Acadian Coast Pioneers

Question

Hi! I wanted to post on G2G something a couple of members of the Louisiana Families project have been working on. As you may know, we have a German Coast Settlers category. We're about ready to do a similar category for Acadian Coast Pioneers, along with a companion Acadian Coast space page (Morris did a great job with his research & proposal, and I'd like to post it all, but it's more info than we should post to a Category page :).

The proposal (updated the 18th & 22nd based on following discussion) is to create:

• Category:Louisiana Acadian Coast Settlers
• Space:Louisiana Acadian Coast

Defined as

In summary, I think we should use the phrase “Acadian Coast” when referring to anyone living in St. James or Ascension Parishes between 1764 and 1785. There are a number of censuses, military rosters, and church lists which provide details about these first Acadian Coast pioneers.

Intentionally not included in the definition of the category are the "settlements ... along Bayou Lafourche in neighboring Assumption Parish".  If a category (or categories) were created in the furture for those settlements, a Space page named just "Acadian Coast" could serve them also.

If no objections, I'll create the category & space page next week.

Cheers, Liz

Answer 1

a discussion in the Louisiana project's Google Group requested a change from Pioneers to Settlers, to parallel the German Coast Settlers category. So, if no objections,I'll create:

• Category:Louisiana Acadian Coast Settlers
• Space:Louisiana Acadian Coast

Thanks all!

Answer 2

This is a good proposal for several reasons. The first settlements of Acadian refugees in Louisiana were divided between the western prairies and the river coasts. The familiar term "Cajun" does not distinguish between these very different Louisiana cultural heritages. The proposed Acadian Coast Pioneer category would focus on the first Mississippi River settlements of the Acadian refugees and help make that distinction more clear.

A similar category might be proposed at another time for the "Prairie Acadians" west of the Mississippi River.

Comments

I would rather refer to the "prairie" Acadians as "Attakapas Acadian Settlers" since St. Martinville was the center of those settlements. I have ascendants from both areas, as well from the German Coast and early New Orleans. All were distinct cultures.

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My suggestion regarding "Prairie Acadians" was not meant as a proposed label. The Acadian refugees sent to the prairies were those the government hoped would become ranchers rather than farmers to provide the colony with meat. Some of them ended up in far western Louisiana, while others stayed closer to the Mississippi River (Attakapas, etc.). I merely wanted to distinguish them from the river coastal settlers. Whatever you want to call them is fine with me.

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And I didn't take it as a proposal, but merely wanted to suggest another wording for the label. I agree with you that distinguishing the locales would be helpful to Acadian genealogists. Incidentally, I believe that the Acadians who moved farther west were descended mostly from the Attakapas group.

Answer 3

While I like the concept, I think the name is misleading, and ambiguity would cause confusion with the early settlers of the coast of Atlantic Canada where European fishermen were seasonally occupying coastal outports supporting grand banks fishing voyages through the 16th century.  There is evidence of overwintering in these outports; and many of these outports initially regarded as First Nations settlements were later recognized as the first European settlements of Acadia.  I suggest alternative naming:

• Category:Mississippi Delta Coast Pioneers
• Space:Mississippi Delta Coast

Comments

I understand the possible confusion of "Louisiana Acadian Coast"  with "Acadian Coast" and might suggest simply adding "Louisiana" to the category title. "Mississippi Delta" would be inaccurate for this group of settlers. So how does "Louisiana Acadian Coast Pioneers" sound?

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Yes, I too thought the name 'Acadian Coast' was a little misleading.

In the case of my relatives (i.e., the Doucets), instead of being deported, they 'ran' away to the coast of northern New Brunswick to eventually establish a new settlement called Petit-Rocher,NB (~1797).

So yes, adding 'Louisiana' would definitely help differentiate (at least in my mind) the different groups!