I thought it would be nice to honor all of our ancestors that emigrated from France to Canada (Acadia and Quebec).  The earliest immigration was to Acadia (it consisted of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the Gaspe Peninsula and part of Maine).  The area was settled around 1605 and was considered the first European (French) settlement in North America.  A group of 79 people had wintered at Ile-St.-Croix and the 44 people that survived established Port Royal.  France didn’t consider colonization a priority; they were more interested in the goods that the land and sea offered.  As a result, the population growth in Acadia remained meager throughout the 17^th century with the population at about 440 people by 1671 and 885 people by 1686.

The French and the British would fight over Acadia for well over a century because of its strategic location on the Atlantic Ocean.  The worst of the interactions started in the fall of 1755 when the British began the deportation of the French settlers (known as Acadians).  In the first year, soldiers expelled over 7,000 Acadians from their land.  Their homes, businesses and crops were burned and their land given away.  The Great Upheaval, as it was known, lasted until 1778.  By that time over 10,000 Acadians had been exiled.  Those deported ended up in a number of places including the American Colonies, Quebec, France and Louisiana (the ancestors of the present day Cajuns).  Most of our Acadian ancestors escaped to Quebec although we have a few connections to Louisiana and the American Colonies.  Many of those driven out would never return.

Our 42 known Acadian immigrant ancestors, divided into the Peltier branch, the Vadnais branch and those associated with both branches, are:

It was quite awhile before I filled in the branches of the family tree that connected us to our Acadian ancestors.  I had thought our French-Canadian tree branches only connected to New France (Quebec), but as you can see we also have deep connections to Acadia.  Long before I knew our connection to the area, my husband Steve and I took a trip to Nova Scotia and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It is the only bilingual province in Canada; the people greet you in both English and French (Hello, bonjour).  If you get a chance, it’s a trip well worth taking.

Compared to Acadia, we have many more ancestors that immigrated to New France.  Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec (City) in 1608 when 28 settlers, including Champlain, wintered there.  Just like Acadia, growth was stagnant for a long time because of France’s lack of interest in colonization.  By 1620 there were only 60 people, by 1628 there were 76 people and in 1629 the British took Quebec.  Of the 117 that wintered there that year, 90 were English; the majority of the French had been repatriated to France.  Upon Quebec being returned to the French, the population continued to slowly grow: by 1641 all of New France had 241 people, by 1653 there were 2,000 people and by 1663 there were about 2,500 people with around 800 of those residing in Quebec (City).

The following is a list of our 421 known New France immigrant ancestors of whom 173 are Peltier ancestors, 161 are Vadnais ancestors and 87 are both Peltier and Vadnais ancestors.

The New France Peltier immigrant ancestors are:

The New France Vadnais immigrant ancestors are:

The New France Vadnais and Peltier immigrant ancestors are:

In these groups of immigrant ancestors you’ll find founding fathers (and mothers) of Canada, Filles a Marier, Filles du Roi, and Carignan soldiers, as well as others who simply decided to leave France.  I have already told stories about some of these people; there are many more stories to be told.  These people are the roots of our French-Canadian ancestry.

Thanks for visiting, come back soon,
Cynthia

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