This week I am not only talking about one Richard but 7 families where the husband or wife is a Richard. These are the first Richard families to settle on Ile St-Jean (now Prince Edward Island).
According to the census of the Sieur de La Roque of 1752, there were 7 Richard families in the region of Malpàque. What is very interesting about the census of Sieur de La Roque is that it describes the regions visited as well as how long the Acadians have been settled in the area in addition to indicating their age, families and land.
According to the census, the first Richard would be Marguerite Richard (45), wife of Claude Arseneau (son of Pierre Arseneau and Marie Guérin) and daughter of Martin Richard and Marguerite Bourg (Martin was the son of Michel Richard dit Sansoucy and Magdeleine Blanchard). The couple settled on Île Saint-Jean in the region of Malpeque around 1737 with 5 of their children (They have been in the “country” for 15 years). In 1752 they have 9 children between 7 and 24 years old (four boys and five girls): Claude Arseneau 24, Paul 20, Ambrose 14, Joseph 11, Magdelaine 21, Anne 18, Judith 16, Rose 9 and Anastazie 7 years old.
Four years later, around 1741, four other Richard families settled in the same area.
They are :
AlexandreRichard -57 years old (son of Martin Richard to Michel Richard dit Sansoucy and Magdeleine Blanchard and Marguerite Bourg) and his wife Magdeleine Thibodeau – 47 years old (daughter of Jean Thibodeau and Marguerite Hébert). In 1752 they
had three sons and three daughters between the ages of 5 and 17, and they have been in the country for eleven years (that is, on Île Saint-Jean). Children:
Jean 15, Joseph 11, Victore 5, Anne 17, Catherine 13 and Jeanne Rosalie 9.
3 more children of Alexandre Richard and Magdeleine Thibodeau also settled on Île Saint-Jean with their family at the same time their parents circa 1737. These are:
Michel Richard, farmer, native of l’Acadie, 20 years old, and his wife Marie Dugas. They do not have children at the 1752 census.
Pierre Richard, farmer, native of l’Acadie, 22 years old, has been in Canada for 11 years. Married to Marguerite Dugas, native of Acadia, 17 years old. It is stated that they have no children and have just been married.
Paul Richard, farmer, native to Acadia, 27 years old, he has been in Canada for 11 years. Married to Renée Boudrot, a native of Port Toulouse, 23 years old. They have two sons and a daughter: Joseph, 5, Charles, 1, and Marie, 2 months.
Nine years later, around 1750, two more Richard settle on Île Saint-Jean. In the census we find:
At the North-East River: Marie Boudrot, widow of Pierre Richard, very poor, native of Acadia, aged 36, in the country for 2 years. She has 6 children, 5 boys and a girl: Pierre 19, Paul 17, Joseph 13, Honoré 10, Thomas 6 and Marie 15. (Pierre Richard was in fact Pierre dit Toussain, the son of Alexandre Richard dit Boutin and (son of Michel Richard dit Sansoucy and Jeanne Babin) and Marie Levron.)
At the Moulin-à-scie River: Petit Paul Duaron, a 39-year-old native of Acadia, has been in the country for 2 years and is married to Marie Richard, a native of Acadia, 40 years old. They have one son and four daughters: Paul Michel, 12, Marie Joseph 15, Margueite Modeste, 8, Elizabeth 5, and Judith, 7. Marie Richard was the daughter of Alexandre Richard (son of Michel Richard dit Sansoucy and Jeanne Babin) and Marie Levron.