Ristigouche / Restigouche

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

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Restigouche / Ristigouche refers to different places at different times. Many baptisms and marriages of Acadians appear in the Sainte-Anne-de-Ristigouche register (Quebec) and the Registre des Missionnaires (Restigouche) in the 1700s and early 1800s. The records rarely mention where the Acadians were residing when those events were recorded. Were they on the south shore of Chaleur Bay (present-day New Brunswick) or on the north shore (Quebec)? In an attempt to answer that question, and to better differentiate the different meanings of Restigouche, we consulted many sources and thought it would be useful to share some of those findings.

Glossary of Place Names

• Restigouche / Ristigouche It has been used interchangeably, by Acadians and authorities in the 1700s and by modern-day researchers, to refer to an area at the mouth of Chaleur Bay which spanned both shores of the Restigouche River, and where camps were established for Acadian refugees between approximately 1757 and 1760.
• Sainte-Anne-de-Ristigouche Parish (Quebec) was first a mission situated on the south shore of the Restigouche river, at Pointe-à-la-Mission, today Atholville, NB. In 1745, it moved to the north side of the Restigouche river (Gaspésie). It was covered by missionaries, Jésuites and Récollets from 1745 to 1773, and after by the priests of Carleton until 1843. The more recent parish & church were situated in present-day Pointe-à-la-Croix, QC. ^[1]
• Restigouche River (New Brunswick and Quebec) in French Rivière Ristigouche : "The Restigouche River empties into the Bay of Chaleurs, of which the north shore is QC and the south shore is NB. The river forms the boundary between both provinces.The present town of Campbellton, NB is at the head of the estuary, with Pointe-à-la-Croix on the QC side of the river. It was the furthermost site in present-day NB that Acadians occupied en masse as refugees in the Expulsion era. It was also the site of the last battle that the British fought against the Acadian militia & their aboriginal allies alongside a small French naval force, in the early summer of 1760, with no decisive victor at the time." ^[2]
• Restigouche County (New Brunswick): established in 1837 from Gloucester County: named after the Restigouche River: William Francis Ganong identified the Mi'kmaq name for Restigouche River as Lustagooch' meaning "five-fingered river" : 17th Century French name for the river was Restgooch or Ristigouche. There is no Restigouche town in the province.

Timeline of events in the Chaleur Bay area

• After 1755, escaping Acadians make their way to the Saint John, Miramichi (Camp Espérance) and Chaleur Bay area.
• By 1757, the authorities from Québec cannot supply sufficient food and munitions to the camp. Acadians flee to Québec, Baie de Miramichi, Richibouctou, and the south shore of Chaleur Bay.
• 1760 (spring) Boishébert and his successor Bourdon transfer the encampment from the Miramichi to the Restigouche. "This new camp of Petite-Rochelle was located close to the present-day National Historic Site of the Battle of the Restigouche, in a place also known at the time as the “pointe à Bourdon,” now called Pointe-à-la-Croix, on the north (Québec) shore of the river, just where the Restigouche opens into its estuary." ^[3] Many Acadians seeking food and safety gather there when they hear that French vessels have arrived in Chaleur Bay.
• 1760 (June-July) a fleet of French ships in the Restigouche River is attacked and defeated by a British squadron. It is known as the battle of the Restigouche. "This was the last naval battle of the Seven Years' War in North American waters." ^[4]
• 1760 (October) A list of refugees at Ristigouche, compiled by Bazagier in October 1760 gives a total 1,003 individuals. In reality there were 899: 529 at Ristigouche, 194 at Miramichi, 150 at Caraquet, and 26 at Shippagan. ^[5][3]
• 1761 (mid-July) Pierre du Calvet sets out for Chaleur Bay to take a census of the Acadians in the area for the Quebec government. This he carries out all along Restigouche River and Chaleur Bay for by this time many Acadians have left Old Mission Point and Pointe a Bourdeau and moved to sites along Chaleur Bay. ^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ "Listuguj (Sainte-Anne-de-Ristigouche)", Originis, https://originis.ca/paroisses/p_alpha/p_l/paroisse_listuguj/
2. ↑ Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc, “List of Refugee Acadian Households at Camp Espérance on the Miramichi, 1756-1757: Appendix to ‘The Acadian Refugee Camp on the Miramichi, 1756-1761’”. English translation & glossary of place name by John Estano DeRoche. Accessible online at https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AKLs2n71NCmhTdk&cid=F97805A9B6C6FEB4&id=F97805A9B6C6FEB4%2117757&parId=F97805A9B6C6FEB4%2117731&o=OneUp
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} LeBlanc, R.-G. (2012). Les réfugiés acadiens au camp d’Espérance de la Miramichi en 1756-1761 : un épisode méconnu du Grand Dérangement. Acadiensis, 41(1). Retrieved from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/Acadiensis/article/view/19077/21083. (See appendix at the end) Also English translation by John Estano DeRoche "The Acadian Refugee Camp on the Miramichi, 1756-1761" p. 25, 28

   In summing the persons in his list, Bazagier erred. He reported a total of 1,003, while the actual number was only 876

4. ↑ Battle of the Restigouche National Historic Site of Canada, Parks Canada Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=701
5. ↑ Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home"; 2005 – Present, hosted by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino; 1760 Restigouche Census
6. ↑ Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home"; 2005 – Present, hosted by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino; 1761 Gaspesie Refugees Census, original record 1761 Gaspesie Refugees Original Amherst Papers (WO 34) : C-12837, Images 176-184

• Judith Beattie and Bernard Pothier, The Battle of the Restigouche, Parks Canada Canadian Heritage, 1996 http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/saah/restigouche.pdf
• https://paulinecarbonneau34.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/la-petite-rochelle-et-les-acadiens-des-iles/