Old Acadian Villages of Nova Scotia
The old Acadian villages in Nova Scotia have been lost due to deportation in 1755. During this period many villages were burned down by Col. John Winslow.
Historical Context
Before the deportation in 1755 there were many hamlets of Acadian families living in Nova Scotia. These hamlets were scattered throughout the country side. The villages were typically named after the head of the family.
Village Trahan
One such village was named after the family Trahan. This village was located to the south of Windsor, Nova Scotia.
John Duncanson wrote two books in which he mentioned the Trahan family. On page six he lists several Pisiquid villages, their location and deputies. Village Trahan is one of these villages. The present location is at 1754 is St. Croix.
Another book by Duncanson is Newport Nova Scotia. This book mentions village Trahan through a reference to the journal of Colonel John Winslow. Winslow wrote that in 1756 village Trahan was burned at the location St. Croix.
John Mack Faragher wrote A Great and Noble Scheme. His book mentions Guillaume Trahan three times in his book but for just a few lines at a time. The greatest piece of information discovered from his book is that Guillaume arrived in Port Royal as one of the skilled tradesmen. Faragher writes that he is a steel smith. Later in his book he also writes that Guillaume was a syndic of Port Royal. Faragher also provides the information of when Guillaume arrived in Port Royal on the Saint-Jehan and who accompanied him.
Sally Ross and Alphonse Deveau wrote the book The Acadians of Nova Scotia Past and Present. Their book contains less information than the other books already mentioned. There are two spots in the book where they make mention of Trahan for only a few lines. They make mention again of Guillaume leaving La Rochelle on April 1, 1636.
John G. Reid, Maurice Basque, Elizabeth Mancke, Barrey Moody, Geoffrey Plank, and William Wicken write The ‘Conquest’ of Acadia, 1710 Imperial, Colonial, and Aboriginal Constructions. The only mention is a brief sentence where it says Guillaume was a syndic. It also makes mention in the same sentence that Jacob Bourgeois marries the daughter of Guillaume, Jeanne.
There is also an article in the Hants Journal by John V. Duncanson. This article contains a map of the village Trahan as being under Fort Edward.
See also
Further reading
- Duncanson, J. (1967, July 19). The Settlement Of Pisiquid. The Hants Journal, pp. 1–8. Section C
- Duncanson, J. V. (1985). Newport, Nova Scotia, a Rhode Island township. Belleville, Ont.: Mika Pub.
- Duncanson, J. V. (2002). John V. Duncanson's Falmouth, a New England township in Nova Scotia. Windsor, N.S.: West Hants Historical Society.
- Faragher, John Mack (2005). A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland. W.W Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-05135-3.
- Martell, J. S. (1980). Pre-Loyalist settlements around Minas Basin a history of the townships of Cornwallis, Horton, Falmouth, Newport, Windsor, Thuro, Onslow, and Londonderry, 1755-1783, with a survey of the French period. Halifax: Dalhousie University.