...from the Great-Branch of
'Charles & Méthaïde Theriault' [MRIN 998]
[VERSION FRANÇAISE]
Lineage
1. Jehan
2. Claude
3. Germain
4. Joseph I
5. Joseph II
6. Joseph R.
7. Laurent
8. Denis
9. Charles


Migration:
Acadia... Baie-des-Chaleurs, NB... Madawaska
With the exception of Jehan who was born in France of course, the first four generations of this Great-Branch were all born and buried in Acadia. Germain, elder child of Claude, moved to Grand Pré to join his grand-uncle Pierre some time before 1686 when he married M. Anne Richard in Rivière aux Canards and started his family in that neighborhood of Grand Pré. Many years of general peace and prosperity followed this period.

Journey of the Fifth Generation. The Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 gave England final possession of the colony of Acadia. This act set the scene for a series of events that would utterly and fundamentally change the lives of the Acadians. The fifth generation of the Terriot family which spanned the years from 1715 to 1785, was the generation that suffered through this tragedy. Soon after the treaty, many Acadians, probably more the young Acadians, were drawn to Beaubassin partly to distance themselves from the English but also because of the greater prosperity of Beaubassin. Three of the 61 members of the Terriot fifth generation that we know today;  two brothers, Paul and Joseph, sons of Claude in Rivières aux Canards and their cousin, Joseph, son of Joseph in St-Charles parish in Grand-Pré decided to leave their native Grand Pré for Beaubassin at around the same time in 1745 at which time they had all married.

Over the next 10 years, conflict and especially the burning of Beaubassin in 1750 would cause the three families to further migrate away from their beloved Acadia. Unlike his two cousins who chose to wait, Joseph (son of Joseph) first moved to the lower St-John River probably in Grimross (Gagetown) around 1755.  Unfortunately, Colonel Robert Monckton and his troops came in to destroy Grimross three years later whereupon they fled the village along with the other Acadians for Sainte Anne, present-day Fredericton.  But fate would not favor Joseph this time. A few months later in late winter in 1759, the infamous Moses Hazen and his men came upon the Acadian village to destroy its homes, barns and other shelters leaving the Acadians without shelter. Seeking greater security, Joseph moved his family some 250 miles up the St John River to the St-Lawrence without knowing that Major General James P. Wolfe was also terrorizing the region at that time. Joseph of course tried to avoid these areas and proceeded to Trois Pistoles in 1760 which is east of the area attacked by Wolfe, and in 1761 to Cap Saint Ignace and later yet in 1765 to Sainte Anne de la Pocatière. Apparently not satisfied with the St Lawrence situation, Joseph decided two years later to return to the lower St John River area in Nashwaak. He was one of the first Acadians to return to the area from the St Lawrence. The area seemed to have stabilized and so they built a home on Sugar Island (l’Ile au Sucre) at the mouth of the Keswick River.

For the first time, it finally seemed to Joseph that he and his family would be able to pursue a life to build a farm and a family. But that peace would be interrupted in 1776 when the American colonies broke out in revolution. At least some of the Acadians sided with the Americans in short campaigns by the Americans against the English. This once again invited the English to raid and terrorize the homes and property of the Acadians including Joseph. Adding to the pressure of this conflict on the Acadians in the lower St John region, the area was soon crowded with Loyalists who were fleeing the American colonies. These two actions in the mid-1780’s combined to pressure the Acadians to once again look for more peaceful locations. In 1786, Joseph sold his property to a Loyalist named Frederick DePeyster and then set out towards Caraquet with his family to arrive in Caraquet before summer’s end in that year. Soon after, Joseph received his grants for land for himself and his sons which preceded about a decade of relative peace and prosperity. Joseph died in the winter of 1795-96 and was buried at Sainte Anne du Bocage in Caraquet.
 
In 1785, Generation 6 (Joseph R., from Joseph II's first marriage) moved to the upper St-John River to Saint-Basile in present-day northern New Brunswick.

Generation 7 (Laurent) through 9 (Charles) remained in the Saint-Basile area.


 Daniel Thériault is a 13th generation great-grandson of Jehan Terriault and our Delegate for the Charles & Méthaïde Theriault Great-Branch.
 Although Charles and Méthaide  settled in Ste-Anne de Madawaska, they were members of the parish St-Basile, the closest parish in that area. Charles was the great-grandson of Joseph R. Theriault, Jr., one of the first Acadians to settle in St-Basile in 1785. On Wednesday, 7 January 1880, Charles married Méthaide in St-Basile and together raised a family in Ste-Anne which included twelve children.

Ten years ago, the parish of St-Basile celebrated its 200th anniversary. It is the oldest Acadian parish in the Madawaska region of northwestern New Brunswick. 


Personal Note:  Charles and Méthaide are the great-grandparents of Adrien Theriault (Leo, Maxime, Charles) who is our Past Delegate for this branch. We lost our friend and cousin, Adrien in 2005 to a fight with cancer. Adrien was a founding member of the Terriot Acadian Family Society in 2000. He was one of the key members who helped establish our goals and helped set our strategy. Today, his son, Daniel has taken his father's post and continues to represent this Great-Branch.  ~ J. R. Theriault

Mr and Mrs Charles Theriault
from Ste-Anne de Madawaska, New Brunswick.