1. Pierre Arsenault

Almost all of the Arsenault’s in North America are the descendants of Pierre Arsenault, who arrived in Acadia around 1671. It is not known where in France he originated, but it is likely that he came from the central-western part of the country. The family name Arsenault is still to be found in the Poitou and Charentes regions, but it is generally spelled Arsonnaud. Today, the descendants of Pierre Arsenault, widely distributed across North America, spell their name in different ways, mainly Arsenault, Arseneault, Arseneau and Arceneaux.

Pierre Arsenault was born around 1646 and he was about 25 years old when he came to Acadia. He settled in Port Royal where he was a coastal pilot employed by Jacques Bourgeois, a merchant and one of the most prosperous inhabitants of the new colony. In approximately 1675, Pierre married Marguerite Dugas, daughter of Abraham Dugas and Marguerite Doucet. This union produced two sons, Pierre and Abraham. Marguerite died while still young and Pierre remarried sometime around 1689 to Marie Guérin, daughter of Francois Guérin and Anne Blanchard. At that time, Pierre was 43 years old and Marie was 27. They gave birth to one girl, Anne, and six boys: Charles, Jacques, Francois, Claude (called Ambroise), Abraham (called "le petit") and Augustin.

Around 1687, Pierre Arsenault moved his family to the new settlement of Beaubassin, founded by Jacques Bourgeois and located on the isthmus of Chignecto. It is thought that Pierre's farm was located close to where the present Nova Scotia Tourist Information Centre now stands, not far from the New Brunswick border. According to the 1603 census, Pierre Arsenault was a relatively prosperous settler, owning 14 cattle, 10 sheep and 5 pigs. He also had 8 acres of land in production and the enumerator noted that he owned two guns.

Documents do not reveal the date of Pierre Arsenault's death. It is known, however, that he passed away sometime between the census of 1707 and the census of 1714.

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