My Sixth Great Grandmother
(about 1731 to 1786)
Daughter of Jean Pitre and Marguerite Terriot
Widow of Jean-Baptiste-Olivier Henry
Mother of Marguerite Josephe, Marie Madeleine, Marie, Isabelle, Ozite
Wife of Pierre Hebert
Mother of Marie-Josephe, Pierre-Jean, Anne-Josephe, Francois-Etienne, Joseph-Yves, Mathurin-Pierre-Francois, Jean Baptiste Olivier, Anne-Perinne
Highlights
Suzanne’s name was not given to many Acadian girls at the time she was born, around 1731. In 1752 when the census in Île Saint-Jean was taken three other women had the name Suzanne. The names Marie, Marguerite, and Anne were more numerous. Six young girls were named Suzanne that were younger than twelve. The name Suzanne (also Susana and other variations) means lily. When the Acadian names were recorded in France between 1762 and 1776, only one other Acadian was recorded with the name Suzanne, a twelve-year-old girl. The ship’s lists documenting the Acadians who left France for Louisiana in 1785 list four other Acadian women who had the name Suzanne.
As did many other Acadians during the deportation years, Suzanne witnessed the death of her family, namely, four of her five daughters and her husband. More than nineteen of her close family members died within six or seven months. She married a second time to Pierre Hebert and had another eight children. Suzanne had at least thirteen children. She was the mother of my ancestor, Joseph-Yves Hebert who married Marie-Victoire Thibodeaux.
Suzanne was on the La Ville d’Archangel when Acadians left Saint-Malo, France, in August 1785. The ship grounded in La Belize, near New Orleans, in November 1785. Food was scare and many people were sick. Fifteen people died before arrival. Her eldest daughter from her first marriage, Marguerite Henry, was still with Suzanne and sailed to Louisiana also. Alas, Suzanne didn’t live much longer. She died seven months after arriving in Louisiana.
Timeline of Suzanne’s life
| Date | Event |
| 1731 | Birth of Suzanne Pitre, probably in Cobiquid. The marriage record of Suzanne Pitre to Pierre Hebert notes that she and Pierre were of the parish of St. Pierre and St. Paul in l’Acadie.[1] |
| 1748 | Marriage to Jean-Baptiste-Olivier Henry[2] |
| 1749 | Birth of daughter Marie Henry[3] |
| 1750 | Relocated to Île Saint-Jean[4] |
| 1750 | Birth of daughter Margueritte[5] |
| 1752 | Living at Riviere de Ouest, Île Saint-Jean[6] |
| 1752 | Birth of daughter Marie Magdeleine Henry[7] |
| 1755 | Birth of daughter Isabelle Henry[8] |
| 1756 | Birth of daughter Ozite Henry[9] |
| 1758 | Deported from Île Saint-Jean by Governor Lawrence |
| 1758-1759 | The following family members died at sea during the crossing from Île Saint-Jean to France: Suzanne’s daughters Marie 9 years old, Isabelle, 4 years old, and Ozite, 3 years old; her father, Jean Pitre; and her mother, Marguerite Theriot. Five of Suzanne’s sisters and at least 15 nieces and nephews either died at sea or soon after arrival in France.[10] |
| January 23, 1759 | Arrival at Saint-Malo, France[11] |
| March 12, 1759 | Death of daughter Marie Madeleine, 6 years old[12] |
| March 27, 1759 | Death of husband Jean-Baptiste-Olivier Henry, 32 years old[13] |
| April 10 to May 12, 1759 | In Hospital du Rosay[14] |
| June 30, 1760 | Marriage to Pierre Hebert, Pleurtuit[15] |
| April 28, 1761 | Birth of daughter Marie-Josephe Hebert, Laurodel, Cotes d’Armor, France[16] |
| February 9, 1763 | Birth of son Pierre-Jean Hebert, Laurodel, Cotes d’Armor, France[17] |
| February 5, 1765 | Birth of daughter Anne-Josephe Hebert, Ploubalay, Cotes d’Armor, France[18] |
| February 11, 1767 | Birth of son Francois-Etienne Hebert, Ploubalay, Cotes d’Armor, France[19] |
| May 8, 1769 | Birth of son Joseph-Yves Hebert (my ancestor), Ploubalay, Cotes d’Armor, France[20] |
| October 28, 1771 | Birth of son Mathurin-Pierre-Francois Hebert, Ploubalay, Cotes d’Armor, France[21] |
| September 1772 | Spins and cuts, Saint-Malo[22] |
| About 1774 | Birth of son Jean Baptiste Olivier Hebert, France[23] |
| November 20, 1775 | Birth of daughter Anne-Perinne Hebert, Tremereuc, Cotes d’Armor, France[24] |
| August 12, 1785 | Departure from Saint-Malo France on the La Ville d’Archangel[25] |
| November 4, 1785 | La Ville d’Archangel runs aground in Balize, an outpost of the Mississippi River in Louisiana[26] |
| December 3, 1785 | La Ville d’Archangel arrives in New Orleans[27] |
| June 21, 1786 | Buried in Bayou des Ecors, Point Coupee, Louisiana[28] |
Hopital du Rosais – This photo is published under the CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0 Creative Commons license.
Click inside the interactive map to view the places Suzanne Pitre Henry Hebert lived and traveled to throughout her life. If you select the View Larger Map icon, a new tab opens with an enlarged map and timeline.
[1] Archives départementales de la Vienne , Référence 10 NUM 35228 695, PLEURTUIT; Baptêmes et Mariges 1760 copy Pleurtuit, de 30 de juin 1760, image 13 of 29. https://archives-en-ligne.ille-et-vilaine.fr/thot_internet/FrmLotDocFrame.asp?idlot=THOPDESC_303672&idfic=345828&ref=0345828&appliCindoc=THOPDESC&resX=1440&resY=900&init=1&visionneuseHTML5=0 : viewed 2 October 2023. Access to online records at Archives d’ille et Vilaine is no longer available from the United States. At least two other sources corroborate the year Suzanne was born, the 1752 Census of Ile Royale by Sieur de La Rocque and the arrival list of Acadians in Saint-Servan. The citations for these records are noted below.
“In 1748, the parish of St. Peter & St. Paul was recognized as “the principal seat” of Cobequid, surrounded by approximately a hundred families.” ”The expulsion of Cobequid’s inhabitants remains a secret of history,” Acadie, (https://acadie.cheminsdelafrancophonie.org/en/truro-the-expulsion-of-cobequids-inhabitants-remains-a-secret-of-history/ : viewed 9 October 2023).
[2] Report Concerning Canadian Archives for the Year 1905, Archive.org, p. 82. “Baptiste Olivier, ploughman, native of I’Acadie, aged 24 years, has been in the country, fifteen months. Married to Suzanne Pitre, native of I’Acadie, aged 22 years.” (https://archive.org/details/reportconcerning21publ/page/n193/mode/2up : viewed 9 October 2023).
[3] Ibid. Marie, aged 31 months.
[4] Ibid. “Baptiste Olivier, ploughman, native of I’Acadie, aged 24 years, has been in the country, fifteen months.”
[5] Ibid. “Margueritte, aged 18 months.”
[6] Ibid. “Baptiste Olivier, ploughman, native of I’Acadie, aged 24 years, has been in the country, fifteen months. Married to Suzanne Pitre, native of I’Acadie, aged 22 years. The have three daughters; Marie, aged 31 months, Margueritte, aged 18 months. Magdelaine, aged 15 days. Live stock: two oxen, one cow, four heifers, one bull, one ewe, one sow, two pigs and one horse. The land on which they are settled is situated on the north side of the Riviere du Quest, and was given to them verbally by Monsieur de Bonaventure. They have made a clearing on it for a garden only.” https://archive.org/details/reportconcerning21publ/page/n193/mode/2up.
[7] Ibid. Magdelaine, aged 15 days.
[8] Fonds de l’Inscription maritime de Saint-Servan [France] : C-4619, Canadiana, Rolle des habitats de l’Isle St. Jean debarques a St. Malo le 23 Janveir 1759 des 5 paquebots Anglois le Yarmouth, la Patience, le Mathias, La Restoration es le John et Samuel; image 201 (https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c4619/201 : viewed 9 October 2023).
Family 128; HENRY Baptiste Olivier, 32 ans, + à Saint Servan le 27 mars 1759, PITRE Suzanne, 28 ans, femme, HENRY Isabelle, 4 ans, fille, + en mer
[9] Ibid.
[10] Fonds de l’Inscription maritime de Saint-Servan [France] image 201. See also, Jean Baptiste Pitre (1699-1758), WikiTree (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pitre-2056 viewed 9 October 2023).
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid. “Marie Madeleine, 6 ans, fille, mort à Saint Servan le 12 mars.”
[13] Ibid. “Baptiste Olivier Henry, 32 ans, labourer, mort le 27 mars à Saint Servan.”
[14] Ibid. “Suzanne Pitre 28 ans sa femme à l’hopital du Rosay le 10 avril sortie 12 may.”
[15] Archives d’ille et Vilaine, Référencec 10 NUM 35228 695, Commune, Pleurtuit, Année début 1760 Année fin 1760, Type d’actes, Baptêmes/Mariages, Type de collection Greff; de 30 de juin 1760, image 13 of 29; access to online records at Archives d’ille et Vilaine is no longer available from the United States. See also Albert J. Robichaux, Jr., The Acadian Exiles in Saint-Malo 1758-1785 Volume III Acadian Marriages (Eunice, Louisiana, Hebert Publications, 1981) p. 922.
[16] Albert J. Robichaux, Jr., The Acadian Exiles in Saint-Malo 1758-1785 (Eunice, Louisiana, Hebert Publications, 1981) 3:476.
[17] Albert J. Robichaux, Jr., The Acadian Exiles in Saint-Malo 1758-1785 (Eunice, Louisiana, Hebert Publications, 1981) 3:477.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Rieder, Milton P, The Acadians in France, 1762-1776; Rolls of the Acadians living in France distributed by towns for the years 1762 to 1776 (Metaire, Louisiana, 1967) p. 68; archive.org (https://archive.org/details/acadiansinfrance0000ried/page/n9/mode/2up : viewed 7 Jul 2019).
[23] “Passenger List for La Ville D’Archangel” (https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~acadiancajun/genealogy : viewed 13 October 2023).
[24] Robichaux, The Acadian Exiles in Saint-Malo 1758-1785
[25] “Passenger List for La Ville D’Archangel”(https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~acadiancajun/genealogy/ship6.htm : viewed 14 October 2023).
[26] Ibid.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Diocese of Baton Rouge, Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records (1770-1803) Susane, wife of Pierre Hubert, an Acadian of Bayou des Ecors, bur. 21 June 1786 (PCP-5, 2) 2:595.