Page 63 - Before the Loyalists: Acadians in the Sydney Area, 1749-1754

ISSUE : Issue 48

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1988/6/1

was Trahan with nine adults, Guedry with seven, and Benoist with six. Other names with two or more adult representatives were Boutin (4), Leroy (4), Commere (3), Pitre (2), and Roy (2). Obviously, the Baie des Espagnols community showed a high degree of inter-family connections. The decision to relocate to lie Royale had likely been tak? en following lengthy and collective discus? sions among inter-related heads of house? hold back in Acadia. As for their living conditions, Sieur de la Roque's census revealed that government ra? tions had been essential to keeping people alive. Whether they had been there for one year or three, most settlers had been given rations for the full length of their stay on the island. Twelve different family groups were successfully growing crops of their own (beans, peas, cabbage, oats, and turnips were the common crops), but that left 19 groups without any vegetable or grain production of their own. Turning to animals, 22 of the settler groups had en? tries in de la Roque's columns for live? stock and fowl. Not surprisingly, pigs and fowl were the most numerous, at 34 and 48 respectively. These were'distributed fairly evenly throughout the community, though Paul Guedry and Anne Mus did own 7 of the pigs and Parisian Charles Leroy owned 16 of the fowl. The'totals for the rest of the animals were 17 oxen, 24 cows, 9 calves, 4 goats, and 11 sheep. Moving on to L'Indienne, Sieur de la Roque recorded that there were 20 adults and 18 children in the community. Only two of the adults, however, were from Acadia, despite the fact that this settlement was often linked with Baie des Espagnols as one of the new homes for relocated Acadians. Most of the inhabitants at L'Indienne in the spring of 1752 were actually from France, and were involved in the fishery. The two Acadians were Brigide Trahan, married to a Spaniard, and Marie Ebert, married to a Frenchman. Whether the settlement had ear? lier had more Acadians who had subsequently moved elsewhere de la Roque did not state. 7:' Blue Heron Gift Shop Cbooks ~ "??"" The next stop on de la Roque's census tour was Mordienne, another community regularly referred to as a haven for transplanted Acadians. There were 64 people living at Mordienne, 11 adults and 53 children, and every one was an Acadian. In fact, they all seem to have been related. Fi,ve of the six households were headed by a Terieau (Claude, Pierre, Joseph, Francois, and Ma? rie Joseph, the last a widow of Jean Beno? ist) . Three of the wives were of the Guerin family (Marie, Marguerite, and Francoise), as was the final male head of household, Pierre Guerin. Clearly, Mordienne was the preserve of one large family network. As for the area they had chosen to live in, it was de la Roque's opinion that "the bay of Mordienne is goood only for raising live? stock and fishing for cod." He concluded that "the inhabitants will only be able to live there as long as they have complete freedom to do what they must to subsist." Brickyard and Quarry At the same time as the Acadians were struggling to establish their settlements at Baie des Espagnols and in other areas, the authorities at Louisbourg were looking at that part of the island for its poten? tial in other spheres. There were large and easily accessible coal deposits nearby as well as sandstone and limestone quarries. Then, in 1752, the officials at Louisbourg selected Baie des Espagnols as a location for a brickyard. Two brick makers (brique- tiers) arrived from France in the autumn of 1752 and plans were made to begin manufac? turing bricks the following year. The maitre briquetier predicted that by the end of the summer of 1753 they would have made 700,000 to 800,000 bricks. The promise of the brickyard, however, turned out to be a hollow one. The clay GLASSWARE, FIGURINES, WOOOENWARE, CRYSTAL Gifts for All Occasions BADDECK, N. S. 295-3424 ASHBY MEDICAL SUPPLY We Rent, Sell & Repair Hospital Equipment: wheelchairs, commode chairs, walkers, beds, canes (WALTER'S RENTALS) 4 SHERIFF AVE., SYDNEY (539-9616) Historic Open Fireplace Comfortable Dining Room Telegraph House A chanmng Victorian House, where Dr. Graham Bell chose to stay and royally still chooses to dine, features rooms with period decor as well as modem motel units. Ei'y home cooked meals in our licensed dining room, beside ilie warmth of open fires. Est. 1860 - Five Generations of the Dunlop Family Baddeck, Nova Scotia BOE 1 BO Telephone (902) 295-9988 The only key to trouble-free and long car life is regular and careful maintenance. For over 25 years, maintenance--solely of European cars-has been our occupation.. If you doni wish to maintain your car, neither do we!! If you do, we'd like to help!! EUROCAR SERVICE LTD. 649 WESTMOUNT ROAD SYDNEY 564-9721 63

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