Pierre Cormier (abt. 1704 - bef. 1752)

Born about 1704 in Ouescoque, Acadie, Nouvelle-France [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Cécile Thibodeau — married 17 Jul 1730 in Grand-Pré, Acadie, Colony of Nova Scotia

Descendants

Died before 1752 before about age 48 in Acadie, Colony of Nova Scotia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Annette Cormier [send private message], Acadians Project WikiTree [send private message], Liander Lavoie [send private message], Roger Savoie [send private message], and Maurice LeBlanc [send private message]

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Biography

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All these men were cousins, lived in the Beaubassin area and were born around the same time. They all have nicknames. Two of them married women with surname Cyr. There continues to be confusion with their children, parents and spouses.

• Pierre Cormier-2 dit Rossignol Cormier; married Marie Anne Cyr
• Pierre Cormier-735 dit de la Cote; married Marguerite Cyr
• Pierre dit Palette Cormier; married Cecile Thibodeau
• Pierre Cormier-1666 dit le Grand; married Anne Marie Pitre & Jeanne Thibodeau

Pierre Cormier and Cécile Thibodeau are the ancestors of all the Cormiers in southeastern New Brunswick^[1]

Pierre Cormier was born some time after the 1703 census ^[2] and before the one in 1707^[3] near Beaubassin (now Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada) on his parents' homestead in Ouescoque (Amherst Point).^[4] He was Pierre Cormier and Catherine LeBlanc's eldest child in a family of 11 children: 4 boys and 7 girls. His nickname was Palette, like his father's.^[4] Pierre was mentioned for the first time in records in the 1707 census in which he was listed with his parents and a sibling in Beaubassin. No age was given for the members of the family in the census. His uncles François , Germain and Alexis Cormier were living nearby.

His grandparents, Thomas Cormier and Madeleine Girouard, were among the first pioneers at Beaubassin and had a large farm at Ouescoque. « The Cormiers made Beaubassin their legacy. For at least three quarters of a century, many settled there and at nearby Rivière-des-Hébert ». ^[5]

When Pierre was around twenty-five years of age, he married seventeen-year-old Cécile Thibodeau, daughter of Jean Thibodeau and Marguerite Hébert. They were married on 17 July 1730 in Grand-Pré (now Nova Scotia, Canada).^[6][7] They settled on a farm at Ouescoque, as his father was able to provide land for all of his children.^[4]

The couple's 11 children , 8 boys and 3 girls, were born between about 1733 and 1751, mostly in the Beaubassin area: Jean Baptiste; Pierre called Pierrot à Nanette; Marie; François; Joseph; Michel; Marie-Joseph; Charles; Marie-Cecile; Jacques; and Amand.^[1] This generation was the most affected by Father Le Loutre's War and The Great Upheaval. While the children were born in Beaubassin, they would die elsewhere.^[1]

The family was counted in the 1750-1751 census at Ouescoque (Vechkok).^[8]

In 1750, Beaubassin was the center of a boundary dispute between the French and English.^[4] French soldiers erected small forts on the north side of the Mesagoueche River (the border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) including one at Beauséjour ridge. When the British Commander Lawrence tried to gain a foothold on the river, the priests LeLoutre and Germain burned the Beaubassin church and forced the villagers to burn their houses. The British retreated but eventually built fortifications on the south side (Fort Lawrence). The French soldiers ordered the Acadian families in the southern villages to move to the north side for their protection. Virtually no one complied with the order, including Pierre's family, whose Ouescoque homestead was located south. To force them to move, the soldiers and Mi'kmaq warriors (of the fanatical priest Jean-Louis Le Loutre burned the southern villages, including Ouescoque, where the Cormiers had lived for three generations. The attitudes of the southern villagers are described below:

The missionary Le Loutre thought that they were ready to abandon their land, and even to take up arms against the British... They were, however, perhaps not as determined to emigrate as Le Loutre maintained. Since 1713 the Acadians had always accommodated themselves to the British régime, and it was difficult for them to leave fertile lands that they had cleared and settle in French territory without being assured that sooner or later it would not become British. On behalf of the French government Le Loutre promised to establish and feed them for three years, and even to compensate them for their losses. They were not easily convinced, and the missionary apparently used questionable means to force them to emigrate – threatening them, among other things, with reprisals from the Indians. The Acadians who moved, whether of their own free will or not, found themselves in an unenviable situation. Both on Île Saint-Jean and in the Fort Beauséjour region it was difficult to produce sufficient food to meet the needs of the new arrivals.^[9]

After the destruction of their home, Pierre's family sought refuge with relatives who lived on the French side at Le Lac (Aulac) across from Jolicoeur (Jolicure NB).^[10][4]

At Le Lac, several refugees died "from the shock of their upheaval or from the ill treatment they endured."^[4] This included 46-year-old Pierre Cormier, spouse of Cecile Thibodeau who was listed as a widow in the 1752 census at Le Lac, with 5 children.^[11] Cécile was only 40 years of age.

Although he suffered an early death, Pierre Cormier left a profound legacy. His widow Cécile and many of his children would stick together in their perilous exile to the French territories (New Brunswick and Quebec). Many of the children would eventually settle in Cormier's Cove, New Brunswick.

What happened to Pierre's beloved Ouescoque? He would likely approve that most of Amherst Point now is a bird sanctuary, a place of peace, owned by the people.

Timeline

c1703-1707 Birth, in Ouescoque near Beaubassin

1704 Benjamin Church raids Beaubassin again: “The Acadians were in arms and an indecisive skirmish ensued. After the Acadians retreated into the woods, Church and his men found that the inhabitants had removed as much of their household and farm goods as possible. Church set the buildings on fire and killed about 100 cattle before leaving to return to Boston”^[12]

1710 Siege of Port-Royal; French surrender the Fort. Port-Royal, Acadia becomes Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia^[13]

1713 Treaty of Utrecht. France cedes Acadia to England. Permanent British rule^[14]

1715 Delegates from Beaubassin sign a conditional oath of allegiance, promising to stay true to the King of Great Britain for as long as they stayed in Nova Scotia, and to remain neutral in the event of a conflict between France and Great Britain

1720 and onward: Acadians refuse to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance. This is initially tolerated by the British as they lack military means to enforce the oath.^[15]

1713-1744 Golden Age^[16] of Acadian growth and prosperity. Beaubassin is productive in raising cattle, growing grain, and trading fur with the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet. Surpluses are traded with both the English (Bay of Fundy) and the French (Baie Verte).^[17]

1730 Marriage to Cécile Thibodeau, in Grand Pré

1733 Birth of son, Jean-Baptiste, in Beaubassin

1734 Birth of son, Pierre (Pierrot), in Beaubassin

c1736 Birth of daughter, Marie

c1740 Birth of son, François

c1740 Birth of son, Joseph

1741 Birth of son Michel, in Beaubassin

1742 Birth of daughter, Marie-Josèphe,in Beaubassin

1744 Birth of son, Charles, in Beaubassin

c1746 Birth of daughter, Marie-Cécile

c1748 Birth of son, Jacques

c1750 Birth of son, Amand

1750 French soldiers erect small forts along their frontier at the north bank of the Mesagoueche river (now the New Brunswick- Nova Scotia border) including one at Beauséjour ridge. When British Commander Lawrence tries to gain a foothold on the river, the priests LeLoutre and Germain burned the Beaubassin church and force the villagers to burn their houses. The British retreated but eventually established fortifications on the south side. French soldiers order the Acadian families in the southern villages to move to the north side for their protection. When no one complies, the soldiers and Mi'kmaq warriors (of the priest LeLoutre) burn the southern villages. Most burnt-out families seek refuge north of the French-English boundary in territory surrounding Le Lac (Aulac NB).

1750 Ouescoque, where the Cormiers lived for three generations, is also burned. The Cormiers move north, close to their relatives at Le Lac (Aulac, N.B.) who live across from Jolicoeur (Jolicure N.B.). ^[8]

1750-51 Death, Pierre Cormier.^[11]

Research Notes

There are discrepancies concerning the places where Pierre lived after he married, and his date of death. The website Our Maritime Ties, hosted by Annette and Arthur Owen, lists these differences and their sources.^[18]

Biographie

Pierre Cormier, dit Palette, est né après le recensement de 1703^[2] et avant celui de 1707^[3] à Ouescoque (aujourd'hui Amherst Point, Nouvelle Écosse, Canada) qui est près de Beaubassin (Amherst).^[4]

Il épousa Cécile Thibodeau, fille de Jean Thibodeau et Marguerite Hebert, en 1730 à Grand Pré.^[7] Ils se sont installés à Ouescoque parce que le père de Pierre avait assez de terres pour tous ses enfants.

Entre 1733 et 1751, le couple a eu 11 enfants nés pour la plupart à Beaubassin: Jean Baptiste, Pierre (Pierrot à Nanette), Marie, Francois, Joseph, Michel, Marie-Joseph, Charles, Marie-Cécile, Jacques, et Amand.^[1]

Cette génération a été la plus touchée par la guerre de Père LeLoutre et le Grand Dérangement. Bien que les enfants soient nés à Beaubassin, ils vont mourir ailleurs.^[1]

Pierre est mort entre 1750 et 1752 après l'incendie de Beaubassin par Père LeLoutre et ses guerriers Indiens.^[7] Malgré sa mort prématurée dans la quarantaine, l'héritage de Pierre est profonde. II est l'ancêtre de tous les Cormiers du sud-est de Nouveau-Brunswick.^[1]

Qu'est-il arrivé à Ouescoque? Pierre aurait probablement approuvé que Amherst Point soit devenu un sanctuaire d'oiseaux, un havre de paix.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} White, Stephen A. La généalogie des trente-sept familles hôtesses des Retrouvailles 94, online articles, Les Cahiers de la Société historique acadienne, vol. 25, nos 2 et 3 (1994), CORMIER, page 1-2
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Tim Hebert, "Transcription of the 1703 Acadian Census, at Port-Royal, Acadie," online on his website, Acadian-Cajun Genealogy, 1703 Census Transcription. The original census can be found at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the National Archives of Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752”, Images 212-220.

   Pierre CORMIER and his wife, 1 arms bearer.

3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Tim Hebert; Transcription of the 1707 Acadian Census, at Port-Royal, Acadie," online on his website, Acadian-Cajun Genealogy, 1707 Census Transcription. The original census can be found at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the National Archives of Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752”, Images 221-237.

   Pierre CORMIER,

   Catherine LEBLANC,

   2 boys less than 14; 6 arpents, 9 cattle, 10 sheep, 8 hogs.

4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6} Surette, Paul, Atlas of the Acadian Settlement of the Beaubassin 1660 to 1755 (Tintamarre and Le Lac: Tantramar Heritage Trust, 2005) p. 199 (Surette calls Thomas Cormier's son 'Pierre Palette', and Pierre's son 'Pierre à Pallette'); pp. 44-45 (Ouesqoque homestead at Amherst Point); p. 177 (inheritance of the land by all Pierre & Catherine Hebert's children); pp. 30-31 burning of Beaubassin and southern villages including Ouescoque); p. 185 (burned out Ouescoque Cormier refugees at Le Lac.
5. ↑ « Un historique de la famille Cormier 1644-1994 ». Shédiac: Tours Placide Gaudet Inc, 1994, p. 14.
6. ↑ Paroisse de St. Charles des Mines, Grand Pré, Acadie, Mariages, vol. 12-3, p. 646 entry for Pierre Cormier & Catherine Tibaudot, 17 July 1730; digital images, Héritage, Genealogy collection, Library and Archives Canada, reel C-1869, "Parish Registers: Nova Scotia : C-1869," roll 1, accessed 3 Nov 2019. This register is a transcript written around 1895 of the original registers currently held at the Baton Rouge Diocese Archives in Louisiana, USA.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Stephen A. White, Patrice Gallant, Hector-J. Hébert, Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes (Moncton, N.-B.: Centre D'études Acadiennes, Université De Moncton, 1999) p. 406
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home"; 2005 – Present, hosted by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino; 1750/1751 Census 1752 Census Transcribed.

   Pierre CORMIER, his wife and 10 children.

9. ↑ Gérard Finn, “LE LOUTRE, JEAN-LOUIS,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 4, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed November 30, 2013.
10. ↑ Stephen A. White, “CORMIER, PIERRE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed November 25, 2013
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home"; 2005 – Present, hosted by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino; 1752 Census The original census can be found at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the National Archives of Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752”, Images 277-308.

    The widow CORMIER, 2 boys, 3 girls.

12. ↑ Naomi E.S. Griffiths, From migrant to Acadian : a North-American border people, 1604-1755 (Montreal, Québec: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005) p. 208 (1704 Church’s Raid on Beaubassin)
13. ↑ Brenda Dunn, A History of Port Royal / Annapolis Royal 1605-1800 (Halifaz, N.S.:Nimbus Publishing) pp. 82-85
14. ↑ "The Neutrality: Political Context", in 1755 l'Histoire et les Histoires (Moncton, N.B.: University of Moncton)
15. ↑ "The Neutrality: The First Acadian Delegates", in 1755 Histoire et Les Histoires, University of Moncton
16. ↑ Naomie E.S. Griffiths, The Contexts of Acadian History 1686-1784 (Montreal, Quebec: McGill-Queens University Press, 1992) p. 61
17. ↑ "Zone of contention, place of growth", History, Fort Beauséjour – Fort Cumberland National Historic Site, Parks Canada, https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/nb/beausejour/culture/histoire-history/territoire-zone
18. ↑ Annette and Arthur Owen, Pierre Cormier at Our Maritime Ties.