USA > Maine > How the Acadians came to Maine > Part 3
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known as the land of the Malecites. In a few words, he told the visitors that they could have a part of this land and that he would help them protect it from invaders. "As long as your gun will not refuse to shoot the reindeer, or your nets to catch the fish in our rivers, you shall be welcome, and you shall be my friends."
After this meeting with the chief and his warriors, the French- men returned to meet their fellowmen who had already begun the work of building. This diplomatic meeting won the good graces and protection of the Indians. We must not forget that this Indian village, the Malecite capital of the St. John Valley, had 60 fami- lies, and that Francis Xavier who had just spoken to them had 200 warriors under his command, and that on the first day that an argument should ensue between the two, the Acadians would be at the mercy of the Indians.
During the first summer, the pioneers selected their lands and began to clear them. Some settled on the south bank of the river near the cross that was erected upon their arrival; others went down a little way to what is known as Beaulieu, Maine; still others settled near Green River on the north side of the St. John. Two families built their houses near the Indian Reservation and two others settled near the Iroquois River. The larger group which can be called the nucleus of the colony settled at a short distance from the present church of St. David, Madawaska, Maine.
The pioneers planted potatoes and a few acres of wheat. In the lowlands along the St. John there was an abundance of wild hay and tall grass which would feed the cattle they had planned to bring from Springhill in the Fall. The first year, they all lived as one family with everything equally divided among the families.
On the south bank of the St. John River, we find the follow- ing families: Pierre Duperry, Paul Potier, Joseph Daigle, Baptiste Fournier, Joseph Daigle, Jr., Jacques Cyr, François Cyr, Firmin Cyr, Alexandre Ayotte, Antoine Cyr, Baptiste Thibodeau, Louis Sansfaçon.
On the north bank near the Indian village we find Louis and Michel Mercure.
Near the Iroquois River we find Olivier and Pierre Cyr.
All these pioneers had come to Madawaska at the end of June, 1785. In the summer, others came from Fredericton to join them. By the Fall of 1787, one could see smoke from twenty chimneys which showed that the colonization of the Madawaska area was growing fast.
The dwellings of the pioneers were not the pretentious kind we find nowadays; they were primitive, and as such they did not
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have the luxuries and comforts that we find today in the modern camps of the lumberjacks. The pioneers had no tools and no material with which to build. The dwellings were made of logs insulated with moss and covered with birch bark. It is only later that houses were constructed with cut lumber. In a primitive dwelling, there was but one room with one or two windows facing south which were closed during the winter months with pieces of canvas. In the middle of the room was the hearth with chimney made of stones and cemented by means of a mortar which was made with clay found about. The hearths were good to cook the food and give light at night, but they burned more wood and gave very little heat.
Furniture was very simple: a table, a few benches, two or three chairs, a few beds for the aged and the heads of the fami- lies. The children slept in cot beds made of wood which could be closed in the daytime. Table utensils, such as spoons, knives, forks, ladles, were generally made of wood.
The pioneers fed themselves with the flesh of wild animals and fish which abounded in the area.
In the Fall of 1786, the crop was good except for the wheat which was sowed late and was pretty well all destroyed by the September frost. Wool was unknown at that time. Trousers, coats, and boots were made with the skins of wild animals. Imported articles cost exhorbitant prices. Groceries were transported from the St. Lawrence by means of sleds, boats, or pack sack.
During the first summer, a few pioneers went to Canada by way of Lake Temiscouata. Two portages separated the Madawas- ka River from the St. Lawrence. One portage was along the Ca- bano River which connected the latter with the Rivière des Caps, another reached Trois Pistoles by the Ashberish and Trois Pis- toles Rivers. This dast portage had a greater advantage over the other since in the fall and spring, the journey was practically done by water. It is in the fall and spring that all groceries and bare necessities were brought to the colony.
It is during one of these journeys that representatives of Madawaska asked Father Adrian Leclerc, pastor of Isle-Verte, to accept them as his parishioners. This missionary's mission com- prised all of Gaspesie and the Malecites of Madawaska.
The following summer, 1786, Father Leclerc visited his pa- rishioners of the St. John Valley. It was a short visit since his mission covered 200 miles, and in such circumstances he could not, therefore, stay very long in any one place.
In 1787, Father Leclerc had the joy and satisfaction of say- ing Mass in the little chapel covered with birch bark and erected
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by the pioneers, the first church in Madawaska. The site of that primitive chapel is debated; some hold that it was in St. Basile, N. B., others hold that it was at St. David, Maine, a mile or two from the present church of St. David, Madawaska, Maine. Joseph Daigle, the father of the colony, held the post of Marshal until the cannonical erection of the parish.
The second year after the settlement was made in this area, immigrants from the St. Lawrence came to Madawaska. Such were: Soucy, Albert, Michaud, Levasseur, Chaurest, and Saucier from Kamouraska; Dubé, Beaulieu, and Gagné from Isle-Verte; Guimond and Ouellet from Rivière Ouelle; Desnoyers from Ri- vière du Sud. We must not forget that Duperry, Lizotte, Fournier, and Sansfaçon had already preceded them at the time they joined the Acadians in Fredericton.
The Acadians had to wait five years for the deeds of their lands and not three as was promised by officials of New Bruns- wick. Several left the colony on account of this delay. However, through Governor Carleton, on October 1, 1790, Joseph Maze- rolle and 51 other pioneers were given the documents they had been waiting for.
This first grant, known as the Mazerolle grant, comprised all the territory between the Indian Reservation and Green River, 16,000 acres equally divided into 77 lots on both sides of the river with an average of 200 acres per lot. The West of the Ma- dawaska River plan of Surveyor Sproule has the following note written in the margin: "New Brunswick has no jurisdiction here."
Following is a list of grantees, the first tenants of Madawas- ka :-
North Bank or St. David, Madawaska, Maine: Pierre Du- perry, Augustin Dubé, Pierre Lizotte, Simon Hébert, Paul Potier, François Albert, Jean-Baptiste Mazerolle, Joseph Auclair, Fran- çois Cyr, Joseph Daigle, Sr., Jean-Baptiste Fournier, Joseph Dai- gle, Jr., Jacques Cyr, Firmin Cyr, Sr., Jean-Baptiste Cyr, Jr., Mi- chel Cyr, Joseph Hébert, Alexandre Ayotte, Antoine Cyr, Jean Martin, Joseph Cyr, Jr., Jean-Marie Saucier, Zacharie Ayotte, Joseph Saucier, Joseph Ayotte, Mathurin Beaulieu, Louis Sans- façon, Jean-Baptiste Cyr, Sr., Firmin Cyr, Jr., Jean-Baptiste Thi- bodeau, Sr., Joseph Mazerolle.
In 1794 the following families received their grants :-
Martin, Gauvin, Bellefleur, Mercure, Cyr, Violette, Thibo- deau, Gosselin, Vaillancourt, Amireault, Michaud, Racine, Lizot- te, Laforest, Smith, and Marquis.
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CHAPTER VII MADAWASKA COLONISTS BUILT FIRST CHURCH AT ST. BASILE
The conditions imposed on the pioneers for the titles to the granted farmlands carried with them the obligation of paying annually to the provincial treasury two shillings per 100 subsi- dized acres on St. Michael's Day (Sept. 29). In addition, 3 acres of farmland had to be cleared within three years on fifty acres granted and a dwelling 15 by 20 feet had to be constructed. All the swamplands had to be drained on the sarne conditions.
Olivier Thibodeau, Sr., Joseph Thériault, Francis Violette, and others from Kennebeccassis asked for formlands in Mada- waska, and as a consequence another grant was made to Ger- main Saucier and 23 other pioneers in 1794. This grant extended from Green River to Grand River in Van Buren on both banks of the St. John River. The grantees were the following :-
Green River, north bank: Louis Ouellet, Olivier Thibodeau, Joseph Thériault, Sr., Joseph Thériault, Jr., Jean Thibodeau, Olivier Thibodeau, Sr., and Firmin Thibodeau.
Green River, south bank: Joseph Michaud, Jean-Baptiste Chaurest, Germain Soucy.
Grand I'sle, south bank: François Cormier, Alexis Cormier, Pierre Cormier, Louis Leblanc, Grégoire Thibodeau.
Grand River (Van Buren), south bank: Augustin Violette, Francis Violette, Joseph Cyr, Jr.
Grand River (St. Leonards, N. B.), north bank: Hilarion Cyr, Joseph Soucy.
The first settlement at Grand River was on the south bank of the St. John River about two miles north of the present town of Van Buren where the first St. Bruno's Church was built. A
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cross was erected by our contemporaries on the highway between Van Buren and Keegan as a reminder of the place where St. Bru- no's old church and cemetry were at the Grand River settlement.
From these statistics and on the testimony of Governor Car- leton himself, the colony was making rapid progress. The clearing of the lands was way ahead and the crops were aboundingly good. But soon the inhabitants had to leave the bank of the St. John River where they had constructed their dwellings to move farther and higher to avoid the floods which in the fall and spring threat- ened to submerge the houses and barns.
As people from the lowlands of Fredericton and those from the St. Lawrence area came in large number to the Madawaska Territory, the population of the region increased to such an ex- tent that it became necessary to have a civil organization to have control over the population. The colony had but two officers in 1790: Marshal Joseph Simon Daigle, and Agent for colonization Louis Mercure. A civil and mili- tary. administration was to come into its own in the area for no other reason than that in a well-organized society, representatives of civil, military, and religious bodies had become necessary for administrative purposes. On this matter, Lord Dorchester, (Sir Guy Carleton) Governor of Canada, wrote to his brother, Thomas Carleton, Governor of New Brunswick, that he had appointed two military officers for the Madawaska District. They were Captain Francis Cyr and his brother, Lieutenant Jacques Cyr. These officers depended on the Kamouraska army commanded by Colonel François Dambourge who had stopped the attack of Montgomery against Quebec in 1776. As no one knew on whose jurisdiction Madawaska depended, Canada or New Brunswick, Lord Dorchester asked the Governor of New Brunswick to confirm the appointments. The latter acceded to his brother's request and advised him at the same time that he wished to appoint two ma- gistrates for the territory if Lord Dorchester agreed. His candi- dates were Pierre Duperry and Louis Mercure. But he added at once that he feared that the two appointed citizens would not accept the duties of office on account of the Oath of Office re- quired by law.
The Oath of Office, introduced in England during the reign of Elizabeth and erased from the Statutes of Canada by the Que- bec Act of 1774, was still in force in the Maritime Provinces and was taken out of this legislation at the coming of Queen Victoria in 1837. Under this law no one could fill the office of justice of the peace without taking the oath to abjure the Catholic Faith and declare idolatrous Catholic dogmas and creed.
The Governor of Quebec approved the appointments, but
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Duperry and Mercure refused to take the Big Oath. Both governors had recourse to a compromise. Among the pioneers, there was a man by the name of Thomas Costin, Scotch and Protestant, who, having studied with the Jesuits of Quebec, knew French, and who, on account of his knowledge and honesty, had a very good repu- tation among the inhabitants of the area. He had been married to Marie Chenard at Quebec and had been living in Madawaska aś a teacher. They appointed Sir Costin as magistrate, and since he was Protestant he could take the oath required by law. Sir Costin became a convert to the Catholic Faith in 1825 and died at a ripe old age at Rivière-du-Loup.
When Father Leclerc died, the mission of Madawaska was confided to the care of Father J. A. Truteaut, pastor of Kamou- raska. A short time after, Father Bernard Panet, pastor of River Quelle, and future Bishop of Quebec, authorized Father Paquet, the new pastor of Isle Verte, to visit the mission of Madawaska.
Father Paquet reached his mission in June, 1791. He advised his new parishioners to build a new church. Joseph Daigle was re- elected marshal for the second time with Jacques Cyr and Alex- andre Ayotte as his assistants. Work on the new church was begun at once.
The following spring when the inhabitants of Madawaska heard that Father Paquet was unable to come to Madawaska at Easter time, all the faithful gathered at the residence of the oldest citizen in the colony and voted that all those who could make the trip to Isle Verte (100 miles away) would get there to perform their Easter duties. Two days after, they were rapping on the door of the paster of Isle Verte. The latter, greatly surprised, received them in the rectory with all the affection of a father. The next day at Mass where all received Holy Communion, the pastor publicly expressed his joy at seeing the faithful of his far away mission and the admiration he felt for their spirit of faith. Then addressing the faithful of the parish, he added: "Such sentiments are worthy of the first Christians, worthy of their fathers who were always noted for their piety, their sacrifices for their faith, and their devotedness toward the church and its ministers."
Before leaving, the faithful of Madawaska spoke about the construction work already done on the new church building which they hoped would be finished by the time of Father Paquet's next visit in June. The pastor replied: "I must go before then, even if I should have to walk night and day to get there". Fifteen days after this interview, Father Paquet was among his faithful of Ma- dawaska. He read to them a letter received from Bishop Hubert of Quebec telling him to inform the inhabitants of Madawaska that they must not construct a church without first getting per- mission of the bishop of the diocese who has the right to designate
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the place and dimensions of the new church building.
The inhabitants were summoned to a meeting and a request was addressed to the Bishop on July 23, 1792. Twenty-four signed this letter; seven others were absent at the time of the meeting, but had manifested a desire to approve whatever could be decided upon.
Bishop Hubert answered the letter on November 12, 1792 granting them permission to build a wooden church the dimen- sions and site to be determined by Father Paquet whom he autho- rized to act in his name, and since the mission takes place in June, the Bishop gave as patron of the new church, St. Basile the Great, Bishop of Caesarea and Doctor of the Church whose feast day is celebrated on June 14.
Madawaska had thus been canonically erected as a parish under the patronage of St. Basile the Great on November 12, 1792. St. Basile of Madawaska is one of the oldest parishes erected in the Maritimes since the expulsion of the Accaians. Two older ones in New Brunswick preceded St. Basile: Memram- cook in 1781, and Caraquet in 1784. The oldest parishes in Nova Scotia are Halifax erected in 1784, Arichat in 1787, and St. Mary's Bay in 1792.
In the Spring of 1793, Father Paquet visited his new parish in the St. John Valley. He found his parishioners engaged in various activities, such as sowing grain and building new houses. Already a flock of sheep was grazing on the hillsides, oxen were pulling the wooden plow through the new farmlands. From the bank of the River at the foot of a hill could be seen a new edifice in the making, the new church with dimensions of 55 by 35 feet. Instead of the belfry, one could see a big cross on top of the church.
The new church was blessed during a special ceremony and solemn High Mass. The hymns that were sung brought tears to mothers who had heard them in Grand-Pré and Fredericton a long time ago.
After Mass, a meeting was held at which time Joseph Daigle resigned as marshal, and the citizens elected Alexander Ayotte to replace him. Francis Cyr was elected his assistant.
At the request of the pioneers, the New Brunswick govern- ment had granted lot 24 of the Mazerolle settlement for public . buildings. On that very lot the new church was built. The citizens on the north bank had signed this petition because it was to their advantage to have the church on their side of the River which was at St. Basile, N. B. The other group on the Madawaska side of the St. John, had wanted the church on the south bank, but it was
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decided that the building would be on the north bank. A rivalry developed between the people of both banks of the River, and as time went on, this wide divergence became more pronounced. However, this did not affect the prosperity of the colony, nor did it disturb the peace.
At this time roads were opened between the more densely populated settlements, and old roads were ameliorated. In 1792, the government appointed road commissioners, constables, and foresters. Relay stations were established between Grand Falls and Madawaska for mail carriers and travelers.
The colony had just been organized as a religious, military and civil body; its survival was assured.
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CHAPTER VIII AUNT BLANCHE WAS HEROINE OF COLONISTS' BLACK FAMINE -
The double jurisdiction, which had presided at the founda- tion of the Madawaska settlement, did not delay to become a source of conflicts between the Provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick. The Province of Quebec had been the first to exercise its authority in this territory by granting the Lordship of Ma- douesca at the foot of Lake Temiscouata and by establishing re- lay stations for the protection of travelers. Moreover, the nation- ality of the inhabitants gave Quebec a right to protect this terri- tory. But against these pretensions, Quebec had written treaties and interprovincial agreements which were fixing the boundaries of the Provinces.
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Since the settlement of the colony, the government of New Brunswick had exercised a continued and uncontested authority. New Brunswick did not delay to rise against the encroachments of Canada in this territory. The government of Fredericton sent its general surveyor, George Sproule, to meet the surveyor of Canada, Samuel Holland, with word to come to a definite under- standing regarding the boundaries of the two Provinces.
The pretensions of the two representatives were such that it was impossible to come to an understanding on any point. No agreement was reached. Sproule wanted the boundary between Lake Temiscouata and the St. Lawrence River, whereas Holland wanted to include Madawaska in Quebec with the demarcation line at Grand Falls and from there to the Restigouche River.
In discussing this business, Lord Dorchester became more anxious for the general interest of Canada than his brother, Tho- mas Carleton of New Brunswick. In a letter addressed to him shortly after Holland's return to Quebec, he said: "As for the boundaries between the two Provinces of His Majesty, it matters little that the contested area belongs to one or the other Province;
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but if we consider the possibility that the United States will naturally look upon these boundaries as the beginning of its own frontier, then the matter becomes importont."
However, the pioneers, having learned that Quebec wanted to include Madawaska within its boundaries, addressed a petition to Governor Carleton in which they made known that they desired to stay with their Acadian brethren under the laws of New Bruns- wick, adding that communications by the St. John River were easier for the transportation of their products, although importa- tion was from Canada by way of Lake Temiscouata. The petition was signed by 60 heads of families, that is, by two-thirds of the population. This initiative on the part of the inhabitants seems to have changed the attitude of Canada which, for a time at least, became disinterested in the settlement of the boundaries. But the United States was about to enter on the scene and unite the two rival Provinces for its common protection.
The Treaty of Versailles had designated the St. Croix River as the boundary line between New Brunswick and Maine. The name of St. Croix did not exist any more. The United States took the Magaguadavic for the old St. Croix, whereas New Brunswick maintained that the Schoudic River was the St. Croix. In 1794, a commission was appointed by Great Britain and the United States to study the contested boundary, having discovered on the Schoudic River the ruins of the De Monts settlement which iden- tified the St. Croix and at the same time, the boundaries given by the Versailles Treaty. The St. Croix became the uncontested boundary and assumed its historical name. The commission did not go any further. The remaining boundaries became an open field for the ambition of the two unfriendly countries.
Despite disagreements between the governors themselves or with the United States which sometimes troubled the peace of the colony, life in Madawaska was peaceful and went on without any notable events. Canadians and Acadians rubbed elbows in a friendly way. As in the beginning, the men outnumbered the women, so young men of Madawaska went to get a wife in Ka- mouraska. The distinct characteristics between Acadian and Ca- nodian were at that time more pronounced than at a later date when the fusion of the two was more complete.
The Acadian was more reticent, less understood, and less satisfied than his relation from the St. Lawrence who would reveal his projects to any stranger within an hour's conversation. The Acadian was more diffident, more cold, and waited until someone came to him. He was more pessimistic than his jovial neighbor and always represented things unfavorably. But when he had given his word, that word was as binding as any written law or contract.
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The Canadian who was as frank was less apt to keep his word once given. However, he had more knowledge and more initiative.
The Acadian was equally active but was more attached to old methods and customs. Being suspicious, he took offense at the Canadian custom of locking doors when he did not know pad- locks or any other locks.
The Canadian cousin had more order in the administration of his business as he had in his work. He was more strict in his relations with his neighbor. The Acadian was more negligent in his business which he passed on to others; he was less thrifty, as he relied more on Divine Providence. Gabriel was more skilled in construction work than Jean-Baptiste of Canada who surpassed him in the art of agriculture. Because of these differences, it often happened that Baptiste of Kamouraska would plow the fields of his brother-in-law of Beaubassin, singing or spurring his oxen. while his Acadian relative would construct a barn for Baptiste or level a log in a melancholic and dreamy silence.
At this time of isolation all contracts were made orally, so that an oral contract had the force of law. He who broke his contract lost his word. The court was composed of the pastor and two assessors chosen by the pleaders. Once the sentence was pro- nounced, it took effect immediately. All settlements were made at the church door through the mediation of a common friend.
Peter Fisher wrote in 1825: "The missionary of Madawaska with the assistance of one or two notables of the district keeps the discipline of the place while settling dissensions, and keeping the peace. He succeeds so well that there are no lawyers, no ma- gistrates, no court."
Besides agriculture, the industries at that time were mapie sugar, fur trade, and exportation of lumber by water for the English Marine. Summers were entirely devoted to plowing the fields and clearing acres of woodland for cultivation; in winter the men spent their time in lumber camps preparing lumber for the spring drive.
The colony exported grain which they harvested beyond what was needed. The surplus was sold to the colonists and the rest was shipped to Fredericton where the grain market was al- ways good.
Trials which are the lot of beginning colonies brought famine to these brave colonists. For two consecutive years, floods and September frost destroyed the entire crop.
The year 1797 is known in the Annals of Madawaska as the
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