Jean Gaudet (abt. 1575 - bef. 1678)

Born about 1575 in Martaizé, Loudun, Poitou, France

Husband of Unknown (Inconnu) Gaudet — married about 1621 in France

Husband of Nicole Colleson — married about 1652 in Acadie

Descendants

Died before 1678 before about age 103 in Port-Royal, Acadie, Nouvelle-France

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Biography

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Jean Gaudet migrated from France to Acadia.

Jean Gaudet was born in France around 1575. His parents and precise place of birth in France remain unknown. ^[1] [See Research Notes regarding orgins].

In about 1622, Jean married a woman whose name is unknown. [See Research Notes regarding first spouse]. The couple had 3 children born in France: ^[1]

1. Marie-Francoise, b. 1623
2. Denis, b. 1625
3. Marie, b. 1633

Around 1652, Jean married a second time, to Nicole Colleson. Around 1653 they had a son Jean.^[1]

Jean Gaudet was described by Father Archange Godbout as the Abraham of Acadia, because of his numerous descendents."^[2] Through his two sons and two daughters, followed by 22 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren, Jean became an ancestor of something on the order of a tenth of the small settlement at Acadie.

By 1671 Jean Gaudet, age 96, is the oldest inhabitant of Port-Royal. He was living with his second wife Nicole, age 64, and their son Jean. His three oldest children were married.^[3]

Jean died before 1678.^[1][4]

Research Notes

Origins. Some family trees list Jean Gaudet as originating from Martaizé, which was in Poitou (today Vienne), France. The Belle-Isle-en-Mer declarations in 1767 indicate that Acadian descendents of Jean Gaudet's daughters Marie and Françoise believed that they came from France with their husbands. Thus Massignon^[5] concludes that the Acadian surnames of Gaudet, Hebert, and LeBlanc were already allied in France. Moreover, a certain Jean Gaudet, was censistaire in 1634 on land at Martaizé (Vienne) in the Seigneurie d’Aulnay. ^[6] A part of those that arrived in Acadia during the 17th century, were native of this commune. However, Massignon's research failed to find any relevant baptismal or marriage records.

White and Godbout interpret the phrasing of the Belle-Isle-en-Mer declarations regarding coming from France with their spouse as not necessarily meaning that the two came together and at the same time, but simply that both the husband and wife had come from France.

First Spouse and Children. Some family trees identify Jean Gaudet's first spouse as Marie Daussy. This is based on a discussion in a French periodical Nova Francia (Spring 1927, Vol. II, p.188) describing a Gaudet family Jean from Abbeville Picardy who was 59 years old in 1727, the son of Jean Gaudet and Marie Daussy. The birth date for this Jean Gaudet Jr. (about 1668 in France) is inconsistent with the Acadian Jean Gaudet Jr, whose parents (Jean and Nicole Colleson) were settled in Port Royal Acadia at that time.^[7] Another hypothesis is that Jean's first spouse was Amerindian, and that Jean's daughters had two different mothers. Mitochondrial DNA from several descendents of Marie and Francoise indicate that their haplogroup was European (J), and identical to one another, indicating that they were sisters of the same European mother.

Arrival in Acadia. The Gaudet families are found in the 1671 Acadian Census but when did they arrive there? Various time frames are proposed.

1) The ancestor Acadien arrived in America, shortly after 1634. Father Léopold Lanctot, o.m.i., claims that Jehan Godet arrived in Acadia very early, by 1610 , with Charles de Biencourt. Some authors think that his first wife was Micmac but this is not very easy to prove. In the work " A feudal colony in America " Edme Rameau hinted in a note th at a Metis branch that would have been a part of this family. On the other hand if he arrived with Razilly by 1634, his first children were born in France and his first wife would not be of MicMac origin.

2) Others think that Jean GODET arrived in Acadie by 1610, or even with Champlain in 1604, would have returned to France to look there for his family. This version is more reconcilable with the tenants of those who believe that he might have left by 1634.

3) In view of his age, he could have been part of the first expedition of Poutrincourt. He is one of those rare French that remained in Acadie after the siege of Port Royal by the Kirk brothers.

4)Stephen White^[1] lists the children's marriages as follows based on the ages of their first known children: Françoise married an unknown Mercier c1644 and Daniel LeBlanc c1650. Marie married Etienne Hébert c1650. Daniel LeBlanc was one of the signatories attesting to the accomplishments of d'Aulnay in Acadia. Since d'Aulnay died in May 1650^[8], Daniel likely arrived in Acadia before that time.^[7]

Although it is not clear when Jean arrived, the timeline below sets out some of the events in his life in context with the history of Acadian settlement.

Timeline

c1575 birth, in France

c1622 marriage to Unknown Spouse

c1623 birth, daughter Françoise

c1625 birth, son Denis

c1633 birth, daughter Marie

1632 Treaty Saint-Germain-en-Laye cedes Acadia to France; Razilly brings ~300 elite men^[9]

1636 Arrival of the first French families to settle permanantly^[5]

c1650 Jean's daughters marry in France

before Oct. 1650 Jean's son in law Daniel LeBlanc arrives in Acadia with wife Françoise Gaudet

c1652 Jean marries 2nd wife Nicole Colleson

c1653 birth, son Jean

1654 British capture Port-Royal; French settlement ceases

1667-70 Treaty of Breda cedes Acadia to the French; settlement resumes^[10]

1671 residence, in Port-Royal

before 1678 death

Biographie

"Le Père Archange Godbout a décrit Jean Gaudet comme étant l'Abraham de l'Acadie, tant nombreuse est sa descendance.^[2]

Jean Gaudet est né vers 1575.^[1] Il épousa une femme inconnue vers 1622.^[1] Entre 1623 et 1633, le couple a eu 3 enfants: Françoise, Denis, et Marie.^[1]

Vers 1652, Jean épousa Nicole Colleson. Vers 1653, le couple a eu un fils Jean.

Jean est mort avant 1678.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} ”Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes” (DGFA); Stephen A. White; 2 vols., Moncton, New Brunswick: Centre d'Études Acadiennes, 1999. p.666-668
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} WHITE, Stephen A. "The genealogy of the thirty-seven host families of" Retrouvailles 94 "", Cahiers de la Société historique acadienne , vol. 25, Nos . 2 and 3 (1994), Gaudet Gaudet
3. ↑ 1671 Census Transcription

   at Port Royal: Jean GAUDET 96, wife, Nicole COLLESON 64; Child: Jean 18; cattle 6, sheep 3.

4. ↑ CENSUS: 1678 Port Royal, Acadia, Nicolle Colleron (sic) is listed as widow of GODET
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Massignon, Geneviève. "Les parlers français d'Acadie, enquête linguistique", Librairie Klincksieck, Paris, 1962, 2 tomes. P. 32 (first French families in Acadia) p45 (Double bond between Landry and Bourg family suggesting common origin in France); p37-38 (d'Aulnay Seigneurie in France where Gaudet surname is found; also mentioned p47-48
6. ↑ Genevieve Massignon's article " La seigneurie de Charles de Menou d'Aulnay, gouverneur de l'Acadie, 1635-1650", published in 1963 in French.Gaudet Genealogy
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} White, Stephen A. English Supplement to the Dictionnaire Généalogique Des Familles Acadiennes. Moncton NB: Centre D'Études Acadiennes, 2000, p 139(spouse of Jean Gaudet), p 210(Daniel LeBlanc)
8. ↑ Dunn, Brenda. A History of Port Royal / Annapolis Royal 1605-1800. Nimbus Publishing, p vii,ix,1-12 (early European settlement); p21 (Death of d'Aulnay).
9. ↑ George MacBeath, “RAZILLY, ISAAC DE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed May 10, 2019, [http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/razilly_isaac_de_1E.html Razilly
10. ↑ William I. Roberts, 3rd, “SEDGWICK, ROBERT,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed May 10, 2019, [http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/sedgwick_robert_1E.html Sedgwick

See also:

• The Genealogy of the Thirty-seven Host Families of Homecoming 94

• 1686 Acadian Census at Port Royal: Nicole COLLESON 80. Jean GODET her son 45, Jeanne HENRY his wife 30; children: Francoise 13, Jean 12, and three other children by his first wife; 1 gun, 4 arpents, 4 cattle, 4 sheep, 3 hogs. 1686 Census Transcription

• Undocumented Genealogy.com Notes

• Information from Jennifer Payne, family tree which requires account: http://www.gencircles.com/users/harrison-md/2/data/385

• https://web.archive.org/web/20091020131946/http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/3829/acadian_history.html Gaudet was originally from the village of Martaize, Vienne, France and he arrived in Acadia in 1636 with his second wife, Nicole Coleson, and his two children from his first marriage, Francoise who later married Daniel LEBLANC, and Denis who would marry Martine Gauthier. Jean and Nicole Coleson had two children after arriving in Acadia: Marie-Anne who married Etienne HEBERT and Jean who married Jeanne Henry