René LeBlanc

• Sources:
  • Drouin Institute (Archived marriage record - see attached in Media tab)

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The family of René LEBLANC and Élisabeth MELANÇON

[85031] LEBLANC, René (René & Anne BOURGEOIS [43310]), royal notary (notaire royal)

• married 1709-07-30 Grand-Pré (Saint-Charles-des-Mines) (Acadie)

MELANÇON, Élisabeth (Pierre MELANÇON dit LAVERDURE & Marguerite MIUS d'ENTREMONT [43334])

     1) Désiré, married about 1740 Marie Madeleine LANDRY

2) Marie Josèphe, born about 1714 (m 1734), married Grand-Pré (Saint-Charles-des-Mines) (Acadie) 1734-04-27 Joseph MEUNIER
Bibliographie : Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes (White); Diocese of Baton Rouge, Catholic Church records; Dictionnaire des Acadiens d'Archange Godbout; Histoire et généalogie des Acadiens (Arsenault)

http://www.francogene.com/quebec--genealogy/085/085031.php

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The family of René LEBLANC and Marguerite THÉBEAU

[42836] LEBLANC, René (René & Anne BOURGEOIS [43310]), royal notary (notaire royal)

• married 1720-11-26 Port-Royal (Acadie)

THÉBEAU, Marguerite (Pierre & Marie Jeanne COMEAU [8409])

     1) Anne, born about 1723 (m 1744), married Grand-Pré (Saint-Charles-des-Mines) (Acadie) 1744-11-23 René THÉRIAULT

2) Blanche, born about 1725 (sép. 1763), died 1763-06-30, buried 1763-07-01 L'Ancienne-Lorette (Qc), married L'Ancienne-Lorette (Qc) 1762-10-05 Michel BONHOMME
3) Esther, married Rivière Saint-Jean (Acadie) 1756 Raymond BORDAGES
4) Françoise, born about 1736 (sép. 1791), died 1791-02-18, buried 1791-02-20 Chambly (Qc), married about 1752 Charles GRAJON, married Montréal (angl Christ Church) (Qc) 1769-08-10 James ROBERTSON
5) Jean Baptiste Marie, married about 1770 Marguerite BOUDREAU
6) Madeleine, born about 1727 (m 1746), married Grand-Pré (Saint-Charles-des-Mines) (Acadie) 1746-06-07 Charles BROUSSARD
7) Marguerite, born about 1722 (m 1745), married Grand-Pré (Saint-Charles-des-Mines) (Acadie) 1745-11-22 Joseph ou René BABIN
8) Marie, married about 1754 Cyprien LEPRINCE, married Saint-Martin-des-Champs (Finistère : 290254), France 1766-02-10 Eustache Alain TRAHAN
9) Pierre Benjamin, married about 1764 Marie DUGAS
10) René, married about 1752 Anne BLANCHARD
11) Simon, married about 1754 ..
12) Ursule, died 1794-10-31, buried 1794-11-02 Chambly (Qc), married Québec (Qc) 1758-02-06 Jacques Christophe BABUTY
Bibliographie : Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes (White); Acadian Church Records; Dictionnaire des Acadiens d'Archange Godbout; Diocese of Baton Rouge, Catholic Church records; PRDH-RAB; Parchemin; http://www.umoncton.ca/etudeacadiennes/centre/cea.html; Répertoire; Microfilm ANQ; Acadians in Exile

http://www.francogene.com/quebec--genealogy/042/042836.php

René was immortalised in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Évangéline.

http://www2.umoncton.ca/cfdocs/etudacad/1755/index.cfm?id=010406000...

A petition addressed by the Acadians at Philadelphia directly to King George reveals what became of the notary RENÉ LEBLANC in the Deportation: "An even those amongst us who had suffered deeply from Your Majesty's enemies, on account of their attachment to Your Majesty's Government, were equally involved in the common calamity of which René LeBlanc, the Notary Public(...) is a remarkable instance. He was seized, confined, and brought away among the rest of the people, and his family, consisting of twenty children, and about one hundred and fifty grandchildren, were scattered in different colonies, so that he was put on shore at New York, with only his wife and two youngest children, in an infirm state of health, from whence he joined three more of his children at Philadelphia, where he died without any more notice being taken of him than any of us, notwithstanding his many years' labor and deep sufferings for Your majesty's service."

GEDCOM Source

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "FamilySearch Family Tree," database, FamilySearch Name: (https://www.familysearch.org);

GEDCOM Source

accessed 12 Jun 2018), entry for Rene LeBlanc, person ID 9HS1-L4D. 3

GEDCOM Source

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "FamilySearch Family Tree," database, FamilySearch Name: (https://www.familysearch.org);

GEDCOM Source

accessed 12 Jun 2018), entry for Rene LeBlanc, person ID 9HS1-L4D. 3

GEDCOM Source

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "FamilySearch Family Tree," database, FamilySearch Name: (https://www.familysearch.org);

GEDCOM Source

accessed 12 Jun 2018), entry for Rene LeBlanc, person ID 9HS1-L4D. 3

GEDCOM Source

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "FamilySearch Family Tree," database, FamilySearch Name: Name: Name: (https://www.familysearch.org);;;

GEDCOM Source

accessed 12 Jun 2018), entry for Rene LeBlanc, person ID 9HS1-L4D. 3

GEDCOM Source

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "FamilySearch Family Tree," database, FamilySearch Name: Name: Name: Name: (https://www.familysearch.org);;;;

GEDCOM Source

accessed 12 Jun 2018), entry for Rene LeBlanc, person ID 9HS1-L4D.

GEDCOM Source

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "FamilySearch Family Tree," database, FamilySearch Name: Name: Name: (https://www.familysearch.org);;;

GEDCOM Source

accessed 12 Jun 2018), entry for Pierre Comeau dit Loups-Marins, person ID 9QJJ-B58. 3

GEDCOM Note

Category:Great Upheaval
Category:Grand-Pr%C3%A9, Acadie
Category:Les Mines, Acadie
Category:Port-Royal, Acadie

Biographie

:"M. Le Loutre fit prendre chez lui René le Blanc par les sauvages, il le fit piller. Simon son fils fut amené avec lui. M. Le Loutre envoya le père à Petkoudiac chez Beausoleil et le fis en Canada en qualité de courrier et là le fit arrêter. Il fit garder le père pendantprès de deux ans, les sauvages le firent beaucoup souffrir, ce fut le 25 Xbre qu'ils firent venir des Mines. Ils firent ensuite venir sa fe. et quelques-un de ces enfants. Cette fe [femme] voyant son mari retunu M. l'abbé Leloutre lui disant qu'il ne s'en retourneroit point, mourut de chagrin (ANC, MG 18, F12, F12, no 26)."≤ref name=DGFA/>

Biography

René LeBlanc was born in Port-Royal around 1682 to Ren%C3%A9LeBlanc and Anne Bourgeois.≤ref name=DGFA>White, Stephen A., Patrice Gallant, and Hector-J Hébert. Dictionnaire Généalogique Des Familles Acadiennes. Moncton, N.-B.: Centre D'études Acadiennes, Université De Moncton, 1999, Print, p 987-988 (paternal family); 1009-1011 (marriage, family, documents, sources); p.1012 (appointment as notary; fate described by Thomas Pichon and by Petitione of Acadians deported to Philadelphia).≤/ref>. His parents were living at the LeBlanc ancestral homestead on the north bank of the Dauphin (Annapolis) River to the northeast of the marshlands of Belisle.≤ref name=BRH>Le Bulletin des Recherches Historiques, vol XVIII, 1912, p. 357. (archive.org)≤/ref>≤ref name=homestead>1707 homestead location of Pierre LeBlanc (last son to live with father Daniel before he died). In Au Coeur de l'Acadie Acadian Settlement on the Annapolis River 1707 Map Parks Canada≤/ref>≤ref name=Dauphin>Circa 1609 Map of Port Royal showing rivière du Dauphin. Map originally published in Canada: the Empire of the North by Agnes C. Laut≤/ref>
By 1693, the family had settled in Grand Pré des Mines (translation: Great Meadow of the Minas Basin). When René was 11, the family may have been affected by the raid on Grand-Pré. Church arrived on the frigate 'Adventure', proclaiming that settlersshould surrender within the hour. He was thwarted by the tides whichprevented access to settlements along the narrow brooks but made themtargets for Acadians and Mi’kmaq on shore.≤ref name=Griffiths2005/>Some of the inhabitants had time to escape to the woods with their valuables. Then Church’s men start pillaging; two of his men were killed during a skirmish with the villagers. Grand-Pré was set on fire and the dykes were damaged. The after-effects of the raid were fairly mild. Slaughtered animals were eventually replaced and homes and dykes repaired. However, a drought the previous year and the loss of crops from the raid created a shortage of flour for 1704-05.≤ref name=Griffiths2005>Griffiths, Naomi E.S., From migrant to Acadian: a North-American border people, 1604-1755, Montreal (Québec), McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005, p147-151 (King William’s War); p 207-9 (1704 Raid on Grand-Pré and after-effects)≤/ref>
After 1713, Grand-Pré was under permanent British Rule. Like most Acadians, the family decided to remain at their homestead.
René was married three times. When he was about 26 he married Elisabeth (Isabelle) Melanson, daughter of Pierre Melanson and Marguerite Mius d'Entrement. The wedding to place at Grand Pré on July 30, 1709.≤ref>http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c1870/543?r=0&s=5≤/ref> ≤ref>Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Record Volume 1a revised: The Registers of St. Charles aux Mines in Acadia 1707-1748; JohnJ. Pastorek, Editor; Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge:Baton Rouge, 1999. p.151. Text:::Rene Leblanc (Rene Leblanc and Anne Bourgois, habitans de la Grand Pree) m. 30 July 1709 Elisabeth Melanson, widow of Allain Bugeaud, Royal Notary (Pierre Melanson, Sieur de la Verdure, and Demoiselle Marguerite Mius) wit. P. Mellanson (s); Rene Leblanc (s); Alexandre Bourg (s); Pierre Melanson (s); Francois LeBlanc (s); Pierre Leblanc (s); Phillipe Melanson (s); sig. R. leBlanc (s); {+} Elisabeth Melanson (SGA-1, 59)≤/ref>Between 1710 and 1718, the couple had 5 children: an unknown infant, Benjamin, Marie-Josèphe, Désiré, and Elizabeth.
René's second wife was Marguerite Thébaut, daughter of Pierre Thébaut and Anne Commeau. They married on 26 Nov 1720 at Port-Royal≤ref>Library and Archives Canada, Fonds de la paroisse catholique Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Port-Royal, N.-É.)-1870 C-1870 (image 178) http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c1869/178?r=0&s=5≤/ref>≤ref>An Acadian Parish Remembered The Registers of St. Jean-Baptiste, Annapolis Royal, 1702-1755 René Le Blanc and Marguerite Thebaut marriage RG 1 volume 26 page 326 https://novascotia.ca/archives/acadian/archives.asp?ID=1350≤/ref>, but the couple settled in Grand Pré. Between 1721 and 1744they had 17 children including a set of triplets and three sets of twins: triplets Anne, Marguerite, and Marie; Anne, twins Blanche and Marie, Madeleine, twins René and Simon, Francoise, Ursule, Joseph-Marie,twins Pierre-Benjamin and Esther Leblanc, Paul-Marie, Jean-Baptiste-Marie, and Marie-Jeanne.
René and Marguerite raised the family during the 'Golden Age of Acadia' (1713-1744).≤ref name=Griffiths92>Griffiths, Naomie E.S. The Contexts of Acadian History 1686-1784.Published for the Center for Canadian Studies Mount Allison University, Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 1992, p61 (golden age);≤/ref>
On December 17, 1744 the Nova Scotia Council appointed René as notaryto replace the suspended Alexandre Bourg.
The family was profoundly affected by Father LeLoutre's War and the Great Upheaval. Their fate in Father LeLoutre's war is described by Stephen White's≤ref>White, Stephen A. English Supplement to the Dictionnaire Généalogique Des Familles Acadiennes. Moncton NB: Centre D'EtudesAcadiennes, 200o, p 214-215.≤/ref> translation of Thomas Pinchon::M. Le Loutre had René le Blanc taken prisoner by the Indians in his own home, which he had them pillage. His son Simon was brought along with him. Mr. Le Loutre sent the father to Beausoleil's place on the Petitcoudiac and the son as a messenger to Canada, where he had him detained. He had the father held for nearly two years; the Indians made him suffer a great deal; it was December 25th when they made him come from Les Mines. Later they made his wife and some of his children come too. This woman, seeing her husband thus detained, and hearing M. LeLoutre say that he would not go back, died of chagrin [grief]."
The family was eventually deported. Their ordeal is described in a 1758 Petition of Acadians deported to Philadelphia::"René Leblanc, the Notary Public, .... was seized, confined, and brought away among the rest of the people, and his family, consisting of twenty children, and about one hundred and fifty grandchildren, were scattered in different colonies, so that he was put on shore in New York, with only his wife and two youngest children, in an infirm state ofhealth, from whence he joined three more of his children at Philadelphia, where he died without any more notice being taken of him than anyof us, notwithstanding his many years' labor and deep sufferings for your Majesty's service." É. Richard, Acadia: Missing Links of a Lost Chapter in American History, 1895, vol II, p. 380.≤ref name=DGFA/>≤refname=DGFASupplement>White, Stephen A. English Supplement to theDictionnaire Généalogique Des Familles Acadiennes. Moncton NB: Centre D'Études Acadiennes, 2000, p 214-215≤/ref>
René Leblanc's legacy is profound. He not only left behind a large number of offspring, but in the his name is immortalized in the Poem Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
:René Leblanc will be here anon, with his papers and ink-horn. :Shall we not then be glad, and rejoice in the joy of our children?’:As apart by the window she stood, with her hand in her lover’s,
:Blushing Evangeline heard the words that her father had spoken,
:And, as they died on his lips, the worthy notary entered.
::III
:Bent like a labouring oar, that toils in the surf of the ocean,
:Bent, but not broken, by age was the form of the notary public;
:Shocks of yellow hair, like the silken floss of the maize, hung
:Over his shoulders; his forehead was high; and glasses with horn bows
:Sat astride on his nose, with a look of wisdom supernal.
:Father of twenty children was he, and more than a hundred
:Children's children rode on his knee, and heard his great watch tick.
:Four long years in the time of the war had he languished a captive,
:Suffering much in an old French fort as the friend of the English.
:Now, though warier grown, without all guile or suspicion,
:Ripe in wisdom was he, but patient, and simple, and childlike.
:He was beloved by all, and most of all by the children;
:For he told them tales of the Loup-garou in the forest,
:And of the goblin that came in the night to water the horses,
:And of the white Létiche, the ghost of a child who unchristened
:Died, and was doomed to haunt unseen the chambers of children;
:And how on Christmas even the oxen talked in the stable,
:And how the fever was cured by a spider shut up in a nutshell,
:And of the marvellous powers of four-leaved clover and horseshoes,:With whatsoever else was writ in the lore of the village. Excerpt from poem Evangeline

Sources

≤references />* 1686 Acadian Census at Port-Royal: Rene LEBLANC 29, Anne BOURGEOIS 25; children: Jacques 6, Francois 4, Rene 2.

• 1693 Acadian Census at Mines: Rene LEBLANC 38, Anne BOURGEOIS his wife 30, Jacques 15, Francoise 13, Rene 11, Pierre 9, Joseph and Estienne, twins, 5, Claude 2; 12 cattle, 12 sheep, 12 hogs, 16 arpents, 1 gun.
• 1700 Acadian census: not found
• 1701 Acadian census atGrand Pré: Rene LEBLANC, his wife, 7 boys, 2 girls, 10 arpents, 18 cattle, 18 sheep, 12 hogs, 1 gun. .
• 1703 Acadian census at Les Mines: Rene LEBLANC his wife, 3 boys, 3 girls, 1 arms bearer.
• 1707 Acadian census atMines/Minas Basin: Rene LEBLANC, his wife, 3 boys 14 or older, 1 younger boy, 1 girl less than 12; 6 arpents, 4 cattle, 12 sheep, 12 hogs.
• 1714 Acadian census atDes Mines: Rene LeBLAN and his wife, 2 sons, 1 daughter.
• 1752 Acadian Census. At Petitcoudiac: Rene Leblanc, his wife, 5 boys, 3 girls.
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=166918352