The Acadians Then & Now with Nicole Gallant-Nunes

Today's special episode is an interview with Nicole Gallant-Nunes. Nicole is a professional and genetic genealogist from Massachusetts with over 20 years of experience specializing in Acadian, French-Canadian and early New England ancestry. She has had her own genealogy business, Treasured Trees Genealogy Services, for the last several years, assisting hundreds of clients with a wide range of research projects and also volunteers her time at local historical societies and research centers educating people on many topics pertaining to genealogical research. She has been an expert guest speaker numerous times and has published several extensive research projects on Acadian and French-Canadian topics over the last few years. She is a frequent contributor of original records and reliable sources to early Acadian profiles on WikiTree as part of the esteemed Acadians Project. She is also the administrator of several Acadian and French-Canadian based genealogy groups online in order to help answer questions or guide people in their research. She is currently working on her Acadian Expulsion Memorial List Project in which she has set out to list every Acadian who was lost during the Acadian Expulsion by name. This project now has over 5,000 Acadians listed and she is still actively researching for that project.

Thank you very much for being on the show, Nicole Nunez. Before we get started, can you tell us a bit about who you are and your work in studying the Acadians and in genealogical history in general?

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

Sure. So I'm a quarter Acadian. um I'm quarter ah a quarter Quebecois and then I'm half Italian ah from Naples on mom's side. And so I didn't really know much about my origins growing up besides that I had, you know, some sort of French Canadian ancestry with dad and Italian with mom. um And so I was in high school when I really tried to figure out, well, are we French French?

You know, like recent arrivals in Canada from France or what? um And that's when I kind of stumbled upon, you know, the Quebecois, going back to like the king's daughters and those early settlers, and then the Acadians, which I had known nothing about um I had mentioned we just, we weren't taught about this type of history. And we're not far away. I'm in Massachusetts, born, raised, still live in the same town. So it's just strange that we never heard of it. um And so it was really in high school that i you know, I guess caught the genealogy bug as we do.

A lot of people say that, you know, once you start, you you can't stop. And so I really dove into it more as a hobby first. um And I did that for many years. I became a search and angel where you do pro bono work for people. um And then everyone, you know, was just saying like, why don't you just do this? You love it. um It's your passion. You know, why don't you do this? And so then i created my own genealogy business. So now I help clients ah with all aspects of genealogical research, whether it's building their trees or if they've built their trees and they just want it verified, um working with DNA results. So it's always something different. And I do primarily focus on Acadian research. French Canadian research. um I also do like early New England, but um it's always something different, which I really enjoy. um And then I also do my own personal projects on the side that I publish.

So those usually are like put on my blog or hosted by genealogical societies in their newsletters and things like that, um you know, all for free just to get my work out there. um So that's basically what I do all day, every day, which I love.

Gary Girod

Well, you got to do what you love.

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

Yes.

Gary Girod

So just to leave a quick background for our audience, can you tell us exactly who were the Acadians?

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

Sure. So today's Acadians, they're basically the descendants of the 17th and 18th century French settlers who settled in the vast region known as Acadia, which encompassed the North the region, the Northeast region of North America, ah Southeastern Canada, which is now the Canadian Maritimes, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward r Island, the Gaspé Peninsula in Eastern Quebec, Southwestern parts of Newfoundland and Northeastern parts of Maine in the U.S. um So that was the region that they settled. um And so predominantly French, um a lot of them that we know of because so many records unfortunately were you know lost over time. We believe most of them were from the La Rochelle region ah in France. um But so most of them were predominantly French. There were some other, um you know, a variety of other European settlers that also was there. um And we also had some intermingling with the local indigenous population um with these settlers. And so they became the Acadians. And and They thrived in this new land. They learned, you know, some indigenous ways. They really had a great relationship, particularly with the Mi'kmaq people um that really helped them get settled. And they lived in this region, um you know, just really flourishing ah for a very long time, which was amazing.

Gary Girod

What were their experiences like as they settled into life in Canada? I imagine that there was quite a lot of opportunity, but at the same time, there are significant challenges for new residents.

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

Oh, for sure. um So the Acadians had left France for a variety of reasons, as you know, explorers do. um But they had found themselves in this rugged, ah forested, coastal land um with harsh winters, and they had to learn how to adapt to this new landscape. So their strongest foundations for the early Acadians was definitely their dedication to their families, which were usually large with several children. um Their devotion to their Catholic faith was very important, but it involved hard physical labor on their homesteads, such as like, you know, the construction of all the buildings. They were hunting, they were fishing, they were farming various crops, and they were also constructing dikes called abatul, which utilized the far the fertile marshlands. um They were raising the livestock, And they had those great relationships with the the local indigenous Mi'kmaq, which really helped them learn the land to be able to harvest um from the land and sea around their new homes.

Gary Girod

So let's get to the tragic event, which is central to Akkadian identity and history, which is the expulsion. What led up to it and why were so many forced out of Akkadia?

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

So the ah Acadians had enjoyed over a century by now um of contentment and prosperity in their new homes since the early days of their settlement in the region. But in terms of the events that led up to it in 1755, It's important to know that France and England had fought several times for control over these lands since those first settlements. And then in 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, giving England control over Arcadia once again.

so whether they were under French rule or English rule, the Acadians very much felt like their own people, ah not belonging to either nation. They really wanted to remain neutral in any ongoing wars between England and France. All they wanted to do um was to be left alone, stay out of any conflicts, practice their Catholic religion, to have their, you know, land to live and farm on. um So Britain really wanted the Acadians to sign an oath of allegiance that swore their loyalty.

And some eventually, you know, did sign and Britain kind of settled on a conditional oath for the Acadians for a while. But, you know, when they agreed to abide by Britain's rule, um you know, they were just kind of reluctant to it. They just, they were kind of stuck in the middle between honoring, wanting to be neutral. um And so they reluctantly did this. um Things were relatively peaceful for the most part um over the next three decades, but things really went off the rails again um in the 1740s when France decided, you know, we want Acadia back. um So the British and the French, you know, feeling these rising tensions, they had been taking turns building forts and garrisons in strategic locations within Acadia, you know, really in anticipation of each other's moves like a game of chess, because it really felt like things were coming to a head.

And so, as I mentioned several times over those span of decades, the English had asked the Acadians to sign that oath of allegiance. um And others, you know, of course, if they signed, it was most likely reluctantly, but others refused and they were adamant to stay neutral. But this so-called repeated defiance, um as the the British saw it, was really the catalyst for the events that followed. Notice the Acadian expulsion, Le Grand Dérangement, the great upheaval.

And so it was at the fall of Fort Beausejour in 1755, where some Acadians were found within the fort and they were presumed by the British to have sided with the French crown, um, after promising their neutrality. So that was kind of presumed as a defiant act.

And then, so in 1755, the British authorities made the decision to remove the Acadians from the lands, um, They had felt you know that the Acadians were a threat to them, partially because you know they had never really fully committed to supporting England, um but also because that those profitable Acadian lands were wanted for British settlers.

And so the deportation process began in the fall of 1755, where Acadians were rounded up in Grand Prix, Nova Scotia. And despite earlier promises of trying to make this as peaceful as possible for the Acadians, um everything was you know basically confiscated from them. They were purposely separated from their families in many cases. The homes were burned, livestock was killed, um and crops were destroyed in order to make it impossible for the Acadians to remain there. um So that's basically, it was a culmination of several factors, but that's basically what led up to these deportation events in 1755.

Gary Girod

And can you tell us a bit about some of the particular figures who were involved in the deportation, maybe some famous Akkadians who tried to resist?

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

Sure. Yeah. so um that's actually one of my favorite topics to discuss. um I think it's, they kind of always just stick in my mind more than others, just because they've made such a point to um be their own, you know, in in spite of everything going on, they've really taken a stand. And I know many did, and we just don't know their stories. um Joseph Broussard was um ah a key figure. Did Boussole, I believe you pronounce it, Um, so he was leading the resistance in the backwoods around the Bay of Fundy. Um, and his group was really fighting against the English.

They ended up getting captured, um, like his group, and they were ultimately held like at Halifax. Um, so his group, when they were released after the Treaty of Paris in 1763, his group actually made their way down to Louisiana. So he basically brought the first group of what now is become Cajuns um down to Louisiana. So he's someone that is known as part of the resistance um movement, but there were so many others. ah The ship Pembroke, where the Acadians were put on board, they were headed for you know the South colonies in New England. um

And they ended up overtaking the British that had the ship. And they ended up taking it, turning it right back around and heading back to Acadia, where they landed, you know, up towards Quebec. And sadly, a lot of them, those passengers were lost to the smallpox epidemic there. um But boy, they gave it a heck of a try. So stories like that really, um they're important to know, because, you know, they all fought back in their own ways, whether it was just defiantly, you know, stamping their feet, getting on the ship or, um you know, whatever it was, but some of them really made these bold movements to say, no, not today. um We're going to do everything we can, which is, which is amazing to know about.

Gary Girod

Not only did I want to hear about those particular leaders for their own story, but I have a fun fact, which is the very famous person you mentioned, Joseph Roussard. He was actually an ancestor to Beyonce, something which I found out because on our Patreon, we have exclusive episodes for our patrons. I did a series on the history of the Louvre. there Beyonce was the first person allowed to make a music video with her husband Jay-Z there, and it turns out she actually has quite quite a prestigious background from not really royalty per se, but some pretty famous Acadians.

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

She does, yes. I'm also related to her on my Quebecois side. um She goes back to many of the first early settlers there along the St. Lawrence. um So she's a many times cousin over. So it's great that you mentioned her. Yeah,

Gary Girod

Oh, well, hopefully you can connect me to Bay, but in any case.

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

if only. Yeah.

Gary Girod

So you talked about it a little bit, but let's dive into the details a bit more. Where did the Acadians end up settling after they had been forced out of their homes?

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

So they were put on ships. um In 1755, the main focus was was sending them down to the New England colonies. um So it was about several thousand Acadians. um They were sent to the colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, ah North and South Carolina, and Georgia. um And so actually the Acadians that were sent to Virginia were actually refused entry and they were instead sent right off to England, where they were basically held in concentration camps upon arrival um at the seaports. So. Many other Acadians, seeing this, of course, they had fled the area. um some you know Several thousand ended up at the refugee camp called Camp de Esperance or Camp of Hope, and that was on the Miramichi River. Some also headed directly for Quebec, um and others sought refuge on what is now Prince Edward Island. But then they themselves were caught up in the next wave of deportations, in 1758, where those um island Acadians were sent to mainland France. um So regardless of where they were deported to, they were basically considered prisoners of war until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763. So after that period, um it basically allowed them to resettle. And some chose to relocate to, you know, French colonies, um such as like the Caribbean to Haiti, Martinique, Guadalupe and two French Guiana. um Others, you know, like I mentioned with Joseph, he went to Louisiana, which was then in control of Spain, um but then, you know, gained a large French population following 1763, which, you know, became the Cajuns we know today. um So they were really dispersed.

And basically they just tried to, so you know, the ones that survived, of course, um really tried to just stick it out in hopes that someday they could move around again, try to find their families. um And so it was it was just a widespread despora where they're, you know, the ones in mainland France, they were on ships. um Three of the ships were actually lost at sea um when they sank. So about a thousand Akkadians died at that point. um it was just It was just a terrible time.

Gary Girod

Speaking of which, so you've detailed where they set up, you've mentioned a lot of the hardships. ah Can you perhaps tell us about some of the success stories? I mean, I know Beyonce's much far later history, but there are quite a few of these communities that developed across the United States and elsewhere. Can you tell us a little bit perhaps about how the Acadian culture lived on and perhaps even lives on to this day, dispersed in other areas.

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

Sure. I think in my own case, um most of my ancestors were either deported to France, um where they made, you know, a reasonably, i don't want to say comfortable, but they they managed to stick it out enough where they basically remained together until it was, they were able to come back. And some did and and actually resettled in Prince Edward Island, where they, you know, were um just dispelled from. um others that were in the U.S. colonies, um some chose to stay. um and being in Massachusetts now, we have a very large French Canadian and Acadian presence here. um

And it really ramped up around the turn of the century with the textile mills that we had here at the time, leather factories and so on. And I wonder if, you know, i think it was partially the draw of those job opportunities that brought them here at that time. But I also wonder if stories of their ancestors from their great grandparents and things had been passed down to say like Massachusetts was a home to us at ah at that period um when we needed a place And granted, um none of them were treated exceptionally well when they were here. Usually um they were given like a small stipend at best to, um you know, be able to care for their families. But in some cases, um you know, the children were taken from the families, the French families, in order to, you know, pay their their way. and They would work for the English families as, um you know, like labor ah for their room and board. So.

I think knowing that this was a safe place, um you know, where they could at least be together, maybe lingered in their minds and was passed down. um Louisiana was a big one where I think it was about um over 3000 Acadians had gone there between 1763, when the big, you know, 1763, 1764, that was the big influx. um It was like from colonies like Connecticut, um from Halifax, they had settled there. um And then word kind of got around as people were starting to move. And the people that were in France, whether they arrived there directly from, you know, the ships from, you know, Prince Edward Island, uh, in 1758, or whether they were sent to England first and then resettled in France after 1763, they kind of learned that Louisiana was, um, full of their, their kin, you know, their, their friends and family. And so even in 1785, there was a big influx of Acadians from France, uh, to Louisiana. Um, and that's a very vibrant community now. um

And we we really have learned that they have tried to make the best of it wherever they did end up. um They did try settling in those Caribbean islands and in like, you know, French Guyana and the conditions were just too much for them in their weakened state. It was, you know, disease and just malnutrition. um So a lot of those folks actually went to Louisiana, too. So that's where they, you know, they found their spot and really made it their own, which was amazing.

Gary Girod

So tell us about your genealogical research. How does this help uncover who these people were and what were the most fascinating things you've discovered in your work?

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

Sure. So it's all credit to the you know researchers and genealogists that have come before me. um The amazing late Stephen White has done incredible research on the early Acadians, um just as one example.

And it is very difficult for us to do that because most of our Acadian records were either lost um or even purposely destroyed ah during the Acadian expulsion. We're fortunate to have anything, but the very little we do have um It's just painstakingly rebuilding families. We're following record to record, a surviving baptism, a surviving census, ah you know, reconstructed ship manifest. We're using all of these things that we have to try to piece these families together. And we're still actively doing that as we're just slowly uncovering. I mean, these are, 12 to 15,000 people, um if not more, um you know, estimates vary quite a bit. um And so we're using all these records to try to find out who these people were, who were their families, every little thing about them. My primary focus, especially over the past year, was creating my own type of memorial list for those who were lost. And so I had originally set out to do this just in my own family tree. I wanted to know my ancestors' names. You know, it's important to me to recognize them as, you know, being affected so deeply by this event and being grateful, you know, that the fact that I'm even here today. And so I made my own little memorial list of my ancestors. And I thought, why isn't there um a big one? You know, and there is the wall of names in Louisiana um that highlights the Acadians that settled there, um but not necessarily listing those who were lost. And so I thought that was important to do. And so I thought, well, if I can make my own little list, what's...

I'm up to 5,000 names now. So that took a turn that I didn't expect. um It's absolutely a labor of love. um And I'm so glad I did it. But boy, is it hard to name all these people, um especially the children. It's just heartbreaking. um So my main focus really has been finding out where they were before the deportations, what was their life like? And then following, like, where did they go? A lot of people, thousands just literally disappear and we don't have further records on them. um Those are still ongoing for research. And then just making sure we remember those that we know have passed and try to figure out where where where did their lines continue. um So that's a big, a big focus. And I work with the Acadians project on WikiTree. um it's a group of like volunteer, you know, genealogists, researchers, um even just like genealogy enthusiasts. We all work together to make sure that the profiles of early Acadians are well-documented, well-sourced to make sure it's like, you know, you see family trees online and a lot of it is just a name and a date. And it's like, well, how do you know that? What, what proof do you have? um That's what genealogical research is like, show me how, is it DNA? Is it, you know, actual vital records, like what are we looking at? And so it's really important to find those and make sure that they're available and it's free. um You know, everybody should have access to their history or just to this history. um You don't have to be Acadian to want to be interested in a, you know, very important event that happened. um And so that's really what my purpose is lately is creating that memorial list. I'm still adding names to it. um I'm still working with the Acadians project on projects. And I'm doing things like this, which just raise awareness um of this history of these events and of these people um who deserve to be remembered.

Gary Girod

It is a fantastic work. Check out Treasured Trees Genealogy Services by Nicole Gallant-Nunes. Thank you very much for being on the show.

Nicole Gallant-Nunes

Thank you so much for having me.