Claude Guédry - Grandson of Claude Guédry and Marguerite Petitpas

Uncertainty looms as to the parents of Claude Guédry, grandson of Claude Guédry and Marguerite Petitpas and husband first of Anne Lejeune and second of Anne Moise. In the Summer Issue of Generations (Vol. 4 #2) we provided information on the potential parents of Claude Guédry . Two documents were recently located that shed additional light on Claude Guédry's parents. For continuity we are repeating much of the previous information and then discussing the recently-located documents.

The Census of Île Royale and Île St-Jean in 1752 lists Claude's age as 38 years (born about 1714) ^{1 , 2} while all later records indicate that he was born about 1726. If he were born about 1726, any of the nine sons of Claude Guédry and Marguerite Petitpas were old enough to be his father. They include Claude Guédry, born about 1682; Jean-Baptiste Guédry, born about 1684; Charles Guédry, born about 1686; Alexis Guédry, born about 1688; Augustin Guédry, born about 1690; Claude Guédry, born in 1694, Joseph Guédry, born in 1695, Pierre Guédry, born in 1698 and Paul Guédry, born in 1701. ³

Of these only Jean-Baptiste Guédry, Augustin Guédry, Pierre Guédry and Paul Guédry are known to have married. Some researchers believe that Charles Guédry married an Amerindienne; however, no record of their marriage has been found. Jean-Baptiste married Madeleine Mius d'Azy about 1708. Augustin married Jeanne Hébert about 1722. Pierre married Marguerite Brasseau about 1721 and Paul married Anne-Marie Mius d'Azy about 1720.

Mr. Stephen A. White, genealogist at the Centre d'Études Acadiennes at the University of Moncton in Moncton, New Brunswick and one of the foremost authorities on early Acadian genealogy, cites Jean-Baptiste Guédry as the probable father of Claude Guédry. In making this determination, he assumes Claude was born about 1714. ⁴ Other Acadian researchers believe that Charles Guédry was likely the father of Claude and they often cite Claude's birth year as about 1726.

The first record that we have of Claude Guédry is the Census of Île Royale and Île St-Jean in 1752 when Claude Guédry and his family were enumerated at Anse au Matelost, Île St-Jean between May and July 1752. ^{1 , 2} In this census Claude was listed as 38 years of age (i.e., born about 1714) and his wife Anne Terriaud (actually should be Anne Lejeune) was also 38 years of age (i.e., born about 1714). Their children were: Jean Baptiste, age 5 years (born about 1747), Joseph Marie, age 2 years (born about 1750) and Pierre Janvier, age 2 months (born in 1752).

In November 1758 Claude Guédry and his family were deported to France from Île St-Jean. On 23 January 1759 they arrived at St. Malo, France on one of the Five Ships. At this time a Roll of the Inhabitants of Île Royale, Île St-Jean, Gaspee and other places near the English whom the King granted the subsistence calculated to the day of disembarking was taken as the Acadians disembarked from their ship onto French soil. ^{5 , 6} Claude Guédry was listed as 33 years of age (i.e., born about 1725), his wife Anne Lejeune is 34 years of age (i.e., born about 1724) and their children were: Jean Baptiste, age 9 years (born about 1749), Joseph, age 7 years (born about 1751), Pierre, age 5 years (born about 1753), Charles, age 3 years (born about 1755) and Augustin, age 10 months (born in 1758).

In 1762 the French took a General Roll of the Inhabitants of Île Royale and Île St-Jean Distributed by Parish for the Year 1762. ^{7 , 8} At Chateauneuf, France were Claude Guédry, age 36 years (i.e., born about 1726), his wife Anne Moise and their children: Jean Baptiste, age 12 years (born about 1750), Joseph, age 10 years (born about 1752) and Pierre, age 8 years (born about 1754). Over the next two decades a number of censuses for various reasons were taken of the Acadians by the French. In September 1772 the Role of the Truly Acadian Families was taken. ^{9 , 10} In the St. Malo area were Claude Guédry, age 43 years (i.e., born about 1729), his wife Anne Moise, age 39 years (i.e., born about 1733) and their children of which the oldest were: Jean Baptiste, age 22 years (born about 1750), Joseph, age 20 years (born about 1752) and Pierre, age 19 years (born about 1753).

Claude Guédry and his family decided in 1784 to leave France for a new life in Louisiana. On 12 August 1785 Claude, his wife Anne Moise and their children boarded La Ville d'Archangel for their long voyage to a new land. On the passenger manifest Claude Guédry is 60 years of age (i.e., born about 1725) and his wife Anne Moise is 54 years old (i.e., born about 1731). Claude's three oldest sons by this time had married and traveled separately to Louisiana. Jean-Baptiste Guedry, boarding Le Bon Papa on 10 May 1785, was 36 years of age (born about 1749). Joseph Guedry and Pierre Guedry, boarding Le Beaumont on 11 June 1785, were 36 years of age (i.e., born about 1749) and 31 years of age (i.e., born about 1754) respectively. ^{11 , 12 , 13}

With the exception of the Census of Île Royale and Île St-Jean in 1752 all of the various enumeration records provide a birth year for Claude Guédry in the timeframe of 1725-1729 - most often 1725-1726. In the Census of Île Royale and Île St-Jean in 1752 Claude Guédry was listed as being born about 1714. Furthermore, his first three children Jean-Baptiste, Joseph Marie and Pierre Janvier are listed in all of the enumerations (including that of 1752) as having been born in the timeframes 1747-1750, 1749-1752 and 1752-1754 respectively.

Converting a person's age to his/her year of birth in a census record has a potential error of one year due to the timing of the enumeration within the year compared to the actual birth date of the person. Also, people in the 1700's were less concerned about age than we are today and thus often unknowingly may have provided an incorrect age to the enumerators for themselves and their family. The above timeframes for Claude's and his sons' birth years, therefore, have a quite narrow range. It thus seems that the Census of Île Royale and Île St. Jean in 1752 assigned an age for Claude and his wife that was approximately twelve years too old. This potential error may have occurred because Claude provided incorrect ages to the enumerator, the enumerator may have erred in recording the ages provided or a transcriber may have misread the ages as written.

There are instances in the Census of Île Royale and Île St-Jean in 1752 where the ages of persons are incorrect by several years and occasionally by as much as ten years or more. Furthermore, other errors are found in this census. For example, the spouses of Joseph Trahan and Claude Guédry are both given as Anne Terriaud. Interestingly, in the Census the family of Joseph Trahan ¹⁴ immediately precedes that of Claude Guédry. We know that the spouse of Claude Guédry was Anne Lejeune - not Anne Terriaud.

Other, less direct evidence that supports Claude Guédry being born about 1726 is that, according to the Census of Île Royale and Île St-Jean in 1752, Claude Guédry and Anne Lejeune would each have been about 33 years old when their first child Jean Baptiste was born. The other enumerations place their ages in 1752 at approximately 21 years. Most Acadian women were in their teen years or early twenties when their first child was born. The men were about the same age or a few years older at most. It would have been very unusual for an Acadian woman of the 1700's to have her first child when she was more than thirty years old.

The available evidence as discussed above supports that Claude Guédry was born about 1725-1726. Who then fathered Claude Guédry?

Jean-Baptiste Guédry and Madeleine Mius d'Azy married about 1708 and had children from about 1710 (the approximate year that Jean-Baptiste Guédry fils was born) until 1716 when Joseph Guédry was born. If Claude Guédry were their son, they would have gone childless almost a decade before having Claude about 1726. For an Acadian couple in the 1700's this would have been quite rare.

Charles Guédry does not appear in the records after 1708 when he was unmarried and 21 years of age. Some researchers, however, believe he had an Amerindienne wife. Bona Arsenault ¹⁵ states that he had a son Jacques in 1724; however, it appears that this may be an error and that the parents of Jacques Guédry were Paul Guédry and Anne-Marie Mius d'Azy.

Augustin Guédry and Jeanne Hébert married about 1722 and had children from 1723 with the twin girls Hélène and Marie-Josephe until Pierre was born about 1741. Although they had Jeanne about 1725, there was a gap from 1726 through 1730 when they had no children. It is, therefore, possible that Claude Guédry could be the child of Augustin Guédry and Jeanne Hébert.

Pierre Guédry dit Labine and Marguerite Brasseau married about 1721 and had children from 1722 when Marie-Josephe was born until about 1742 when Agnès was born. During the timeframe in question Pierre Guédry and Marguerite Brasseau had Pierre about 1723, Jean-Baptiste Augustin about 1725, Charles about 1726 and Marguerite about 1727. Thus it appears very unlikely that Pierre Guédry and Marguerite Brasseau were the parents of Claude Guédry.

Paul Guédry and Anne-Marie Mius d'Azy married about 1720. Their first child Judith was born in 1722 and their last child François was born about 1749. About 1724 they had Jacques and around 1730 Jean Anselme was born. They appear not to have had any children between these two sons. Thus it is possible that Claude Guédry, born about 1726, could have been the son of Paul Guédry and Anne-Marie Mius d'Azy.

The records at this time are mute as to whether the other sons of Claude Guédry and Marguerite Petitpas had any children during their lives. These sons are: Claude born in 1682, Alexis, Claude born in 1694 and Joseph.

Either Augustin Guédry, husband of Jeanne Hébert, or Paul Guédry, husband of Anne-Marie Mius d'Azy, seem most probable to have fathered Claude Guédry, born about 1726. It appears unlikely that either JeanBaptiste Guédry, Charles Guédry or Pierre Guédry fathered Claude Guédry. We cannot eliminate one of the other sons of Claude Guédry and Marguerite Petitpas (Claude born in 1682, Alexis, Claude born in 1694 or Joseph) as being Claude Guédry's father although it seems unlikely that any of them were his father as we have found no children in the records for any of them.

In the Archivo General de Indias, "Papeles Procedentes de Cuba" (commonly called the Cuban Papers) which encompasses the various military and governmental papers when Spain ruled Louisiana from 1763-1803 are found two short documents (a letter and a license) that shed light on the parents of Claude Guédry. On 13 November 1785 Alexandre DeClouet, commandant of the Attakapas and Opelousas Posts, wrote the Governor that two Acadian brothers from Manchac - Jean and Pierre Guédry - appeared before him with a passport to visit their uncle. ^16a On 22 November 1785 Commandant DeClouet issued a license to Jean and Pierre Guédry to visit their uncle. ^16b

These two documents written in late 1785 allowing the two brothers from Manchac to visit their uncle in the Attakapas/Opelousas area strongly imply that the brothers had recently arrived with the 1785 Expedition of Acadians from France to Louisiana. There were only two sets of brothers with the names Jean and Pierre Guédry above the age of twelve on these ships. Jean-Baptiste Guédry, ca. 36 years old in 1785 and the husband of Marguerite Lebert, and Pierre-Janvier Guédry, ca. 31 years old in 1785 and the husband of MarieJosephe Lebert, were the sons of Claude Guédry and Anne Lejeune. They initially settled in the St. Gabriel (Manchac) area.

Pierre Guédry, ca. 23 years old in 1785 and the husband of Louise Blandin, and Jean Guédry, ca. 17 years old in 1785 and single, were the sons of Charles Guédry and Anne Bourg. On reaching Louisiana, they initially settled near present-day Baton Rouge.

Since the two brothers Jean and Pierre Guédry mentioned in the passport were from Manchac, they certainly were Jean-Baptiste Guédry and Pierre-Janvier Guédry, sons of Claude Guédry and Anne Lejeune dit Briard.

Both brothers Jean-Baptiste and Pierre-Janvier along with their parents and another brother Joseph-Marie Guédry were deported in late 1758 to France - arriving at St. Malo, France on 23 January 1759 on one of the Five Ships. They remained in France until 1785 during which time the two brothers married sisters - JeanBaptiste married Marguerite Lebert and Pierre-Janvier married Marie-Josephe Lebert. The two wives were the daughters of Paul Lebert and Marie-Madeleine LaPierre.

In 1785 the entire family of Claude Guédry left France with the Acadian Expedition for Louisiana; however, they boarded separate ships. Jean-Baptiste Guédry with his wife and four children embarked from Nantes on the Le Bon Papa on 10 May 1785 and arrived in New Orleans on 29 July 1785. Pierre-Janvier Guédry with his wife, four children and a nephew embarked from Nantes on Le Beaumont on 11 June 1785 and disembarked at New Orleans on 19 August 1785. Their brother Joseph-Marie Guédry also came to New Orleans on Le Beaumont with his family. Claude Guédry, their widowed father embarked from Nantes on La Ville d'Archangel on 12 August 1785 with his second wife Anne Moise and his remaining six children. They arrived at New Orleans on 3 December 1785.

After arriving at New Orleans, the Acadians typically remained about a month there recuperating from the voyage and selecting where they would establish their new homes. All of Claude Guédry's family initially decided to settle at Manchac (near today's St. Gabriel, LA). The two brothers Jean-Baptiste and Pierre-Janvier would have arrived at Manchac in the Fall of 1785. Later in the 1790s they would both move their families to the Bayou Lafourche area.

The passport allowed the brothers Jean and Pierre Guédry to travel from Manchac to the Attakapas and Opelousas area.

The license allowed Jean and Pierre Guédry to visit their unnamed uncle. Who was this uncle? A clue may lie in who signed the license - Mr. DeClouet. Alexandre Declouet was the Commandant of the Attakapas and Opelousas Posts in 1785 - the area near present-day St. Martinsville, Louisiana and Opelousas, Louisiana. Note that in the license he stated "this post near their uncle" - likely referring to his Posts of the Attakapas and Opelousas.

Living in the Opelousas area in 1785 was Pierre Guédry, son of Augustin Guédry and Jeanne Hébert, with his third wife Marguerite Miller and their children. This was the only Guédry family near the Attakapas and Opelousas Posts in 1785. All other Guédry families were living east of the Atchafalaya Swamp along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

Jean-Baptiste and Pierre-Janvier never would have met Pierre Guédry previously as they were young boys living on Île Saint-Jean when they were deported to France in 1758 and Pierre Guédry was deported in late 1755 from Georges Island in the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia to North Carolina. They were certainly aware of Pierre Guédry from the correspondence that the Acadians in Louisiana maintained with the Acadians in France and from conversations with their parents and relatives in France.

Another uncle of Jean-Baptiste Guédry and Pierre-Janvier Guédry living in the Opelousas area in 1785 was Paul Boutin, husband Ursule Guédry. Ursule Guédry was the sister of Pierre Guédry above and thus the daughter of Augustin Guédry and Jeanne Hébert. Paul Boutin and Ursule Guédry also were deported from Georges Island in Nova Scotia to North Carolina in late 1755.

These documents provide a significant clue as to the identity of the parents of Claude Guédry. If Pierre Guédry or Paul Boutin was the uncle of Jean-Baptiste and Pierre-Janvier mentioned in the documents, then the parents of Claude Guédry would have been Augustin Guédry and Jeanne Hébert. There were no other paternal uncles of Jean-Baptiste and Pierre-Janvier in the Attakapas and Opelousas areas.

There were no Lejeune siblings or in-laws of Anne Lejeune, first wife of Claude Guédry living in the area of the Attakapas and Opelousas in 1785. Anne Lejeune was the daughter of Germain Lejeune and Marie Anne Trahan. All of the Lejeune's living in the Attakapas and Opelousas areas in 1785 were children of JeanBaptiste Lejeune and Marguerite Trahan. Jean-Baptiste Lejeune was a nephew of Germain Lejeune and cousin of Anne Lejeune. Marguerite Trahan and Marie Anne Trahan also were cousins. There were no Moise (Moyse) families in the Attakapas and Opelousas areas in 1785. All of the siblings of Anne Moise died prior to 1785 in France or during the deportation to France.

The only two uncles of Jean-Baptiste Guédry and Pierre-Janvier Guédry in the Attakapas and Opelousas areas, therefore, were Pierre Guédry and Paul Boutin, husband of Ursule Guédry. The parents of Pierre and Ursule were Augustin Guédry and Jeanne Hébert.

The letter and license, coupled with earlier cenuses and lists thus confirm that the parents of Claude Guédry, husband first of Anne Lejeune and second of Anne Moise, was the son of Augustin Guédry and Jeanne Hébert.