River Bourgeois, Nova Scotia
Location: River Bourgeois, Richmond, Nova Scotia, Canada
Contents |
History
Political affiliation
River Bourgeois was founded as part of the French territory of Île Royale in 1714, when 24 Acadians were given permission by Louisburg to settle in River Tillard[1]. If it was, in fact, settled in 1714, any residences there were short lived. In 1753, Sieur de la Roque, surveyor for the king, described the area, but there were no inhabitants---although the residents of nearby Port-Toulouse harvested wood there[2]. By 1758, however, Charles des Champs de Boishébert described Rivière-Bourgeois, saying "Not far to the west of Quétique Island, around 1720-1725, was a small colony that, due to its particular situation, was quite isolated from the rest of the parish."
It passed through several changes of ownership. When Île Royale was taken by the British in 1763 and became part of the territory of the colony of Nova Scotia. Between the years of 1784 to 1820 it was part of the independently administered Cape Breton Colony, before Cape Breton returned to Nova Scotia.
Early Families
Several years after the expulsion of the Acadians, between 1755–1764, Acadian families began to return to Nova Scotia, and many settled around Isle Madame, including in River Bourgeois.
By the time of the census of 1811 (below), there were 21 families living in River Bourgeois, for a total of 121 people. Common surnames were Landry, Samson, Dugast, Bourg, Boucher and Fougere. Almost all of the men were fishermen, apart from Peter John Landry and Simon Fougere Jr, who were mariners, and Simon Fougere Sr and Xavier Pitre, who were yeomen.
Census of 1811 and 1813
See the census image of 1911 for more details. This census enumerated the number of males or females between 14 and 60 (m ad, f ad), the number of male and female children (m child, f child) and the number of adults above 60. There were no servants in any household in River Bourgeois. In total, the town had 45 cattle, 110 sheep, 1 horse, and 6 vessels. The ages are taken from the 1813 military muster (where available).[3]
| Name | age | m ad | f ad | m child | f child | elderly | unmarried | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter John Landry | 51 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | Benonit Landry | 47 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | JJohn Landry | 40 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Thomas Landry | 44 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Anselm Landry | 32 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | John Samson | x | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 7 | Martin Samson | x | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Lewis Samson | x | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | Andrew Dugat | 33 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | Martial Dugat | 40 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Joseph Bourcq | 36 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 12 | Peter Bourcq | 28 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | John Bourcq | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Louis Bouché | 57 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| 15 | John Bouché | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Simon Fougere Sen | x | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 17 | Simon Fougere Jun | x | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | Xavier Pitre | x | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 19 | Mathurin Babin | x | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| tot | 31 | 22 | 4 | 28 | 36 | 83 | ||
| 20 | Widow of ? Samson* | |||||||
| 21 | Widow Mary Landry* | |||||||
* included in the line above with their sons
|
| The 1811 census of River Bourgeois. |
Sources
- ↑ River Bourgeois community website. History. Accessed 2018.
- ↑ The Reporter. The founding of River Bourgeois Don Boudrot, January 18, 2017. Accessed 2018.
- ↑ King Gardner Family History, Genealogy of the King-McCluskey and Gardner-LeBlanc Families. 1813 Militia Roll for River Bourgeois, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia Jim King. Accessed 2024.
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edited by Brad Foley
Tom King