This week, we will talk about the first Richard families to arrive in Louisiana. Three of the first Richard to arrive in Louisiana were actually part of the first four documented Acadian families to arrive in 1764, approximately one year prior to the arrival of Joseph Broussard who lead a group of 200 Acadians on February 27th, 1765.
From an analysis of church records, Albert J. Robichaux, Jr. identified the four families and 18 of the individuals as (Louisiana Genealogical Register, December 1985 p. 323):
Parish register for Mobile, AL : 1764, The year one thousand seven hundred and sixty four the twenty second of january after giving dispensation of marriage bans as relatives between Jean Poirier native of Menoudy in Acadia son of Jean Poirier and Marguerite Cormier on one part and Magdeleine Richard native of Nappan in Acadia daughter of Jean Richard and Catherine Cormier her father and mother on the other part et having found no obstacle to said marriage I capuchin apostolic missionary priest of Mobille after receiving their mutual consent gave them the nuptial blessing in the presence of the parents and undersigned witnesses.
• Jean Poirier and his wife Madeleine Richard
• Jean Baptiste Poirier, their son
• Joseph Poirier, their son
• Michel Poirier, of unknown relationship
• Jean Richard and his wife Catherine Cormier
• Joseph Richard, their daughter (sic)
• Rosalie Richard, their daughter
• Jean-Marie Richard, their son
• Jean-Baptiste Cormier and his wife Marie-Magdeleine Richard
• Anastasie Cormier, their daughter
• Marie Cormier, their daughter
• Marguerite Cormier, their daughter
• Olivier Landry and his wife Cecile Poirier
• Jean-Antoine Landry, their son
These 4 families (20 individuals) arrived in New Orleans in February 1764 from New York after a brief stop in Mobile, Alabama where Jean Poirier and Magdeleine Richard were married on January 22, 1764. You can see a transcription of the parish record in the images attached to this post. The arrival was documented in a letter dated April 6, 1764 from Governor D’Abbadie to his superior in France. According to his letter, they were settled along the Mississippi River in present day St. James in the area of the vacant lands between Verret’s plantation and Jacquelin’s cow ranch.
By analyzing the information all four families, we quickly realize that they are all related. Here is some more details, and you can also see the relationship in the accompanying graph:
Madeleine Richard who married Jean Poirier (son of Jean Baptiste Poirier and Marie Cormier) en route in Mobile, Alabama was the daughter of Jean Richard and Catherine Cormier.
Jean Richard was the son of Martin Richard (son of Michel Richard dit Sansoucy and Madeleing Blanchard) and Marguerite Bourg. His wife Catherine Cormier was the daughter of Alexis Cormier and Marie LeBlanc and granddaughter or Thomas Cormier and Marie Madeleine Girouard).
Jean Baptiste Cormier, son of Pierre Cormier and Catherine Leblanc, was also a grandchild of Thomas Cormier and Marie Madeleine Girouard, therefore Jean Baptiste Cormier and Catherine Cormier were first cousins. He married Marie Madeleine Richard, daughter of Martin Richard (Michel Richard dit Sansoucy and Madeleine Blanchard) and Marguerite Bourg. Marie Madeleine Richard and Jean Richard were brother and sister.
Olivier Landry (son of Jean Joseph Landry and Marguerite Forest) married Cecile Poirier (daughter of Jean Baptiste Poirier and Marie Cormier). She was the sister of Jean Poirier, married to Madeleine Richard.