they retained farms at Beaubassin. Two other sons, Charles and Germain remained in Beaubassin. It is believed that Jacques, in addition to his profession of surgeon, was a farmer and marine merchant. His boats followed the coast of the Baie Francaise (Bay of Fundy) to trade with the Mic Mac Indians and descended down the coast to New England to trade with the English. (History indicates that Jacques hired Pierre Arceneaux to work on one of his trading ships, and that Pierre was a co-founder of Beaubassin.) In 1686, Jacques and his wife, Jeanne, moved to Beaubassin. However, in 1696, Beaubassin was attacked by the English, and most of the homes in the region of Beaubassin were burned. The Acadians living there were forced to flee into the woods. It is not known if the families were able to return to Beaubassin, or if Jacques and his family returned to Port Royal. The Bourgeois family can be traced throughout the history of their stay in Acadia by consulting the census records for the region. (You can find a complete listing of all of the census records from 1671 through 1752 on Tim Hebert�s Acadian-Cajun Website.) Jacques died before 1700. The rest of his family remained in Acadia until the �Great Derrangement� which occurred in 1755 during which many of Jacques grandchildren were deported to the American colonies. Some made their way back to New Brunswick, Canada, while others made their way to Louisiana during the mid-1760�s. At least nine Bourgeois men settled on the east bank of the Mississippi River in St. James Parish. Five of these were brothers, Paul, Joseph, Michel, Pierre, and Jean-Baptiste, who were the sons of Paul Bourgeois and Marie-Josephe Brun. Beginning in the 1790�s, many of the children and grandchildren of the orginal Bourgeois settlers in Louisiana moved to Bayou LaFourche. Most settled below Thibodaux. At least three sons of the orgianal settlers migrated further west, to the Attakapas. Our line continues down from Jacques, the younger, to Charles, born 1646 in Port Royal, then to Charles, born 1672, in Beaubassin, then to Paul Paul, born 1707 in Nova Scotia, then to Pierre Paul, born 1774 in St. James, LA, then to Paul born 1803 in St. James, LA, then to Joseph Florian, born 1842 in Ascension Parish, LA, then to Camille D., born 1874 in Ascension Parish. |
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