by Georges Arsenault
Without a doubt, the Deportation constitutes the pivotal point in the history of the Acadians. It is impossible to grasp the full scope of this human tragedy, which drastically changed the course, not only of this people, but of the whole Maritime region. In terms of numbers, we know that between 1755 and 1763, approximately 10,000 Acadians were dispossessed of their lands in the territory that now comprises Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, and were deported by the British to the American Thirteen Colonies, Britain, and France. A great many of the victims perished during the ordeal.
The toll was particularly heavy among those deported from Île Saint Jean in 1758: two-thirds appear to have succumbed during the crossing of the Atlantic or in the months following their arrival in France. The Acadians call this sad period of their history “le Grand Derangement” (the Great Upheaval). The phrase refers not only to the actual Deportation, but also to the Acadians’ lengthy wanderings in search of a new homeland, a search that lasted, in many instances, until the early 1800s. For many years, historians believed that the modern Acadians of Prince Edward Island were almost exclusively descended from a small group of refugees in the Malpeque area who escaped deportation in 1758. Now, decades of genealogical research into specific Island Acadian families are changing that notion. We are coming to realize that many Acadians who either fled lie St. Jean or were deported, eventually made their way back here. The task of reconstructing the history of the families who lived through these turbulent years is rather difficult. Documents from the period dealing with specific individuals or families are almost non-existent. The few papers which do exist generally give but fragmentary information. In spite of these drawbacks, it is still possible to trace and follow certain families. Such is the case with Alexis Doiron, ancestor of the Doirons* of Prince Edward Island and of the Pomquet region in Nova Scotia’s Antigonish County. Through fragments of information collected from many sources, his saga can now be told in some detail. This representative Acadian lived through a remarkable odyssey punctuated by setbacks and ordeals. His story serves as a case study of how one Acadian family survived the catastrophic years of the Deportation to return to Prince Edward Island. Nova Scotia Alexis Doiron was born in Pisiquid (modern Windsor, Nova Scotia) on 29 June 1723 to Louis Doiron and Marguerite Barrieau. His grand-father, Jean Doiron, the ancestor of the Doiron family in North America, was born in France around 1649 and settled in Acadia around 1670. When he was about four years old, Alexis lost his father. His mother did not remarry, and she raised her four children on her own. On 12 September 1743, at the age of 20, Alexis married Marguerite Thibodeau, also of Pisiquid. Marguerite gave birth to at least three children before 1750: Alexis-Gregoire, Josaphat, and Theodore. At the time of Alexis Doiron’s birth, Acadia (that is, main- land Nova Scotia) had been a British colony for ten years. Despite this fact, the Acadian community was experiencing a period of peace and prosperity that would last for several decades. The declaration of war between England and France in 1744 marked the end of these years of stability. During this international conflict, called the War of the Austrian Succession, France tried unsuccessfully to reconquer her lost Acadian colony. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle brought an end to the war in 1748, but the fallout from the conflict left the Acadians in a much more precarious situation than before. British authorities accused them of having supported the French troops during the hostilities. The British therefore became increasingly suspicious of these “French Neutrals,” as they called the Acadians, who refused to take an unconditional oath of allegiance to the British monarch, but pledged to be neutral in case of war between their mother country and Great Britain. In Pisiquid, where Alexis Doiron and his family lived, the British erected Fort Edward. Sensing danger, and encouraged by French missionaries, many families left their village for French territory, particularly lie Saint Jean. Alexis Doiron, his wife Marguerite, their children, and other members of their extended family were part of this group. In 1750, they settled in Grande Anse (now Orwell Bay) on the south shore of modern-day Prince Edward Island. It was the first of many displacements that the Doiron family would experience over the next 30 years. lie Saint Jean It must have been a painful decision for the Doirons and their neighbours to abandon their well-established farms on the shores of the fertile Minas Basin, and relocate to an isolated and densely wooded area. Not long after arriving on the Island, tragedy struck the Doiron family: Marguerite died, leaving her husband Alexis with three small children. The exact date of her death is not known, but it took place sometime before the King’s census taker, Joseph de la Roque, visited Grande Anse in the summer of 1752. In his well-documented census, de la Roque gave a detailed picture of the Doiron household: ALEXIS DOUARON, widower, ploughman, native of Acadie, aged 29 years, he has been in the country two years. He has three sons: Gregoire, aged 8 years. Joseph, aged 6 years. Theodore, aged 3 years. (For Georges Arsenault’s complete Saga of Alexis Doiron, for English reference and for French reference.