Exile Destination: England [via Virginia]

Origins | Acadia | The Exile | Resettlement | Canadian Acadians | Cajun History

VIRGINIA - about 1500 Acadians Several ships, carrying 1000-1500 Acadians (many died on the trip) arrived in Virginia. Once there, they were not allowed to leave the ships; the government refused to accept them.

Of the 2 ships named Carolina, one carried Acadians from Minas to Virginia (the other went to Maryland). The Halifax was a snow captained by John Taggart that sailed from Minas to Virginia.

The Endeavor was an 83 ton ship that sailed from Boudrot Point (near the mouth of the Gaspereau River at Minas). Captained by John Stone, it carried 166 Acadians who embarked on Oct. 19, left on Oct. 27, and arrived in Virginia in Nov. 1755. The Endeavor (also called the Encheree) and 5 other ships were detained in Boston Harbor on Nov. 5 due to bad weather. At Boston, Acadians were unloaded so that 2 persons per ton remained on the ship. This evidentally meant that they had been overcrowded (since the ships had been outfitted for 2 people per ton). They were given more supplies and set sail south. Upon arriving in Williamburg, they were not allowed to disembark. During their 4 months in the harbor many of them died before setting sail for England, where they remained until 1763. The 90.5 ton sloop Mary, captained by Andrew Dunning, left Boudrot Point (Minas) on Oct. 27, 1755 with 181 Acadians. It arrived in Virginia on Nov. 13, 1755. [Gipson, V.6, p. 277; Richard, V. 2, p. 121].

The 90 ton schooner Neptune left Pisiquid on Oct. 27, 1755 under Captain William Ford with 207 Acadians. It arrived in Virginia on Nov. 13, 1755. [Gipson, V.6, p. 277] . It was one of the 5 ships that took refuge with the Endeavor in Boston on Nov. 5.

Lauviere also mentions a goelette Ranger that was headed for Virginia with Acadians. Gov. Dinwiddle thought they were "internal enemies." So they were subsequently sent to England. These ships included the Carolina, the Endeavor, the Halifax, the Mary, and the Neptune. Gerard Braud also lists the Race Horse, the Virginia Packet, and the Goodrigde.Braud also states that 2 ships sank, though I haven't found the source for this statement. [From Nantes to Louisiana, p. 13] Just as Lawrence hadn't warned Virginia of the Acadians arrival, Virginia didn't warn England of their incoming "guests."

ENGLAND The Acadians in England (1756-1763) were located in 4 primary areas: Bristol, Falmouth, Liverpool, and Southampton. A total of over 1200 Acadians arrived in England. Not 800 survived till 1763 when the group went to France. Shortly after they arrived, smallpox decimated the ranks of all 4 groups, expecially those at Penryn (at the gates of Falmouth) where 61 Acadians were buried at Cornwall (the parish of St. Gluvias) that fall; there are no markers; a common grave was probably used. Rev. John Penrose was Anglican priest of the church from 1741-1776. A number of Acadians lived around the farms of Kerkilliack on the city's (Penryn) heights. France complained of the treatment of the Acadians, but the English Medical Department said that the charges were "false, indecent, and absurd." In a 1971 issue of Les Cahiers de la Société historique acadienne, there are lists of Acadians found in church records of England. These include St. Gluvias at Penryn, St. Mary in Liverpool, and St. Mary (Wooten) of Liverpool.

The Acadians were separated from the rest of the working population. The Admiralty ordered "all the Neutrals are prohibited from working in order to prevent an outcry by the laborers in the towns where they reside." … though some did find ways to work, esp. at Penryn and Southampton. The Acadians were given 6 sous a day for adults and 3 sous a day for children under 7. Pretty good money for those days. The payment of this was irregular. When the peace came England asked France to be reimbursed for these expenses. Infant deaths were higher than normal for the first 2 years, but things got better. The 1762 census showed 149 children under age 7, most born in England.

Bristol was known for the slave trade in the past. "Apparently the Acadians were prisoners in Stapleton, 5 km north of the city, near the Frome River." It had been the location of POWs of England's battles with France and Spain in America. On March 18, 1780, Francois Michel & Anne Daigle told the rector at St. Martin de Chantenay that before their son Francois was born, they had been married in Stapleton, England. [From Nantes to Louisiana, p. 14-15] The English tried to get the Acadians to become English subjects, esp. in 1762 as peach approached. They were told they'd get to go back to Acadia. A Scottish priest got the trust of 54 old Acadians by promising them they could go back.

With the end of the war in 1763, the Acadians, assisted by someone named Duplessis (a French prisoner from La Havre), wrote to the French ambassador in London … the Duke of Nivernois (Louis Jules Barbon Mancini Mazarini). Nivernois sent his representative, Lord de la Rochette, to see the Acadians. At Liverpool, they were excited to see him, while at Southampton they were reserved. Rochette persuaded Nivernois and the Colonial Minister (Duke of Choiseul) to help the Acadians. "The Acadians received the formal promise to be settled on lands in France at the expense of the King." [Les exiles Acadiens en France au XVIIIe siecle, Ernest Martin]

Acadian Prisoners of War by Robert Dafford The 753 Acadians in England crossed the English channel. They would find out, however, that the promises of a better life were quite exaggerated. The lists of those Acadians can be found on the Bristol, Falmouth, Liverpool, and Southampton pages..

The Acadians from England disembarked at Morlaix and St. Malo in early summer 1763. Housed in barracks, disease (such as smallpox) soon killed a good number of them. They thought better times were just around the corner; but it didn't turn out that way.