|
Before Isaac
de Razilly died, he sent recruiters to France to find families
to come to Acadia as permanent settlers and establish a
true, lasting colony there. He did not live to see the fruit of
their work.
In April
1636, the ship Saint Jehan left La Rochelle, France, with
78 emigrants from Paris, Dijon, La Rochelle and villages names
Bourguell and Chinon in the Loire Valley. Among them were five
saltmakers, three sailors, a wood chopper, a toolsmith, a
cooper, four tailors, a shoemaker, a vine grower, a miller, a
gardener, a gunsmith, and 19 farmers. Seven men brought their
wives, and six of them brought children.
Not all of the Saint Jehan's
passengers would stay, but most of them would. Pierre Martin and
his wife came from Bourguell. They became the parents of Mathieu
Martin, reportedly the first child born in Acadia of a European
father and mother. Another was Jean Gaudet. He was 61 years old
in 1636. He farmed Annapolis Basin lands for more than 30 years,
dying there at the age of 97.
According to historian and
genealogist Bona Arsenault, "The admiralty records of La
Rochelle are the first to show French families coming to Acadia.
They came aboard the Saint Jehan on April 1, 1636, along with
hired men recruited from Champagne, Anjou, La Rochelle and
Brittany."
|
