Francis A. Thibaudeau

Sorry this is so tiny. You can click on it to make it larger, and
I'll send a larger copy of the screen shot with the email.

Francis A. Thibaudeau's (1862-1943) ancestry was a tough one for a while. And, interestingly, more than one person said, "What have you found out about Grandpa Thibaudeau?"  The line above shows Grandpa's Grandfather's line. In the next Blog, I'll open up Grandpa's Grandmother's line. 

Grandpa was born in Bangor, Maine on July 26, 1862. His father, Regis, was also born in Maine, in 1822. He and his wife Marie Gauvin had 11 children and Grandpa was number nine. Census records from 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 and 1900 show Regis, a farmer, living at Van Buren, Aroostook, Maine, United States. The area is one of the only French speaking areas of the U.S. The 1901 census shows him living with his son, also Regis, in New Brunswick. He died at the age of 85 in Maine. (longevity!) Grandpa's mother, Marie, died in 1898.

The yellow line is the US - Canada border, and the curve is the northern most tip of Maine. 

While each generation has a story, I'm skipping back to Pierre R. Thibodeau (1631-1704), since he was born in France. According to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, our 6th great grandfather was a "miller, settler, founder of the Acadian family of that name". He settled in Port Royal, Nova Scotia, a settlement that did not last too long, however, it's now a Canadian Historical site, similar to Willliamsburg. Old Pierre is buried at the Port Royal site. 

He arrived in Acadia in 1654. According one history site, "By the 1650s, New France was still severely under populated and in constant danger of being overrun. In 1660, New France nearly fell to hostile Iroquois tribes.." In 1663, by order of King Louis XIV, New France became a French province, and gained more protection from the King. I also read that no one could emigrate to New France unless they were Catholic. No Huguenots allowed! 

By the way, the several spellings of Thibadeau, Thibodeaux, Tibodo, etc. come from the census records, which were done by hand. 

The green leaves on the Ancestry.com screen shot indicates there may be more information. I've decided not to pursue any links beyond the U.S. (except for Gram in Scotland). I've also followed some links and they didn't fit for one reason or another. 

To prepare for next week's entry, who was the founder of Quebec? Really. Look it up. Our 7th great grandparents were good buddies with him.

Have a good week!

MK