MySource:Aberksan/Joseph Broussard dit beausoleil -NOLA Forum

Joseph Broussard dit beausoleil

1740 - Alexandre Broussard and his brother, Joseph, settled on Boundry Creek around 1740. Joseph was later to become a legendary figure in Louisiana. (Truman Stacey, LOUISIANA'S FRENCH HERITAGE, p.50.

1755 - Following the Expulsion from Nova Scotia in 1755 by the British, Joseph and his brother Alexandre, were referred to as "Beausoliel", meaning "good sun", which referred to that area of Nova Scotia in which they had settled. Both Joseph and his brother formed a resistance group which fought the British and their expulsion for four years. Finally, to avoid their group from dying of starvation, Joseph negotiated a surrender, which provided for the group being housed, fed, and kept together as prisoners until 1763 following the "Treaty of Paris." (See BROUSSARD, DESCENDANTS OF JOSEPH AND ALEXANDRE).

1759, December 10th - "Fort Cumberland, Chignecto: Sir, On the 16th of Novr. past, Alexander Brusard, Simon Martin, Jean Bass, and Joseph Brusard, arrived here under a flag of Truce, as Deputies for about One hundred and Ninety French Men, Women and Children, residing in the Departments of Pitcoudiack and Memoramcook whose Business was to Surrender up themselves and Constituents to English Government; at the same time informed me they were in a miserable Condition for want of Provisions, having not more among them all, than could (by the most prudent use) keep more than two thirds of their number alive until Spring; therefore begged I would have Compassion on them, and allow them some, otherwise they must all Starve. . . . .(letter reprinted in the Times Picayune, LOUISIANA ANCESTORS, by Damon Veach, May 19, 2002, E-8).

1760, June 15 - An account of Joseph Noel Broussard's hardships was written by Governor Vaudreuil to M. de Danjac and recorded in the Bulletin of Historic Research, 1903, p.314. It was upon Governor Vaudreuil's recommendation to the Spanish governor of Louisiana that Joseph was made captain. (THE PLAINS AND THE PEOPLE, p.216). see the book for an account of it.

1763 - When the Treaty of 1763 was signed, many Acadians who had been imprisoned in Nova Scotia were released. Their farms were now occupied by English colonists, however, and they were forced to seek new homesteads and new means of livelihood elsewhere Some of them went to St. Pierre and Miquelon, two small islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that were still French possessions. Still others went to the West Indies and to Louisiana. (Truman Stacey, LOUISIANA'S FRENCH HERITAGE, p.137).

1764 - In 1764, Joseph chartered a schooner on which a large group of Acadian refugees sailed for "any land where french was spoken", this voyage taking the group initially to Santo Domingo, and eventually to Louisiana in 1765. Upon arriving in Louisiana, the group of Acadians were dispatched, with tools, to the Attakapas region. Joseph was named as the group's leader with the rank of captain in the militia. Shortly after his arrival in the Attakapas, Joseph contacted yellow fever and died, as did his brother Alexandre and other members of the family. (See BROUSSARD, DESCENDANTS OF JOSEPH AND ALEXANDRE).

1764 - In 1764, a large group of these newly released Acadians, led by Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, migrated to the West Indies. There they changed ships and headed for Louisiana. When they arrived, Louisiana authorities gave them permission to settle in the Attakapas District, in the southwestern part of the colony [they arrived in New Orleans in February, 1765] (Truman Stacey, LOUISIANA'S FRENCH HERITAGE, p.137).

1765 - In 1765, Charles Aubry, the military commandant in Louisiana, reported 60 Acadian families had arrived from St. Domingue, and that there were already so many Acadians in Louisiana that "we do not speak of them in the hundreds anymore, but in the thousands." (Truman Stacey, LOUISIANA'S FRENCH HERITAGE, p.137).

1765, April 3 - The exiled Acadians arrived in the Attakapas country in 1765, and their chief leader, [Joseph] Broussard dit Beausoleil, signed a contract [April 3, 1765] with a retired French army captain, Antoine Bernard d'Hauterive, who agreed to supply the Acadians with the beginnings of a livestock herd. In addition to Beausoleil, the contract contained the signatures of Pierre Arcenaud, Alexandre Broussard [his brother], Jean Baptiste Broussard [brother or nephew?], Victor Broussard [son], Jean Dugas, Joseph Guillebeau and Olivier Thibadau. (Truman Stacey, LOUISIANA'S FRENCH HERITAGE, p.137).

1765, September 5 - Joseph died of yellow fever, probably from the plague that seems to have accompanied the Acadians from St. Domingue. This was only five months after Joseph signed the contract with Dauterive, which offered the promise of a prosperous future in Louisiana.

1803 - "What has most contributed to the importance of this [Attakapas] post was the establishment of the Acadians at great expense by the Spanish government. These unfortunate vict?????

Michel Doucet

This is Michel Doucet, Joseph's father.

born c1714, probably Port-Royal; son of Michel DOUCET & Agnes/Angelique PITRE; married, age 38, Marguerite MARTIN, c1752; moved to Miramichi by 1756 probably to escape deportation; on list of Acadian prisoners at Halifax, Aug 1763, called Michelle DOUSAIN, with wife & 8 children; arrived LA Feb 1765, age 51, with party from Halifax via St.-Domingue led by Joseph BROUSSARD dit Beausoleil; on list of Acadians who exchanged card money in New Orleans, Apr 1765; in Atakapas census, 1766, La Manque District, called Miguel DOUCET, with 1 woman, 1 teenage boy, & 3 younger boys in his household; in Atakapas census, 1771, age 57, with wife [Marguerite] age 50, sons Joseph age 20, Michel age 18, Pierre age 15, unnamed son [probably Jean] age 10, Judith MARTIN [sister-in-law?] age 18, Bonaventure MARTIN [brother-in-law?] age 10 or 18, 0 slaves, 25 cattle, 11 horses, 12(?)[sic] arpents without title; in Atakapas census, 1774, with wife [Marguerite], 2 children, 0 slaves, 30 cattle, 11 horses & mules, 18 pigs, 0 sheep; in Atakapas census, 1777, age 57[sic], head of family number 14, with wife Marguerite age 57, sons Michel age 22, Pierre age 17, Jean age 15, orphan girl Judie ____ [MARTIN?] age 20, 0 slaves, 40 cattle, 15 horses, 50 hogs, 0 sheep; in Atakapas census, 1781, with 8 individuals, 70 animals, & 24 arpents; in Atakapas census, 1785, called Mt., with 3 free individuals, 1 male slave, 2 female slaves?