Joseph Léger (1720 - abt. 1806)

Born 25 Oct 1720 in Annapolis Royal, Acadie, Colony of Nova Scotia

Ancestors

Husband of Claire LeBlanc — married 5 Jun 1744 in Beaubassin, Acadie, Colony of Nova Scotia

Descendants

Died about 6 Oct 1806 at about age 85 in Saint-Anselme, Colony of New Brunswick [uncertain]

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Biography

Joseph Léger was born 25 Oct 1720 at Annapolis Royal, Acadie. He was baptized 11 Nov 1720 and his god parents were François Michel and Marguerite Pitre, daughter of Claude Pitre. Library and Archives Canada, Fonds de la paroisse catholique Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Port-Royal, N.-É.)-1870 C-1870 (image 39) https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c1870/39?r=0&s=5^[1][2]

He married Claire LeBlanc, daughter of René LeBlanc and Anne Thériault on 4 June 1744 at Beaubassin, Acadie. ^[3][4]

Joseph and Claire are second cousins once removed. Click here to see the relationship between Joseph and Claire.

Children per Stephen White^[5]

1. Anne dite Nannette
2. Joseph dit la Petite Houppe
3. Anastasie
4. Marguerite
5. Rosalie
6. François-Henri

Joseph and Claire settled in Petitcoudiac with his father and some of his siblings around 1748. They were listed in the censuses of 1752 and 1755 in that small community with 2 boys and 2 girls. ^{[6][7] [8]}

On 13 October 1755, Joseph was deported to South Carolina without his family. He was forced aboard the Endeavour in Chignectou, and disembarked in South Carolina on 19 November 1755. With a group of other Acadian exiles, he managed to quickly make his way back to Acadie and was reunited with his family. ^[9]

During the winter of 1756-1757, the family had to flee Petitcoudiac and found refuge at Camp d'Espérance which was established at the end of the summer of 1756 in the Miramichi area to protect from famine and from the roundups of the British soldiers the approximately 1400 Acadians who fled there. His father was a refugee there as well as his brothers Jean-Baptiste, Pierre-Jacques, Paul , Pierre dit Pierrot, and his sisters Anne and Marie.^[10] Claire's parents René LeBlanc and Anne Thériot starved to death at that camp.^{[11] [12][10]} In 1761 they were on a list of refugees at Caraquet. ^[13] That same year, in November, Joseph Léger and his family were counted in Caraquet with a group of Acadians who were left there because there were not enough ships to deport them. ^[14]

“During the following months, Acadians still in the area either surrendered to, or were captured by the British, who held them in prison compounds in Nova Scotia for the rest of the war. One of these compounds was Fort Edward, built by the British in 1750 at Pisiquid (Windsor NS) to control Acadians and Mi'kmaq. In 1762, British officials counted brothers Joseph Léger and his family of six, Paul Léger and his family of three, and Jean Léger and his family of three at Fort Edward.“ ^[15][16]

Joseph and his family were also held prisoners in Halifax in 1763. ^[10]

After the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the prisoners were freed and could choose where to settle. They were one of the first families to settle in Minoudie.

From: The History of Minoudie, including Franklin Manor, Nappan & Maccan beginning in 1764 ^[17]

"Two groups of Acadians settled on these fiefs of Cumberland County. The most important of all the locations was Champs-Élysés - Ménoudie - where Charles Forest was the leader. The Estate of Menoudie or the Elysian Fields consists of 7/8 of a tract of 8,000 acres. It contains nearly 3,000 of dyked Lands, cleared upland and orchard. In 1768, I settled 10 family hereon. their number speedily increased. to each family was allowed 200 acres including a Proportion of dykeland, cleared upland, wood, to themselves and their heir forever. the following is the list of the original Tenants..

"Desbarres list only contains names of individuals with no other information. In this work originally done by La Société Historique Acadienne in October, 1966, the names of the spouses have been added. The names are listed as DesBarres listed them and then as corrected by the Société:

John Burg, Jean Bourg spouse of Marie Terriot

John Burg Jun., Jean Bourg, son, spouse of Marie Hébert

Peter Melançon, Pierre Melanson spouse of Marie Granger

Peter Babin, Pierre Babin spouse of Madeleine Bourg

Charles Forêt, Charles Forest spouse of Marie Poirier

Joseph Léger spouse of Claire LeBlanc

Joseph Como, Joseph Comeau spouse of Madeleine Hébert

Peter Brin, Pierre Brun spouse of Théodose Boudrot

John Brin, Jean Brun - not married

Many families were forced out of Minoudie or chose to move out. Joseph and Claire moved to Saint-Anselme where he passed away around 1806.^[18]

Sources

1. ↑ Paroisse St-Jean-Baptiste de Port Royal, Acadie; microfilm: CEA F1016, F1018 et F1019 ; Centre d'études acadiennes Anselme Chiasson.
2. ↑ Baptism Record Nova Scotia Archives, An Acadian Parish Remembered, The Registers of St. Jean-Baptiste, Annapolis Royal, 1702-1755, Register RG 1 volume 26 page 173 .
3. ↑ Registre de la paroisse Notre Dame de l'Assomption de Beaubassin; microfilm: CEA F1038 (1712 - 1723, 1732 - 1735, 1740 - 1748) ; Centre d'études acadiennes Anselme Chiasson.
4. ↑ Marriage Record Héritage, Fonds des Archives départementales de la Charente-Maritime [La Rochelle, France] : C-1207, Image #114.
5. ↑ Title: La généalogie des trente-sept familles hôtesses des Retrouvailles 94; Stephen A. White; Internet: Léger

   2. iii. Joseph dit Fluzan, n Port-Royal 25 oct 1720; m Beaubassin 5 juin 1744 Claire LE BLANC (René & Anne Thériault).

6. ↑ 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, image 284

   Joseph LÉGER, his wife, 2 boys, 2 girls.

7. ↑ Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home"; 2005 – Present, hosted by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino;1755 Census p. 5 of 32

   Joseph Léger, his wife, 2 boys, 2 girls

8. ↑ Stephen A. White, 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, pp. 356-357
9. ↑ Paul Delaney, "The Acadians Deported from Chignectou to 'Les Carolines' in 1755: Their Origins, Identities and Subsequent Movements," Du Grand Dérangement à la Déportation: Nouvelles perspectives historiques, Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc, ed., (Moncton, NB: Chaire d’études acadiennes, 2005) p. 314
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc, “List of Refugee Acadian Households at Camp Espérance on the Miramichi, 1756-1757: Appendix to ‘The Acadian Refugee Camp on the Miramichi, 1756-1761’”. English translation & glossary of place name by John Estano DeRoche. PDF accessible online for download at The Official Blog of the Association des Acadiens-Métis Souriquois, dated March 30, 2018, https://acadiens-metis-souriquois.ca/aams-blog/news-and-reflections-the-acadian-refugee-camp-on-the-miramichi-1756-1761-march-30-2018
11. ↑ Karen Theriot Reader René LeBlanc Anne Thériot citing White, Stephen A., Patrice Gallant, and Hector-J Hébert. Dictionnaire Généalogique Des Familles Acadiennes. Moncton, N.-B.: Centre D'études Acadiennes, Université De Moncton, 1999, Print. p. 990, p. 1490

    He died on the shores of Miramichi in 1759 (Belle-Ile-en-Mer Declarations). /Anne died (Belle-Ile-en-Mer Declaration) on the Miramichi coast in 1759.

12. ↑ Karen Theriot Reader René LeBlanc Anne Thériot citing Arsenault, Bona. Histoire et Généalogie des Acadiens. 6 vols. Montreal, Canada: Lemeac, 1978. p 1223.

    They both died of hunger on the shores of Miramichi River, New Brunswick in 1759.

13. ↑ Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home"; 2005 – Present, hosted by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino; 1761 Gaspesie Refugees Census, original record 1761 Gaspesie Refugees Original Amherst Papers (WO 34) : C-12837, Images 176-184, p. 557 of PDF

    Joseph Fluzan (Leger) his wife, 3 boys, 3 girls

14. ↑ original record 1761 Acadians Inhabiting from Gaspay to Bay Verte not Surrendered at Fort Cumberland Amherst Papers (WO 34) : C-12838, Images 1855-1857

    Joseph Légere 8 people

15. ↑ Cormier, Steven A., Acadians in Gray, Book Six: “The Acadian Immigrants of Louisiana” accessed at http://www.acadiansingray.com/Acadians%20of%20LA-Intro-3.htm#LégerB6
16. ↑ Lucie LeBlanc Consentino. List of Acadian Prisoners at Fort Edward, 1761-1762, Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home.

    Joseph Leger - 6

17. ↑ Author Glen Adams; Lucie LeBlanc Consentino Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home; 1998 - Present; acadian-home.org
18. ↑ A reference is needed for the date of death.

Acknowledgments

• Thanks to Roland Arsenault for starting this profile.