| 8. | Denis GAUDET was born in 1625 in France (son of Jehan GAUDET and Nicole COLESON); died on 11 Oct 1709 in Port-Royal, Acadie; was buried on 11 Oct 1709 in Port-Royal, Acadie. Notes:
Around the time of the treaty of Breda (1667), which offici ally restored Acadia to France, Denis Gaudet migrated towar ds the top of the Port Royal river. His now adolescent son s would be assured of their own possession of land to begi n their own establishments. They were the first colonist s in this locality situated about 20 kilometres upriver fro m the fort. They went on to create a large domain on both s ides of the river in the region of present Bridgetown, Nov a Scotia. Denis and his two sons both named Pierre (one su rnamed l'Ainé, and the other le Jeune), constructed the ne w farm on the north bank. A map drawn by the surveyor Georg e Mitchell in 1733 shows five habitations at one "Godet Vil lage," at the north-east end of the valley, at a place wher e the river turns to the south and the space which separate s the North and South Mountains gets wider. The author of t he history of the town of Bridgetown, Elizabeth Coward, wh o knows the region thoroughly, places the location of Gaude t Village to the south-east of the present Riverside Cemete ry, at the inner limits of the town of Bridgetown, on lan d which later belonged to the Chipman family and who corres pond to number 133 in the cadastral survey of Grandville To wnship. At the start of the 17th century, the lawyer-poet M arc Lescarbot described the surroundings at the top of th e river (translated from French):
"...we are full of desire in seeing the country upstre am of the
river where we find the prairies (marshes) virtually c ontinuous
for more than 12 leagues, among which flow numerous st reams
that come from the hills and mountains nearby; the for ests are
plentiful to the waters edge... and there are many bri ght clearings
a long way from the shores..."
In the census of the Port Royal river valley in 1671, Den is Gaudet gives his age as 46 years old, his wife Martine G authier was 52 years old. They had five children, two wer e married: Anne Gaudet was 25 years old (married to Pierr e Vincent); Marie Gaudet was 21 years old (married to Olivi er Daigre, who lived opposite Gaudet Village on the south b ank); Pierre Gaudet l'Ainé, aged 20; Pierre Gaudet le Jeune , aged 17; Marie Gaudet, aged 14. All were farmers. Denis h ad six arpents of cultivated land (an arpent = roughly 5/ 6 of an acre), nine horned cattle and 13 sheep, some large , some small.
In the census of Port Royal in 1693, Denis Gaudet was a w idower aged 70 years. He was living with his son Pierre l e Jeune who married Marie Blanchard.
Denis married Anne-Martine GAUTHIER in 1645 in Port-Royal, Acadie. Anne-Martine (daughter of Philippe GAUTHIER and Marie-Marguerite PICHON) was born in 1629 in France; died in 1711 in Rivière-aux-Canards, Acadie. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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