Nantes has always been a busy sea port and a place where families would gather until it was time for them to sail for a better life in the new world . Nantes was always considered to be the port of departure and of adventure beginning in the early days when large masted ships would sail in and out of port. Through the centuries Nantes has continued to be an important port city.

Today Nantes is the second largest city after Paris.

In the struggles of life for the early French immagrents to the new world, their chosen and settled lands of Acadia seemed to be the battle fields of many foriegn armies.  Continually caught in the middle, Acadian familes seemed to never be able to capture long periods of peace.  These ancestors of ours have saved and given us many stories and histiries so we may never forget their struggles and desire to survive. 

 

   Way of Life

The early Acadian settlers were mostly farmers. Farms were located along the banks of rivers that flowed into the Baie Française (Bay of Fundy). Grand-Pré was the great agricultural area of the colony.

   Work on the Farm

Acadians building dykes and aboiteaux at Grand-Pré
Rather than clear the uplands, the Acadians drained the marshes along bays and rivers by building dykes (large, tall mounds of earth covered with grass) and aboiteaux (drainage systems with trap doors that let water out but not back in) to keep sea water out. Then they would wait two years for the sea salt to be wasted out by snow and rain, After this, they could plant their crops on this new, rich farmland.

 

In the spring, the men repaired the old dykes and built new ones to gain more land. They planted their crops. They tended and sheared their herds of sheep. In late summer and early fall they harvested their crops. Once the harvest was in, they killed some of their cattle, hogs and sheep. They salted meat for the winter and traded what they didn't need with the New Englanders who came by ship to trade. From the New Englanders, the Acadians would get household items, sugar, molasses, machinery and other things they needed. Over the winter, the men and older boys cut firewood and timber in the woods, built new homes, hunted and trapped. Men made the household's furniture. Using the wood at hand, they made simple tables, chairs, beds, cradles and sideboards. They also made the family's footwear, either wooden shoes as they wore in France or Aboriginal moccasins for the winter.

The women did household chores, cooked, preserved food, did the laundry, made the family's clothes, milked the cows, fed the chickens and tended the vegetable gardens. Sheep were kept for their wool. The women would card, spin and weave the wool for clothes and blankets. They knit socks and stockings. They also grew hemp and flax, which they wove into linen for clothes.

   Children's Work

Children worked hard. The boys were responsible for working in the fields, repairing dykes, chopping wood, hunting, fishing and doing odd jobs around the farm. The girls were busy spinning, weaving, sewing, making clothes, cooking, preserving food, doing laundry and cleaning.

   Marriage and Family Life

Girls didn't usually marry until they were twenty. The bride's father had to provide a dowry. Because they were a self-sufficient people, no girl could consider marriage until she knew how to weave a blanket. Farmers made their own farm tools and implements, including plows, so a young man couldn't think of marrying before he could make a wheel.

Because the population was made up of a limited number of very large families, many Acadians had the same first and last names. They often used nicknames to help identify who was who.

Family, including aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents, was very important to the Acadians. Each family depended on itself for everything it needed to survive. However, friends and neighbours came together to help each other out, for example when building a barn. They had learned to depend on each other in their struggles to survive and helping each other was an important tradition.

The elders in the community ruled over disputes and decided what was best for the community.

      

Acadians who returned to Acadia after the Expulsion found that others had taken over their land. The new land they had to live on was not as good for farming. Many Acadians turned to fishing to make a living and to provide food for their families.

   Food

Most Acadians were farmers. They raised cattle, sheep and pigs. They had cows to supply them with milk, cream, butter and cheese. From the pigs they had bacon and pork. The women salted the pork to keep it for longer periods of time. The men hunted for other meat such as partridges, rabbit, and wild fowl. There were lots of fish in the rivers. Some kinds of fish could be cleaned and laid on roofs of houses to dry in the sun.

Acadians also ate fruit. The farmers grew apple and pear trees. Some of the apples were used to make apple cider. Other apples were stored in cellars in winter to last until the next harvest. They also had cherries, wild mulberries, raspberries and strawberries.

They grew many kinds of vegetables, especially root vegetables because they stored well over the winter. Acadians ate beets, onions, carrots, chives, shallots, parsnips, salad greens, cabbages and turnips. Cabbages were left in the fields all winter. The snow would fall and cover them. This kept the cabbages fresh until needed, when they would be dug up. They also grew corn, wheat, rye, barley, peas and oats. They had mills to grind the grains into flour and the women baked their own bread.

One favourite Acadian dish was a type of meat pie, which was made up of layers of meat and onions, potatoes and biscuit dough. They also made a drink called fir water by boiling branches in a kettle. After they removed the branches, they added molasses to the liquid, poured the mixture into a barrel and added some yeast. After a few days it was ready to drink. This kind of beer was a protection against scurvy.

Clothes

The women wore wooden clog shoes, like those worn in France. They also wore hand-knit wool stockings, a long striped skirt made of wool, and a white shirt under a black bodice that laced in front. They wore a scarf over their shoulders, tied in the front, and simple white hats. When working at home they wore aprons. The men also wore wooden shoes, wool socks, short pants, a shirt, a vest and felt hat. In winter they would wear a jacket.

Shelter

Acadians built their own houses with help from family members and friends.

Some Acadian homes were small, about 7 metres by 5 metres. Others were a little larger. Houses had one room with a large fireplace and a loft overhead where grain might be stored. They were made from squared logs that fit together at the corners to form a rectangle. Timber for building the homes came from nearby woods.

Once the walls were up, the Acadians filled the cracks with mud and straw to keep the wind and weather out. Walls were lined with clay and whitewashed. Roofs were covered in thatch, birch bark or cedar shingles.

There were a few windows and a door. Windows had shutters to keep the winter cold out. Some houses had ovens. Firewood was plentiful in the woods. Houses were lit with candles, made by the women of the house.

Education

Many Acadians did not have schools to go to, and therefore didn't know how to read or write. Religion and education always went together for the Acadians. Education was the responsibility of the Church. In 1684 a school for girls opened in Port-Royal. The school was run by the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre-Dame, from Montréal.

  

   Escape From The Deportation

    

      Acadians gathering during the expulsion.

There were small numbers of Acadians from almost every settlement throughout the entire Atlantic region who managed to escape deportation. They either hid or moved to distant locations.

Upon hearing rumors of an upcoming eventual deportation in August of 1755, hundreds of Acadians took refuge in the woods of Nova Scotia. That year, some reached Cap Sable and established a camp there for the winter. The following year, in 1756, they continued their journey to New Brunswick and Québec. They were forced to remain in wooded areas as Lieutenant Governor Lawrence had put a price on their heads. Some of these Acadians were successful in reaching their destinations while others died along the way from exhaustion. During the winter of 1756-1757, many died in Québec because of a food shortage.

Many of the Acadians from Nova Scotia and Île Saint-Jean, now Prince Edward Island, took refuge along the Restigouche and Miramichi Rivers and along the shores of the Bay of Chaleur in what is now northern New Brunswick. A few escaped to the Gaspé Peninsula and the French islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.

Even after the initial deportations, the English continued to hunt the Acadians. In 1757, Monckton along with 300 men attacked many newly founded Acadian villages on the borders of what is today the province of Québec. Acadians left their settlements and headed for Québec hoping that they would be sheltered from British attacks. Once more, Acadians suffered calamity this time in the form of disease and smallpox, causing many deaths.

Although they managed to escape the deportation, their fate was not much better than their exiled counterparts. They lived in a constant threat of renewed English attacks, never knowing when, where or how these would occur. One of the more known leaders of these survivers was Alexis Landry, 1721-1798.

 

                       Alexis Landry 1721-1798 

                                             My 5th Great Grandfather

Alexis Landry and his family had to relocate to the small village D`Aulac near fort Beausejour. This is where we find them on the 1752 census. that year, his family includes 2 girls and 5 boys (3 stepsons named Cormier). Following the fall of Fort Beausejour in 1755, Alexis follows the coast like many other Acadians. They were hiding as fugitives in the Mirmichi area. Barely able to survive under difficult conditions during the winter of 1756-1757, around 600 Acadians starved to death in the region of Miramichi (Mahone bay, n.s.).

In 1757, Alexis arrives in Caraquet with a few hundred Acadians. They would settle in Sainte-Anne-du- Bocage, but tranquility would not last too long. a suprise expedition by the British Army would take place in the fall of 1761. The settlers of Caraquet were able to escape because the British Ships were filled to capacity by the
Acadians in Nipisiguit (Bathurst, N.B.) left under surveillance of Indian Chief Pekemouche, the British told them to remain until their return in the spring. Needless to say, the Acadians did not ask their permission to leave Caraquet and saught refuge in Bonaventure on the north shore of the Baie Des Chaleurs, an area that wasn`t under the jurisdiction of the government of Nova Scotia.

This is how we find Alexis Landry and his family on the 1765 census of Bonaventure. he would then settle on the Ile Miscou near a river that would be later named `Le Ruisseau Landry` By 1769 the war was over for six years and Alexis Landry obtained the signed concent of the Magistrate of Nipisiguit to retake possession of his land in Sainte-Anne-du-Bocage near Caraquet.

The Landry family moved from Ile Miscou to Caraquet in the spring of that year. Durring his time spent on the North Shore of the Baie des Chaleurs, Alexis Landry had made some important contacts there with some British merchants. He began to trade with them for supplies and thus became an important merchant in Caraquet. as a carpenter he became a master shipbuilder.

Alexis was born at Grand Pre, Baptized on 25 August 1721. Alexis married Marie Anne Terriot, widow of Jean Baptiste Cormier of Beaubassin, nine children born from  1746 to 1762. Alexis settled at Caraquet. This Alexis is the direct ancestor for a number of New Brunswick Landrys. in 1798, Alexis died at Caraquet and his grave can be found today at Sainte Anne Dubocage, where in 1961, (the year I was born) a monument was raised to mark his burial place, one of only a few of the known original Acadians. 

   Acadian monument marking the grave site of Alexis Landry at Sainte Anne Dubocage.  One of only a few of       

   the known original Acadians. 

    

     Painting by George Rodrigue, 1986

The Church at Grand Pré was the first Catholic Church built in Nova Scotia.

 

 

The British troops used it as a prison for the soon-to-be-exiled Acadians

 

Descendants of

  Jean-Claude Landry

Jean-Claude Landry was born 1593 in LaChausse, Loudon, Vienne, France, and died 1671 in France. He married Mareie Salle 1633 in Perche, France, daughter of Jean Sallee and Francoise Arnaud. She was born 1600 in Cougnes, LaRochelle, France, and died 1693.

 

Notes for JEAN-CLAUDE LANDRY:

The Acadian Landry family originated in La Ventrouze, near Montagne-au-Perche in the modern French department of L'Orne. Jean-Claude Landry came to Acadia about 1640-41 with his secon dwife, Marie Sallee and their son, Rene Landry dit LeJeune (the younger) who was born in 1634 in France.

They were accompanied by three of Jean-Claude's adult children from his first marriage to a woman whose name remains unknown. One of these three children, Perrine Landry, was accompanied by her husband, Jacques Joffriau. The other two were fraternal twins, Rene Landry dit L'Aisne (the elder) and Anthoinette Landry. The twins were 22 years old and unmarried at the time of their arrival.

The family also included Marie's three children from her marriage to the deceased Martin Aucoin. The family was likely attracted to Acadia by another daughter of Jean-Claude, Marguerite, who was married to Robert Martin and living in Acadia for several years prior to 1640.

All of Jean-Claude's grandchildren were born in or around Port Royal. However, by the 1670's that region that included the small town and the farming settlements along Riviere des Dauphins was getting crowded. Available farmland was becoming scarce, and several Acadian families began looking to the east to cultivate. Piere Melanson was already established on the banks of the Bassin des Mines (Minas Basin) about 60 miles east of Port Royal. In the late summer of 1680, a group of Acadians, including two sons of Rene Landry dit LeJeune, Anthoine and Claude, moved east to join Pierre Melanson on the Bassin des Mines. The grup included Pierre Therriot, who would later become the brother-in-law of Anthoine and Claude. The group first built a house for Pierre Therriot that served as shelter Jean-Claude Landry came to Acadia about 1640-41 with his second wife, Marie Sallee, and their son, Rene Landry dit LeJeune (the younger), who was born in 1634 in France.

They were accompanied by three of Jean-Claude's adult children from his first marriage to a woman whose name remains unknown. One of these three children, Perrine Landry, was accompanied by her husband, jacques Joffriau. They other two were fraternal twins, Rene Landry dit L'Aisne (the elder) and Anthoinette Landry. The twins were 22 years old and unmarried at the time of their arrival. They family also included Marie's three children from her marriage to the deceased Martin Aucoin. The family was likely attracted to Acadia by another daughter of Jean-Claude, Marguerite, who was married to Robert Martin and living in Acadia for several years prior to 1640.

All of Jean-Claude's grandchildren were born in or around Port Royal. However, by the 1670's, that region that included the small town and the farming settlements along the Riviere des Dauphins was getting crowded. Available farmland was becoming scarce, and several Acadian families began looking to the east for more land to cultivate. Pierre Melanson was already established on the banks of the Bassin des Mines (Minas Basin) about 60 miles east of Port Royal. In the late summer of 1680, a group of Acadians, including two sons of Rene Landry dit LeJeune, Anthoine and Claude, moved east to join Pierre Melanson on the Bassin des Mines. The group included Pierre Therriot, who would later become the brother-in-law of Anthoine and Claude. The group first build a house for Pierre Therriot that served as shelter for the entire group through the first winter. Then they began clearing high ground through the autumn and winter in order to construct home sites for the others. In the spring, they returned to the Port Royal region to plant and prepare the crop. After the next harvest, the group returned to the Bassin to continue the preparatory work for the new settlement.

The work done by this small group of settlers was the foundation of the settlement of Grand Pre, which later became famous as a principal point of embarkation for Acadian settlers during the deportation in 1755. Antoine and Claude Landry eventually settled at Bassin des Mines with their families on the banks of the riviere-des-habitants. The other married brothers and sisters of Anthoine and Claude followed them to the area. Jehan, Cecile and Marguerite established themselves at Grand Pre. Marie and her family settled at Riviere-aux-Gaspereux. Jeanne and her family settled at Riviere de Pigiguit.

According to documentation by Paul Surette, an Acadian historian from Moncton, New Brunswick, it should be noted here that establishing this settlement took several years and lots of hard work. In addition to building homes and clearing the land, a system of dykes had to be build. The Bassin des Mines was known for having high tides that would inundate the land daily. The dykes saved the land from the tides, but it was several years in the process before the land could be cultivated. The result of this effort was the most fertile farmland in North America.

 

Downtown main street in Caraquet, Acadia

 

The town of Caraquet before 1940.

 

 

                                

 

Research still in progress.

    

 

              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 1891 Canadian Census with Etienne and Lucy Landry and the Marriage record of Charles Landry in 1772.

 

Live Cam feed of New Brunswick highways 

New Brunswick Canada Facts 

The Real meaning of Acadia  

Grand-Pre Society Promotion 

Places to stay in Caraquet   

 

  Landry Genealogy Links

- Large Chart of Landry-White Family Tree

- Alexis Landry,  A Pioneer of Caraquet

- Thirteen Generations

- Jean Claude Landry 1593-1671

- Landry Research Site (Peter Landry)

- Claude Landry b. 1570 d.

- Histoire et généalogie du nom Landry

- Canadian Genealogy database (Marcel Landry)

- Community Family Tree

- Jean-Etienne Landry

 

    Why are France Census records impossible to research?       

    Here's why

A census is a count and description of a population. Censuses have been taken by the government of France, by individual towns, and by some old provinces. These have been taken primarily for military purposes, taxation, or identification of the poor.

French national censuses have not been microfilmed and are seldom used for genealogical research. Unlike the censuses of the United States, Canada, or Great Britain, they cannot be easily used to locate families. Because French censuses are not indexed, it is not easy to find a name in them. Church records and indexed civil registration are better sources.

The first national census listing names in France was taken in the year 1772. Most national censuses from 1795 to 1836 show only statistics without personal names. From 1836 until 1936, a national census was taken every five years except for 1871 (which was taken in 1872) and 1916 (which was skipped).

Census records less than one hundred years old are confidential and may not be searched by individuals. However, some archivists are not strict with this rule and may allow access to census records up to the last 30 years.

Some earlier censuses may have been destroyed because of an 1887 decree, but this law was not applied everywhere. Early town and provincial censuses usually covered a smaller portion of the local population.

Census records do not consistently give the same information, but after 1836 they usually give the surname and given names, age, occupation, head of house, nationality, and sometimes the birthplace. Use the information with caution, however, since the information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or a neighbor. Some information may have been incorrect or deliberately falsified.

National censuses are usually found in the departmental archives. They are not microfilmed by the Family History Library. The early local census records (tax records) of a few towns have been published or microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library. These are listed in the Family History Library Catalog in the Place Search under FRANCE, [DEPARTMENT], [TOWN] - CENSUS.

For more details about French censuses see page 81 of Guide des recherches sur l'histoire des familles 

                 Source: https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/France_Census

 

 

 

 

 

    National Acadian Day        

National Acadian Day is celebrated throughout Canada every year on 15th August. It celebrates the Acadians, whose culture, language, and traditions have strongly contributed to the development of Canadian culture for more than four hundred years.

Acadian Day has been celebrated since 1881, having been chosen by the first National Acadian Convention in Memramcook, New Brunswick.

 

   

             The old memorial church.  Grand Pre

The oldest known Landry was Geoffroy IV de la Tour Landry (ca.1320 – 1391) My guess is there was probably a Geoffroy I-III as well but there is barely no historical data beyond Geoffroy IV

De la Tour Landry is French for "of the Tower Landry"

The Tower Landry was built by Landricus Dunesis (probably where the name originated) around 1061. It was one of the first Guilds of Knights. It was destroyed in the 11th century but later rebuilt.

La Tour Landry stands (a ruin today) between Chollet and Vezins in a town in France called Latourlandry.

  

Geoffrey IV de la Tour Landry was a nobleman of Anjou who compiled Livre pour l'enseignement de ses filles for the instruction of his daughters, in 1371-1372.

A similar book he had previously written for his sons, according to his opening text, has disappeared. The work became the most popular educational treatise of the Late Middle Ages. It was translated into German, as Der Ritter vom Turn, and at least twice into English, once by William Caxton, who printed it as The Book of the Knight of the Tower in 1483.[1]

De la Tour Landry fought in the Hundred Years War; he was at the siege of Aguillon in 1346 and was in the war as late as 1383. La Tour Landry stands (a ruin today) between Chollet and Vezins. His name again appears in a military muster in 1363. He married Jeanne de Rougé, younger daughter of Bonabes de Rougé, sieur of Erval, vicomte de La Guerche, and chamberlain to the king. In 1378, as a "knight banneret", he sent a contingent of men to join the siege of Cherbourg, but he did not serve in person.

In 1380 Geoffroy was fighting in Brittany, and was last mentioned in 1383. He made a second marriage with Marguerite des Roches, dame de La Mothe de Pendu, the widow of Jean de Clerembault, knight.[2]

 

If you are of Acadian decent, you must read this very well written book below.

      Contexts of Acadian History,

      1686-1784

      Naomi E.S. Griffiths                             

Review quotes
"a most impressive piece of work. Drawing on her long immersion in pre-expulsion Acadian history, Griffiths is able to present a thoughtful and mature assessment of the formative period of the Acadian experience. As the title suggests, she is intent upon placing the Acadians in the proper contexts, something that really has not successfully been done before; so often they have been presented almost in a vacuum ... For the period up to 1750 this is the most exciting, stimulating, and provocative work on the Acadians that I have yet read ... It goes beyond what has been written to date on the Acadians and considerably sharpens our focus on this period." Barry Moody, Department of History, Acadia University.

 

Naomi E.S. Griffiths is a Professor in the Department of History, Carleton University.

.

     

LaTour-Landry, arthur of a book entitled "The Knight od La Tour-Landry and His Book For His Daughters" which was to be used as a tutorial for his daughters on proper behavior when in the royal court. The author of the book was the 4th Geoffroy de la Tour-Landry. His grandfather, Geoffroy III de la Tour-Landry had married the daughter of a neighboring grand seigneur, Olive de Belleville, who is affectionately recalled in the "livre" for her generosity and piety and for her delight in the company of minstrels.
The first known member of the Tour-Landry family is Landricus Dunesis, whose name appears in a charter between 1061 and 1063. The Tower and fortress that he built were destroyed towards the end of the 11th century, but the site of the feudal castle later built by the family can still be seen today, in a small town which bears its name "La Tourlandry" in the canton of Chemille, Maine-et-Loire. The present Chateau, built on this medieval site is mainly of 19th century construction, but the original moat and traces of the medieval buildings can still be seen. The tower, which was probably a "keep" dating from the 12th or 13th century, still stands intact, a little apart from the present house.

 

Rene Landry (1634-1692), was one of the patronymes of the Landrys in Acadia, sharing that honor with another Landry of the same first name, Rene l'aine. It is not known when he arrived in Acadia and no verifiable information exists to who his parents were and what part of France he came from.

Records show that Rene le'jeune married Marie Bernard in 1659. Although Rene and Marie were not enumerated in the 1671 census of Acadia, we are sure that they were in Acadia,probably established in an outlying area within distance of Port Royal. But in 1686, Rene le'jeune and Marie were established at Port Royal as enumerated by the 1686 census of Port Royal.

The census list Rene at the age of 52 years which places his birth in 1634 and Marie at age 41 years. They had 10 arpents in cultivation, 16 cattle, 20 sheep, and 2 guns. Rene le'jeune and Marie had 15 children, 8 sons and 7 daughters who were born between 1660 and 1693. Their children married into other Acadian families creating sons-in-law and daughters-in-law with family names of Babin, Bellemeres, Blanchards, Brossard, Dupuis, Guilbauts, Leblancs, Melansons, Prejeans, Racois, Richards, Theriaults, and Thibodeaus.

After Rene and Marie's sons married and started their own families, seven of their eight sons left Port Royal and established their families in the Minas Basin at Grand Pre' and Pigiguit. The youngest son, Charles, stayed in Port Royal and it is possible that he inherited his father's original Landry family site at Port Royal.

Rene le'jeune died at Port Royal between 1690 and 1693, while Marie Bernard was buried in Port Royal on January 11, 1719.

Up to the time of the Acadian Expulsion in 1755, those Landrys in Acadia with roots back to Rene l'jeune were numerous. After the Expulsion, Rene's descendants were scattered throughout Canada, France, New Enland, and eventually Louisiana.

Most of southwest Louisiana's Landrys today can trace their lineage back to Rene l'jeune through one Firmin Landry, who settled in the Attakapas District of Louisiana (St. Martinville).

Children of Rene Landry l'jeune and Marie Bernard:

Antoine, Claude, Cecile, Jean, Rene II, Marie, Marguerite, Germain, Jeanne, Abraham, Pierre, Catherine, Anne, Charles, and Isabelle.

 

Claude Landry was born 1663 in Port Royal, and died 1747 in Port Royal. He married  Catherine Thibodeau Abt. 1684.

Notes for CLAUDE LANDRY:
Claude had eleven children, four were males.

Children of Claude Landry and MARIE-CATHERINE THIBODEAU are:
35. i. MARGUERITE4 LANDRY.
36. ii. JEAN-BAPTISTE LANDRY, b. 1686, Charles-des-Mines (Canning area).
37. iii. RENE LANDRY, b. 1688.
38. iv. CLAUDE LANDRY, b. 1689, Charles-des-Mines (Canning area).
39. v. JOSEPH LANDRY, b. 1708, Charles-des-Mines (Canning area).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Brunswick Archives

 

Evangeline

Evangiline's poem, Writen by the American Henry Wadswort Longfellow, was publushed in 1847. Today, there are more than 200 different editions of the poem and about 130 translations. In Acadia, two young people engaged to be married, Evangeline Bellefontaine an Gabriel Lajeunesse, were seperated during the deportation.

A single thought dominated Evangeline's life; she wanted to find her Gabriel. Thus she spent her life searching for him across the American Midwest. When she did eventually find him, however, he was an old man, dying in a poorhouse. The poem created one of the most significant Acadian myrths. It was responsible for the awakening of a collective and national conciousness during the second half of the 19th. century. The literary and historical criticism it provoked had little effect on the enchanted public.

The Acadians defines this symbol in their handicraft, sculpture, costumes, theater, song, painting, and in the names of people and places.