Survival of a Family: The Family of Augustin Guédry and Jeanne Hebert

by Marty Guidry

The year 2005 marks the 250th Anniversary since the start of the Acadian deportations in September 1755. Fearing English repression, the Acadians had begun migrating from Acadie over a decade earlier and resettled in the remaining French territories of the northeastern Atlantic. Such was the case with the children of Augustin Guedry and Jeanne Hebert.

Augustin Guedry, son of Claude Guedry and Marguerite Petitpas, married Jeanne Hebert about 1721 in Acadie. The parents of Jeanne Hebert are not known with certainty at this time. Augustin Guedry, born in 1690, and his wife Jeanne Hebert probably died prior to 1755 as we have no record of their deportation nor of them moving from their home in Acadie. Their four daughters and three sons did suffer the deprivations and turmoil of moving from their homeland and then being deported.

Marie-Josephe and Helene (twins born in 1723), Jeanne (born 1725), Jean-Baptiste (born about 1728), Ursule (born 1731), Joseph (born 1735) and Pierre (born 1741) experienced this tragedy. Most departed their beloved Acadian homeland as early as 1749 and moved west to the French colony of Ile Royale.

In early April 1752 Marie-Joseph Guedry and her husband Charles Boutin were living at Baie des Espagnols on Ile Royale (today North Sydney, Cape Breton Island) ¹ With the young couple were their three children: Jean Charles, Olive and Marie Francoise as well as Eleine (Helene) Guedry, Marie-Josephe's twin sister. Living adjacent to Marie Joseph and Charles were Paul Boutin and Eustache (Ursule) Guedry with her brother Pierre Guedry. ¹ They had two sheep and one hen and had made a clearing on which they sowed a peck of oats and a bushel of peas.

Just southeast of the Baie des Espagnols at Riviere de Mire lived Jeanne Guedry and her husband Julien Bourneuf with four daughters (Anne, Jeanne, Julienne and Sophie) from the marriage of Julien and his first wife along with Jeanne's brother Joseph Guedry and Renee Guillaume, the sister of Julien Bourneuf ² . Julien had settled on Ile Royale in 1749 and had one pig and three fowl in 1752. The marriage certificate of Julien Bourneuf and Jeanne Guedry dated 14 January 1751 was recorded at Louisbourg ³ . On 26 July 1752 their son Francois Bourneuf was baptized at Louisbourg ⁴ as was their daughter Francoise Bourneuf on 30 June 1754 ⁵ .

During their stay on Ile Royale these families certainly visited the Fortress of Louisbourg only a short distance to the south of them. There they could receive needed supplies and religious services. A severe drought and poor soil at Baie des Espagnols and Riviere de Mire did not provide enough food resources in the early 1750's; therefore in 1754 a group of 25 Acadians including Charles Boutin, Paul Boutin, Julien Bourneuf, Pierre Guedry and Joseph Guedry left Louisbourg to escape death by starving and arrived at Halifax. Their families accompanied them. On 24 August 1754 William Cotterell, the Governor's Secretary in Halifax, wrote to Colonel Sutherland, Commander at Lunenburg (formerly Merligueche) stating that several of the party were closely related to Old Labrador (very likely Paul Guedry, the younger brother of Augustin Guedry) and were former inhabitants of Merligueche. He informed the Colonel to treat them kindly, feed them and provide land and tools to them ⁶ .

Their stay at Lunenburg was short as some, if not all, of these displaced Guedry families returned to other areas of Acadie including Pisiquid and Ile Royale. On 28 September 1755 the death of young Francoise Bourneuf, daughter of Julien Bourneuf and Jeanne Guedry, was recorded at Louisbourg ⁷ . Two weeks later Jeanne Guedry and Julien Bourneuf baptized their daughter Marie Bourneuf at the Fortress ⁸ . Tragedy again struck Julien Bourneuf as he had to bury his wife Jeanne Guedry at Louisbourg on 15 October 1755 ⁹ and his young daughter Marie there on 16 October 1755 ¹⁰ .

The English deported most of Augustin Guedry's children to the eastern Atlantic seaboard; however, Jeanne Guedry, wife of Julien Bourneuf, died on Ile Royale in October 1755, and Julien was exiled to France with his children. Apparently, Helene Guedry and Marie-Josephe Guedry also died before or during the deportation as we have no record of either after 1754.

On 20 June 1763, a census was taken of the Acadians in Pennsylvania. Near the end of this census are sequentially Paul Boutin and his wife Ursule Guedry with six children, Joseph Guedry and his wife Magdelaine with three children and Pierre Guedry, a boy ^{11 , 12 , 13} . But how did they get to Pennsylvania?  Uncertainty looms in this area. None of them appear on a census taken at the beginning of 1757 of 424 Acadians in Pennsylvania ¹⁴ . Did they first go to Maryland and then resettle in Pennsylvania after 1757? Had they arrived at Providence Island on the Delaware River outside Philadelphia in mid-November 1755 among a group of 454 deported Acadians on three ships the Hannah, the Swan and the Three Friends and subsequently not been censused in 1757? Were they in Pennsylvania for only a brief period in 1763 which coincided with the census being taken? It seems probable that they left Lunenburg shortly after arriving in August 1754 and went to Pisiquid where they were exiled either on the Sloop Three Friends to Providence Island near Philadelphia, PA or on the Sloop Dolphin to Lower Marlboro, MD.

If any Guedrys lived in Pennsylvania, where they resided is uncertain. Despite the harsh living conditions experienced in Pennsylvania, these Acadians maintained close ties with their relatives in Maryland. During 1766 and 1767 from 150 to 200 Acadians departed Pennsylvania for Chesapeake Bay ports in Maryland. Pierre Guedry, Joseph Guedry and Paul Boutin with his wife Ursule Guedry and children must have been among this group if they did live in Pennsylvania. In late 1767 Pierre Guedry and Joseph Guedry were in Port Tobacco, MD where Anne Dupuis, widow of Jean Baptiste Guedry, lived with her five children. In mid-1767 Paul Boutin, Ursule Guedry and their children were in the Baltimore, MD area. 

Censused at Port Tobacco, MD on 7 July 1763 were Jean Gaidris (Guedry), his wife Anne Gaidris and their four children ^{15 , 16 , 17} . Anne Gaidris' maiden name was Dupuis. This family was Jean Baptiste Guedry, his wife Anne Magdelaine Dupuis and their four children Firmin, Jean, Magdelaine and Monique. Jean-Baptiste Guedry and his family were exiled from Pisiquid, Acadie on 27 October 1755 aboard the Sloop Dolphin holding 227 Acadian exiles. They arrived at Annapolis, MD on 30 November 1755 with 180 exiles onboard the Dolphin. While at sea the Dolphin encountered a furious gale and had to seek harbor at Boston with five other transports on 5 November 1755. There 47 Acadians were removed from the Dolphin due to overcrowding and poor health conditions. After reaching Annapolis, MD on 30 November 1755 the exiles were forced to remain onboard and sail to the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay and then up the Patuxent River to Lower Marlboro, MD, which they reached in early December, 1755. Jean-Baptiste Guedry and his family eventually traveled to Port Tobacco, MD where they settled.

Jean Baptiste Guedry was almost certainly the son of Augustin Guedry and Jeanne Hebert. An inventory filed on 10 December 1782 in Ascension Parish, LA at the death of Joseph Guedry, husband of AnneMonique Dupuis and widower of Magdelaine Melancon, provides the definitive proof that establishes the parentage of Jean-Baptiste Guedry ^{18 , 19 , 40} . Jean Baptiste Guedry died between July 1763 and December 1767 when his widow and children departed Maryland for Louisiana.

In February 1768 twenty-nine Acadian families (approximately 149 persons) arrived in New Orleans, LA from Maryland ^{20 , 21} . Arriving on the ship Jane that left the North Potomac area of Maryland on December 17, 1767 ²² , the Acadians came from Port Tobacco and Upper Marlboro, MD. The Spanish resettled these Acadians near Fort St. Louis de Natchez on the Mississippi River (present-day Vidalia, LA) in February 1768.

Among the new arrivals ^{21 , 23} were:

* Pierre Guedry, his wife Marguerite Dupuis, their daughter Marie, who was 3 years old, and an orphaned boy Olivier Babin;

* Joseph Guedry with his wife Magdelaine Melancon, three children Joseph, Simon and Magdelaine and an orphaned girl Marguerite Babin

* Anne Dupuis, widow of Jean-Baptiste Guedry, with her five children Firmin Guedry, Jean Baptiste Guedry, Magdelaine Guedry, Monica Guedry and Elizabeth Guedry.

Interestingly, in February 1768 when the Jane arrived, the Spanish controlled New Orleans and Louisiana. In the two lists of names of Acadians arriving in New Orleans in February 1768, the name Guedry is spelled both as Lledri and as Landri which are reasonable considering a Spanish scribe phonetically translated the name Guedry as it was spoken in French.

Although the two lists above do not include the surnames of Pierre Guedry's and Joseph Guedry's spouses, we know their names from other records. In Pierre Guedry's will ²⁴ he states that his first wife was Marguerite Dupuis and that they had two children who died in infancy. On 24 May 1773 Joseph Guedry married Anne Monique Dupuis and in their marriage contract ^{25 , 26} Joseph Guedry is listed as the widower of Magdelaine Melancon.

The stay of these Acadians at Fort St. Louis de Natchez was brief, but tragic. Swampy in nature, this area was heavily infested with mosquitos and other pests leading to considerable disease and death among the Acadians. Furthermore, Indians near the fort presented an everpresent danger to the defenseless Acadians. Finally, the long distance from the fort to New Orleans, the only economic outlet for their crops of wheat and tobacco, was too great to allow any profit to the Acadians. After spending almost two years near the disease-ridden Fort St. Louis de Natchez, the Acadians in December 1769 successfully petitioned the Spanish government to resettle them downriver at St. Gabriel, LA - near their fellow Maryland Acadians who had arrived in Louisiana in July 1767.

In his first year at Fort St. Louis de Natchez Pierre Guedry lost his wife Marguerite Dupuis, his daughter Marie and an infant child born to the young couple shortly after arriving in Louisiana. On 23 January 1769 Pierre Guedry married Claire Babin, daughter of Antoine Babin and Catherine Landry ^{27 , 28} . In the marriage contract both Pierre and Claire are listed as residing in Natchez; however, the marriage was recorded in St. Francis Catholic Church in Pointe Coupee, LA - about 60 miles downriver from Natchez. Did the priest from St. Francis Church visit Fort St. Louis de Natchez to perform the needed religious ceremonies for the struggling young community? Claire Babin arrived in New Orleans on the Jane in February 1768 with her widowed mother and brothers and sisters. She and her family, like the other passengers aboard the Jane were sent to Fort St. Louis de Natchez.

Shortly after receiving permission to depart Fort St. Louis de Natchez, Pierre and Claire resettled near St. Gabriel, LA reuniting with their fellow Maryland Acadians who had arrived in Louisiana in July, 1767. On 1 August 1770 Pierre Guedry with his wife Claire and their five month old son Pierre was living on the left (east) bank of the Mississippi River in Ascension Parish, LA near his widowed brother Joseph Guedry ^{29 , 30} . On 24 May 1773 Pierre Guedry was a witness to the marriage of his brother Joseph to Anne Monique Dupuis in Ascension Parish, LA ^{25 , 26} .

By early 1776 Pierre Guedry had moved his young family to the Opelousas area of St. Landry Parish, LA. On 15 April 1776 he is listed on the role of men exempt from duty with the Spanish Militia Company at Opelousas due to status, age or infirmity ^{31 , 32 , 33} . Pierre and his growing family remained in the Opelousas area for the next 17 years as evidenced by census records, baptismal records of his children and even his marriage to Marguerite Miller about 1781 after the death of Claire Babin. Between late 1793 and early 1795 Pierre Guidry and his wife Marguerite Miller resettled their now large family on the banks of Bayou Teche at Grande-Pointe (near present-day Cecilia) in St. Martin Parish, LA. On 6 October 1793 Victorin Guedry, son of Pierre Guedry and Marguerite Miller, was baptized in St. Landry Parish, LA ^{34 , 35} . On 25 January 1795 Pierre Guedry, son of Pierre Guedry and Marguerite Miller, was baptized in St. Martin Parish, LA. Pierre Guedry remained at Grande-Pointe until his death on 13 November 1825 ^{24 , 38 , 39} at the age of 84 years.

Joseph Guedry, after arriving in Louisiana in February 1768 on the Jane with his wife and three children, settled initially at Fort St. Louis de Natchez as did the families of his brother Pierre Guedry and his widowed sister-in-law Anne Dupuis Guedry ^{20 , 21 , 22 , 23} . Joseph Guedry, like his brother Pierre, lost his wife Magdelaine Melancon and three children at Fort St. Louis de Natchez. In early 1770 he moved with his brother near St.Gabriel in Ascension Parish, LA. On 1 August 1770 Joseph Guedry was living alone on the east bank of the Mississippi River near St. Gabriel ^{29 , 30} . After marrying Anne Monique Dupuis in Ascension Parish on 24 May 1773 ^{25 , 26} , Joseph Guedry continued to live in the Ascension Parish area until his death in December 1782 ^{40 , 41} .

Anne Dupuis, widow of Jean-Baptiste Guedry, also arrived in Louisiana in February 1768 on the Jane with her five children. As with her brothers-in-law Pierre and Joseph Guedry, Anne Dupuis initially settled at Fort St. Louis de Natchez ^{20 , 21 , 22 , 23} and then moved her family in early 1770 near St. Gabriel in Ascension Parish, LA. On 1 August 1770 she was living with four of her children Firmin, Jean-Baptiste, Magdeline and Monique on the east bank of the Mississippi River near St. Gabriel close to Pierre and Joseph Guedry ^{29 , 30} . Apparently her youngest child Elizabeth died while the family was at Fort St. Louis de Natchez. On 23 April 1777 Anne Dupuis was living with her oldest son Firmin and two other children Jean-Baptiste and Marie on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Ascension Parish near her brother-in-law Joseph Guedry ^{42 , 43} .

The life of Anne Dupuis after 1777 is uncertain. Apparently her son Firmin Guedry died in January 1799 in Ascension Parish since a Firmin Guedry, age 46 years, was buried on 1 February 1799 in Ascension Parish, LA ^{44 , 45} . Firmin Guedry, the son of Jean-Baptiste Guedry and Anne Dupuis, was born about 1752 according to earlier census records. On 15 January 1809 an Anne Guedry, a widow who was 73 years old, was buried at St. Gabriel ^{46 , 47} . Could this widow have been Anne Dupuis Guedry, widow of Jean-Baptiste Guedry? From earlier census records Anne Dupuis Guedry would have been born about 1733. At least two of her children were married in Ascension Parish in the 1780's and she was not listed as deceased in either record. Anne Monica (Monique) Guedry married Charles Braud on 30 December 1782 in Ascension Parish, LA ^{48 , 49} and Firmin Guedry married Marguerite Landry on 19 February 1786 at St. Gabriel ^{50 , 51} .

In July 1767 Paul Boutin, Ursule Guedry and their two sons Joseph and Paul and two daughters Marguerite and Suzanne as well as Marie Boutin, an orphan, arrived in New Orleans, LA from Batlimore, MD ^{52 , 53} . Their 78-day voyage from Baltimore included a stay of 17 days at Guarico, Venezuela. On 16 April 1768 their infant daughter Marie Juliens was baptized at the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans ^{54 , 55} . Interestingly, Paul Boutin and his family are listed as one of the Acadian families planning to settle at St. Gabriel, LA near Ascension Parish in August 1767 ^{52 , 53} . Were they delayed several months in New Orleans because Ursule was expecting young Marie Juliens? They did eventually settle at St. Gabriel since on 3 November 1773 their daughter Marguerite Boutin married Jean Savoy in Ascension Parish, LA. The marriage contract states that the Paul Boutin and Ursule Guedry, parents of Marguerite Boutin, were from St. Gabriel ^{56 , 57} . They do not appear, however, on the Censuses of Ascension Parish, LA taken in 1770 and 1777.

By 1777 Paul Boutin and Ursule Guedry had moved to the Opelousas area in St. Landry Parish, LA. They appeared in the Opelousas General Census of 4 May 1777 ^{58 , 59} where Ursule Guedry's name was spelled Magdelon Digrist. On 17 April 1778 they served as godparents for the baptism of Agnes Berwick, daughter of Thomas Berwick and Helen Wales, at St. Landry Catholic Church in Opelousas ^{60 , 61} . On 20 August 1788 Ursule Guedry, having died a day earlier at age 57 years, was buried in St. Landry Parish, LA ^{62 , 63} . Only Paul Boutin appears in the Opelousas Post General Census of 1788 ^{64 , 65} . At this time he had one slave, 40 cattle, 12 horses and 8 arpents of land facing the river. The Opelousas General Census taken in May 1796 ^{66 , 67} lists Paul Boutin, father living with one woman over 14 years of age. Could this be his daughter Anastasie Boutin who would have been about 25 years old at this time? Paul Boutin, widower of Ursule Guedry, was buried in St. Landry Parish on 25 February 1801 ^{68 , 69} .

On 1 November 1758 Julien Bourneuf, widower of Jeanne Guedry, disembarked from the ship Le Duc Guillaume at St. Malo, France with his son and two daughters Francois, Julienne and Sophie ^{70 , 71} . Also arriving at St. Malo on the same ship were Jeanne Bourneuf as well as Anne Bourneuf and her husband Guillaume Mervin ^{70 , 71} . Jeanne and Anne were Julien Bourneuf's daughters by his first wife as were Julienne and Sophie Bourneuf. Francois Bourneuf was the son of Julien Bourneuf and Jeanne Guedry. Le Duc Guillaume departed from Ile Royale about September 1758 for the voyage to St. Malo. On 27 November 1758 Julien Bourneuf and his three children transferred to Rochefort, France ^{70 , 71} . From 1759 until 1763 Anne Bourneuf and her husband Guillaume Mervin, Jeanne Bourneuf and Sophie Bourneuf were at St. Servan, France ^{70 , 72} . In 1763 Guillaume Mervin, his wife Anne Bourneuf and their two children embarked on the Frigate L'Aigle for an unknown destination ⁷⁰ . Julien Bourneuf and his family apparently did not leave France to resettle in Louisiana in 1785 as we find no record of them after 1763 and they are not on the manifests of the seven ships transporting Acadians to Louisiana in 1785.

Through their hardy stock, strong Catholic faith and close family ties, the children of Augustin Guedry and Jeanne Hebert overcame many difficulties and hardships during more than two decades of resettlement and planted firm roots for their many descendants living today in Louisiana, throughout the United States and beyond.