Acadian Genealogy
Le Grand Derangement (The Exile):
1755+
CENSUS
RECORDS
For the
Acadians who were sent to the American colonies / England or who escaped
to Canada, there are no complete Acadian censuses since they were so spread
out. These Acadians were now included in general censuses of the
area. There are lists, but usually they only contain the head of the household
(and maybe the spouse and number of children). Some various
Acadian enumerations were also done (i.e. lists of Acadians who wished
to go to France). For the Acadians who were
sent to France (or who ended up there after being held in the colonies
and/or England), several "Acadian" censuses were done in the years 1755-1785.
Since much of this data
was compiled in France or French colonies, it is hard to access the originals.
Fortunately, much of the material can be found in several published works.
Les
Acadiens aux iles Saint-Pierre et Miquelon (Michel Poirier) has
censuses for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon from 1767, 1776, and 1785. The
Rapport
sur les Archives de France (Ottawa, 1911) has lists that were sent
with requests by Acadians in the English colonies who desired to return
to Acadia in 1763.
The book The American
Exiles in the American Colonies, 1755-1768 (Milton & Norma
Reider) contains a number of these lists of Acadians in the colonies.
They are from: Pennsylvania (1763), New York, Connecticut (1763), South
Carolina (1763), Massachusetts (1763), Maryland (1763). Janet Jehn's
Acadian
Exiles in the Colonies also has these lists, as well as suggested
family relationships.
Lists of Acadians (from
Ile Royale and Ile Saint-Jean who were sent to northern France in 1758)
were taken from 1762-1773 and in 1783-1784. Two of these censuses (1762,
1772) and the lists of four Acadian migrations (within France) can be found
in The Acadians in France, Vol. 1 (Milton & Norma Reider).
Francoix Roux has a breakdown of how many Acadians were in what area for
the 1772
census at his website. Francois Roux also has the lists
of the four "convoys" to Nantes [1st
convoy, 2nd
convoy, 3rd
convoy, 4th
convoy] online at his website. Acadian lists
of those who migrated to France from England in 1763 can be found in The
Acadians in France, Vol. 2 (Milton & Norma Reider), which also
contains information on the Belle Isle en Mer Acadian settlement.
Francois Roux has the lists from 4 ships [Ambition,
Dorothee,
Fauvette,
l'Esturgeon.]
that brought Acadians from England to France in 1763. The Acadians
in France, Vol. 3 (Milton & Norma Reider) contains material
from the archives from the St. Servan area. Microfilm of these
materials can be found at the National Archives of France (NAF), the National
Archives of Canada (NAC), and the Centre d'Etudes Acadiennes (CEA).
Acadian censuses in Normanday (1763-1789),
Acadian financial assistance records (1773-1797), and Acadians in Vienne
(1791) can also be found at NAF, NAC, and CEA
Some census and list data from the French
colonies can be found in Acadians in Exile (Father Hebert).
Some of the censuses/lists included in the book are: Acadians deported
from St. Pierre & Miquelon (1801-1802), Acadians from St. Pierre &
Miquelon in Le Havre, France (circa 1770, 1797, 1801), Acadians at St.
Pierre & Miquelon (1778), Acadians at Brest, France (1794), Acadians
at Calais, France (1792), Acadians at Concarneau, France (1791, 1796),
Acadians at Belle Ile en Mer (1765), Acadians at Cayenne, Franch Guiana
(1765), Acadians at Martinique (1766), Acadians at Cherbourg (1775), Acadians
at Morlaix, France (1791, 1792), Acadians in the St. Malo area (1793),
Acadians at Poitou (1797).
Though not a census, a passenger list is a
record of Acadians that is very useful. The only lists from this era are
the seven ships that brought Acadians from
France to Louisiana in 1785. The discussion of passenger lists
will be covered in Cajun Genealogy.
Census Records
Church Records
Compiled Works
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Grand Derangement (The Exile): 1755+
Copyright © 1997-99 Tim Hebert
