M. (1) 1666 in Port-Royal, Acadia
Wife: Jeanne Bernard
M. (2) 7 October 1683 in Quebec City, New France
Wife: Marie-Madeleine Martin
D. before 1693 (probably) in Beaubassin, Acadia
Guyon Chiasson dit Lavallée not only moved to the colony of Acadia, but he made his home in places very much off the beaten path. He was born in about 1638 to Pierre Chiasson and Marie Péroché in Saint-Sauveur-d'Aunis, France, a town near La Rochelle. Guyon had at least four sisters, but no known brothers, and he was the youngest in the family.
It’s likely that Guyon’s family relocated to La Rochelle by the time he came of age, because in 1657, his sisters Louise and Françoise each got married there. Guyon was a witness to Françoise’s marriage, and because their father wasn’t mentioned in the record, he had probably died by that date. Guyon’s sister Louise was widowed by early 1666, and she was recruited to become a bride in New France as one of the Filles du Roi. About that same year, Guyon also sailed to America, but instead of going to the colony along the St. Lawrence, he went to Acadia.
Guyon arrived at Acadia’s main settlement, the town of Port-Royal, and he married a woman named Jeanne Bernard. Between 1667 and 1680, they had at least seven children. During the first few years of their marriage, Acadia had fallen under the authority of England, but in 1670, France got the colony back. After the British left, the French settlers spread to other parts of the Acadian peninsula, and Guyon’s family moved to the tiny outpost of Mouscoudabouet.
Living in such a place meant Guyon was fairly isolated from the colonial community. Mouscoudabouet was located on an inlet on the southern shore of Acadia, and it’s likely that Guyon saw an opportunity to engage in fishing. But the region was sparsely populated; only 13 settlers made their home there, including Guyon’s family, as evidenced by the 1671 Acadian census. It’s easy to imagine that Guyon built his house from whatever resources he could find, and the family lived off the land as best they could.
A few years later, Guyon left Mouscoudabouet, appearing on a record at Quebec City in 1675. By about a year later, Guyon brought his family back to Acadia to the narrow bridge of land at the northernmost point of the peninsula. A Port-Royal merchant had developed a new settlement there because its salt marshes offered fertile land for farming. The seigneury where the Chiasson family lived was called Beaubassin, and it was run by Michel Leneuf, who held such power that for a short time, he become governor of Acadia.
Guyon’s wife Jeanne died at Beaubassin in about 1682. The following year, he traveled again to Quebec City, and married a woman named Marie-Madeleine Martin on October 7, 1683. He brought her back to Beaubassin, and over the next decade, she gave birth to four daughters. By 1686, Guyon’s farm was thriving, with 40 arpents of cultivated land, 20 cattle, 12 sheep and 15 hogs. Exactly when Guyon died isn’t known, but it was before a census taken in 1693 which showed that his second wife had remarried.
Guyon’s 11 children produced many descendants who were affected by the instability of the Acadian colony during the 18th century. Some of the family migrated to towns along the St. Lawrence River, others to New Brunswick and Île St.-Jean (what is now Prince Edward Island). Those who tried to remain in Acadia were part of the expulsions of 1755, ending up in faraway places like South Carolina and Haiti, and later, in Louisiana — many of today’s Cajuns can count Guyon as one of their ancestors.
The approximate location of Beaubassin, a town which no longer exists.
Children by Jeanne Bernard:
1. Gabriel-Pierre Chiasson – B. about 1667, Acadia; D. 10 Apr 1741, Beaubassin, Acadia; M. Marie-France Savoie (~1670-?), 1688, Port-Royal, Acadia
2. Françiose Chiasson – B. about 1668, Acadia; D. 17 Jan 1724, St-Thomas, Quebec; M. Pierre Morin (~1662-1741), 8 Nov 1682, Beaubassin, Acadia
3. Sébastien Chiasson – B. about 1670, Acadia; D. Chignecto, Acadia; M. Marie Belou (~1671-?), about 1693, Beaubassin, Acadia
4. Jean Chiasson – B. about 1674, Acadia; D. 24 Jan 1719, Montreal, Quebec; M. Marie-Anne Lemoine (1681-?), 12 Nov 1697, Batiscan, New France
5. Michel Chiasson – B. about 1676, Beaubassin, Acadia; D. 19 Mar 1759, Montmagny, New France; M. Marguerite Morier, 30 Jun 1706, St-Jean, Île d'Orléans, New France
6. Marie Chiasson – B. about 1678, Beaubassin, Acadia; M. Michel Poirier (1667-?), 1692, Acadia
7. Anne Chiasson dit La Vallée – B. about 1680, Beaubassin, Acadia; M. Jean Brault (~1678-1751), about 1701, Acadia
Children by Marie-Madeleine Martin:
1. Angelique Chiasson – B. 27 Oct 1684, Beaubassin, Acadia; M. Pierre Carre (~1675-?), 1702, Beaubassin, Acadia
2. Genevieve Chiasson – B. about 1685, (probably) Acadia
3. Marie-Madeleine Chiasson – B. about 1691, (probably) Acadia; D. 1739; M. (1) Jean Pothier, 1709, Acadia; (2) Joseph De La Forestiere (~1701-?), 1726, Acadia
4. Anne Chiasson – B. about 1693, (probably) Acadia; M. Jean Pineault (~1685-?), 1710, Acadia
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
Dictionnaire Genealogique des Familles Acadiennes, Stephen A. White, 1999
Acadians in Gray (website)
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