Nicole Colleson (abt. 1607 - aft. 1686)

Born about 1607 in Loudun, Poitou, France [uncertain]

Wife of Jean Gaudet — married about 1652 in Acadie

Descendants

Died after 1686 after about age 79 in Port Royal, Acadie, Nouvelle-France

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Biography

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Nicole Colleson migrated from France to Acadia.

Nicole Colleson was born about 1607 in Loudun, Poitou, France.^[1] Both the census of 1671 and 1686 support this birth year.

She was married to an unknown husband before she married Jean Gaudet, as White refers to her as "prob vve ------" (probably a widow). ^[1]

Nicole (44) married Jean Gaudet (76) (born about 1575 in Martaizé, Loudun) in 1652 in Acadie. Their known son was Jean Gaudet (abt. 1653–1694).^[1]

She lived the rest of her life in Port Royal, first with Jean^[2][3], later as a widow^[4], and finally with her son Jean^[5].

In 1686, at Port Royal, Nicole COLSON [sic], aged 80, was living with her son Jean GODET [sic], aged 45 [sic], and her daughter-in-law, Jeanne HENRY, aged 30, and children from Jean's first marriage: Francoise, aged 13, and Jean, aged 12. Also living with them were 3 other children from Jean's first marriage. The family owned 1 gun and was living on 4 arpents of cultivable land with 4 cattle, 4 sheep and 3 hogs.^[6]

She died after the 1686 Census.^[1]

Research Notes

Removed supposed parents Nicolas Coleson (1577-) Genevieve Petit (bef.1585-bef.1645) as no documentation has been put forth for them, not even enough to be considered uncertain. See also this G2G conversation about the father definitely not hers: G2G research

No precise location of birth in France is given by Stephen A. White or other respected genealogists. Origins in Loudun, Poitou, is attributed to many Acadians in unsourced family trees. Birth location marked uncertain in this profile.

Historian André-Carl Vachon makes an hypothesis in his book La colonisation de l'Acadie: 1632-1654, that Nicole Colleson and her first husband, whose name is unknown, travelled to Acadie in 1648 aboard La Verve de Middlebourg. Other possible passengers on that ship, among others, were Antoine Belliveau, Bernard Bugaret, François Savoie. ^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Stephen A. White, Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes. (Moncton, N.-B.: Centre d'études acadiennes, Université de Moncton, 1999), Print. p. 667
2. ↑ Tim Hebert; Transcription of the 1671 Acadian Census, at Port-Royal, Acadie. 1671 Census Transcribed. The original census can be found at Recensement nominal de Port-Royal. Signé: Laurent Molins, cordelier. Joint à la lettre du chevalier de Grandfontaine, 1671, database with images, Library and Archives Canada. Repository: Archives nationales d'outre-mer (France), Col, G1 466, no. 8, 5 images, pages 1-2.

   Jean GAUDET 96, wife, Nicole COLLESON 64; Child: Jean 18, cattle 6, sheep 3.

3. ↑ CENSUS 1671 Port Royal, Acadia, age 64, name spelled COLLESON. Living with husband Jehan, age 86, and their son Jehan, 18
4. ↑ CENSUS: 1678 Port Royal, Acadia, listed as widow of GODET, with 2 children estimated to be age 3 and 4 (probably grandchildren).
5. ↑ CENSUS: 1686, Port Royal, Acadia, age 80, living with son's family on first listing.

   Nicole COLLESON 80. Jean GODET her son 45, Jeanne HENRY his wife 30; children. Francoise 13, Jean 12, and three other children by his first wife; 1 gun, 4 arpents, 4 cattle, 4 sheep, 3 hogs. (Note: Based on her age and Jean's birth year, son Jean would have been about 33-35 in 1686.).

   A page later, she is missing, and some details are different as well. Karen Theriot Reader speculates that there could have been a revision after her death.

   Jean GODET 33, Jeanne his wife 21; children by his first marriage: Francoise 13, Jean 12; and by his second marriage: Marie 4, Jeanne 1; 2 guns, 4 cattle, 10 sheep, 17 sheep, 4 hogs. The original 1686 census shows Jean GODET age 33 living without his mother Nicole COLSON and owning 4 arpents of cultivable land with 10 cattle, 17 sheep and 4 hogs instead of 4 cattle, 10 sheep, 17 sheep and 4 hogs as Hebert wrongly transcribed.

6. ↑ Tim Hebert; Transcription of the 1686 Acadian Census, at Port-Royal, Acadie 1686 Census Transcribed. The original census can be found at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the Library and Archives Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752,” Images 15-60;

   at Port Royal: Nicole COLSON 80. Jean GODET her son 45, Jeanne HENRY his wife 30; children: Francoise 13, Jean 12, and three other children by his first wife: 1 gun, 4 arpents, 4 cattle, 4 sheep, 3 hogs. In the original 1686 census at Port Royal, Colleson was listed as Colson and Gaudet was listed as Godet.

7. ↑ André-Carl Vachon, La colonisation de l'Acadie: 1632-1654, Tracadie, Éditions La Grande Marée, 2022, p. 118-119

   Comme elle s'est mariée vers 1652, il faut qu'elle soit arrivée entre 1644 et 1650. Pourquoi? (...) en 1644 il y avait 20 familles (en Acadie) et nous ne croyons pas que cette famille était du nombre. Puis, le navire Le Fort arrive en Acadie le 23 septembre 1651, nous pensons que c'est un peu juste dans le temps pour s'installer en Acadie et ensuite fréquenter le veuf Jean Gaudet et l'épouser en 1652. Toutefois, il y a une possibilité.

See also:

• Possible father: Nicole Colleson "The Passenger List of the Ship SAINT-JEHAN and the Acadian Origins," in FRENCH CANADIAN AND ACADIAN GENEALOGICAL REVIEW; 1600-1700; vol. 1, no. 1 (spring 1968); p. 57; sent by PERSI [to Karen Theriot Reader, Reader-22 in Jun 1999. Nicole COLSON may have been a widow, probably of a French immigrant, when she married the aged Jean GAUDET about 1652, around the age of 45. There was a Nicolas COSON who was a bailiff of the Council at Quebec in 1649 and 1650 (Reference: Audouart, not., 27 Oct 1649). He was assuredly a soldier and surgeon's aid, native of Paris, who enlisted at La Rochelle for New France on 5 Apr 1644 Reference: Teuleron, not.). (Note: The St-Jehan left France on April 1, 1636 and there was no Nicholas Coson on that ship St-Jehan (Bourque-573 08:41, 26 April 2019 (UTC))). NOTE: this possible father debunked per research documented on G2G (see research notes).

• Ancestry.com Index page for family trees and records with possible relevance to Nicole Coleson.