Benjamin Allain (abt. 1757 - 1839)

Born about 1757 in Acadie

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 15 Nov 1839 at about age 82 in Bouctouche, Colony of New Brunswick

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Biography

Corporal Benjamin Allain served with Nova Scotia during the American Revolution.

Benjamin Allain is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: P-100595
Rank: Corporal

Benjamin Allain was born about 1757 in Acadia. He was the fourth child of Louis Allain and Anne Léger's nine children. ^[1]

The Great Expulsion of the Acadians

Benjamin's earliest years were marked by instability. He, his parents and all his siblings were forced repeatedly to leave their home due to British military campaigns during the the Great Expulsion of the Acadians (Le Grand Dérangement). Starting before Benjamin's birth, the Allain family can be found in Censuses at multiple sites: Petcoudiac (1755), Camp d'Espérance, Miramichi (1756-1757), and Restigouche (1760). ^[2][3][4][5] The Allain's were scheduled for deportation. A note In the 1761 Caraquet Census explains their presence there reading, "These 154 persons were left at Caraket for want of vessels to carry them away."^[6] Finally in 1763, the Allain family were listed as prisoners at Fort Beauséjour (renamed Fort Cumberland following capture by the British).^[7] Experiences like these would inform some of Benjamin's later decisions.

The Company of Frenchmen and the Battle of Fort Cumberland

In 1776, John Allan and Jonathan Eddy (Massachusetts-born), tried to bring the American Revolutionary War to their province of Nova Scotia. They had a plan to conquer the strongly loyalist Nova Scotia by first capturing Fort Cumberland (formerly Fort Beauséjour, on the isthmus of Chignecto which connects New Brunswick and Nova Scotia), then marching on Halifax with a group of militia men. Eddy obtained military support from the Massachusetts Congress and recruited a total of about 400 men in Maine and in present-day New Brunswick. A first attack on Fort Cumberland on 14 November 1776 was unsuccessful. That same day, a militia unit that came to be known as the Company of Frenchmen, was raised in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia under the command of Isaïe Boudrot, which includes present-day Memramcook. Nineteen Acadians from this village were recruited. Benjamin Allain was among them. There was another failed attempt to capture the Fort a few days later. This event came to be known as the Battle of Fort Cumberland. Eddy’s men retreated, some were taken prisoner, a few were killed. Not long after, Allan and Eddy’s plan to make Nova Scotia the 14th American State came to an end. ^[8] He served from November 14th to November 30, 1776, at £ 2 4 s. per month.^[9]

A short description of the 19 recruits of the Company of Frenchmen is included in Stephen White’s article “The Company of Frenchmen in the County of Cumberland, Province of Nova Scotia.”. See a table showing their shared experiences during the Grand Dérangement here.

Marriage and Later Life

Benjamin's military involvement also came to an end. He married Elisabeth LeBlanc, daughter of Charles LeBlanc and Marie Barrieau about 1778.^[1] The couple settled in Bouctouche about 1790 close to other family members.^[10] Their children included: Joseph Allain (abt 1779), Marguerite Allain (abt 1781), Marie-Blanche Allain (abt 1783), and Bénoni Allain (abt 1786).

In 1794, Benjamin, his brothers, Jean Baptiste Allain, Louis Allain, Pierre Allain and friends, Andre Girou, François Richard and Jean Savoy, jointly petitioned for land.^[11]. An additional 166 acres were granted in 1805.^[12]

Benjamin Allain, age 80, died on 15 November 1839. His funeral was supplemented at Bouctouche on 30 December 1839. ^{[13] [14]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} White, Stephen A. La généalogie des trente-sept familles hôtesses des "Retrouvailles 94" Les Cahiers de la Société historique acadienne, vol. 25, nos 2 et 3 (1994). (Allain) p. 1
2. ↑ Acadian Census, 1755, Petcoudiac (location of his parents just before his birth) "Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home"; 2005 – Present, hosted by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino;1755 Census, p. 5

   at Pekoudiac : Louis Allain, 1 man, 1 woman, 2 girls

3. ↑ White, Stephen A. Recensements de Beaubassin et des Trois Rivières de Chipoudie, de Memramcook et de Petcoudiac (1686-1755). Les Cahiers de la Société historique acadienne, vol. 50, nos 2-4, juin-décembre 2019, p.238-239. Louis Allain (son of Pierre), married to Anne Léger (daughter of Jacques), married 1748 Beaubassin, 1752 and 1755 at Petcoudiac with 2 girls, sought refuge at Camp d'Espérance, family settled in Bouctouche and Néguac after the Great Upheaval
4. ↑ LeBlanc, R.-G. (2012). Les réfugiés acadiens au camp d’Espérance de la Miramichi en 1756-1761 : un épisode méconnu du Grand Dérangement. Acadiensis, 41(1). Retrieved from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/Acadiensis/article/view/19077. English translation "The Acadian Refugee Camp on the Miramichi, 1756-1761" p. 156 (Annexe)
5. ↑ Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home"; 2005 – Present, hosted by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino; 1760 Restigouche Census at Restigouche: Louis Allain, 7 people in the household
6. ↑ original record 1761 Acadians Inhabiting from Gaspay to Bay Verte not Surrendered at Fort Cumberland Amherst Papers (WO 34) : C-12838, Images 1855-1857 Louis Allain, 8 people in the household. Note added to the list: "These 154 persons were left at Caraket for want of vessels to carry them away."
7. ↑ Lucie LeBlanc Consentino. List of Acadian Prisoners at Fort Cumberland as of August 24, 1763, Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home, original record, digital images, Héritage, Genealogy collection, Library and Archives Canada. / France. Fonds des Archives nationales: Série C12. Correspondance générale; Saint-Pierre et Miquelon : C-9146, vol. 1, f. 22-26. Image 42, accessed November 2020

   
   Louis Allain
   Anne Allain
   Magdelaine Allain
   Marguerite Allain
   Benjamin Allain
   Michel Allain
   Marie Allain
   Baptiste Allain
   Joseph Allain

8. ↑ D’Entremont, Clarence J., “La participation acadienne à la guerre d’indépendance américaine”, Les Cahiers de la Société historique acadienne, vol. 7, no 1, 1976, p. 5-13. accessed at https://societehistoriqueacadienne.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/0701_total.pdf
9. ↑ White, Stephen A. “The Company of Frenchmen in the County of Cumberland, Province of Nova Scotia.” accessed at acadian-home.org hosted by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino
10. ↑ http://www.acadian-home.org/bouctouche.html
11. ↑ Benjamin Allain, Land Petitions Original Series, 1783-1918 (RS108), 1794, Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Microfilm F1039. https://archives.gnb.ca/Search/RS108/Details.aspx?culture=en-CA&Key=576
12. ↑ Benjamin Allain, Land Petitions Original Series, 1783-1918 (RS108), 1805, Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Microfilm F16303. https://archives.gnb.ca/Search/RS686/Details.aspx?culture=en-CA&Key=7267
13. ↑ IGD, Burial Benjamin Allain, 30 Dec 1839, Bouctouche, Institut généalogique Drouin.
14. ↑ Bouctouche, Nouveau-Brunswick, Registre de la paroisse Saint-Jean-Baptiste, catholique, Baptêmes, Mariages, Sépultures 1800-1870, ( F.M. 9, A 11, vol 3), Image # 854, Benjamin Allain Funeral 30 December 1839, digital images, Héritage, Genealogy collection, Library and Archives Canada, reel C-3016, Parish Registers: New Brunswick : C-3016, accessed November 2020.

• White, Stephen A. La généalogie des trente-sept familles hôtesses des "Retrouvailles 94", Les Cahiers de la Société historique acadienne, vol. 25, nos 2 et 3 (1994). (Allain)
• http://stephenwhite.acadian-home.org/american-revolution.html