The Origins of the Acadian Families — 19 
     
    
   
   
    
     Poirier / Perry 
     
    
   
   
    
     Jehan Poirier and his nephew, Michel Poirier, both born in 
     
     France, were the first Poiriers in Acadie. Jehan married Jeanne 
     
     Chebrat around 1648 before leaving France for Port-Royal. 
     
     Their two children later moved to Beaubassin. Jehan’s nephew, 
     
     Michel Poirier, was born in 1651 and married Marie Chiasson 
     
     around 1673. They too settled in Beaubassin. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Several Poirier families were deported to the Anglo-Ameri- 
     
     can colonies in 1755, others were able to take refuge along 
     
     the Miramichi River and in the Chaleur Bay area, while some 
     
     family members managed to stay in the Beaubassin area. A 
     
     few of these families eventually moved to the Island. There 
     
     were six Poirier families living in Malpeque by 1798, some of 
     
     whom had settled on the Island prior to the Deportation of 
     
     1758. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Today, there are many Acadian families on the Island with 
     
     the name Perry, the anglicized form of Poirier that was al- 
     
     ready being used as early as 1790. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Jean Richard (1824- 
     
     1915). Son of Thomas 
     
     Richard (son of Charles) 
     
     and Suzanne Aucoin 
     
     from Mont-Carmel, 
     
    

    
     he married first Marie 
     
     Arsenault, and then 
     
     Perpétue Doucet. Jean 
     
     Richard had four chil- 
     
     dren. He was one of the 
     
     parish wardens for many 
     
     years. (Marguerite Richard 
     
     Collection) 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Richard 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Richards on the Island can trace their 
     
     roots back to Michel Richard, nicknamed 
     
     Sansoucy, who was born in France in 1630. 
     
     He arrived in Acadie in the 1650s. He mar- 
     
     ried Madeleine Blanchard in Port-Royal 
     
     and, later, Jeanne Babin. 
     
    
   
   
    
     One of Michel’s grandsons, Alexandre 
     
     Richard, moved from Beaubassin to 
     
     Malpeque around 1741 with his wife 
     
     Madeleine Thibodeau. During the Depor- 
     
     tation, the Chaleur Bay served as a haven 
     
     for several members of this family, includ- 
     
     ing the grandsons of Alexandre, Joseph and 
     
     Charles Richard. These two brothers mar- 
     
     ried the sisters Rosalie and Marie Poirier. 
     
     Their return to Malpeque Bay around 1780 
     
     marked the return of the surname Poirier 
     
     to Prince Edward Island. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Five of Charles Richard and Marie 
     
     Poirier’s children are among the founding 
     
     families of the parish of Mont-Carmel.