ARBOUR FAMILY IN ACADIA AND LOUISIANNA (1764)

English Version (Version Anglaise, Voir autre document sur même site en français)

Pierre Arbour dit Carrica, born at Bayonne, France, in c1700, married Susanne Moreau probably in c1721. They settled at St.-Pierre-du-Nord on Île St.-Jean, today’s Prince Edward Island, and were among the first Acadians to settle there. Pierre and Susanne had four daughters and at least three sons: Michel, born probably at St.-Pierre-du-Nord in c1724, Mathurin in c1725, Dominique in c1727, Isabelle in c1730, Susanne in April 1732, Marguerite in c1734, and Marie-Thérèse in c1736. Mathurin married into the Archambault family at Pointe-aux-Trembles, Montréal, in July 1748, so the family may have moved to the St. Lawrence valley. Dominique married into the Pelletier family at L’Assomption, between Montréal and Québec, in August 1755. Two of Pierre dit Carrica’s daughters married into the Savoie and Turenne families. Pierre dit Carrica and Susanne may have had a fourth son, Francois, who married Thérèse Descoteaux probably at Québec in the early 1740s. Francois and Thérèse may have moved to Île St.-Jean in the late 1740s or early 1750s.

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ARBOUR FAMILY IN ACADIA AND LOUISIANNA

APPENDICES

Acadians Who Found Refuge in Louisiana, February 1764-early 1800s

ARBOUR

[ar-BORE]

ACADIA

Two unrelated families, using the surnames Harbour and Arbour, are associated with greater Acadia:

Michel, fils, son of Michel Harbour, père, and Marie Constantineau, born at Petite-Rivière-St.-Charles, Québec, in c1674, married Barbe, daughter of Acadians Pierre Morin and Francoise Chiasson, in c1700. They had nine children, including eight sons who created families of their own. However, these Harbours were born and raised in various communities along the St. Lawrence River, not in Acadia.

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

Living in territory controlled by France, the Acadians on Île St.-Jean escaped the British deportations in Nova Scotia in the fall of 1755. Their respite from British oppression was short-lived, however. After the fall of the French fortress at Louisbourg in July 1758, the victorious British rounded up most of the Acadians on the island and deported them to France later in the year. Francois, fils, son of Francois Arbour, père and Thérèse Descoteaux and perhaps a grandson of Pierre Arbour dit Carricas of Île St.-Jean, was born at Québec in c1743 and may have returned with his parents to Île St.-Jean. As a 15-year-old, he may have been one of the Île St.-Jean deportees of 1758, along with younger brothers or cousins Guillaume Arbour, born in c1749, and Chrysostôme Arbour, born in c1750. The British deported the Arbours to Cherbourg in Normandy, where Chrysostôme died in December 1758, probably from the rigors of the voyage; he was only 8 years old. Guillaume died in January 1759; he was only 10 years old. The more robust Francois survived the terrible crossing.

In France, Francois, fils made his living as a caulker. By c1763, he was in Le Havre, where he married Marie, daughter of Acadian Joseph Henry, in November 1765; the priest who recorded his marriage noted that both of Francois’s parents were deceased at the time of the wedding and that he had resided at Le Havre for a year and a half. Francois, fils and Marie had at least five children in France, all sons, the first three born probably at Le Havre: Francois-Henry in c1767, Jean-Louis-Firmin, called Louis, in c1770, and Frédéric-Edouard in c1772. In the early 1770s, Francois, Marie, and their three sons became part of the Leigne-les-bois settlement in the Poitou region, a failed attempt by French authorities to settle Acadians on land owned by a nobleman. Francois and Marie had another son, Louis-Nicolas, at Archigny, Poitou, in June 1774. Despite the failure of the venture and the retreat of most of the Poitou Acadians to Nantes in late 1775 and early 1776, Francois and Marie remained at Archigny, where yet another son, Louis-Joseph, was baptized in June 1778. Louis-Nicolas died at Archigny, age 9, in December 1782. By September 1784, Francois and his family had joined the Acadians in the port city of Nantes, where they survived as best they could on work he could find and on government handouts. Youngest son Louis-Joseph probably died at Nantes in late 1784 or early 1785.

By 1785, many Acadians like Francois, fils were done with life in the mother country. When the Spanish government offered the Acadians in France the chance for a new life in faraway Louisiana, Francois Arbour, fils and his family agreed to take it.

LOUISIANA: RIVER SETTLEMENTS

Francois Arbour, now 45, wife Marie, 40, and their three older sons–Francois-Henry, 18, Louis, 15, and Frédéric, 13–sailed to Louisiana aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships from France, and arrived at New Orleans in August 1785. After a brief respite in the city, they settled at Baton Rouge, on the river above New Orleans, with the majority of the passengers from their ship. Francois and Marie had no more children in Louisiana. The marriage record of Francois’s oldest son, Francois-Henry, dated 27 September 1790, noted that the groom’s father was deceased, so Francois, père died probably at Baton Rouge in the late 1780s, in his late 40s. All three of his sons created families of their own, but only one of them, the youngest, seems to have perpetuated this line of the family successfully.

Descendants of Francois-Henry ARBOUR (1767-?)

Francois-Henry, eldest son of Francois Arbour and Marie Henry, was born at Le Havre, France, in c1767 and followed his parents and siblings to Louisiana aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships, in 1785. He married Marie-Jeanne-Jacqueline, called Jeanne, daughter of fellow Acadian Francois Daigle, at St.-Gabriel in September 1790. Jeanne also had come to Louisiana aboard Le Beaumont. They settled at Baton Rouge, where their children were born. Their daughters married into the Altazin and Lerry families.

Oldest son Francois-Alexandre, born in c1792, died at age 2 in August 1794.

Charles-Francois, called Francois, born in c1800 and baptized at the Baton Rouge church at age 2 in October 1802, may have married Marie Aurore, called Aurore, Leroi or Roy, place and date unrecorded. Their son Francois Bonicase was born near Grand Coteau, St. Landry Parish, in March 1842.

Youngest son Jean Pierre died at Baton Rouge, age unrecorded, in April 1806.

Descendants of Jean-Louis-Firmin ARBOUR (1770-?)

Jean-Louis-Firmin, called Louis and sometimes Firmin, second son of Francois Arbour and Marie Henry, was born at Le Havre, France, in c1770 and followed his parents and siblings to Louisiana aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships, in 1785. He married Rosalie, daughter of fellow Acadian Michel Poirier of St.-Jacques, in April 1793. Rosalie was a native of Louisiana. They settled at St.-Jacques, now St. James Parish, where their children were born. Their daughter married into the Legendre family. Jean-Louis-Firmin remarried to Susanna, daughter of Anglo-American George Glover, at the Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in July 1812. None of his sons seem to have created families of their own, so his line of the family, except for its blood, died with him.

Oldest son Jean-Pierre, by his first wife, born at St.-Jacques in c1794, died at age 12 in November 1806.

Louis-Evariste, born at St.-Jacques in January 1801, probably never married.

Achilles, born at St.-Jacques in February 1803, probably never married.

A son died at St.-Jacques in September 1806.

An infant, perhaps a son, name and age unrecorded, died at St.-Jacques in December 1806.

Descendants of Frédéric-Édouard ARBOUR (1772-1848)

Frédéric-Édouard, third son of Francois Arbour and Marie Henry, was born at Le Havre, France, in c1772 and followed his parents and siblings to Louisiana aboard Le Beaumont, the third of the Seven Ships, in 1785. He married cousin Marie-Rose, called Rose, daughter of Jean Henry, at Baton Rouge in September 1798. Marie-Rose had come to Louisiana aboard La Ville d’Archangel. They remained at Baton Rouge, where their children were born. Their daughters married into the Delahay and Guerry families. Frédéric died at Baton Rouge in March 1848; the priest who recorded his burial said that Frédéric was 80 years old, but he was 76. The great majority of the Arbours of South Louisiana are descended from his older son, who fathered at least half a dozen sons and became a wealthy planter in East Baton Rouge Parish

Older son Frédéric, fils, born in December 1803, married Marie Adeline, called Adeline, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean Baptiste Daigle, at the Baton Rouge church, East Baton Rouge Parish, in July 1825. Their son Édouard Bienvenu, called Bienvenu, was born near Baton Rouge in October 1830, Eugène Ernest, called Ernest in November 1832, Octave Roland in September 1834, and Oscar in October 1845. They also had sons named Frédéric III and Joseph. In September 1850, the federal census taker in East Baton Rouge Parish counted 30 slaves–20 males and 10 females, all black except for 2 mulattoes, ranging in age from 60 years to 2 months–on Frédérick Arbour‘s plantation near Baton Rouge city. In June 1860, the federal census taker in East Baton Rouge Parish counted 33 slaves–ranging in age from 65 years to 4 months–on Frédérick Arbour‘s plantation near Baton Rouge city. In July 1860, he also held 23 more slaves–19 males and 4 females, all blacks except for 1 mulatto, ranging in age from 80 to 6–in Iberville Parish. Frédéric, fils died near Baton Rouge in December 1866; the priest who recorded his burial said that Frédéric was 75 years old, but he was «only» 63.

Joseph married Julie, daughter of Charles Maurin or Morin, at the Baton Rouge church in December 1851. Their son Joseph, fils was born near Baton Rouge in August 1859 but died at age 16 months in December 1860, Joseph Charles was born in December 1861, and Henri Antoine in February 1867.

Frédéric III married Ludoviska or Lodoiska Josephine Marie D’Lahay or De Lahay, probably at Baton Rouge in the early 1850s. Their son Joseph André Victor Frédéric was born near Baton Rouge in February 1853, and Adolphe Joseph in July 1858. During the War Between the States, Frédéric served as a lieutenant in Company D of the 27th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in Iberville Parish that fought gallantly at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Bienvenu married cousin Célestine, daughter of Eloi Martinez, at the Baton Rouge church in February 1854; they had to secure a dispensation for third degree of consanguinity in order to marry. Their son George Edward was born near Baton Rouge in June 1857. During the War Between the States, along with younger brother Octave, Bienvenu served in Company A of Miles’ Legion Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in Orleans Parish that fought in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Ernest married Emma, daughter of André D’Lahay or De Lahay, at the Baton Rouge church in October 1854. Their son William Ernest was born near Baton Rouge in February 1860.

Octave married Caroline or Carrie Gayle, probably at Baton Rouge in the late 1850s. Their son William Roland was born near Baton Rouge in December 1861. During the War Between the States, Octave served as corporal and fifth sergeant in Company A of Miles’ Legion Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in Orleans Parish that fought in Mississippi and Louisiana; when the Miles’ Legion was disbanded, he served as a sergeant in Company I of Ogden’s Regiment Louisiana Cavalry, which also fought in Louisiana and Mississippi, and, at the end of the war, surrendered in Alabama.

Younger son Albery Gustave, birth date unrecorded, was baptized at the Baton Rouge church, age unrecorded, in June 1829, and may have married Marguerite Zenon, place and date unrecorded. Their son Alphonse was born near Baton Rouge in May 1856.

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

The Arbours of Baton Rouge, themselves, may not have been Acadians but French Canadians. Francois Arbour, fils was born in Québec, not Greater Acadia, and, despite his having lived amongst Acadian exiles in France and married an Acadian exile there, his link to Greater Acadia is a tenuous one based on suppositions. After immigrating from France, Francois, fils and his family settled in the Baton Rouge area, and there his descendants remained. Interestingly, a number of families with a similar surname, Harbour, definitely not Acadian, also settled in South Louisiana. Judging from the the number of slaves they held in the decades before the War Between the States, some of them were as wealthy as the Acadian Arbours of East Baton Rouge Parish:

Adonegy or Adonager Harbour married Anna Dalton or Queremos. Their daughter Anna married Anglo-American John Harelson of Virginia at Baton Rouge in September 1806. Their daughter Sally married Anglo-American Louis Gardner at Baton Rouge in January 1806. Adonager probably was Anglo-American himself.

In July 1850, P. H. Harbour held 11 slaves on his Ascension Parish farm. Ten years later, in June 1860, he held 9 slaves on his farm in Ascension’s Seventh Ward.

In August 1850, Pleasant J. Harbour owned 47 slaves on his Pointe Coupee Parish plantation, and 34 slaves on his East Feliciana Plantation, northeast of Baton Rouge.

At the same time, John A. Harbour held 47 slaves on his East Feliciana Parish plantation.

In June 1860, Wm. H. Harbour owned 7 slaves on his Pointe Coupee Parish farm.

In August 1860, B. T. Harbour owned 8 slaves on his East Baton Rouge Parish farm.

CONCLUSION

Pierre Arbour dit Carrica of Bayonne, France, married Susanne Moreau and settled at St.-Pierre-du-Nord, Île St.-Jean, today’s Prince Edward Island, in the early 1720s. The Arbours were among the first European settlers on the island. Francois, fils, son of Francois Arbour, père and Thérèse Descoteaux and perhaps a grandson of Pierre dit Carrica, was born at Québec in c1743 and may have ended up on Île St.-Jean, from which the British may have deported him to Cherbourg, France, in 1758–the records are uncertain, even about his Acadian identity. What is certain is that he came of age in France. At Le Havre, he married Marie, daughter of Acadian Joseph Henry, in November 1765. They had five sons, two of whom died young, and endured life in the mother country for 20 years. In 1785, they took three of their teenage sons to Louisiana aboard one of the Seven Ships from France and settled in the Baton Rouge area, where all three sons married Acadians.

Only one of Francois, fils‘s sons, the youngest, seems to have perpetuated his line of the family. The great majority of Arbours in South Louisiana are descended from Francois, fils‘s grandson, Frédéric, fils, born at Baton Rouge in December 1803, who married Acadian Adeline Daigle at Baton Rouge in July 1825. He and his wife had at least six sons, most of whom created families of their own in the Baton Rouge area. During the antebellum period, Frédéric, fils and his sons became successful planters. In 1850, Frédéric, fils owned 30 slaves in East Baton Rouge Parish. A decade later, he held 56 slaves on two plantations in East Baton Rouge and Iberville parishes. He and his sons, then, participated directly in the South’s plantation economy.

At least four Arbours, three of them sons of Frédéric, fils, served Louisiana in uniform during the War Between the States, one of them as an officer. Frédéric III, a resident of East Baton Rouge Parish, married, and the father of several children, enlisted as a second lieutenant in Company D of the 27th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in Iberville Parish, in March 1862. He was promoted to first lieutenant the following June and fought with his unit at Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1862-63. After the Confederate surrender at Vicksburg in July 1863, Frédéric III, along with thousands of other Southerners, was sent home on a parole of honor. In September 1862, Frédéric III’s younger brother Bienvenu, who also was married, enlisted at Baton Rouge in Company A of Miles’ Legion Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in Orleans Parish that contained a number of soldiers from Baton Rouge. Miles’ Legion served in Louisiana and was part of the Siege of Port Hudson in the spring and summer of 1863. Bienvenu missed the siege, however. He was captured at the Comite River, north of Baton Rouge, in early May 1863 and held by the Federals at Mobile, Alabama, until they paroled him at Grant’s Island, near Mobile, at the end of May. Brother Octave also served in Company A of the Miles’ Legion Infantry, but his service with the unit was more praiseworthy. He, too, was married when he enlisted in Company A at Baton Rouge in September 1862. He was promoted to corporal a few weeks later, and then to fifth sergeant in March 1863. After the surrender of Port Hudson in July 1863, members of Company A of the Miles’ Legion served in Company I of Ogden’s Regiment Louisiana Cavalry, Octave Arbour among them. He remained a sergeant and surrendered with his unit at Gainesville, Alabama, in May 1865. Arthur Arbour, a young lawyer from Baton Rouge, also served in a Louisiana Confederate unit, but his relationship to the Arbour brothers is not revealed in the church and civil records. In June 1861, at age 20, Arthur enlisted in Company B of the 7th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in East Baton Rouge Parish that fought gallantly in Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Arthur followed his company to Virginia, but his service there was cut short by illness or injury. He was sent to a Richmond hospital in October 1861, and received a medical discharge the following month. He probably returned to Baton Rouge.

The War took a terrible toll on the Arbour family’s economic standing. After Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in January 1863, Federal forces controlling the lower Mississippi freed the slaves on every plantation their forces could reach. This included the Arbour holdings in East Baton Rouge and Iberville parishes. Union navy gunboats shelled and burned dozens of plantations houses along the lower river.

After the War, the Arbours of Baton Rouge had to endure as best they could a free-labor postwar Southern economy. …

Dozens of Arbours can be found today in the Baton Rouge area, most of them descendants of Frédéric the planter. …

The family’s name also is spelled Arbot, Arboure, Arbourg, Arboux, Hambourg, Harbourg, Harbourgh.

Sources: 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, & Pointe Coupee parishes; 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, & Pointe Coupee parishes; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2055, 2402; BRDR, vols. 2, 3, 4, 5(rev.), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 12; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vol. 4; Robichaux, Acadians in Chatellerault, 53-54; Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 505; White, DGFA-1, 796-97.

Settlement Abbreviations
(present-day parishes that existed during the War Between the States in parenthesis; hyperlinks on the abbreviations take you to brief histories of each settlement):

Asc	Ascension	Lf	Lafourche (Lafourche, Terrebonne)	PCP	Pointe Coupée
Asp	Assumption	Natc	Natchitoches (Natchitoches)	SB	San Bernardo (St. Bernard)
Atk	Atakapas (St. Martin, St. Mary, Lafayette, Vermilion)	Natz	San Luìs de Natchez (Concordia)	StG	St.-Gabriel d’Iberville (Iberville)
BdE	Bayou des Écores (East Baton Rouge, West Feliciana)	NO	New Orleans (Orleans)	StJ	St.-Jacques de Cabanocé (St. James)
BR	Baton Rouge (East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge)	Op	Opelousas (St. Landry, Calcasieu)

For a chronology of Acadian Arrivals in Louisiana, 1764-early 1800s, see Appendix.

The hyperlink attached to an individual’s name is connected to a list of Acadian immigrants for a particular settlement and provides a different perspective on the refugee’s place in family and community.

Name	Arrived	Settled	Profile
Francois ARBOUR 01	Aug 1785	BR	born c1743, Québec; son of Francois ARBOURG & Thérèse DESCOTEAUX; perhaps deported from Île St.-Jean to Cherbourg, France, 1758-59, age 15; calker; married, age 22, Marie HENRY, daughter of Joseph HENRY & Christine PITRE, 25 Nov 1765, Notre-Dame, Le Havre, France; in Poitou, France, 1773-82; on list of Acadians at Nantes, France, Sep 1784, called Francois HARBOURG, with wife & 3 sons; wedding witness, St.-Martin-de-Chantenay, France, Oct 1784; sailed to LA on Le Beaumont, age 45, head of family; on list of Acadians at Baton Rouge, 1788, called Franco ARBOUR, with unnamed wife [Marie], 3 unnamed children [sons Francois-Henry, Frédéric-Edouard, Jean-Louis-Firmin], 7 1/2 units corn, 0 units rice; died probably Baton Rouge before Sep 1790, when he was listed as deceased in son Francois-Henry’s marriage record
Francois-Henry ARBOUR 02	Aug 1785	BR	born c1767, probably Le Havre, France; son of Francois ARBOUR & Marie HENRY; brother of Frédéric-Edouard & Jean-Louis-Firmin; in Poitou, France, 1773-75; sailor; on list of Acadians at Nantes, France, Sep 1784, unnamed, with parents & brothers; sailed to LA on Le Beaumont, age 18; on list of Acadians at Baton Rouge, 1788, unnamed, with parents & brothers; married, age 23, Marie-Jeanne-Jacqueline, called Jeanne, DAIGLE, daughter of Francois DAIGLE & Jeanne HOLLEY of Cherbourg, France, 27 Sep 1790, probably Baton Rouge
Frédéric-Edouard ARBOUR 03	Aug 1785	BR	born c1772, probably Le Havre, France; son of Francois ARBOUR & Marie HENRY; brother of Francois-Henry & Jean-Louis-Firmin; in Poitou, France, 1773-75; on list of Acadians at Nantes, France, Sep 1784, unnamed, with parents & brothers; sailed to LA on Le Beaumont, age 13; on list of Acadians at Baton Rouge, 1788, unnamed, with parents & brothers; married, age 26, Marie-Rose, called Rose, HENRY, daughter of Jean HENRY & Marie PITRE, 11 Sep 1798, Baton Rouge; died [buried] Baton Rouge 18 Mar 1848, age 80[sic]
Jean-Louis-Firmin ARBOUR 04	Aug 1785	BR, StJ, BR	born c1770, probably Le Havre, France; called Louis; son of Francois ARBOUR & Marie HENRY; brother of Francois-Henry & Frédéric-Edouard; in Poitou, France, 1773-75; on list of Acadians at Nantes, France, Sep 1784, unnamed, with parents & brothers; sailed to LA on Le Beaumont, age 15; on list of Acadians at Baton Rouge, 1788, unnamed, with parents & brothers; married, age 23, (1)Rosalie POIRIER, daughter of Michel POIRIER & Marie CORMIER of St.-Jacques, 16 Apr 1793, St.-Jacques; (2)Susanna GLOVER, daughter of George GLOVER & P. ROBERSON of VA, 1 Jul 1812, Baton Rouge

NOTES

01. Wall of Names, 33 (pl. 8L), calls him Francois ARBOURG, & lists him with his wife, Marie HERVORY, & 3 sons; Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 12, 193, his marriage record, calls him Francois ARBOUR, 22 yrs. old of Québec, Canada, here [Le Havre] for 1 1/2 yrs., says his wife was 24 yrs. old, was «de St.-Michel en Acadie,» that she had lived at Le Havre also for 1 1/2 yrs., gives his & her parents’ names, says both sets of parents were deceased at the time of the marriage, & gives no witnesses to his marriage; Robichaux, Acadians in Chatellerault, 53-54, Family No. 104, calls him Francois HAMBOURG, says he was born in c1743 but gives no birthplace, gives his parents’ names, details his marriage, including his wife’s parents’ names, says that his mother & both his wife’s parents were deceased at the time of the marriage, includes the birth/baptismal & death/burial records of son Louis-Nicolas, baptized 26 Jun 1774, Archigny, godson of Louis-Nicolas de PERUSE des CARTS & Marie-Sophie DEBOUX de VILLEMORT, died age 9 & buried 19 Dec 1782, Archigny, & son Louis-Joseph, baptized 3 Jun 1778, Archigny, godson of Louis-Joseph JAUNON, surgeon, & Victoire DOUCET; Robichaux, Acadians in Nantes, 207, the marriage record of Charles HENRY, a relative of his wife, & Marie LEBLANC, calls him Francois ARBOURE & Francois HARBOURG, & shows that he signed his named to the marriage document, indicating literacy; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 34-35, calls him Francois ARBOURG, calfat, age 45, on the embarkation list, Franco ARBOURG, on the debarkation list, & Francois HARBOURG, calker, age 45, on the complete listing, says he was in the 17th Family aboard Le Beaumont with his wife & 3 sons, details his marriage, calling him Francois HAMBOURG & giving his & his wife’s parents’ names but no place of marriage, & details his son Francois’s marriage in LA but gives no place of marriage. See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 505, 526.

If he was an Acadian, why was he born in Québec? Was his father another son of Pierre ARBOUR dit Carrica, an early settler of Île St.-Jean? Arsenault, Généalogie, 2055, does not list him with the children of Pierre dit Carrica. Was Francois deported to France from Île St.-Jean in 1758-59? He would have been 15 years old at the time of that deportation. If he was born in Québec, what compelled him to go to Île St.-Jean? Had his parents died in Canada, & he went to the island to be reunited with his kin, or did he follow his parents from the St. Lawrence valley back to the island? His connection to Greater Acadia is based on pretty thin stuff here. He may simply have been a French Canadian who went to Le Havre on his own in the early 1760s & was not an Acadian exile.

Where was St.-Michel in Acadia?

Where did he & his family live in France before 1773, when he appears in Poitou? Certainly Le Havre, where he married Marie Henry in Nov 1765, & the priest who recorded the marriage noted that the couple had resided in Le Havre for 1 1/2 years. Perhaps Francois, fils lived in Cherbourg before then, where 2 young Arbours, Guillaume, born in c1749, & Chrysostôme, born in c1750, died in Dec 1758 & Jan 1759 respectively. See Hébert, D., Acadians in Exile, 12, which, unfortunately, does not give the parents’ names of the 2 deceased Arbours. Can we assume that Guillaume & Chrysostôme died from the rigors of deportation? Judging by the dates of their deaths, that’s a pretty safe bet. We can only guess their kinsmen with Francois Arbour, fils of Québec, hence the careful language in the family history.

Youngest son Louis-Joseph did not accompany his family to LA in the summer of 1785, so he probably died at Nantes before Sep 1784, when the Spanish counted the Acadians in France, & Francois ARBOUR & his wife had only 3 sons on the listing. Louis-Joseph would have been only 6 in Sep 1784.

The marriage record of son Francisco [Francois-Henry], dated 27 Sep 1790, in BRDR, 2:20 (SGA-14, 15), says that the father of the groom was deceased at the time of the wedding, so Francois would have died in his late 40s.

02. Wall of Names, 33 (pl. 8L), calls him Francois-Henry [ARBOURG], & lists him with his parents & 2 brothers; Arsenault, Généalogie, 2402, calls him Francois ARBOUR, & says he was born c1770; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 34-35, calls him Francois-Henry, son [Francois ARBOURG’s] fils, marin, age 18, on the embarkation list, Francisco, su [Franco ARBOURG’s] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Francois-Henry HARBOURG, his [Francois HARBOURG’s] son, sailor, age 18, on the debarkation list, says he was in the 17th Family aboard Le Beaumont with his parents & 2 brothers, & details his marriage in LA but does not give his or his wife’s parent’s names or the place of marriage; BRDR, 2:20, 218 (SGA-14, 15), his marriage record, calls him Francisco ARBOUR, gives his & his wife’s parents’ names, says both fathers were deceased at the time of the marriage, & that the witnesses to his marriage were Jean B. DUPUY, Juan Carlos TULLIER, & Francisco Alexandro DAIGLE (his brother-in-law). See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 505, 526.

Interesting note: As teenagers, Francois-Henry & Jeanne sailed to LA on the same ship; their families, in fact, are next to one another on the passenger list of Le Beaumont, family nos. 16 & 17. The ARBOURs went to Baton Rouge with most of the other immigrants aboard Le Beaumont. The DAIGLEs also went to Baton Rouge but by 1788 had moved to Manchac/St.-Gabriel, just downriver. This did not deter young Francois-Henry from marrying Jeanne, whom he may have known, & loved, since their childhood in France.

Although his marriage was recorded at the St.-Gabriel church, he probably was married in the Baton Rouge district where he lived. Baton Rouge did not have a church of its own until 1793, so priests from St.-Gabriel would officiate at baptisms, weddings, & funerals there until it did.

03. Wall of Names, 33 (pl. 8L), calls him Frédéric-Edouard [ARBOURG], & lists him with his parents & 2 brothers; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 34-35, calls him Frédéric-Edouard, son [Francois ARBOURG’s] fils, age 13, on the embarkation list, Federico, su [Franco ARBOURG’s] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Frederic-Edouard HARBOURG, his [Francois HARBOURG’s] son, age 13, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 17th Family aboard Le Beaumont with his parents & 2 brothers; BRDR, 2:20, 378 (SJO-3, 21), his marriage record, calls him Frederico ARBOUR, gives his & his wife’s parents’ names, says his parents were from Havre de Grass & her parents were from San Malo, that he & his wife shared a 3rd degree of consanguinity, & that the witnesses to his marriage were Maximiliano HENRY (her brother) & Francisco ARBOUR (his brother); BRDR, 7:14 (SJO-11, 75), his death/burial record, calls him Frédérick ARBOUR, age 80 years, & does not give his parents’ names or mention a wife. See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 505, 526.

Note that Frédéric’s maternal grandmother was a PITRE & that his wife’s mother was a PITRE.

04. Wall of Names, 33 (pl. 8L), calls him Jean-Louis-Firmin [ARBOURG], & lists him with his parents & 2 brothers; Hébert, D., Acadian Families in Exile 1785, 34-35, calls him Jean-Louis-Fermin, son [Francois ARBOURG’s] fils, age 15, on the embarkation list, Juan Luis, su [Franco ARBOURG’s] hijo, on the debarkation list, & Jean-Louis-Firmin HARBOURG, his [Francois HARBOURG’s] son, age 15, on the complete listing, & says he was in the 17th Family aboard Le Beaumont with his parents & 2 brothers; BRDR, 2:20, 600 (SJA-2, 19 & 20), the record of his first marriage, calls him Luis ARBOUR, gives his & his wife’s parents’ names, says his parents were from Havre de Grace, & that the witnesses to his marriage were Pedro PORIE (probably son of Joseph & first cousin of the bride), Rosalia ANRRY (probably Louis’s future sister-in-law, who also was a cousin), & Juan Carlos ARSENO; BRDR, 3:22, 367 (SJO-3, 125), the record of his second marriage, calls him Firmin ARBOUR, gives his & his wife’s parents’ names, says his wife’s parents were from VA, & that the witnesses to his marriage were Juan GEDERIE & Thomas LOSADA. See also Voorhies, J., Some Late Eighteenth Century Louisianians, 505, 526.

How did a boy from Baton Rouge meet a girl from St.-Jacques, which was 2 districts downriver? This is especially remarkable since her parents did not come to LA aboard one of the Seven Ships of 1785, like Louis’s family did, but had reached LA in Feb 1764 & Feb 1765, 20 years earlier.

He is called «Cadet» in the death/burial record of an unnamed son, dated 27 Sep 1806, in BRDR, 3:21 (SJA-4, 28).

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Write by Steven A. Cormier

By René Arbour