Guillaume Trahan and Françoise Corbineau.

The family was among the first to permanently settle in L’Acadie; they are found on the roster of the ship Saint Jehan bound for L’Acadie on 1 April 1636: Guillaume Trahan, an edge-tool maker, with his wife and two children, and a valet, also from Bourgeuil. Guillaume eventually owned a lot adjoining the side of the old fort at Port Royal, Nova Scotia. It is not clear how long the family lived there. It was expropriated in 1705 to extend the fort in Port Royal.

In 1654, Guillaume was a syndic during the capture of Port Royal by the British. In August of that year, it was captured by Robert Sedgwick, who led 300 British soldiers and volunteers. The French soldiers at Port Royal, who numbered about 130 were only able to briefly defend against Sedgwick. They surrendered on 16 August. The articles of capitulation were signed aboard Sedgwick's ship Auguste. Sedgwick granted honorable terms. The capture of Port Royal obviously had an impact on the French settlement that had grown up around the fort. During the attack Sedgwick’s men had slaughtered the settlers' livestock. By the terms of the capitulation, which Guillaume Trahan signed on their behalf, the settlers were offered a ship to return to France. Those who chose to remain were permitted to retain their land and belongings and were guaranteed religious freedom. Guillaume and his family were amongst those who chose to remain in Port Royal.

About 1665 Françoise Corbineau died in Port Royal. The following year, when Guillaume was 65 years old, he married for a second time. His bride was 21-year old Madeleine Brun, daughter of Vincent Brun and Renée Breau. Between about 1667 and 1678, the couple had at least six children: Guillaume, Jean Charles, Alexandre, Marie, Jeanne, and Madeleine. The 1671 census of Port Royal shows Guillaume, age 60 and Madeleine, 25 with three sons living at home, ages 1 to 4. They owned 8 heads of cattle, 10 sheep and 5 arpents of land. Seven years later the Trahan household in Port Royal has 3 boys and 3 girls. Guillaume died in Port Royal before the end of 1684.

Guillaume Trahan and his first wife Françoise Corbineau are both the seventh and eighth great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their daughter Jeanne Trahan and her husband Jacques Bourgeois. They are his seventh great-grandparents two times, once through Jeanne’s son Charles Bourgeois and once through her daughter Marie Bourgeois. They are also Willy’s eighth great-grandparents one time through Jeanne Trahan’s son Charles Bourgeois. 

Jacques Bourgeois and Jeanne Trahan.

Jacques Bourgeois was born about 1619 in France, he came to Port Royal, arriving on 6 July 1641 on the ship Saint François. He was the first of the Bourgeois family to arrive in l’Acadie. He was traveling with his uncle, the governor of Acadia, Charles de Memou d’Aulnay, who was leading a convoy of four ships. Jacques came to establish and practice surgery in Port Royal. He was also a ship builder. His future wife Jeanne Trahan, who was born about 1629 in France and the daughter of Guillaume Trahan and François Corbineau, arrived in Acadia in 1636 aboard the  Jehan with her parents. Jacques Bourgeois married Jeanne Trahan at Port Royal in 1643. They had ten children together.

At Port Royal, Jacques Bourgeois became a fur trader and a merchant. He eventually built lumber and flour mills. He traded with Bostonians; learning their language and becoming an interpreter for the French and the English. He also traded with the Mi’kmaq Amerindians. In 1646, Jacques and Jeanne were granted an island, L’île aux Cochons, situated in the Dauphin River (Annapolis River) upstream from Port Royal.

Soon after Acadia had returned to French hands from the English, in 1671, Jacques, founded the "Bourgeois colony" with his two sons, Charles and Germain. In 1672, he sold a part of his land in Port Royal to settle in Chignecto isthmus (“great marsh” in the Mikmawisimk language), where he built a flour mill and a saw mill. This region had fertile marshes and high ground for farming. The Bourgeois colony became Beaubassin, when Michel Leneuf de la Vallière de Beaubassin, was granted the Seigneurie de Beaubassin in 1676. The settlement was near the border separating present day New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. Later, the Beaubassin region became the most prosperous place in Acadia.

After the establishment at Beaubassin, Jacques and his son Guillaume returned to live at Port Royal, as noted in the census years: 1671, 1678, 1686, and 1693. Jacques' other two sons, Charles and Germain, stayed in Beaubassin with their families. Jeanne Trahan died in Port Royal sometime after the 1698 Census. In 1698 Jacques moved to Beaubassin to live with his son Germain, but he returned to Port Royal before 1700. Jacques Bourgeois died in 1701 at Port Royal.

Jacques Bourgeois and Jeanne Trahan are the sixth and seventh great-grandparents of Willy Collins. They are his sixth great-grandparents through their daughter Marie Bourgeois and her husband Pierre Cyr (Sire). They are his sixth and seventh great-grandparents through their son Charles Bourgeois and his wife Anne Dugas.

Most of the grandchildren of Jacques Bourgeois were deported in 1755 to the New England colonies. Many of these deportees returned to Canada and the Bourgeois name is now common in southeastern New Brunswick, in Québec in the Lanaudiere region, along the shores of the Richelieu River and in the Magdeleine Islands, and in eastern Ontario. Other deportees made their way to Louisiana and to St-Pierre-et-Miquelon. 

Jean Gaudet.

Around 1652, Jean Gaudet married a second time, to Nicole Colleson. They had a son Jean around 1653. Jean Gaudet has been described as the Abraham of Acadia, because of his numerous descendants.

By 1671 Jean Gaudet, age 96, is the oldest inhabitant of Port Royal. He was living with his second wife Nicole, age 64, and their son Jean. His three eldest children were married by then. Jean Gaudet died before 1678 in Port Royal.

 Jean Gaudet and his first wife are the ninth great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their daughter Françoise Gaudet and Daniel Leblanc. They are also the eighth great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their son Denis Gaudet and his wife Martine Gauthier.

Denis Gaudet and Martine Gauthier.

Denis was born in 1625 in Martiaze, Loudun, Vienne, son of Jean Gaudet. His mother is unknown. While it isn't known exactly when the family arrived in L’Acadie (see his father Jean Gaudet) , Denis Gaudet married about 1645 in Port Royal, Martine Gauthier, born about 1619 in France. Her parents are unknown. Denis Gaudet and Martine Gauthier had five children between 1646 and 1657, all of whom married.

Around the time of the treaty of Breda (1667), which officially restored Acadia to France, Denis Gaudet migrated towards the top of the Port Royal river. His now adolescent sons would be assured of their own possession of land. They were the first colonists in this locality situated about twenty kilometers upriver from the fort. Denis, a ploughman, and his two sons both named Pierre (one surnamed l'Ainé, and the other le Jeune), constructed the new farm on the north bank. The location of what became Gaudet Village is on land which later belonged to the Chipman family and is part of Granville Township. They went on to create a large domain on both sides of the river in that area.

In the census of the Port Royal river valley in 1671, Denis Gaudet gives his age as 46 years old, his wife Martine Gauthier was 52 years old. They had five children, two were married: Anne Gaudet was 25 years old (married to Pierre Vincent); Marie Gaudet was 21 years old (married to Olivier Daigre, who lived opposite Gaudet Village on the south bank); Pierre Gaudet l'Ainé, aged 20; Pierre Gaudet le Jeune, aged 17; Marie Gaudet, aged 14. All were farmers. Denis had six arpentsof cultivated land, nine horned cattle and 13 sheep. By 1678 Martine Gauthier had died and Denis lived either with or next to his son Pierre Gaudet le Jeune and his wife Marie Blanchard.

In the census of Port Royal in 1693, Denis Gaudet was a widower aged 70 years. He was head of the household, living with his son Pierre le Jeune and Marie Blanchard. He had a sizeable piece of property at 29 arpents. He was still living in 1698 next to his son Pierre, although now all the property was listed as Pierre's. Dennis died in Port Royal aged 97 years and was buried there 11 October 1709.

Denis Gaudet and Martine Gauthier are the seventh great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their eldest son Pierre Gaudet (l’Aine) and his wife Anne Blanchard.

Martin Aucoin.

It is not known when Martin Aucoin and Marie Sallé arrived in L’Acadie with the four children, but they are amongst the early residents of the settlement in Port Royal. Martin Aucoin died between 1651 and 1671. His second wife Marie Sallé was listed as the widow of Jean Claude in the census of 1671, whom, it is believed, she married after 1651. Jean Claude was a Christian Mi’kmaq Amerindian. 

Martin Aucoin and his first wife Barbe Minguet are the eighth and ninth great-grandparents of Willy Collins. They are his eighth great-grandparents through their daughter Michelle Aucoin and her husband Michel Boudrot. They are Willy’s ninth great-grandparents through their daughter Jeanne Aucoin and her husband François Girouard La Varanne and through their daughter Michelle Aucoin and her husband Michel Boudrot.

Michel Boudrot and Michelle Aucoin.

Michel Boudrot was born about 1600 in Cougnes, La Rochelle, France, arriving in L’Acadie before 1639, when he was listed as a syndic in Port Royal. In about 1641, in Acadia, he married Michelle Aucoin, daughter of Martin Aucoin. They had at least eight children. The 1671 census for Port Royal lists him as a farm laborer. In the 1686 census he appears as a civil and criminal lieutenant general (judge). In the Boudrot household are Michel, age 85, his wife age 65, Michel 26 and François 20. They own 3 guns, 20 arpents, 16 heads of cattle, 17 sheep and 6 hogs.

Michel Boudrot died at Port Royal between 1688 and 1693. In 1693 his widowed wife was living with her son François and his wife. Michelle Aucoin died 17 December 1706 in Port Royal and was buried the next day.

Michel Boudrot and Michelle Aucoin were the seventh and eighth great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their daughter Marguerite Boudrot and her husband François Bourg.

François Girouard La Varanne and Jeanne Aucoin. 

Among the single men who arrived in the first years of the settlement of Port Royal was François Girouard La Varanne, born in France around 1621. His parents are not known. He arrived in L’Acadie around 1640 and was married around 1647 to Jeanne Aucoin, baptized 26 November 1630 at the parish of Sainte Marguerite at La Rochelle, France, daughter of Martin Aucoin and Barbe Minguet. The couple had five children: Jacques, Marie, Marie Madeleine, Germain, and Anne Charlotte. At the time of the first Acadian census in 1671, fifty-year-old François Girouard, listed as a plowman (laborer), and forty-year-old Jeanne Aucoin were living with their five children. 

François Girouard died sometime before the census of 1693. Jeanne Aucoin died and was buried 18 April 1718 at Port Royal, Acadia.

François Girouard La Varanne and Jeanne Aucoin are the eighth great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their daughter Marie Madeleine Girouard and her husband Thomas Cormier.

Robert Cormier and Marie Peraud, their son Thomas Cormier and Marie Madeleine Girouard.

Robert Cormier was likely born about 1610 in France. His parents are not known. He was a master ship’s carpenter in La Rochelle, France before immigrating to Acadia. He married about 1635 in France, Marie Peraud, born in 1614. Her parents are not known. They had two sons, Thomas, born about 1636 and Jean, born about 1642. Both were born in France.

In January 1644, Robert signed a contract to sail on the ship Le Petit St-Pierre with his wife Marie Peraud and his son Thomas to Fort Saint Pierre, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. To pay off his passage, Robert was indentured to work at Fort Saint Pierre for three years, and to be paid 120 livres per year. He served under the orders of fort commandant Sieur Louis Tuffet. In March 1644, there was a codicil to the contract permitting their 20-month-old son Jean to travel with them to Fort St-Pierre and to be fed and cared for. There is no evidence that Robert Cormier, Marie Peraud, or Jean Cormier stayed in Acadia. What is known is that a carpenter named Thomas Cormier did remain in Acadia and was likely the son of Robert Cormier and Marie Peraud.

Around 1668 Thomas Cormier married in Port Royal, Marie Madeleine Girouard, born about 1654 in Port Royal, the fourteen-year-old daughter of François Girouard and Jeanne Aucoin. In 1671, 35-year-old Thomas Cormier was living in Port Royal, Acadia with Marie Madeleine Girouard and their first child. Like his father, he was a carpenter.

In the 1670s, the available farmland at Port Royal was diminishing and some Acadians established new villages such as at Beaubassin. Thomas and Marie Madeleine were among the first settlers of Beaubassin.  Around 1679 Thomas claimed the large marsh area in the second loop of the River of the Planks (Rivière des Planches), building a home there. Within the year, Thomas abandoned this site and started a new settlement on the reverse and southern side of the Ouescoque heights (Amherst Point, Nova Scotia). 

By 1688, Thomas and Marie Madeleine had ten children: Marie Madeleine, François, Anne, Alexis, Germain, Pierre, Claire, twins Marie and Agnès, and Jeanne. A census two years earlier indicated that Thomas and Madeleine had 40 arpents of cultivated land, 30 cattle, 10 sheep, and 15 hogs. Thomas was one of the most prosperous settlers. 

Around 1687 there was a dispute between the Poiriers and the Cormiers over the reclamation by Toussaint Doucet and wife Marie Poirier of the south bank border of the Great Ouescoque marsh. This dispute was resolved eventually with the intermarriage of Cormiers with Poiriers. 

Thomas Cormier died in Beaubassin before 1693. Marie Madeleine Girouard died in Beaubassin after 1714. They left a profound legacy. Their 17 married grandsons and their offspring would generate one of the largest Acadian families. His 6 daughters and 25 granddaughters married into other large Acadian families including LeBlanc, Arsenault, Haché-Gallant, Boudrot, Richard, Doucet, Landry, Poirier, Comeau, Chiasson, Theriot, Bourg, Cyr, Hébert, Thibodeau, Bourgeois, Dupuis, and Babin. 

 Although they chose not to stay in L’Acadie, Robert Cormier and Marie Peraud left many descendants in the colony. Robert and Marie are the eighth great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their son Thomas Cormier and his wife Marie Madeleine Girouard. 

 Antoine Bourg and Antoinette Landry.

Antoine Bourg is the patriarch of the Bourg family. He was one of the first settlers in Acadia. Antoine was born in 1609 in Martiaze, Loudun, Vienne, France. His parents are not known. Antoine arrived in Acadia as early as 1636. Around 1642 Antoine married in Port Royal, Antoinette Landry, born about 1618 in Anjou, France. Her parents are not known. Antoinette had come to Port Royal with her elder brother Rene and her sister Perrine. Between about 1643 and 1667, the Antoine Bourg and Antoinette Landry had at least ten children: François, Marie, Jean, Bernard, Martin, Jeanne, Renée, Huguette, Abraham, and Marguerite.

In 1671, the family homestead had four arpents with 12 cattle and 8 sheep. The location was probably on the north bank of the Annapolis River. By 1678 most of the children had married and established their own homes, with just the two youngest living with them. 

Antoine died between 1687 and 1693 at Port Royal. This was likely during the time of England’s King William’s War (1689-1697) with France. Antoinette's family would have felt its effects in May 1690 when Port Royal was captured, the church destroyed, the settlement plundered, and the inhabitants forced to swear an oath of allegiance to the English crown. Before the end of the summer, seamen from two ships looted Port Royal and burned and looted between 28 and 35 homes and habitations including the parish church. There was another raid in 1693. Unlike some Acadians, who were convinced to move by the raid and the lure of available land in newer villages, the Bourgs stayed in Port Royal. During this period of time, Antoinette was living with her youngest son Abraham and his family. Antoinette’s son Bernard had a farm nearby. Antoinette died sometime after 1693 at Port Royal.

Antoine Bourg and Antoinette Landry are the seventh and eighth great-grandparents of Willy Collins. They are Willy’s seventh great-grandparents through Antoine and Antoinette’s daughter Jeanne Bourg and her husband Pierre Comeau. They are his seventh and eighth great-grandparents through Antoine and Antoinette’s son François Bourg and his wife Marguerite Boudrot.

Pierre Comeau and Rose Bayol.

Little is known about this couple. Pierre Comeau was born in 1597 in France. His origins are not known. Pierre arrived in L’Acadie sometime before 1671, as his family is listed in the 1671 Census at Port Royal. His wife was Rose Bayol, born about 1631 in France. We have no information about Rose Bayol’s origins. There has been some suggestion that they actually married in 1649 in Port Royal, implying they both came to Port Royal as single people; Pierre Comeau, coming alone and Rose Bayol possibly accompanying some other family members, but this is not clear. However, they were definitely early settlers in Port Royal.

Between about 1650 and 1665 the couple had nine children: Étienne, Pierre the older called l’Esturgeon, Françoise, Jean the elder, Pierre the younger, Antoine, Jeanne, Marie Jeanne (Marie Anne), and Jean the younger. Rose Bayol died at Port Royal before the 1678 census as Pierre is listed as a widower. Pierre Comeau died at Port Royal between the census of 1686 and 1693.

 Pierre Comeau and Rose Bayol are the seventh great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their son Pierre Comeau, born about 1653 in Port Royal, and his wife Jeanne Bourg.

Pierre Comeau and Jeanne Bourg.

Pierre Comeau, the elder (called l'Esturgeon) was born around 1653 in Port Royal to parents Pierre Comeau and Rose Bayol. Pierre was listed in the 1671 census of Port Royal at age 18, living with his parents and eight siblings.

Around 1677 Pierre married Jeanne Bourg, daughter of Antoine Bourg and Antoinette Landry. Jeanne was born about 1659 in Port Royal. Between around 1678 and 1705 the couple had 18 children: Marie, Abraham, Marguerite, Anne, Marie-Jeanne, Joseph (dit Grand Jean), Madeleine, Pierre, Angélique, Élisabeth (Isabelle), Catherine, Françoise, Cécile, Jean, François, Maurice, Ambroise, and Jacques.

Pierre and Jeanne raised their family at Port Royal as shown in the censuses between 1678 and 1714. They owned a good quantity of cultivable land and farm animals which varied over the years. The family seemed to be doing well, especially in 1698 as the census for that year counted the following possessions: 11 head of cattle, 15 sheep, 8 hogs, 26 arpents of land, 30 fruit trees and 1 gun. Their farm was located east of the fort on the south shore of the Dauphin (Annapolis) River.

Jeanne Bourg died before 24 February 1724 at Port Royal. At the age of around 78, Pierre Comeau died in Port Royal the 8 April 1730 and was buried the next day.

Pierre Comeau and Jeanne Bourg are the sixth great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their daughter Marguerite Comeau, born about 1681, and her husband Maurice Vigneau Laverdure, born 3 February 1674 in Québec. He was the son of Paul Vigneau a French soldier and Françoise Bourgeois, a Filles du Roi.

Antoine Hébert and Genevieve Lefranc.

The Acadian Hébert family stems from two brothers: Antoine and Étienne Hébert. Antoine Hébert was born around 1621 in France. The parents of the Hébert brothers are unknown.

Around 1648, Antoine married at Port Royal, Genevieve Lefranc, born about 1613 at Lay Haye, France. Her specific origins and parentage are not known. Between about 1649 and 1656 the couple had three children: Jean born about 1649, Jean born about 1653, and Catherine born about 1656. It is not clear when Antoine and Genevieve arrived in L’Acadie.

At the time of the first Acadian Census in 1671, the family was living in Port Royal. Fifty-year-old Antoine Hébert and fifty-eight year-old Geneviève were living with their children. Antoine was a cooper. Six arpents of their land was cultivated and they had 15 cattle and 18 sheep. It is not clear where their homestead was situated.

In 1686 Antoine, age 72 and Geneviève 80, were living with their son Jean, his wife Anne Doucet and their five children. Both Antoine Hébert and Genevieve Lefranc died sometime between the 1686 and 1693 censuses.

Antoine Hébert and Genevieve Lefranc were the eighth great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their daughter Catherine Hébert and her husband, Jacques Leblanc.

 Daniel Leblanc and Françoise Gaudet, their son Jacques Leblanc and his wife Catherine Hébert.

The largest Acadian family stems from one pioneer named Daniel LeBlanc. He is believed to have been born at Martaizé, Poitou-Charentes, France around 1626. His parents are unknown. 

Daniel arrived in L’Acadie sometime before 1650. According to some sources, he came to Acadia about 1645 and settled on the north bank of the Port Royal River (now the Annapolis River), to the northeast of the marsh at Belisle, about 15 kilometers above the fort at Port Royal. He was a farmer, and he married around 1650 at Port Royal, a young widow Françoise Gaudet, born about 1623 in France, daughter of Jean Gaudet. Françoise Gaudet had one young child, Marie Mercier, from her previous marriage. Between about 1651 and 1664, Daniel Leblanc and Françoise Gaudet had six sons: Jacques, Étienne, René, André, Antoine, Pierre and a daughter Françoise, all born in Port Royal.

Daniel Leblanc and Françoise Gaudet, like many of the Acadian pioneers, lived off the land, farming to feed their family. Their homestead was comprised of 10 arpents of cultivated land. This acreage was fairly large for the settlement. Of the 56 households reporting cultivated land, only 12 had 10 or more arpents. The family also had 18 cattle and 26 sheep.

By the time of the 1686 census, five of Daniel and Françoise's sons were married and settled in Port Royal. Étienne no longer lived there. Their daughter Françoise had died. Within four years, the family's relative peace would be shattered by King William’s War (1689-1697) with France.

In May 1690, the English led by Sir William Phipps captured Port Royal, destroyed the church, plundered the settlement, and forced the inhabitants to swear an oath of allegiance to the English crown. He appointed Charles La Tourasse, a former sergeant of the French garrison, to serve as English commandant and leader of a council to keep the peace and administer justice. Inhabitants were asked to choose six leading men to serve on the council and Daniel LeBlanc was among them. Phipps left Port Royal within 12 days of his arrival. Before the end of the summer, seamen from two ships burned and looted between 28 and 35 homes and habitations, including the parish church in Port Royal.

In 1693, an encounter between the vessel of French privateer and an English frigate brought further misery. English investigations into the role of Acadians' assistance to the privateer resulted in the burning of nearly a dozen homes and three barns of unthreshed grain. In that year, the only remaining LeBlancs in Port Royal were 66-year-old Daniel and Françoise and their youngest son Pierre and his family. Their other four sons may have been convinced to move by the raids at Port Royal and the lure of available land in some of the newer villages. 

After they married, the four older Leblanc sons moved to the Minas area, where they created a large extended family. The youngest son remained on his father's lands near Port Royal. Daniel  and Françoise’s 31 married grandsons would have large families, and Leblanc would become the most common name in Acadia. His granddaughters married into other large Acadian families, including Blanchard, Cormier, Boudrot, Haché, Landry, Doiron, Robichaud, and Allain.

Daniel Leblanc died in Port Royal in his late sixties between 1695 and 1698. His wife Françoise Gaudet is listed as a widow of 80 years living alone on the 1698 census. During his life in Acadia, he had witnessed three changes in rule, from French to English (1654), to French (1667-70), and back to English (1690). Despite these disruptions, his family thrived.

The eldest son of Daniel Leblanc and Françoise Gaudet was Jacques Leblanc who was born in Port Royal in about 1651 based on his age of 20 in 1671, then living with his parents and siblings in Port Royal. Jacques married in1673 at Port Royal, Catherine Hébert, born about 1656, the daughter of Antoine Hébert and Genevieve Lefranc. 

By 1678 he and Catherine are living with her parents in Port Royal along with their young son. Less than a decade later Jacques and Catherine have a busy household with 9 children, including a newborn baby and a large number of animals. Their immediate neighbors are the brother and the elderly parents of Catherine. Jacques Leblanc’s own parents are just one more door away.

By 1693 Jacques and Catherine have moved to Minas, by then a village just a little smaller than Port Royal. Catherine's brother Jean also moved and was just two plots away. All of their thirteen of their children are born and ten are still living at home, with Ignace just a toddler.

From 1704 to 1710, in the company of his younger brother Pierre, Jacques Leblanc took an active part in the defense of Port Royal to counter the incessant attacks of the English. Several Acadian militiamen, including Jacques Leblanc, discreetly advanced on Port Royal, along the Dauphin River (Annapolis River), without the British suspecting their presence. About twenty kilometers east of Port Royal, near a bridge spanning a small river, they surprised 80 Englishmen who patrolled the countryside; a violent fight commenced during which 30 English soldiers are killed and the others made prisoners. Following this victory, two hundred Acadians lay siege on Port Royal. But the reinforcements sent from Québec to help the Acadians hesitated and thereby failed an attempt to retake Port Royal.

Jacques Leblanc died in Saint Charles des Mines, Grand Pre, after 26 May 1731. He was noted as present at his daughter Cecile’s wedding on that date in Grand Pré. Catherine Hébert also died in Saint Charles des Mines, Grand Pré, but on an unknown date.

Descendants placed a monument in 2014 near the ancestral homestead of Daniel Leblanc and Françoise Gaudet, near what is now Gesnor's Brook. See monumentleblanc.com.

 Daniel Leblanc and Françoise Gaudet are the eighth great-grandparents of Willy Collins. Their son Jacques Leblanc and Catherine Hébert are the seventh great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their daughter Marie Leblanc and her husband Alexis Cormier.

Germain Doucet Laverdure.

Germain also had two other children. He had a daughter, perhaps named Jeanne Doucet, born about 1640 in Acadia. It has been shown through DNA tests that this child had a Mi'kmaq or Abenaki Amerindian mother and was either Germain's natural or adopted child. Germain had another son as well, who was adopted. Germain Doucet II was born in 1641 in Acadia. A DNA study has shown that this adopted son had an Amerindian genetic father (haplogroup C3b). It is unknown if Germain Doucet lived with his adopted children's mother(s).

Germain Doucet arrived in New France very early, likely around 1632. He lived the prime of his life in Acadia and took part in some of the key historical events of early Acadian history. 

When the Treaty of Saint Germain en Laye was enacted and Isaac de Razilly, Lieutenant General of New France, along with Charles de Menou d’Aulnay and “300 hundred elite men” set out to retake Port Royal, Germain Doucet was probably among them. The Scottish settlers left peacefully when they arrived.

In 1635 Charles d’Aulnay went to Pentagoet to re-establish French authority over the region around northern Maine and the Penobscot River. The Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony sought to retake Pentagoet and the fur trade of the region. The French reinforced Pentagoet and made it into a small, but formidable fort. In 1636 Isaac de Razilly dies suddenly and d’Aulnay tries to take over as Razilly‘s successor. Both d’Aulnay and Charles de La Tour are appointed lieutenant governors by the King’s ministers. In 1636 the first families arrived to settle permanently in New France.

In 1650 Germain was in the farthest southern part of Acadia. He was Master at Arms at Pentagöuet (now Castine, Maine).

By 1645, after numerous sieges and naval encounters with La Tour and his men over the years, d’Aulnay finally succeeds in taking over all of Acadian territories and the lucrative trade business they provide. Five years later, in 1650, d’Aulnay died in a canoe accident. Germain Doucet is named acting commander at Port Royal and guardian of d’Aulnay’s Metis children. When the Sieur d'Aulnay died, Germain was remembered in his will. In recognition for his many years of "loyalty and affection," Doucet received 200 livres and with his “wife,” a promise of free food and 50 écus of rent per year for the rest of their lives.

In 1654 Germain Doucet was the Sieur de La Verdure and Master at Arms in Acadia. He was the Port Royal Commandant at the time of surrender to Roger Sedgwick on 16 Aug 1654. Germain Doucet Laverdure negotiated the terms and Sedgwick allowed the defenders to march out of the fort with flags flying, drums beating, and muskets at the ready. The soldiers and employees at the fort were offered transportation back to France and given enough pelts to cover their wages. This is when Germain decided to return to France. Germain's last known date of existence was in August 1654.

Although Germain decided to return to France, his children Pierre, Marguerite, Jeanne, and Germain remained in Port Royal, as did most Acadians. Germain was probably the main contributor of the name Doucet (Doucette) in North America. Through his natural son Pierre Doucet, he had 17 great-grandsons, and through his adopted Mi'kmaq or Abenaki son Germain Doucet, he had 22 great-grandsons.

Germain Doucet is the five-times seventh great-grandfather of Willy Collins through his daughter Marguerite Louise Doucet and her husband Abraham Dugas. [hyperlink to Abraham Dugas and Marguerite Louise Doucet.

Abraham Dugas and Marguerite Louise Doucet.

Abraham arrived in Port Royal around 1640, where he was given the designation of Lieutenant General. He married in 1647 in Port Royal, Marguerite Louise Doucet, born about 1625 in France, daughter of Germain Doucet Laverdure.

 Between about 1648 and 1667, Abraham Dugas and Marguerite Louise Doucet had eight children: Marie, Claude, Anne, Martin, Marguerite, Abraham, Madeleine, and Marie. Abraham owned a lot adjoining the side of the old Fort which was expropriated in 1701 to extend the fort at Port Royal.

 When their third child Anne was born in 1654, Port Royal was captured by Robert Sedgwick, who led 300 British soldiers and volunteers. Although the French commander of Port Royal left for France, most Acadians, including the Dugas family, remained in Acadia. They were permitted to retain their land and belongings and were guaranteed religious freedom.

In the 1671 census of Port Royal lists Abraham Dugas, a gunsmith age 55, living with his wife and their 8 children. They own 15 arpents of land, 19 head of cattle and 3 sheep. By 1671 the British had ceded Acadia to France and French settlement resumed. Abraham was involved with the rebuilding of Port Royal, including organizing the funding for construction of a new parish church. 

In 1678 there were three children living in the Dugas household. Abraham and Marguerite owned 20 head of cattle, 12 arpents of land and 1 gun.

By 1686, the children had left home and Abraham and Marguerite were living on their own. Within four years, their relative peace would be shattered by King William’s War (1689-1697) with France. In 1693, Abraham and Marguerite were living with their son Claude and his family on the south side of the Dauphin (Annapolis) River.

After about 50 years of marriage, Abraham died between 1693 and 1700 and Marguerite is listed as a widow in the 1700 Census. Marguerite died on 19 December 1707 at Port Royal. She was buried at the Saint Laurent Chapel.

Abraham Dugas and Marguerite Louise Doucet are the sixth, seventh, and eighth great-grandparents of Willy Collins through five family lines that run through three of their daughters’ family lines: Anne Dugas and her husband Charles Bourgeois, Marie Dugas and her husband Charles Mellanson Laramee, and Marguerite Dugas and her husband Pierre Arsenault.

Pierre Cyr Sire and Marie Bourgeois.

Pierre Cyr (Sire) was born in 1655 in Touraine, Loire, France. His parents’ names are not known. Pierre is said to have arrived in Port Royal on the ship Esperance en Dieu in 1668. He signed an accord of the parishioners of Port Royal on the construction of a church and the regulation of measurements. He married in 1670 in Port Royal, Marie Bourgeois, born 1652 in Port Royal, daughter of Jacques Bourgeois and Jeanne Trahan. In 1671, the family was living on a farm in Port Royal. They owned 11 cattle and 6 sheep. Pierre worked as a gunsmith.

Between 1671 and 1679, Pierre Cyr and Marie Bourgeois had three sons: Jean, Pierre, and Guillaume. Pierre Bourgeiois died in 1679 in Beaubassin, leaving Marie Bourgeois with three young children to raise. Marie Bourgeois married a second time, in Beaubassin on 9 June 1680 to Germain Girouard, son of François Girouard Laverdure and Jeanne Aucoin. Marie Bourgeois died 2 March 1741 in Amherst, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.

Pierre Cyr and Marie Bourgeois are the fifth great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their son Guillaume Cyr and his wife Marguerite Bourg. The Cyr name carried through six generations to Julie Cyr Vincent, mother of Marie Odile Samson who was Willy Collins’ mother.

Pierre Arsenault and Marguerite Dugas.

Pierre Arsenault is the pioneer who established one of the largest Acadian families. He was born about 1646 in France. His parents are unknown. Pierre arrived at Port Royal relatively late when compared to some of the other pioneers, arriving shortly before the 1671 census. He embarked from Rochefort on l’Oranger. He was a coastal pilot. 

Pierre was married twice. His first marriage took place in 1675 in Port Royal to Marguerite Dugas, born in 1657 in Port Royal, daughter of Abraham Dugas and Marguerite Louise Doucet who were amongst the first and most prominent immigrants to L’Acadie. Pierre Aresenualt and Marguerite Dugas had two sons, Pierre and Abraham. 

Along with Jacques Bourgeois, Pierre Arsenault founded the city of Beaubassin. Around 1672, Pierre collaborated with Jacques Bourgeois to found what started as the colony of “Bourgeois” and later became Beaubassin. 

Pierre’s first wife Marguerite Dugas died at age 29 around 1685 in Port Royal. Pierre Aresenault married a second time about 1685 to Marie Guerin, born in 1662 in Port Royal, the daughter of François Guerin and Anne Blanchard. A few years after their marriage, they moved to Beaubassin. Pierre Arsenault and Marie Guerin had seven children together. They witnessed the effects of the wars between France and England that included two English raids at Beaubassin. 

By 1714 we find Marie Guerin a widow with her five younger boys still at home. Pierre likely died between 1710 and 1714. Marie died sometime after 1723. 

Pierre Aresenault and his first wife Maguerite Dugas are the sixth great-grandparents of Willy Collins through their second son Abraham Arsenault and his wife Jeanne Gaudet. 

Jean Blanchard and Radeonde Lambert.

Blanchard is the ancestral patriarch of the Acadian Blanchard family. He was born 1611 at Martiaze, Loudun, Vienne, France. His parents are unknown. 

Around 1642, Jean married Radegonde Lambert, born about 1621 in France. Her parents are unknown. According to depositions of two descendants, Jean came from France "with his wife,“ perhaps meaning they came to Port Royal at the same time, estimated to be between 1642 and 1644. There have been suggestions that Radegonde was not French but of Amerindian heritage instead. However, DNA testing has put that story to rest, proving that she was born of a European mother.

Between around 1643 and 1656, the couple had six children: Madeleine, born 1643; Anne, born 1645; Martin, born 1647; Guillaume, born 1650; Bernard, born 1653; and Marie, born 1656. Jean Blanchard owned a lot adjoining the side of the old fort in Port Royal. He was among five who had received one of the first land grants at Port Royal. It is not clear how long the family lived near the fort. This land was expropriated in 1705 for the extension of the fort of Port Royal.

The first mention of Jean Blanchard and Radegonde Lambert in Acadia is in the 1671 census of Port Royal. He is listed as a plowman laborer. They are already around 60 and 50 years old respectively, and their six children, aged between 15 and 28, are living with them. They own 12 cattle, 9 sheep and 5 arpents of land. By 1678, Jean and Radegonde resided with their son Guillaume and his family. Jean died after the 1686 Census where he is listed as living in Port Royal at the advanced age of 75, with Radegonde age 65.

Jean Blanchard and Radeonde Lambert are the sixth and seventh great-grandparents of Willy Collins. They are seventh great-grandparents through their daughter Anne Blanchard and her husband Pierre Gaudet l’Aine. They are sixth and seventh great-grandparents through their son Guillaume Blanchard and his wife Huguette Gougeon.

Pierre Mellanson Laverdure and Priscilla.

Pierre Mellanson Laverdure was born about 1602 in France. His parents are unknown.  He married about 1631 in England Priscilla (last name unknown) who was born about 1602 in Yorkshire, England. Pierre Mellanson Laverdure was a French Huguenot Protestant who had fled France for England, fearing religious persecution. There he met and married his wife Priscilla.

In the summer of 1657, Pierre Mellanson, his wife Priscilla, and at least three sons, Pierre, Charles and John, arrived from England aboard the ship Satisfaction at Fort Saint John, Acadia. Pierre, his English wife and sons were all Protestants. They were among a group of colonist coming to settle under Sir Thomas Temple, newly-named governor of English-controlled Acadia. 

Acadia remained under English rule until the Treaty of Breda was signed in 1667, transferring it back to France. Once again fearing religious persecution, Pierre, Priscilla, and their son, John, sought refuge in Boston. The elder sons, Pierre and Charles, had already converted to Catholicism, married French Catholic women and started families. They remained in Acadia. Although the reason remains unclear, the Laverdure brothers who stayed in Acadia used the surname Mellanson. Their brother John who went to New England kept the name Laverdure.

Sometime after arriving in Boston, Pierre Mellanson Laverdure died, about 1676. Priscilla remarried at Boston (Dorchester), Massachusetts, 8 April 1680 to Captain William Wright, Senior. She remained in Boston and died there in 1692.

Pierre and Priscilla’s son Charles Mellanson Laramee stayed in Acadia and married Marie Dugas who was born 1648 in Port Royal, the daughter of Abraham Dugas and Marguerite Louise Doucet. Their daughter Isabelle Melanson would marry Michel Bourg.

Pierre Mellanson Laverdure and Priscilla are the two times seventh great-grandparents of Willy Collins, through their son Charles Mellanson Laramee and his wife Marie Dugas and then through their daughter Isabelle Mellanson and her husband Michel Bourg.