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About the same time two brothers, Anselme and Michel Ro- bichaud, merchants of Kamouraska, established a fur trading post
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in Madawaska. An Irishman, by the name of Kelly, came to the Valley for commercial purposes, but these were itinerant mer- chants who never settled in the Valley until the arrival of the Acadians from Fredericton in 1785.
It was only after the American. Revolutionary War, at the time of the coming of the English Loyalists to Fredericton, that the Acadians thought of a settlement in the St. John Valley. Strange to say, the Loyalists, who had been persecuted in the United States for being loyal to England, did not wait long before they began to work hardships on the Acadians who were the first to settle in the region of Fredericton. Threatened once more, the Acadians decided to leave their farms. Some came to Madawas- ka, others joined their brethren at Memramcook, and still others went to settle on the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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CHAPTER III MADAWASKANS ARE BRITONS AND NORMANS AT THE SAME TIME
The people of Madawaska are Britons and Normans at the same time. The Acadian families which settled the St. John Valley came from the west of France, some from the Province of Poitou, others from Saintonge, but they came principally from Brittany, whereas the Canadian families came from Normandy, although some came from Picardy, others from the Province of Maine in France, and still others from the Isle of France and other northern provinces.
The Canadian families settled on the Bay of Fundy and on the shores of the St. Lowrence. The two groups, the Acadians and the Canadians, separated by a different political organization and under a different administration, became isolated to such an extent that, although of the same origin, they are two different people. However, in Madawaska, after more than a century, the original difference was less marked on account of intermarriage, interrelationship, and constant contact, and this difference made the real Madawaskan who is Briton and Norman at the same time, stubborn and smart, honest and gay, active and intellegent, generous and full of initiative, hospitable but misunderstood. The long seperation of the two groups caused the Acadians and Canadians of the same origin to become indifferent to one an- other. There has not been to this day any sign of a compromise for a close relationship between the two groups, in spite of inter- marriage and same names. The Canadian has always taken the cold attitude of the Acadian as unfriendly, when all he wanted was to live his own life; having been on his own initiative for a long time, he became indifferent to the other group.
Compelled to forget his real nationality, the Madawaskon has ever answered, as did the old farmer of St. Basile to a lovable and polite but too inquisitive Frenchman from France: "I am a
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Madawaskan", with the same boast as the old Roman who used to say: "I am a Roman"; or like the gentleman from London who declared: "I am a British subject".
Most of the Acadian families can find the names of their ancestors in the Acadian census taken in 1671 by Hubert de Grandfontaine. These families came to Acadia in 1632 with Com- mander de Razilly. The families which came later to Acadia from France have also representatives in Madawaska and can find their names in later Acadian census. Several names are Acadian and Canadian such as: Dupuis, Morin, Pélerin, Lajoie, Savoie, and Bertrand. It is difficult to tell whether these families came from Acadia or Quebec. Some Canadian families that had crossed over to Acadia before 1783 were found in the midst of eventful conflicts which took place before the settlement of Madawaska. Such families had the name of Ayotte, Bourgoin, Sanfaçon, Du- perry, Lizotte, Fournier, and Michaud.
Canadian and Acadian histories used in the schools set 1710 as the year during which French rule came to an end in Acadia. But France had never taken a greater interest in Acadia than after the fall of Port Royal. Immediately after the signing of the Utrecht Treaty, France began to strengthen Cape Breton Island where the Louisburg Fort was built at a cost of $5,000,000. France took an active interest in the colonization of Prince Ed- ward Island, New Brunswick, and half of the State of Maine as far down as the Kennebec Valley. The French called this territory French Acadia as opposed to the English Acadia of Nova Scotia. Nevertheless, the English claimed all this French territory except Prince Edward Island and Port Royal. The Acadians to the north of the Bay of Fundy refused to take the oath of allegiance to the British crown claiming that they were in French territory. The Acadians of Nova Scotia were under English rule and as such took the oath on condition that they would not be compelled to fight against the French and the Indians. This is the same oath that they took under Governor Phillips in 1730 and from that date, they became known as French Neutrals.
As soon as the Treaty of Utrecht had been signed, the Gov- ernor of Louisburg and Quebec pleaded with the Acadians under English rule to leave Nova Scotia and come into French territory at Louisburg, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, or in the St. John Valley. They had the right to leave and many heeded the invita- tion of the French governors, but the English governors did not want a mass emigration as they needed the Acadians to reenforce Port Royal. The fate of the Acadians became more and more un- certain. They were held under suspicion every time the French, the Canadians, or the Indians tried to reconquer their lost colony. However, since 1730, under the wise administration of unbiased governors, peace was assured and the colony prospered.
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After the founding of Halifax, hardships began again to afflict the Acadians on the part of Governor Cornwallis who asked the Acadians to take unconditionally the oath of allegiance to His Majesty King George II who bad just ascended the throne of England. War between England and France was in the offing. At Halifax, the English were filled with anxiety and were already beginning to entertain the plot of expelling the Acadians which the English governors had planned a long time before. Cornwallis claimed that the oath taken under Governor Phillips was not valid and that a governor could not attempt anyone from bearing arms against the enemies of England. The Acadians maintained that the oath under Phillips was valid and that it would be inhuman to force them to take another which would compel them to fight against their brethren.
Here is the oath they were asked to take: I promise and I swear with Christian Faith that I shall be faithful and shall obey His Majesty George II whom I recognize as Sovereign Lord of Acadia or Nova Scotia. So help me God.
As Governor Cornwallis threatened the Acadians with the confiscation of all their goods if they refused to take the oath, these asked permission to leave the Province. The Governor dis- suaded them by saying that if they did leave, he would be obliged to confiscate all their property. The oath was not taken and no change took place.
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CHAPTER IV ACADIANS IN 18th CENTURY HAD STEADFAST PRINCIPLES
In the Spring of 1755, Governor Lawrence, who had just succeeded Cornwallis, asked the Acadians again to take the oath without reservation. The delegates, chosen by their respective towns ta carry the message of refusal to take an oath to bear arms against the French, were put into jail. When the delegates offered to take the oath in their name, the Governor refused by saying that it was too late and that an oath taken under such circumstances was null and void.
The refusal to exempt the French from fighting against their own nationality was brutal, being altogether against the principale of civilized nations, and against the decisions taken afterwards by the successors of Governor Lawrence. During the American Revolutionary War, the pioneers from New England, who had come to settle on the farms left vacant by the Acadians, addressed a petition to Governor Wilmot in 1777 to be exempted from bearing arms against their friends and relatives. The peti- tion read as follows :- "For those of us who belong to New England, being invited into the Province by Governor Lawrence's procla- mation, it must be the greatest piece of cruelty and imposition to march into different parts in arms against our friends and relations." The petition asked the same privilege for the Acadians in Nova Scotia who had friends and relatives exiled in New En- gland. The petition was granted.
A short time before the debacle of 1755, the missionary, Father Leloutre, asked many of the future founders of the Ma- dawaska Settlement to leave Nova Scotia to settle at Beausejour. Among them, we find Jean Cyr, Jean-Baptiste Cormier, Joseph Daigle, Simon Hébert, Joseph Thériault, Jean-Baptiste Thibo- deau, Zacharie Ayotte, Joseph Mauzerolle, and one family by the name of Potier.
Early in the summer of 1755, Colonel Moncton landed an
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army of 2,000 men in front of the fort at Beausejour. On account of the cowardice of Vergor, commander of the fort, Moncton took the place without any opposition. In view of this easy success, Lawrence and Shirley (Governor of Boston) decided that the time had come for them to strike a blow. In order to avoid any armed resistance, they had already removed all firearms from the Acadians. Everything was wrought out in secrecy, but the alarm was somewhat general among the Acadians without their knowing any too well the plans of Governor Lawrence.
In the beginning of September, Winslow and Murray ar- rived in Grand-Pré. They summoned all the inhabitants of the place and surrounding towns to assemble in the church to hear a message from His Majesty.
Not suspecting any treachery, the Acadians came in large number to Grand-Pré. The doors were locked as soon as all had entered the church. Winslow proclaimed to the stupefied Aca- dians that they were prisoners of the King and that their goods were confiscated to the profit of the Crown, and that they them- selves would be deported to foreign lands. He advised them on the manner they should behave in the new country to which they were to be taken. At the point of the bayonet, they were ushered to the boats which were waiting for them, and at "Anchors Aweigh", Winslow and Murray proposed a toast to the Acadians for a happy cruise.
The forewarned inhabitants of Beaubassin escaped. On the Isthmus, the English soldiers met a lively match. At Petitcodiac and Memramcook, many bloody skirmishes took place. At Shepo- dy, many English soldiers were killed near the church. About 8,000 were taken into exile and were scattered along the Atlantic Coast from Boston to the Gulf of Mexico. Some ships went to France and England, others reached the Antilles, Bermuda, and Corsica Island.
The deportation did not end with Grand-Pré. The inhabi- tants of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were no less spared. Military expeditions were sent against the settlements of those areas to complete the work of Lawrence and Shirley. The task of the St. John Valley was confided to Colonel Moncton. In this Valley there were several groups of dwellings from St. John to Fredericton, the principal settlements being Grimrose with a population of 350, Villerai, Jemseg, Robichaud, Belle-Isle, Nash- wack, and Springhill with a population of 250.
Moncton with his 12,000 Rangers had done his work so well that he left nothing but smoking ruins on his passage. The season was too far advanced for him to reach Fredericton, which he had intended to set on fire. Most of the inhabitants of those devasted
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areas had taken flight to the forest or had taken refuge in Frede- ricton. Moncton, therefore, returned to Halifax with a few cap- tives. Fredericton was to have its turn.
In the winter of 1758, another regiment of Rangers under Moses Hazen was sent to put an end to the settlement of the St. John River. Hazen's soldiers took Fredericton by surprise, set fire to the houses, massacred the inhabitants who refused to help spread the fire from dwelling to dwelling. Two women, Anastasie Bellefontaine, wife of Eustace Pare, and the wife of her brother, Michel Bellefontaine, were massacred with their four children for resisting the English soldiers. The Rangers took 23 prisoners. The fugitives went to Canada or took refuge in the forest.
The Acadians whom the English could not seize were cons- tantly harassed by the soldiers until the end of the war. Even at the end of the war, in the Spring of 1763, Lieutenant Studholme, commander of the 40th Regiment at Fort Howe now at St. John, by the order of the Governor of Nova Scotia, Belcher, ordered all the refugees of Springhill to evacuate the village and get out of the Province. Having learned that a hundred Acadians had settled at a short distance from Springhill, he ordered them out despite their promises to leave the following Spring.
At the end of 1763, the future founders of Madawaska were either political prisoners in New England; such families were: Cyr, Cormier, Saindon, Bourgoin, Thériault, Thibodeau, Mauzerolle; or they were refugees on the shores of the St. Lawrence from Quebec to Cacouna, such were: Cyr, Cormier, Daigle, Hébert, Fournier, and Mercure. The others had found a refuge in the forest.
The Treaty of Paris, 1763, left England mistress of Canada, Acadia, and Newfoundland. Some 60,000 Canadians and the once flourishing colony of the Acadians came under British Rule. The Acadians took the oath of allegiance without reservation. Four years later, they were allowed to return to the land of their fathers. A group of 800 Acadians from Boston undertook the crossing of the forest of Massachusetts and Maine to come back to their native land which they had not seen since 1755. It was a long trek, an unbearable march, so much so that many died on the way. Another nationality had taken possession of their lands where their fathers lie buried. The English Loyalists, who had settled in that area, watched this caravan of Acadians pass by, Acadians who were not begging but were weeping as they had to move forward on to some other place to the end of St. Mary's Bay where they settled and where they are prosperous today.
While the Acadians were marching through the forests of Massachusetts, the refugees of the St. Lawrence were also on
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their way to the land of their fathers by way of St. John River. During a sojourn in Kamouraska and vicinity, they met many relatives and friends. They therefore, invited these to go along with them to the fertile lands around Fredericton. In Fredericton, they noticed that another nationality had the farms they had left vacant a long time ago. The Acadians, therefore, settled nearby at Springhill, at French Village, and at Kingsclear, all three villages being eight, twelve, and fifteen miles from Frederic- ton.
Another group of Acadians· settled on the Kennebeccasis at a little distance from St. John, New Brunswick. It was a few years later that the Rev. Father Joseph Mathurin Bourg, the only Catholic missionary allowed in the Maritimes by the Halifax government, came to visit thern. He baptized children of six, eight, and ten years of age who had never seen a priest before.
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CHAPTER V FRENCH LOOKED TO UPPER ST. JOHN FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
All the settlements on the Lower St. John River were already flourishing at the time of the American Revolutionary War. The thirteen colonies of America, tired of the exigencies of the mother country, revolted and broke the tie with England in a violent war for independence. France, being mindful of her defeat in 1760, threw her lot with the insurgents. The Acadians, having taken the oath of allegiance without reservation, remained loyal and faithful to England despite the incessant demands of Wash- ington and Lafayette. The Acadians of the Lower St. John River in particular were at the service of the English Canadians and were of great help to the governors of Quebec and Halifax by carrying the mail and war correspondence and by protecting all lines of communication between the two capitals.
The Rebels were victorious. The English flag stopped waving over the largest, the wealthiest, and the most populous colony of North America.
The Confederates' victory was the indirect cause of another exodus of the St. John River and the Bay of Fundy. The English Loyalists of the British Empire, being targets for the Confederates, were jailed on the least pretext, were evicted from their property, as if they had been simple Acadians. It became intolerable for them to live any longer in the new Republic. It is then that several Loyalists decided to follow the British flag to Canada. More than 30,000 Loyalists went to New Brunswick, and this immigration was the cause of the erection of a new province detached from Nova Scotia. Parrtown was at first the capital of New Brunswick, but two years later, in 1784, Fredericton became the seat of the government, whereas Parrtown became the historic St. John, a name it has kept until this day.
Strange to say, these newly-arrived English Loyalists, who
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had been persecuted in the neighboring republic and who had been expelled, should have been full of sympathy for the Aca- dians. On the contrary, they become unbearable neighbors by burning the fences of the Acadians, by stealing their cattle, and by opening the doors of basements during the coldest days of winter to let their vegetables freeze. They wanted to get rid of these French Squatters. Governor Thomas Carleton had to in- tervene more than once to have the English return to the Aca- dians what they had unjustly taken.
Governor Parr of Nova Scotia became anxious on account of the warlike attitude of his new Anglo-Saxon subjects, but he never dared displease them. He informed Governor Haldimand of Quebec concerning his anxieties, who in turn proposed a work- able plan. Haldimand had often thought of a settlement in the Upper St. John Valley where these people could defend and pro- tect the travelers as well as the mail routes in that solitary area.
Governor Haldimand answered the letter of Governor Parr on November 27, 1783 as follows: "Mercure, the Acadian, re- cently returned from your Province, tells me that several of his people wish to migrate to this Province for love of their religion which they believe they can follow here with greater freedom and less difficulty. My plan is that you give them grants near Grand Falls on the St. John River, settlements which could prob- ably extend as far as the St. Lawrence River and which would greatly help facilitate communication between the two provinces."
On receiving this letter, Parr was jubilantly pleased. He had already confiscated several farms from the Acadians and now all he had to do was to concede the deeds to the Loyalists. This he did a few days before the arrival of the first Governor of New Brunswick, Thomas Carleton. The new Governor showed more justice and more sympathy toward the Acadians, although he often had to bow under the pressure exercised by the pioneers from New England.
In 1782, the farmlands cleared by French pioneers were confiscated and conceded by Parr to Sir Andrew Snape Hammond for his services. Hammond, however, did not harass the tenants, but in 1786 these farms were deeded to the Loyalists who without pity evicted the Acadians. It is encouraging to note that two Loyalists, Edward Winslow and Ward Chapman, showed some interest toward the evicted Acadians and obtained for them land grants from the New Brunswick Government. Dated November 23, 1786, these grants were conceded to 42 citizens, 15 Acadians and 27 Loyalists. As a result of the grants, the French were deeded farmlands in an area where the English had a majority. From the list of grants, we find the following names: Daniel Michaud, Fran- cis Violette, Charles Blanchard, Jean Robichaud, Jacques De-
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veau, Benoit Girouard, Olivier Thibodeau, Joseph Martin, Jean- Baptiste Dominique. All these, isolated by a majority of English grantees, sold their lands to come to Madawaska.
In July, 1783, Major Gilfred Studholme, military commander of Fort Howe at St. John, sent a committee to inspect the upper region of the St. John Valley and asked the same committee to report on the possible colonization of that part of the province. In the report, we notice that the little colony of Springhill near Fredericton, founded since 1768, was the most prosperous Aca- dian settlement. There were 61 families, or a population of 357. The report further states that the heads of the families had helped the government during the War of Independence. Among these we find Jean Martin and his four sons, Simon, Joseph, François, Armand; Louis Mercure, Joseph Daigle, Jean-Baptiste Gaudin, Olivier Cyr and his brothers, Pierre and Jean-Baptiste. These pioneers were highly recommended to the government for services rendererd, and yet Governor Carleton confiscated their lands and gave them to the Loyalists. It is thus that 500 faithful and loyal subjects were rewarded for their services. We must be reminded that the Acadians had taken the oath of allegiance without re- servation and had to remain faithful to Britain as they had pro- mised. But as ever, the English always came first when the present interest of the fatherland was concerned.
When the new official eviction notice was made known, the Acadians addressed a petition to officials in Quebec and New Brunswick to obtain lands in the Madawaska area. The first peti- tion addressed by Louis Mercure to Major Holland, general sur- veyor of Quebec, is dated February 24, 1785, and at the bottom of the petition we find 24 names of Acadians and Canadians who asked land grants in Madawaska, a mile and a half south of the Madawaska River Falls.
Acadian petitioners were: Louis Mercure, Jean Martin, Jo- seph Daigle, Sr., Joseph Daigle, Jr., Daniel Gaudin, Simon Mar- tin, Armand Martin, Paul Cyr, François Cyr, Joseph Cyr, Jr., Pierre Cyr, Jean-Baptiste Cyr, Firmin Cyr, Alexandre Ayotte, and François Martin.
The Canadian petitioners were: Pierre Duperry, Jean Lizotte, Pierre Lizotte, Augustin Dubé, Robert Fournier, and Louis Sans- façon.
Another petition found in the Canadian Archives was ad- dressed to the Governor General of Canada. This petition was signed by Jean-Baptiste Cyr, his wife, Marguerite Cormier, and his nine sons, Pierre, Olivier, François, Antoine, Paul, Jacques, Joseph, Firmin, and Jean-Baptiste Cyr, Jr. It was also signed by Alexandre Ayotte, Zacharie Ayotte, Joseph Daigle, Sr., Joseph
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Daigle, Jr., Olivier Thibodeau, and Louis Sansfaçon.
We know that another petition was signed by Joseph Daigle and 24 other pioneers asking for grants in Madawaska. The deeds were to be given to those who would be granted them and a sub- sidy of 200 acres in Madawaska would be given to each family.
A few days after receiving this promise, Jean-Baptiste Cyr held a meeting at his residence where it was decided that half of the colony would go to Madawaska, the other half to be equally divided among Memramcook, Miramichi, Tracadie, Caraquet, and Bathurst.
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CHAPTER VI FIRST MADAWASKA SETTLEMENT BECAME ENDURING COMMUNITY
In June 1785, a few families left Fredericton and vicinity to go up the St. John River taking with them the bare necessities, very little clothing and food, as they were using canoes.
Those of them who had never gone up the River were under the impression that they were about to touch the end of their pilgrimage. Whenever a river was crossed, or an Indian village was seen, the children would inevitably ask their parents: "Is this Madawaska?"
After ten weary days they heard the thunderous waters of Grand Falls. Having made the one mile long portage of the Falls, they came to a promontory which dominated the valley of the lower St. John River, and from there they could see a broad valley with hills on both sides. They were at the door of the promised land and there they took a very needed rest.
The travelers continued their journey until they set foot on the south bank of the St. John River, two and one-half miles south of the Malecite village on one of the most elevated flats a short distance from the present church of St. David, Madawaska, Maine. As they were making camp, Joseph Daigle erected a cross at that very place in, the land of Madawaska.
On the same day, two young men were sent to the Indian village, now Edmundston, N. B., to advise the chief of their arrival and that their fathers would be in to see him the next day.
At first the Indians did not show .much enthusiasm when the strangers arrived, but soon afterwards the meeting was one of the most cordial. The hall to which they were admitted was full of tribal warriors. The Chief, while extending to them a welcome, did not hesitate, however, to warn them that the vast territory between Grand Falls and Lake· Temiscouata has always been
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