The Origins of the Acadian Families — 15

Arsenault

Pierre Arsenault, born in France around 1646, is the principal ancestor of all the Arsenaults in North America. He arrived in Acadie around 1671. He settled in Port-Royal and then moved to Beaubassin (near present-day Amherst, Nova Scotia). He was married twice. His first wife was Marguerite Dugas, and his second was Marie Guérin. In 1728, his son Pierre and his grand-son Charles settled with their families on Malpeque Bay. They were later joined by other close relatives. There were 14 Arsenault families living on Isle Saint-Jean in 1752.

It would appear that the Arsenaults avoided being deported in 1758 by escaping to the Restigouche area at the head of Chaleur Bay. After the Treaty of Paris, several families re- turned to Malpeque Bay. There were 15 Arsenault families living there in 1798.

Aucoin / Wedge

The Aucoin and the Wedge families can trace their ances- try back to Martin Aucoin, who was born in La Rochelle, France, in 1651. He arrived in Acadie around 1680, settling first in Beaubassin and then in Grand-Pré, where he married Marie Gaudet. Their great-grandson, Jean Aucoin, is the pa- ternal ancestor of all the Aucoin and Wedge families on Prince Edward Island. Born in 1748 in Grand-Pré, Jean and his par- ents were deported to Pennsylvania in 1755. He was a young man by the time he set foot on the shores of Isle Saint-Jean. He married Rosalie Bernard in Malpeque around 1780. Eleven of their 12 children settled in Mont-Carmel.

Jean Aucoin signed a petition in 1790 under the name of John Wedge. Today, the anglicized form of the name is more common on the Island than Aucoin.

Barriault

Nicolas Barriault is the ancestor of the Barriaults in Acadie. Born in France in 1646, he married Martine Hébert around 1682 and later settled in Pisiquid (Windsor, Nova Scotia). Their son Pierre moved to Isle Saint-Jean around 1750 but was deported to France with his family. Pierre’s son, Olivier, crossed the Atlantic again in 1774 in order to settle in Carleton, on the Gaspé Peninsula (Québec).

The Barriaults in the Evangeline Region are descendants of Olivier’s grandson, Charles Barriault, who was born in 1796 in Carleton. His parents moved to Saint-Louis-de-Kent in New Brunswick, where Charles married Marguerite Robichaud.

Francoise Arsenault Gallant (c. 1805-1907). Born in Malpeque, Francoise moved with her parents, Paul Arsenault and Clair Brun, to Mont-Carmel in 1812. She married Jean Gallant in 1830 and had eight children. Many people in the region today are de- scendants of these chil- dren. Francoise lived to be 102. It would appear that she wore the tradi- tional Acadian costume until her death, even though it was no longer considered fashionable by the 1870s. (Musée acadien Collection)