Born 23 Aug 1730 in Grand Pré, Acadie, Nouvelle-France

Ancestors

Wife of Pierre Thibodeau — married before 1756 in Port Royal, Acadie

Descendants

Died Jun 1811 in Opelousas County, Orleans Territory, USA

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Francoise (Sonnier) Saulnier is an Acadian. Join: Acadians Project Discuss: ACADIA

Francoise (Sonnier) Saulnier lived in Louisiana. Join: Louisiana Families Project Discuss: louisiana

Biography

Pierre Thibodeau is on the Wall of Names at the Acadian Memorial in St. Martinville, Louisiana, Plaque 6 Left. Listed with him is his wife, Françoise Saulnier, and four children: Adelaide, Francoise, Anne Marie and Marie Josephe.^[1]

Francoise (Sonnier) Saulnier migrated from Acadia to Louisiana.

Françoise Sonnier, daughter of Etienne Saulnier and Jeanne Commeau, was born 23 August 1730 in Petitcodiac, Acadia and baptized a few weeks later at the parish of Saint-Charles-des-Mines.^[2][3]

She married Pierre Thibodeau c.1751 in Acadia.^[4][5][6]

To have been imprisoned at Halifax meant she was among those who evaded the initial roundup of deportees only to be imprisoned by about 1758. In 1763 at the end of the Seven Years' War she was counted among those freed from the British prison at Halifax.^[7]

After the 1763 Treaty of Paris caused the release of all Acadian prisoners, 58 families from Halifax stayed together and worked toward securing passage to Santo Domingo. It took about a year, but a vessel was booked and the group, led by Joseph Broussard, traveled to Santo Domingo, where they found the climate too harsh; from there they went on to be among the earliest Acadian Louisiana settlers, arriving at the port of New Orleans in February of 1765, and settling in Attakapas.^[8]

They were counted by the census of 25 April 1766 in Opelousas, Louisiana;^[9] again by the census of 8 November 1774;^[10] and by the census of May 1777.^[11][12] She was also counted in the Opelousas census of 1785, unnamed, with her husband and 6 others;^{[citation needed]} and in the Opelousas census of 1788, in the Bellevue District, unnamed, with her husband and 5 others.^{[citation needed]}

In the Opelousas census of 1796, Bellevue District, she was called Widow TIBODEAU, with 1 white male, 2 white females, 2 male slaves, & 1 female slave, next to son-in-law Fabien RICHARD.^{[citation needed]}

Françoise Sonnier , veuve Thibodeau, died in June of 1811 in Opelousas, Louisiana, and was buried 17 June 1811 at the churchyard of St. Landry in Opelousas.^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ The Wall of Names at the Acadian Memorial, compiled by Jane G. Bulliard and the Wall of Names Committee (Opelousas, LA: Bodemuller, 2015) p. 25
2. ↑ Library and Archives Canada, Fonds de la paroisse catholique Saint-Charles-des-Mines (Grand-Pré, N.-É.) - 1869; Canadiana, Heritage, Parish registers: Nova Scotia : C-1869 (Image 286): http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c1870/286?r=0&s=4
3. ↑ Catholic Church Records, vol. 1a: Acadian Records, 1707-1748 (Baton Rouge, LA: Diocese, 1999)

   Francois SAUNIÉ, child of Etienne & Jeanne CAUMO, born 23 Aug 1730, baptized 16 Sep 1730. Sponsors: Rene SAUNIÉ, paternal uncle & Anne CAUMO, maternal aunt (SGA-2, 102).

   Christening: 16 Sep 1730 Grand Pré, Acadia

4. ↑ Stephen A. White, Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes: 1715 à 1780 (Moncton, NB: Centre d'Études Acadiennes)

   Pierre (40) THIBODEAU, son of Pierre (6) THIBODEAU, married around 1751 Françoise SAULNIER, daughter of Étienne (6) SAULNIER.

5. ↑ Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc, "Liste des familles et individus qui ont demeuré à Halifax entre 1759 et 1764 p.154

   Pierre (40) THIBODEAU, son of Pierre (6) THIBODEAU, married around 1751 Françoise SAULNIER, daughter of Étienne (6) SAULNIER.

6. ↑ Fort Halifax 12 August 1763
7. ↑ Janet Jehn, Acadian Exiles in the Colonies (Covington, KY: Author, 1977) p. 249

   Pier TIBAUDO, wife, 3 children.

8. ↑ Roger Rozendal, "Report On Paper Money Held By The Acadians, New Orleans, March 8, 1766," Online at URL http://www.acadian-home.org/frames.html, © Lucie LeBlanc Consentino, "Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home."
9. ↑ Jacqueline K. Voorhies, Some Late Eighteenth-Century Louisianians; Census Records of the Colony 1758-1796 (Lafayette, LA: University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1973) p. 128. (Note, names are given the Spanish spelling since Louisiana was now governed by Spain.)

   Pedro THIBAUDEAU, 1 woman, 2 girls.

10. ↑ Winston De Ville, Mississippi Valley Mélange, vol. 1 ("MVM") (Baton Rouge, LA: Provincial Press, Claitor’s Publishing Division) pp. 26, 40.

    Piere TIBODAU and wife, with 6 children, 0 slaves, 50 head of cattle, 4 horses or mules and 40 swine.

11. ↑ White, DGFA
12. ↑ De Ville, MVM, p. 26

    #12. Pierre THIBODAUT, 52;

    Francoise SAUNIER, wife 46.

    Garcons: Cyril, 5;

    Pierre, 2.

    Filles: Adelaide, 16; [Francoise ?)

    Suzanne, 9;

    Celeste, 6.

    There are 80 cattle, 7 horses, and 25 hogs.

13. ↑ Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records 1740-1900 ("SWLR"), CD #101 (Baton Rouge, LA: Claitor's Publications Division, 2001)

    SONNIER, Francoise wid. of Pierre THIBAUDAU bur. 17 June 1811 at age 84 yrs. Fr. Louis BUHOT (Opel. Ch.: v.1, p.117)

Acknowledgments

• Karen Theriot Reader, RootsWeb.com.

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