Jean Poirier & Jeanne Chebrat
Jean Poirier and Jeanne Chebrat are the ancestors of all Acadian Poiriers. Discover the story of a young French couple who came to settle in Acadia in the 17th century.
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Jean Poirier & Jeanne Chebrat
Jean Poirier and Jeanne Chebrat are the ancestors of all Acadian Poiriers. Discover the story of a young French couple who braved the unknown and settled in Acadia in the 17th century.
Jean Poirier was born around 1626 in France. We do not know the identity of his parents.
According to Acadian genealogist Stephen White : "A sailor named Jean Poirier arrived in Acadia in 1641 on the ship Saint-François. We have no evidence to conclude that he became the husband of Jeanne Chebrat around 1647, but some genealogists believe that he is the ancestor of the Poiriers of New Brunswick." [our translation]
Jeanne Chebrat is possibly the daughter of Antoine Chebrat and Françoise Chaumoret, baptized on February 5, 1627, in La Chaussée, Poitou, France [now in the department of Vienne]. According to White: “We have no evidence that the same Jeanne Chebrat baptized at La Chaussée in 1627 was indeed the wife of Jean Poirier and Antoine Gougeon. It is still quite possible that this is the same person, given that the Brun family of Acadia came from the same parish. In addition, the Chebrats and Bruns might be allied, because Vincent Brun's wife was a Breau and Philippe Chebrat, Jeanne’s sister, married the widower of a Breau." There was also a Jeanne Chebrat baptized in Poitiers in 1627. Unfortunately, we may never be able to confirm her origins.
Jean and Jeanne were married around 1647 in Acadia.
The couple had at least two children:
Marie Françoise Poirier, born around 1648, married Roger dit Jean Caissie
Michel Poirier, born around 1650, married Marie Boudrot
Jean Poirier died sometime before 1654.
After the death of her husband, Jeanne married Antoine Gougeon around 1654 in Port-Royal in Acadia. The couple had one child: Huguette Gougeon, born around 1655.
In 1671, Jeanne and Antoine were enumerated in the Port-Royal census with their 14-year-old daughter, Huguette. Jeanne and Antoine were 45 years old. Antoine was a plowman. He owned 20 heads of cattle, 17 sheep, and 10 acres of land.
1671 census at Port-Royal (Library and Archives Canada)
Seven years later, another census was undertaken in Port-Royal. Jeanne was recorded as a widow (“la veuve Gougeon”), living with two boys (11 years old and 8 years old) and a girl (6 years old). She had six pairs of horned animals.
1678 transcription of the census at Port-Royal (Canadiana)
Jeanne Chebrat died sometime after 1678 in Port-Royal.
Recent photo of Port Royal, a replica of the former settlement and National Historic Site of Canada (photo by Madereugeneandrew, Wikiwand)
Port Royal, a replica of the former settlement and National Historic Site of Canada (photo by Bardencj (talk), Wikiwand)
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Sources:
White, Stephen A., "La généalogie des trente-sept familles hôtesses des "Retrouvailles 94", Les Cahiers de la Société historique acadienne, vol. 25, numbers 2 and 3 (1994), https://www.umoncton.ca/umcm-ceaac/files/umcm-ceaac/wf/wf/pdf/37fam-poirier.pdf.
"Jeanne Chebrat (1627 - aft. 1678)", database, WikiTree (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Chebrat-1), citing original data: C.-J. d'Entremont, "Origine des Acadiens de l'Acadie continentale", Le Messager de l'Atlantique, number 7, 1989, p. 15.
Stephen A. White, Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes (Moncton, New Brunswick: Centre d'études acadiennes – Université de Moncton, 1999), page 1327, Jean Poirier and Jeanne Chebrat.
"Numéro 8. Recensement nominal de Port-Royal. Signé: Laurent Molins, cordelier. Joint à la lettre du chevalier de Grandfont aine, 1671," digital images, Library and Archives Canada (https://nouvelle-france.org/eng/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=31461&), census, 1671, Port-Royal, household of Anthoine Gougeon, databse item number 31461; citing original data: Archives nationales d'outre-mer (France).
"France : Archives des Colonies, Série E, Dossiers personnels – 9157," digital images, Canadiana (https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c9157/931?r=0&s=1), census (transcription), 1678, Port-Royal, household of "la veuve Gougeon", citing original data: Library and Archives Canada, lac_reel_c9157, C-9157, 100153, MG 1 E.