POIRIER FAMILY HISTORY

Version Francaise

	Jean (Jehan) Poirier, the first ancestor of this Poirier family, 
was born in France where he married, around 1646, Jeanne Chabrat.  He 
appears to have been the soldier "Jehan Poirier" who came to Acadia in 
1641 with Jacques Bourgeois on board the ship Saint Francois.  So , we find 
the  Poirier family setttled in Beaubassin, Acadie, a settlement founded by 
Jacques Bourgeois. 

	Jean died around 1653 and his widow, Jeanne Chabrat, married 
Antoine Gougeon around 1656.  The 1671 Port Royal census mentions Jeanne 
Chabrat, aged, 45 and her 20 yr old son Michel.. Recently, the baptismal
entry for Jeanne Chabrat, dated Feb. 5/1627 was found in the registers of 
the parish of La Chaussee, in Poirou, France. 

	The same register contains baptismal entries of several families
who bear identical surnames as those who came to Acadia, including Poiriers, 
although there is no entry for Jean.  

	The 1678 Port-Royal census tells us that Jeanne Chabrat was, at that
time, a widow once again.  Only two children from the Poirier-Chabrat 
marriage are known : Marie, born around 1649, she married Roger Caissie, and
Michel, born around 1651, married Marie Boudreau. The two settled at 
Beaubassin around 1675. All Acadian Poirier have roots in this area. 

	There was an other Michel Poirier in Beaubassin born around 1667,
married to Marie Chiasson, a 16 year old girl. They had a son named Michel
in 1693 but it is not known if they were related to our Jean Poirier. This 
Poirier family was known as Michel Poirier from France..

	Descendants of Michel, son of Jehan Poirier, are the most numerous
of the two Poirier families and are found in the Maritime provinces and in 
Quebec province such as Gaspe area, Rimouski, Montmagny and Nicolet area. 

	Several members of this Poirier family had "dit" names, such as
Joseph dit Lantine, (from Cocagne) Joseph dit Gourdiec (exiled to Louisiana)
Charles dit Commis (my ancestor, settled in Bonaventure, PQ) Pierre dit
Chiche (also settled in Bonaventure, PQ) Pierre dit Doiron and Jean Baptiste
dit Canique (both in Nicolet, PQ, in 1787)

	Some Poirier who settled on  Prince Edward Island, changed their 
name to Perry (Anglicized version) such was the case of Sylvain Poirier
priest, born on PEI in 1801 signed his name Sylvain Perry..