Claude Pitre (abt. 1671 - bef. 1752)

Born about Feb 1671 in Port-Royal, Acadie, Nouvelle-France

Ancestors

Husband of Marie Anne Comeau — married about 1696 in Port Royal, Acadie, Nouvelle-France [uncertain]

Husband of Anne Henry — married 17 Feb 1710 in Port-Royal, Acadie, Nouvelle-France

Descendants

Died before 1 Jan 1752 before about age 80 in Annapolis Royal, Acadie, Nova Scotia Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Acadians Project WikiTree [send private message], Roland Arsenault [send private message], and Danielle Donohue [send private message]

Claude Pitre is an Acadian. Join: Acadians Project Discuss: ACADIA

Biography

"Claude Pitre was born about February 1671, appearing in the 1671 census as a 9-month-old, the youngest of Jean Pitre and Marie Pesseley's three children on that census. Acadia at that time was a community of about 400 people."^[1][2]. The family continued to live in Port Royal, found there in 1678.^[3]

In 1686, at Port Royal, Claude, aged 16, was living with his parents, Jean PITRE, aged 61 [sic], and Marie PESELET [sic], aged 45, and his 6 siblings: Mare [sic], aged 12, Pierre, aged 9, Jean, aged 6, Francois, age 4, an unnamed girl, aged 2, and an unnamed girl, aged 1 month. By this time his two oldest sisters had married and were settled nearby with their husbands.^[4]

In 1693, at Port Royal, Claude, aged 22, was living with his stepfather, Francoise [sic] ROBIN, aged 50, and his mother, Marie PESSELET [sic], aged 48, and his five siblings: Marie [sic], aged 18, Pierre, aged 13, Francois, aged 11, Marguerie [sic], aged 10, and Jeanne, aged 7. No land or livestock was listed.^[5]

"Over the next 20 years a relative stability existed within the colony, as they farmed, fished and traded. As relations were becoming more heated with the British, Claude married, probably at Port Royal c.1696, to Marie Anne Comeau, who was about eighteen. She was the oldest daughter of early Acadians Pierre Comeau, known as l'Esturgeon, and Jeanne Bourg.^[6]

They had their first child a year later, in 1697. Baby Marie was age 1 by the time of the 1698 census.^[7]. The next children came in quick succession, by 1701 there were three children^[8], and in 1703 there were five children^[9]. By 1714 their family had increased to eight children^[10]

Together they had eight children, all born in Port-Royal, Acadie:^[6]

1. Marie Pitre (about 1697 – before 1702) .
2. Anne Pitre (about 1698 – unknown) .
3. Pierre Pitre (about 1699 – 1766) .
4. Marguerite Pitre (1700 – before Sep 1756) .
5. Jean Pitre (Nov 29 1702 – Oct 24 1717) .
6. Marie Pitre (Mar 31 1705 – Aug 24 1757) .
7. Françoise Pitre (Jun 9 1707 – after 1772) .
8. Angelique Pitre (Jun 9 1707 – about Dec 21 1762)

Having eight children over eleven years must have taken its toll as Marie Anne died at the age of twenty-nine, a month after their twins were born.

Claude now had at least six children to care for as well as earn a living. Maybe this was an unappealing proposition for young women in the area, because it was two and a half years before he remarried. (It’s possible that his youngest sister Jeanne, who is probably the “daughter over 12” appearing with their widowed mother in the 1707 census,^[11] took over the domestic duties for his family. Their stepfather had died 9 months prior, and their mother died 5 months after Marie Anne’s death so she could have easily stepped into the role. What became of her is unknown.)

Twenty-two-year-old Anne "Jeanne" Henry became Claude’s second wife during the winter of 1710. Their marriage was 17 Feb 1710 in Port-Royal, Acadie.^[12][6][13] Anne was the middle child of Robert Henry, a Frenchman, and Marie Madeleine Godin, a Quebecois.

Children, all born in Port-Royal, Acadie:^[6]

1. Marie Marguerite Pitre (about 1711 – about Dec 28 1758) .
2. Marie Josephe Pitre (May 29 1712 – Dec 2 1757) .
3. Unknown Pitre (Apr 1714 – Apr 3 1714) .
4. Rene Pitre (Mar 31 1717 – Apr 13 1717) .
5. Joseph Pitre (Dec 27 1718 – about 1765) .
6. Brigitte Pitre (May 9 1721 – unknown) .
7. Charles Pitre (Nov 17 1723 – Sep 11 1772) .
8. Thérèse Pitre (Mar 22 1726 – unknown)

Eight months after their marriage, Port-Royal, having been given no assistance by France, surrendered to the English forces. The inhabitants of Port-Royal and those people living within three miles were granted permission to stay for two years by taking a conditional oath of allegiance, rendering them "French neutrals." The rest of Acadia came under English control in 1713. Most may have wanted to leave but to do so would mean giving up their hard-earned farms on good land and starting over who knew where.

The 1714 census still finds Claude, Anne, and their now eight children in Port-Royal.^[14]

The 1717 burial registers record the death of Claude's two-week-old son, Rene,^[15] and six months later his 15-year-old son, Jean.^[16]

Five of Claude's children from his first marriage married in Port-Royal during the 1720s; presumably Claude was still there. By the late-1720s Claude was in his mid-fifties. Claude and Anne were still in Port-Royal in 1726,^{[citation needed]} but the family may have moved to Chipoudy not long after. Daughter Marie Josephe married in Chipoudy in 1734.^{[citation needed]}

Claude died during this time -- his widow is listed in the 1752^[17]and the 1754/55^[18]censuses at Chipoudy.

Three of his sons, Pierre, Joseph and Charles, were prisoners at Halifax in 1763.^[19] Of Claude's children from his first marriage, one died on Ile St. Jean, two in France and one in Louisiana; from the second marriage, one died in France, and three others in exile in Quebec, as did his widow Anne, in hospital, in 1757." ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Wendy Pitre Roostan , Claude Pitre February 1671 Port Royal - before 1750 Acadia, "The Pitre Trail from Acadia" accessed at http://www.pitretrail.com/
2. ↑ Tim Hebert," Transcription of the 1671 Acadian Census at Port-Royal, Acadie," 1671 Census Transcribed. Citing original census at Census microfilm C-2572 of the National Archives of Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752” Images 3-14.

   Jean PITRE, edge tool maker, 35, wife Marie PESELET 26; Children: Marie 5, Catherine 3, Claude 9 months; cattle 1.

3. ↑ Tim Hebert, "1678 Port Royal Acadian Census," with correlations done by Rev. Clarence J. d'Entremont, Fairhaven, Massachusetts, online at 1678 Census

   Jean Pitre & Marie Pesselet

   2 acres& 2 cows

   4 boys: Claude, 10 [sic]; Marc, 5; Pierre, 3; Jean, 1

   2 girls: Marie, 14; Catherine,16

4. ↑ Tim Hebert; Transcription of the 1686 Acadian Census, at Port-Royal, Acadie 1686 Census Transcribed. The original census can be found at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the National Archives of Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752,” Images 15-60;

   at Port Royal: Jean PITRE 61, Marie PESELET 45; children: Claude 16, Mare 12, Pierre 9, Jean 6, Francois 4, one girl 2, one girl 1 month. In the original 1686 Census, Marc was listed correctly but transcribed as Mare. Pesseley was listed as Peselet.

5. ↑ Tim Hebert; Transcription of the 1693 Acadian Census at Port-Royal, Acadie 1693 Census Transcribed. The original census can be found at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the Library and Archives Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752,” Images 62-108;

   at Port Royal: Francoise ROBIN 50, Marie PESSELET 48, Claude 22, Marie 18, Pierre 13, Francois 11, Marguerie 10, Jeanne 7. In the original 1693 census at Port Royal, Francois Robin was listed correctly but transcribed as Francoise Robin, Marc was listed correctly but transcribed as Marie, Marguerite was listed correctly but transcribed as Marguerie, and Pesseley was listed as Pesselet.

6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} Stephen A. White, Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes: 1715 à 1780 ("DGFA") (Moncton, NB: Centre d'Études Acadiennes) pp. 1318 & 1320
7. ↑ Tim Hebert, "Transcription of the 1698 Acadian Census at Port-Royal," Acadie1698 Census Transcribed, citing original census at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the National Archives of Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752,” Images 110-150;

   Claude PITRE 25; Marie COMMEAU (wife) 20; Marie 1; 2 cows, 4 sheep,

8. ↑ Tim Hebert; Transcription of the 1701 Acadian Census at Port-Royal, Acadie 1701 Census Transcription. The original census can be found at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the Library and Archives Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752,” Images 174-211;

   ean PITRE 30, Anne COMMEAU (wife) 23; Pierre 2, Anne 3, Marie 1; 1 gun 6 cattle, 9 sheep, 5 hogs, 5 arpents.

9. ↑ Tim Hebert; Transcription of the 1703 Acadian Census at Port-Royal, Acadie 1703 Census Transcription. The original census can be found at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the Library and Archives Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752,” Images 212-220;

   Claude PITRE, his wife 3 boys, 2 girls, 1 arms bearer.

10. ↑ Tim Hebert; Transcription of the 1714 Acadian Census at Port-Royal, Acadie 1714 Census Transcription. The original census can be found at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the Library and Archives Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752,” Images 239-261;

    Claude PITRE and wife, 2 sons, 6 daughters.

11. ↑ Tim Hebert, Acadian-Cajun Genealogy website 1707 Acadian Census accessed 18 August 2019.
12. ↑ Library and Archives Canada, Fonds de la paroisse catholique Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Port-Royal, N.-É.)-1870 C-1870 (image 145-146) https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c1870/145?r=0&s=5
13. ↑ An Acadian Parish Remembered The Registers of St. Jean-Baptiste, Annapolis Royal, 1702-1755 Claude Pitre and Anne Henry marriage RG 1 volume 26 page 297 https://novascotia.ca/archives/acadian/archives.asp?ID=1260
14. ↑ Tim Hebert, "Transcription of the 1714 Acadian Census at Port-Royal, Acadie," 1714 Census Transcription. The original census at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the National Archives of Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752,” Images 239-261;

    Claude PITRE and wife, 2 sons, 6 daughters.

15. ↑ Nova Scotia Archives in An Acadian Parish Remembered: The Registers of St. Jean-Baptiste, Annapolis Royal, 1702-1755 René Pitre burial (registered in 1717)

    Register RG 1 volume 26 page 359

    Priest Justinien Durand

    Registration Date 13 April 1717

    Event Burial

    Name René Pitre

    died , about one month old, infant

    Father Claude Pitre

    Mother Anne Henry

16. ↑ Jean Pitre burial (registered in 1717)

    Register RG 1 volume 26 page 361

    Priest Justinien Durand

    Registration Date 24 October 1717

    Event Burial

    Name Jean Pitre

    died , about fifteen years old, young boy

    Father Claude Pitre

    Mother Marie Comeau, deceased

17. ↑ Lucie LeBlanc Consentino, Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home" 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;

    Widow Pitre, 1 boy, 1 girl

18. ↑ Lucie LeBlanc Consentino, Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home" 1755 Census

    Anne Henry, veuve, 1 boy, 1 girl

19. ↑ Lucie LeBlanc Consentino, "Fort Halifax, List of Acadian Prisoners at Halifax, 12 August 1763" online at "Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home," website.

    Joseph Pitre

    Charle Pitre

    Pier Pitre

• Wendy Pitre Roostan's website "The Pitre Trail from Acadia", modified to add information and sources.