Pisiguit
Encyclopedia
In the Minas Basin
Minas Basin
The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.- Geography :- Boundary :...

 of Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...

, which is now Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, the settlement of Grand-Pré
Grand-pre
Grand-Pré National Historic Site is a park set aside to commemorate the Grand-Pré area of Nova Scotia as a centre of Acadian settlement from 1682 to 1755, and the deportation of the Acadians which began in 1755 and continued to 1762...

 grew eastward towards the Pisiquid River. This settlement became known as Pisiguit or (Pisiquit, Pigiguit, Pisiquid, Pisiguid). Pisiguit came from the Mi'kmaq term Pesaquid, meaning "Junction of Waters". It became so large that it was viewed as separate from Grand Pré. In 1714, there were 351 people (in 56 families) there.

Population

By the mid-18th century, a memoire from 1748 noted that there were 2,700 people in Pisiguit compared to 2,400 in the Grand Pré and Canard area. But the area lost its population rather quickly. Pisiguit was the Acadian
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...

 settlement closest to Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

, which was the newly forming English settlement. When the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 needed someone to blame for Indian attacks, or when they needed Acadians for road labor, the first place they went to was Pisiguit. When English pressure began intensifying in the 1750s, the Pisiguit Acadians packed up and left, heading mainly towards the isthmus. By 1755, based on Charles Morris's remarks concerning the removal of the Acadians, there were about 1400 people left there. (about 800 on the left bank , about 100 on the right bank & Kennetcook River, and about 500 on the St. Croix River and today's Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...

 area.

Pisiguit had two parishes: La Sainte Famille and L'Assomption. At first, Pisiguit had only one parish (Notre Dame de l'Assomption), founded on Aug. 8, 1698. But the people living on the other side of the river wanted their own church, since crossing the river was rather difficult. So the bishop at Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 issued an edict to create the second parish of Ste. Famille on June 28, 1722. They were ministered to by a single priest, who preached at each church on alternate Sundays. In 1749, the l'Assomption parish protested to the bishop of Quebec that they had no priest.
NOTE: The Acadian dictionary notes that L’Assomption was at Pisiguit west, and Ste. Famille was at Pisiguit east, but the Ste. Famille cemetery was found on the west side of the river?

Deportation

Fort Edward
Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward is a National Historic Site in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region...

 was built in 1750 on the east side of the mouth of the Pisiguid River. The first commandant was Capt. Gorham. He was wounded at the near-by Battle at St. Croix
Battle at St. Croix
The Battle at St. Croix was fought during Father Le Loutre’s War between New England Rangers and Mi’kmaq at Battle Hill in the community of St. Croix, Nova Scotia. The battle lasted for three days in the spring of 1750.-Historical context:...

.
After that, Captain Alexander Murray, became in charge of the fort. The fort had been built to verify the Acadians in Pisiguit and to control the passageway for ships trying to sail to the Bay of Fundy.?

On September 5, 1755, the Acadians were told to assemble at the fort where they learnt of their deportation. 1066 people of Pisiguit were boarded on four vessals, the Neptune, the Three Friends, the Dolphin, and the Ranger. This took place on October 13, but it was only on Monday October 20, that they left the Minas Basin
Minas Basin
The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.- Geography :- Boundary :...

. After the problem with boarding the Acadians, the English burnt their homes in the village to make sure that none would escape to their homes.
On November 19, 1775, 156 inhabitants of Pisiguit arrived in Philadelphia, and others in December. Amongst the first Acadians to reach Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, the majority were from Pisiguit and Beaubassin
Beaubassin
Beaubassin was the first settlement on the Isthmus of Chignecto, Nova Scotia, which was Acadian. The area is now known as the Tantramar Marshes. Beaubassin was settled in 1672, the second Acadian village to be established after Port Royal. The village was one of the largest and most prosperous in...

.

The Acadian people never again received permission to resettle Pisiguit, but some of them settled other parts of the Maritimes to rebuild their lives. After the deportation, Fort Edward was used as a site to hold Acadians.

Post Deportation

In 1759, 50 families were settled in Pisiguit by Amos Fuller and John Hicks of Rhode Island and 50 more in 1760. The government was paying for them to move and giving them arms, ammuniction, and one bushel of corn per person per month for a year. In July, they had a drawing for 28 lots to see who got the boards, timber, and buildings the Acadians left behind. For example, James Wilson and Joseph Northup got barn #8 and house #13.

In July 1762, 130 Acadian men were brought from Ft. Edward to Halifix. This left (according to a count on August 9, 1752) 313 Acadians being held at Ft. Edward ... 21 men, 90 women, and 202 children.

By 1763, the communities of Horton, Falmouth, Cornwallis,, and Newport had a population of 1936 (in 367 families). There were more Acadian prisoners on the east side of the Pisiquid than there were settlers in West Falmouth (356). The Acadian prisoners were hired (4 shillings/day) by the new immigrants to help fix the dikes in the new settlements.

Acadians did move back into the area, though some of those would move to St. Mary's in Annapolis County. Windsor was formed in 1764. Anslow mentions the remains of Acadian dykes near "the Island Acadian Burying Ground.".

Sainte Famille Cemetery

In summer 1996, a work crew was excavating the ground to begin construction on Gabriel Road in the Mountain View Subdivision near Falmouth, Nova Scotia. After finding bones in the soil, David Christianson of the Nova Scotia Museum was called to come out to the site. He found a couple of skeletons and over 2 dozen graves. The graves were identified by clay caps which were about a foot under the surface. The graves were five feet deeper. Wrought-iron square nails and fragments of wood dated the graves to the 18th century. A King George III halfpenny and ceramic button from the 18th century were also found. The discover of the graves placed the area under the provincial Special Places Protection Act. Though the uncovered graves were scheduled to be studied, those not disturbed would be left in place. It is estimated that the site contains over 300 graves.
Construction plans ceased and a committee was formed to take care of the situation. Lot #7, which contains about 70% cemetery site was soon purchased. The committee also borrowed money to purchase the remainder of the cemetery on lot #6. The Sainte Famille church is thought to have been located on the site of lot #8, which is covered by a house. The skeletal remains that were found have been put into storage until they can be reburied. .

Links

  • Acadian Heritage in Hants County
  • West Hants Historical Society *Ste. Famille Cemetery
  • La pariosse de La Sainte-Famille (at blupete.com)
  • Acadian areas around Pisiguit
  • www.thecajuns.com/hants county.pdf
  • SainteFamille.com
  • Hants County, (Genweb)
  • Windsor
    Windsor, Nova Scotia
    Windsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...

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