Benoit Comeau
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Joseph Benoit Comeau (abt. 1737 - aft. 1789)

Joseph Benoit (Benoit) Comeau aka Comeaux, Como
Born about in Chipoudy, Acadie, Colony of Nova Scotiamap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married about 1762 [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Father of , , , , and
Died after after about age 52 in Louisiana, New Spainmap
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Profile last modified | Created 20 May 2011
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Biography

BENOIT COMMEAU is on the Wall of Names at the Acadian Memorial in St. Martinville, Louisiana Plaque 10 Right, L'Amitie. Listed with his is his wife Anne Blanchard and their children Jean, Anne Eleonnor, Margueritte, Marie Anne Victoire and Rose, and Benoit's belle soeur (sister-in-law) Magdeleine Blanchard.[1]
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Benoit Comeau migrated from France to Louisiana.
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Joseph "Benoit" Comeau was born about 1737[2] to Maurice Comeau and Marguerite Thibodeau. It's not clear where exactly he was born, but his father's name along with unnamed wife, three sons, and four daughters are in Chipoudy (now Shepody) in New Brunswick, Canada in the 1752 census of the area.[3]

The May 15, 1767 census of Acadian families on the islands of St-Pierre and Miquelon shows Benoit in the household of his father and mother, living with his wife, Anne Blanchard and with two children, Pierre, age 4 and Jean, age 2. [2] The age of the eldest child suggests he and Anne wed in about 1762. So many people had fled to the colony that the government there was forced to conclude they could only support 300 Acadians. After the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, the rest were given eighteen months to relocate to French soil elsewhere. A large number were sent to France in 1767.[4]

Benoit, his wife & children and his parents and brother were amongst those that sailed on the King's frigate, L'INCONSTANTE to Brest, France as did Anne's parents and siblings.[5]. Benoit's father died sometime after arrival and was buried at the hospital in Saint-Pol-de-Léon, in what is now called Finistère, Bretagne, France on the sixteenth of January 1768.[6]

By the time that the French completed a census of "The Truly Acadian Families" in 1772, the family was in Cherbourg, Normandie (today Manche), France. A transcription[7] of that record follows:

BENOIST CAUMO, 35, son of the above Margueritte Thibodeau, laborer and sawer[sic], of Cherbourg.
Anne Blanchard, 32, his wife
Jean, 7, their son
Marie Anne Victoire, 3, their daughter
Anne Leonore, 1, their daughter
Anastasie Margtte., 5 mo., their daughter
Madne. Blanchard, 28, sister of Anne Blanchard

It appears that their eldest son, Pierre had passed away.

In 1775, four convoys of Acadians travelled to Nantes, following a failed settlement attempt on land that proved unsuitable for farming in Poitou.[8] Benoit, Anne, their children, and her sister were on the third convoy leaving Chatelleraut for Nantes on December 7, 1775.[9]

Benoist Coumeau, 38, carpenter
Anne Blanchard, 35, his wife
Jean, 20, their son
Marie Anne, 7, their daughter
Anne Eleonore, 5, their daughter
Margueritte, 3, their daughter
Madelaine, 33, sister of Anne Blanchard

Over the next 10 years in Nantes, two more daughters were added to the family. Anne was baptized June 6, 1777 but died a little over two years later, being buried on June 17, 1779.[10] Rose Julie was baptized at St. Martin Church in Chantenay on September 30, 1779.[11]

On August 20, 1785 the family departed La Rochelle, France aboard L'Amitie. They are listed on the passenger list as follows[12]

Benoit COMEAUX, carpenter - 48
Anne BLANCHARD, wife - 45
Jean COMEAUX, son, carpenter - 19
Anne Eleonore COMEAUX, daughter - 14
Marguerite COMEAUX, daughter - 12
Marie Anne Victoire COMEAUX, daughter - 16
Rose COMEAUX, daughter - 5
Magdelaine BLANCHARD, sister-in-law - 40

After 80 days at sea and the birth of their youngest daughter, Claire Adelaide, on September 15, 1785[13] they arrived on November 8, 1785.[12]

The family settled in Lafourche Parish where they were counted on both the 1788 Census of Lafourche,[14] and 1789 censuses.[15] In 1788 they occupied a tract of land with six arpents of frontage and owned forty quarts of corn and six hogs. In 1789, their possessions were the same except they had added two more hogs, to total eight.

I have yet to find definitive proof as to how long Anne and Benoit lived after this, but when their daughter Margueritte Anastasia wed in 1794[16] and their daughter Rose Julie wed in 1799[17], neither parent was noted as being deceased. It is safest to say they died sometime after the 1789 census.

Family

Spouse: Marie "Anne" Blanchard

Children:
  1. Pierre (~1763- )
  2. Jean (~1765-bef 1772)
  3. Marie Anne Victoire
  4. Anne Eleanore
  5. Anastasie Marguerite (~1772- aft 1794)
  6. Anne (6 Jun 1777 - 17 Jun 1779)
  7. Rose Julie
  8. Claire Adalaide (15 Sep 1785- )

Sources

  1. ↑ "The Wall of Names at the Acadian Memorial"; Wall of Names Committee; Jane G. Bulliard, Chair; second edition, 2015; Bodemuller The Printer, USA; p. 39.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Familles Acadiennes qui sont maintenant aux îles St-Pierre et Miquelon suivant le recensement d'icelles, fait le 15 mai 1767. , L’Arche Musée et Archives de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, accessed 25 Jun 2018.
  3. ↑ The 1752 Acadian Census, Acadian-Cajun Genealogy & History website by Tim Hebert, accessed 25 June 2018.
  4. ↑ Hebert, Tim. Exile Destination: St.Pierre & Miquelon. Accessed October 1, 2014.
  5. ↑ Liste générale des habitants des îles St-Pierre et Miquelon émigrés pour la France la présente année 1767 sur divers bâtiments, L’Arche Musée et Archives de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon , accessed 25 Jun 2018.
  6. ↑ Burial record for Maurice Comeau, dated 16 Jan 1768, in the Sépultures (1732-1792) Saint-Pol-de-Léon (Hôpital), Conseil General Finistere, France Etat Civil et Registres Paroissiaux Archives, image 40 of 122.
  7. ↑ Rieder, Milton P. Jr. & Rieder, Norma Gaudet. (1967) The Acadians in France, Volume 1; Metairie, LA: Rieder& Rieder, p. 47.
  8. ↑ Hebert, Tim. Nantes, Acadian-Cajun Genealogy & History, accessed 25 Jun 2018
  9. ↑ Rieder, Milton P. Jr. & Rieder, Norma Gaudet. (1967) The Acadians in France, Volume 1 Metairie, LA: Rieder& Rieder, p.110.
  10. ↑ Robichaux, Albert J. Jr., (1978) The Acadian Exiles in Nantes 1775-1785 ;Harvey, LA: Robichaux, p.41-42.
  11. ↑ Baptism record for Rose Julie Comeau, dated 30 Sept 1779, in the parish register, Saint-Martin Parish, Chantenay, France; Archives départementales de Loire-Atlantique, France Commune: Chantenay; paroisse: Saint-Martin; Année 1779, image 58 of 73.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Hebert, Tim. Passenger List for L'Amitie, Acadian-Cajun Genealog & History, accessed 25 Jun 2018.
  13. ↑ Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records 1770-1803 Volume 2. Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge:Baton Rouge, 2009, p.197. Text:
    COMEAUX ...Clara Adeleida (Bernard & Ana Blanchard) bt. 1 Apr. 1786, bn. 15 Sept. 1785, spo. Nicolas Verret & Ana Como (ASC-5,5)
  14. ↑ January 1, 1788: General Census of the Inhabitants Established in Lafourche; Papeles Procedentes de Cuba, Archivo General De Indias, Seville, Spain; Legajo 201. Research copy provided by thecajuns.com, p.14. Summary:
    Benoit COMO-50; Anne BLANCHARD, wife-48; daughters: Marie-18, Anne-16, Anastasie-14, Rose-8, Claire-2. 6 arpents land on the right bank. 40 qts of corn, 5 horned cattle, and 8 swine.
  15. ↑ Census of Lafourche, January 1, 1789. Robichaux, Albert J. Jr., Louisiana Census and Militia Lists Volume I: 1770-1789, Polyanthos: New Orleans, 1977, p.129. Summary:
    Benoit COMO-51; wife Anne BLANCHARD-49; Daughters: Marie-19, Anne-17, Anastasie-15, Rose-9, Claire-3. 6 arpents of land on right bank, 40 quarts of corn, 8 sows.
  16. ↑ Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records 1770-1803 Volume 2. Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge:Baton Rouge, 2009, p.199. Text:
    COMEAUX..Margarita Anastasia (Benito & Ana Blanchrd of Cherbourg Trinity Parish in France) m. 9 June 1794, Glodio Maria LE BLANC (Carlos & Ana Landry of Morlais in Britany) wit. Joseph LeBlanc & Pedro Landry (ASM-2,8)
  17. ↑ Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records 1770-1803 Volume 2. Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge:Baton Rouge, 2009, p.201. Text:
    COMEAUX..Rosa of Nantes, France (Benito & Ana Blanchard) m. 1 Apr. 1799, Simon GUILLOT of St. Malo & widower of Anastasia Celeste Maria Dugat (parents not given) wit. Juan Guillot & Paul Dominique Boudraux (ASM-2,40)




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Benoit by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Benoit:

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Images: 1
Benoit Commeau Family on Plaque 10R on The Wall of Names at the Acadian Memorial in St. Martinville, Louisiana, USA.
Benoit Commeau Family on Plaque 10R on The Wall of Names at the Acadian Memorial in St. Martinville, Louisiana, USA.


Comments: 9

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Songe-9 Pat Songe
Comeau-322 and Comeau-46 do not represent the same person because: Not the same person
posted by Pat Songe
Bourque-573 Cindy (Bourque) Cooper
This profile has a category for Wall of Names but there is no entry at the toop of the profile as would be usual. Is he and are any of the children included?

Cindy

posted by Cindy (Bourque) Cooper
Friebel-7 Donna (Friebel) Storz
Yes they are included. Please see the image of the wall of names.
posted by Donna (Friebel) Storz
Friebel-7 Donna (Friebel) Storz
Please see the image of the wall of names attached to profile. Do we need another heading for wall of names when there are already multiple stickers, etc.?
posted by Donna (Friebel) Storz
Bourque-573 Cindy (Bourque) Cooper
HI, Donna, usually there is a biographical entry at the top of the page for the Wall of Names entry. Seeing the image will do for my purposes but perhaps the LA Fam project might want to add it. Thanks for pointing out the picture, I wasn't looking for it there! Cindy
posted by Cindy (Bourque) Cooper
Ward-9858 Stephanie Ward
Personally, I don't always add the WON announcement at the top of my managed profiles, because I like my profiles to be chronological narratives. However, realizing the majority of WON profiles have already been done that way (and are usually in outline form), I've made peace with it, and have even come to appreciate the look of it -- when it's clearly set off from what's below as a single indented paragraph. But it's easy enough to skim down the biography to the point in time when the event would have happened and look for it there.

I'm not in favor of requiring it to be at the top of the biography for project-managed profiles, and think that any pm who puts in the effort to write it in the biography should have their decision respected (and not duplicated at the top). That said, I'll go along with the majority if other project leaders agree that top of biography uniformity is desirable for project-managed profiles.

Donna, have you tried the image as the profile thumbnail image? That might make it more prominent.

posted by Stephanie Ward
Bourque-573 Cindy (Bourque) Cooper
Yes, I certainly wasn't advocating that it should be there at the top, only just that I have usually seen it there and thought it might be a project standard. Cindy
posted by Cindy (Bourque) Cooper
Friebel-7 Donna (Friebel) Storz
I set it as the primary photo but I'm not sure it looks good there since it isn't clear it is the Wall of Names. I haven't yet set it as primary for the other family members as I want to hear what you all think.
posted by Donna (Friebel) Storz
Ward-9858 Stephanie Ward
Having it there, IMHO, says it's something very important about him which deserves a closer look. I think readers are more likely to click on it there than elsewhere-- and clicking on it is awesome! (PS, I added at the Acadian Memorial, etc to the caption for your consideration.)
posted by Stephanie Ward

Featured National Park champion connections: Benoit is 15 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 19 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 14 degrees from George Catlin, 14 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 21 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 15 degrees from George Grinnell, 24 degrees from Anton Kröller, 15 degrees from Stephen Mather, 20 degrees from Kara McKean, 16 degrees from John Muir, 15 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 26 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.

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Categories: Acadia, Needs Profiles Created | Great Upheaval | Louisiana, Needs Cemetery Category Created | L'Amitie, Sailed 20 August 1785 | The Wall of Names at the Acadian Memorial | Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon | Acadians Deported to Europe | Cherbourg, Manche | Pays de Léon | Nantes, Loire-Atlantique | Louisiana First Families | Louisiana, New France, Immigrants from France | Assumption Parish, Louisiana | Donaldsonville, Louisiana | Lafourche Parish, Louisiana | Acadians | Louisiana Families