To identify and verify the family histories of Acadians in the northeastern region of North America, particularly before the deportation of the early 18th century.

• Please ONLY add profiles of early French settlers of Acadia and those born in Acadia prior to the end of the expulsion of the Acadians (11 July 1764). Once the profiles have been identified, the task of untangling can begin!
• NOTE: Following traditional French custom, women did not change their legal names upon marriage, but were sometimes referred to by their husband's surname in common speech. Please do not add a husband's surname to their perspective spouse. Both the 'Birth Name' and 'Last Name' fields should be entered as the surname that was given at birth. As an alternative, you may choose to add the profiles name with their spouses surname appended in the field labeled 'Also Known As'.

  ---

History of Acadia

Acadia (Acadie) originally included lands that are part of todays southeastern Quebec (the Gaspé Peninsula), eastern Maine to the Kennebec River, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island.

"Acadia’s history as a French-speaking colony stretches as far back as the early 17th century. The French settlers who colonized the land and coexisted alongside Indigenous peoples became called Acadians. Acadia was also the target of numerous wars between the French and the English. Ultimately, the colony fell under British rule. Many Acadians were subsequently deported away from Acadia. Over time, as a British colony and then as part of Canada, Acadians increasingly became a linguistic minority. Nonetheless, Acadians have strived to protect their language and identity throughout time." Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia

History of the Name "Acadia"

There are several theories how Acadia (Acadie) acquired it's name; a finite answer does not exist.

Some say the name came from a region of ancient Greece (Arkadia/Αρκαδία) frequently chosen as background for pastoral poetry, while others attribute the name to the Indigenous people present in the region at the time of early settlement. Perhaps from the Mi’kmaq word for camp, Algatig, or alternatively, from the Indigenous term Quoddy, which refers to a fertile land. The Acadians used the indigenous name of the lands on maps, spelling it in many different ways, such as "la Cadie" and LaCadye."

Still other theories include early explorers such as Giovanni da Verrazzano’s, an Italian explorer serving the king of France, who traveled to North America in 1524 and 1525, exploring the Atlantic coast and he gave the name "Archadia" to a region near the present-day American state of Delaware. Portuguese explorer Estêvão Gomes’ notes from 1524 also included Newfoundland as part of the area he called “Arcadie”. Later in 1566, the cartographer Bolongnino Zaltieri gave a similar name, "Larcadia," to an area far to the northeast of present-day Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Acadia Timeline

• 1604 to 1621- French presence established in North America [Acadia, French colony]
  • 1604 - The first organized French settlement in Acadia was founded on an island in Passamaquoddy Bay, on the present U.S.-Canadian border, by Pierre du Gua de Monts and Samuel de Champlain
  • 1605 - The creation of the first permanent European settlement north of Florida, Port-Royal, Acadia (now Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) [Acadia, French colony]
• 1621 to 1632 – [Nova Scotia, British colony]
  • 1621 - King James I of England (VI of Scotland) awarded the lands of Acadia to Sir William Alexander for the purpose of founding the colony of Nova Scotia. Acadia was renamed to Nova Scotia
  • 1627–1629 - Anglo-French War
  • March 29, 1632 - The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed by King Charles I of England. It returned New France (Québec, Acadia and Cape Breton Island) back to French control after the English had seized it in 1629
• 1632 to 1654 – Acadia is jostled back and forth between the French and the English during this period [Acadia / Nova Scotia]
  • 1632 to 1653 - Core group of settlers arrive
  • 1749 - Siege of Grand-Pré
  • 1749-1755 - Acadian Exodus - During this period, many Acadians left Acadia (Nova Scotia) for the French colonies of Ile St. Jean (Prince Edward Island) and Ile Royale (Cape Breton Island)
  • 12 May to 28 June 1745 – British forces seize Louisbourg [Colony of Île Royale – British Colony]
  • 28 June 1745 to 17 October 1748 – British control Louisbourg [Colony of Île Royale – British Colony]
  • 18 October 1748 to 10 February 1763 – Louisbourg is returned to the French per the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle [Colony of Île Royale – French Colony]
• 1654 to 31 July 1667 - French settlement ceases [Nova Scotia, British colony]
  • 1754–1763 - French and Indian War - This was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French
  • 1755 - Bay of Fundy Campaign - The British expelled the Acadians from Grand-Pré
  • 10 February 1763 - Treaty of Paris - This formally ended the conflict between France and Great Britain known as the French and Indian War
  • 1664 - Charles II of England made a grant to James, Duke of York for territories north and east of the Kennebec River. The territory stipulated in this charter encompassed the areas between the Kennebec and St. Croix Rivers.
• 31 July 1667 to 1710 - French settlement resumes [Acadia, French colony]
  • 31 July 1667 - Treaty of Breda (England returned Acadia, that had been captured in 1654
  • 1671 - First Acadian Census
  • 1676 - Governor Frontenac granted 100 square leagues land which became known as Beaubassin (now Amherst, Nova Scotia)
  • c. 1680 - Grand-Pré was founded by Pierre Melanson and Pierre Terriot (now Grand Pre, Nova Scotia)
• 1710 to 1713 – Acadia is in dispute between French and British [Acadia]
  • 16 October 1710 - Siege of Port Royal – The British capture Port Royal and rename it Annapolis Royal. The British also gained control of most of mainland Acadia.
  • British establish the colony of Nova Scotia as a permanent legal entity
  • France retain some land in Acadia (part of today’s New Brunswick). It also retains Île-Royale (today Cape Breton) and Île Saint-Jean (today Prince Edward Island)
• 11 April 1713 to 10 February 1763 - French settlement ceases [Colony of Nova Scotia, British colony]
  • 11 April 1713 - The Treaty of Utrecht cedes most of Acadia to Great Britain. The colony of Île-Royale remains under French possession.
  • 11 April 1713 - 10 February 1763 - Colony of Île-Royale created which include the islands of Île-Royale (today Cape Breton) and Île Saint-Jean (today Prince Edward Island) [Colony of Île-Royale]
    • 1719 - Work begins on Fortress Louisbourg [Colony of Île Royale – French Colony]
  • 1730 – By this date, a majority of Acadians sign an oath of allegiance to the British Crown, but they insisted they would not fight either the French or the native Indians.
  • 1749 - Halifax established [Colony of Nova Scotia, British colony]
  • 1754–1763 – French and Indian war - At the beginning of the French and Indian War, the British demanded that Acadians take an oath of allegiance to the Crown that included fighting against the French. Most of them refused.
  • August 11, 1755 – British decide to begin the expulsion of Acadians
    • August 11, 1755 - 11 July 1764 – Expulsion of the Acadians - The Grand Dérangement / Le Grand Dérangement
• 10 February 1763 - The Treaty of Paris cedes all of Frances possessions in North America to Great Britain and Spain. All of Acadia including the colony of Île Royale is permanently ceded to Great Britain. [Colony of Nova Scotia - British Colony]
• 1784 - Britain split the colony of Nova Scotia into three separate colonies: New Brunswick, Cape Breton Island, and present-day peninsular Nova Scotia, in addition to the adjacent colonies of St. John's Island (renamed Prince Edward Island in 1798)

Sources:
The Canadian Encyclopedia
Acadia - Wikipedia
Acadians - Wikipedia
The Acadians - Timeline - CBC
History - Acadian Genealogy - Historical Acadian-Cajun Resources
Early History of the Acadians
America Ogilby, John; Montanus, Arnoldus Printed by the author, 1671