Greetings from the Albert County Museum.
The 2018 summer season is behind us and my motley crew of dedicated summer employees are back to school. Usually, that's the end of our Museum hours, but I'm pleased to report that thanks to a grant from the New Brunswick Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, the Museum was able to hire three "experienced employees” (that's over the age of 55) to extend our season to October 14th. What a great opportunity for our older fall tourists to take tours of the ACM under the umbrella of the glorious fall foliage of our wonderful County.
In this installment of Connecting Albert County, I thought I would spin a story of days gone by. A story of the early settlers of our area that dates back to the year 1698.
The 2018 summer season is behind us and my motley crew of dedicated summer employees are back to school. Usually, that's the end of our Museum hours, but I'm pleased to report that thanks to a grant from the New Brunswick Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, the Museum was able to hire three "experienced employees” (that's over the age of 55) to extend our season to October 14th. What a great opportunity for our older fall tourists to take tours of the ACM under the umbrella of the glorious fall foliage of our wonderful County.
In this installment of Connecting Albert County, I thought I would spin a story of days gone by. A story of the early settlers of our area that dates back to the year 1698.
The 2018 summer season is behind us and my motley crew of dedicated summer employees are back to school. Usually, that's the end of our Museum hours, but I'm pleased to report that thanks to a grant from the New Brunswick Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, the Museum was able to hire three "experienced employees” (that's over the age of 55) to extend our season to October 14th. What a great opportunity for our older fall tourists to take tours of the ACM under the umbrella of the glorious fall foliage of our wonderful County.
In this installment of Connecting Albert County, I thought I would spin a story of days gone by. A story of the early settlers of our area that dates back to the year 1698.
It begins with the arrival of Pierre Thibodeau. At the age of 67, Pierre sailed from Port Royal with his close friend Pierre Gaudet and sons Peter, John, Antoine and Michel. The goal was to begin a new settlement which he ultimately founded on the Chipody* River. After a short period of time, Thibodeau met Guillaume Blanchard and his two sons and assisted in building the settlement of Petitcodiak*. The Village of Hillsborough is now located where the Blanchard settlement was built. Over the next few years the settlers worked with the local Mi’kmaq and learned the skills of trapping animals. It is also said that the two groups joined together for celebrations and feasts.
Now that we have established our first settlements, we'll move forward to the year 1758: three years after the expulsion of the Acadians by the British government.
Joseph Broussard and his four sons were on the run from the British and had taken refuge along the Petitcodiac River. A leader of the Acadian Resistance, his small band of freedom fighters became famous for harassing the British troops in quick "hit and run" skirmishes. His exploits made him a local hero and the locals began to know him as Beausoleil.... Beautiful Sun.
Beausoleil obtained a small schooner and, under the orders of Governor Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, was named a Privateer by the French Government.
Beausoleil continued to harass the British forces with very good success. This in turn provoked the British into initiating raids of their own. The first took place in February in Shediac. The second raid took place at the settlement of Shepody in March. However Beausoleil made good his escape.
The British continued their campaign of conquest of the Acadians and their search for the Pirate Beausoleil. On November 12th, near midnight, the British sent their solders to Moncton to find the elusive pirate. They recorded no deaths or prisoners, but all buildings in sight were burned including La Chapelle (now Moncton’s Bore Park), Silvabro (Lewis-ville) and Jagersome (Dieppe).
A short time later, Beausoleil's Schooner was captured. But, once again, he eluded capture. There is no definitive proof of where he escaped to, but the English missed their pirate prize.
Of interest to the conclusion of this story: Definition of Privateer: an armed ship owned and officered by private individuals holding a government commission and authorized for use in war, especially in the capture of enemy merchant shipping.
Definition of Piracy: The act of robbery or criminal violence by ship- or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable items or property. Those who engage in acts of piracy are called pirates.
To the Acadian people, Beausoleil was a Privateer and a hero.
To the British, he was a
despicable Pirate.
History shows that the army of conquest writes the history of the war.
The Albert County Museum is located at 3940 Rte 114, Hopewell Cape. The Museum is open 9:30-5:30 seven days a week until Oct. 14th.
Dan Ross is the Manager and Curator of the Albert County Museum and RB Bennett Commemorative Centre.
*Petitcodiak and Chipody are historically accurate spellings of Petitcodiac and Shepody
In this installment of Connecting Albert County, I thought I would spin a story of days gone by. A story of the early settlers of our area that dates back to the year 1698.
It begins with the arrival of Pierre Thibodeau. At the age of 67, Pierre sailed from Port Royal with his close friend Pierre Gaudet and sons Peter, John, Antoine and Michel. The goal was to begin a new settlement which he ultimately founded on the Chipody* River. After a short period of time, Thibodeau met Guillaume Blanchard and his two sons and assisted in building the settlement of Petitcodiak*. The Village of Hillsborough is now located where the Blanchard settlement was built. Over the next few years the settlers worked with the local Mi’kmaq and learned the skills of trapping animals. It is also said that the two groups joined together for celebrations and feasts.
Now that we have established our first settlements, we'll move forward to the year 1758: three years after the expulsion of the Acadians by the British government.
Joseph Broussard and his four sons were on the run from the British and had taken refuge along the Petitcodiac River. A leader of the Acadian Resistance, his small band of freedom fighters became famous for harassing the British troops in quick "hit and run" skirmishes. His exploits made him a local hero and the locals began to know him as Beausoleil.... Beautiful Sun.
Beausoleil obtained a small schooner and, under the orders of Governor Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, was named a Privateer by the French Government.
Beausoleil continued to harass the British forces with very good success. This in turn provoked the British into initiating raids of their own. The first took place in February in Shediac. The second raid took place at the settlement of Shepody in March. However Beausoleil made good his escape.
The British continued their campaign of conquest of the Acadians and their search for the Pirate Beausoleil. On November 12th, near midnight, the British sent their solders to Moncton to find the elusive pirate. They recorded no deaths or prisoners, but all buildings in sight were burned including La Chapelle (now Moncton’s Bore Park), Silvabro (Lewis-ville) and Jagersome (Dieppe).
A short time later, Beausoleil's Schooner was captured. But, once again, he eluded capture. There is no definitive proof of where he escaped to, but the English missed their pirate prize.
Of interest to the conclusion of this story: Definition of Privateer: an armed ship owned and officered by private individuals holding a government commission and authorized for use in war, especially in the capture of enemy merchant shipping.
Definition of Piracy: The act of robbery or criminal violence by ship- or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable items or property. Those who engage in acts of piracy are called pirates.
To the Acadian people, Beausoleil was a Privateer and a hero.
To the British, he was a
despicable Pirate.
History shows that the army of conquest writes the history of the war.
The Albert County Museum is located at 3940 Rte 114, Hopewell Cape. The Museum is open 9:30-5:30 seven days a week until Oct. 14th.
Dan Ross is the Manager and Curator of the Albert County Museum and RB Bennett Commemorative Centre.
*Petitcodiak and Chipody are historically accurate spellings of Petitcodiac and Shepody
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