Magdalena Henry Thibodeau – one of two

My Sixth Great-Grandmother

Daughter of Jean Henry dit le Vieux and Marie Hebert 

Spouse of Charles Thibodeau 

Mother of Helene, Anastasie, Francois, Marguerite-Josephe, twins Jeanne-Tarsille and Pierre-Charles, Helene, and Marie-Victoire 

Welcome back dear reader, it is me again, Julie Marie Hebert Delaune. 

Over the last few weeks, I have told you my story and my mère’s story. Today I will tell you the story of my grand-mère. My grand-mère is Magdalena Henry, my mère’s mère. We are ancestors of Velma Mary Carrow’s grandmother, Louise Boudreaux. You will be amazed when you learn the life of Magdelena Henry. 

My grand-mère Magdalena Henry, was born in L’Acadie, Canada. She and her family were deported to France where she lived for twenty-six years, before she immigrated to Louisiana with her husband and children along with other family members, and where she died. Who would have guessed that she would travel across the Atlantic Ocean twice, once in 1759 and then again in 1785? Magdalena traveled more than most people of her day.  

I think Magdalena was born in Cobequid around 1726. Cobequid was an Acadian town near the Salmon River and the Minas Basin, in what is now known as Truro in central Nova Scotia. It was a turbulent time when Magdalena lived in L’Acadie, with France and England trading control of the area. When England controlled the area, the Acadians tried not to take an oath of allegiance as they did not want to fight against either their French countrymen or the Native Americans whom they had befriended. The Acadians wanted to stay neutral. 

With British Protestants encroaching on L’Acadie, some Acadians, including Magdelena’s family, left and moved to Isle St. Jean (today Prince Edward Isle). Isle St. Jean is the island just north of Nova Scotia. At the time, Isle St. Jean was controlled by the French, so it was safer. Unfortunately, the land was not as fertile. 

Magdalena’s parents were Marie Hebert and Jean Henry dit le Vieux (dit is a term that indicates a nickname, and le Vieux means “the old”). Her siblings included Marie-Josephe, Simon, Francois, Charles, Francoise, Anne and Marie.^[1]Dave Hunter, “Sieur de la Roque 1752 Census for Prince Edward Island/Ile Saint Jean, Census of Rivière du Ouest,” The Island … Continue reading She married Charles Thibodeau 1 February 1751 in Port-Lajoie on Isle St. Jean (today Rocky Point, Prince Edward Island – vicinity of Fort Amherst near Charlottetown).^[2]Canada Ile Saint-Jean (Port-La-Joye) 1755 Archives nationales d’outre-mer … Continue reading Charles was the son of Phillipe and Isabelle Vincent. Magdelena was about twenty-five years old when she married. Many Acadian woman married in their mid-twenties in the 1700s, while men were closer to thirty when they married.  

By 1752, Magdalena had her first child, Helene Thibodeau. Charles Pitre served as godfather and Francoise Henry was the godmother.^[3]Ile Saint-Jean (Port-La-Joye) 1752, Archives nationals d’outer-mer … Continue reading They lived at Rivière du Ouest on Isle St. Jean. Her parents and siblings lived nearby. There were about nineteen families at Rivière du Ouest.^[4]Tim Hebert, “Ile St. Jean,” Acadian-Cajun Genealogy & History (https://www.acadian-cajun.com/stjean.htm : viewed 14 January 2022). Magdelena’s daughter, Anastasie was born in 1755. Her godparents were Charles Henry and Marie Carré.^[5]Ile Saint-Jean (Port-La-Joye) 1752, Archives nationals d’outer-mer … Continue reading  

Without a doubt, Magdelena spun wool and sewed and knitted clothes for her family while living on Ile St. Jean. She probably worked alongside her mother and sisters. She also dried meat, preserved fruits and vegetables, tended the gardens, and helped with crops when necessary. 

Magdelena’s husband, Charles Thibodeau probably arrived at Rivière du Ouest a few years before her family. A census was taken in 1752 and Charles was cited as a ploughman and native of L’Acadie. Magdalena was twenty-six years old, while Charles was twenty-nine. They seemed to be doing well as they had a cow, a calf, a horse, an ewe, a sow, and a pig. They were living on the north side of Rivière du Ouest and had “made a clearing for the sowing of about two bushels of wheat.”^[6]Dave Hunter, “Sieur de la Roque 1752 Census for Prince Edward Island/Ile Saint Jean, Census of Rivière du Ouest,” The Island Register  … Continue reading 

Magdalena Henry’s family as well as her parents and aunts, uncles and cousins were expelled from Isle St. Jean in 1758 and suffered greatly as a consequence. They, along with over three thousand others, boarded one of the “Five Ships” transporting Acadians to France. The ships were the John Samuels, Mathias, Patience, Restoration, and Yarmouth. These ships started at Isle Royale (Cape Breton), and Isle St-Jean before arriving in France at Saint-Malo. Three other ships sank with almost 900 people drowning, the Duke William, Violet, and Ruby. To think that our family could have been on one of the ships that sank! 

The ships were overcrowded as the British underestimated the number of Acadians living on Isle St. Jean. They were practically treated like prisoners on board and were stuffed in the holds of the ships in very unsanitary conditions. Then Charles and Magdelena’s greatest fears were realized when their only two children, daughters Helene and Anastasie, did not survive the crossing. Magdalena’s heart was broken. She felt so helpless. They lost their home, their country and their little girls. Surely, Helene and Anastasie had been buried at sea as so many others had. What a sad arrival for this sorrowful refugee. How depressed, tired, and hungry she must have been when she first placed her foot to ground on 23 January 1759.^[7]Albert J. Robichaux, The Acadian Exiles in Saint-Malo 1758-1785 (Eunice, Louisian: Hebert Publications, 1981). Her father, Jean Henry dit le Vieux, died a few months later in Saint Servan near Saint-Malo.^[8]Saint-Servan – 1759 Sépultures – Greffe, Archvies et patrimonie d’ille-et-Vilaine (https://archives-en-ligne.ille-et-vilaine.fr/ : accessed 16 January 2022) > Les Archives departmental … Continue reading

A year after arriving in France, Magdelena gave birth to a son, Francois in Pleurtuit near Saint-Malo^[9]Pleurtuit Baptêmes/Marriages 1760 Greffe, Archvies et patrimonie d’ille-et-Vilaine (https://archives-en-ligne.ille-et-vilaine.fr/ : accessed 16 January 2022) > Les Archives departmental > … Continue reading Fate continued to steal from Magdalena. Francois died when he was just three years old, after her daughter Marguerite-Josephe was born.^[10]Pleurtuit – 1763- Sépultures – Commune,  Archives départementales d’Ille-et-Vilaine  … Continue reading Twins Jeanne-Tarsille and Pierre-Charles must have brought her happiness along with Helene and Marie-Victoire.^[11]Pleurtuit – 1764 – Baptêmes/Mariages – Commune, Archives départementales d’Ille-et-Vilaine … Continue reading Magdalena was about forty-six when her last child, Marie-Victoire was born.  

My story for today will end here. But I thought I would ask, did you realized that Magdelena Henry was born almost three hundred years ago! Next week I will continue the amazing story of my grand-mère.