Pierre Cormier

     Pierre Cormier was born on 3 August 1734 at Beaubassin, Colony of Nova Scotia, British North America.^1,2 He was the son of Pierre Cormier dit Palette and Cécile Thibodeau. Pierre Cormier went by the nick-name of Pierrot Cormier.² He was christened on 29 September 1734 at Beaubassin, Colony of Nova Scotia, British North America.² Pierrot was raised on a nearby farm in Ouescoque Heights (Amherst Point, Nova Scotia). His family were French neutrals who were living in the formerly French, then-British-held territory of Nova Scotia. In 1750 the French erected Fort Beauséjour on the north side of the Missaguash River, and the British erected Fort Lawrence on the south side of the river. The French soldiers ordered the Acadian families in British territory to move to the French side for their protection; however, fearing the loss of good farmland their families had worked for generations, they refused. The British burned the southern Acadian villages in events that would lead up to the expulsion of the Acadians, historically known as "le grand dérangement" or "the Great Upheaval." Pierrot's family was forced to abandon their homestead and seek refuge with relatives who lived on the French side across from Jolicoeur (now Jolicure, New Brunswick).²

Pierre Cormier married Marie-Anne Gaudet, daughter of Augustin Gaudet and Agnès Chiasson, in 1755.^1,2 Later in 1755, Pierrot was taken prisoner at Jolicoeur and imprisoned at Fort Beauséjour for several weeks. There are several accounts of his escape from the British on the eve of the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755, including one that involves dressing as a woman. The one with the most credibility, according to Stephen White, comes from genealogist Placide Gaudet in 1877:


The move to French-controlled Québec was not without its perils for Pierrot and his brothers Jacques and François. They served in the militia during the fall of Québec in 1759 and then joined a French frigate at Pointe-Lévy (Lauzon/Lévis, Québec) in hopes of earning passage to France. After engagement with two British war vessels, likely the encounter off Cap-Rouge between Jean Vauquelin and Robert Swanton in May 1760 near the Jacques-Cartier River, the frigate ran aground. The three Cormier brothers were among the 60 of 160 crew members who managed to survive, swimming ashore through the April icy water. Pierre and Marie-Anne Gaudet were known to be living between 1761 and 1764 at L'Islet, Québec, New France.² About 1765 Pierrot and Nanette returned to Sainte-Anne with their children, Pierrot's mother, and his four brothers.² By July 1783 Pierrot had cleared 20 acres, which he occupied for 13 years. Unfortunately, the Acadians of Sainte-Anne had not secured titles to all of the land they farmed, and grants to disbanded soldiers and loyalists were soon encroaching on what they considered to be their land. Since their small acreage was insufficient to support their families, they moved between 1786 and 1787 to vacant land on the west side of the Memramcook River. However the so-called “vacant” land where the Cormiers settled had already been granted to Joseph Goreham and then sold to Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres in 1775. On June 5, 1792 the Cormiers and others presented a petition to the New Brunswick government complaining of the "extravagant" demands of DesBarres and arguing that his land should be granted to them in consideration of the substantial improvements made during their occupation. Their efforts were thwarted by DesBarres and his agents, but the Cormiers remained on the land through at least 1809.The dispute, however, would drag on among the descendants for 50 years. The Cormiers’ farm was at L’Anse des Cormiers (Cormier Cove, New Brunswick, Canada.)² Pierre Cormier died on 24 March 1818 at Memramcook, Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada, at age 83.^1,2 He was buried on 25 March 1818 at St-Thomas Cimetière, Memramcook, Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada.²