The Mazerolle family originated in France and first arrived in North America in Acadia in 1685. Louis Mazerolle (nicknamed Saint-Louis) helped found communities in present-day Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Many of his descendants were deported from Acadia in the 1750s as part of the Expulsion of the Acadians but some escaped to Quebec and the Maritimes. Those who remained helped establish communities along rivers in New Brunswick, including the Saint John, Baie des Vents, and Rivière-du-Portage. The family history details the founding of these communities by descendants of the original settler Louis Mazerolle over 200 years.

1. The Mazerolle of America A uthor: Rodrigue Mazerolle

2. Summary of the Mazerolle History The Mazerolles in America initially came from France Their first appearance in France was in Vienne department of the Poitou-Charente region. The commune was founded in 696 Twenty (20) localities in France were called Mazerolle

3. The Mazerolle Castle The Mazerolles Castle was built during the 12th century in the Mazerolle Domain in the Auvergne Department. This domain then comprised two (2) villages. Today, the Mazerolle Castle belongs to an Englishman and his sister by the name of Greenwood. The sister lives in Belgium.

4. The Mazerolles arrived in Acadia in 1685 at Port Royal. The first Mazerolle to arrive was Louis Mazerolle (nicknamed Saint-Louis). He was born in France about 1661. He became a soldier at Fort Port-Royal.

5. Louis Mazerolle (nicknamed Saint-Louis) married the widow of François Savary at Port Royal. They had three (3) daughters and one son: - Cécile (1698) - Élizabeth-Françoise (1705) - Marie (1708) - Joseph (1711) Louis Mazerolle (nicknamed Saint-Louis) permanently leaves Port Royal in August 1714 and settles in Port-Toulouse (now St-Peters in Cape-Breton, Nova Scotia). Marie (1708), his youngest daughter, joins him there and marries. Marie (1708) then settles along the Moulin-à-Scie River, which flows into the Northeast River (now the Hillsborough River) on St-John Island (now Prince-Edward Island). Acording to a Prince Edward Island historian by the name of Harvey, Louis Mazerolle (nicknamed Saint-Louis) (1661), becomes co-founder of the Racicot locality (now, Rustico, PEI).

6. The rest of Louis Mazerolle’s (nicknamed Saint-Louis) (1661) family settles in Grand-Pré, N.S. His son, Joseph (1711) born in Port Royal first marries Marie-Josephte Douaron ( Doiron) in 1743. They had the following four children: - Marie-Josephe (1736) - Joseph (1739) - Jean (1741) - Simon (1743) Joseph (1711) then remarries (approx. 1748) to Anne Daigle. They had the following four children: - Mathurin (1749) - Françoise (1751?) - Pierre-Augustin (1753?) - Paul (1754?) Joseph (1711) and his second family settle in 1750 in Baie-Verte N.B. near the current village of Port-Elgin

7. The Mazerolle Deportation Children of Louis Mazerolle (nicknamed Saint-Louis) (1661) and Geneviève Laforest (1663). Louis (1690) Son, settles in the region of Kamouraska, Qu ébec. Possibly Louis Mazerolle’s step-son from Geneviève Laforest’s first mariange Cécile (1698) Daughter, deported to Maryland, USA - 1755 Elizabeth (1705) Daughter, very little is known as she is believed to have died before the deportation. » » » » more

8. The Mazerolle Deportation Children of Louis Mazerolle (nicknamed Saint-Louis) (1661) and Geneviève Laforest (1663). –(continued) Marie (1708) Daughter, deported in 1758, from Saint John Island on the ship “Le Violette” that was shipwrecked in a storm off the coast of Cape-Breton. She and her family perished at sea on 13 December 1758. Joseph (1711) Son, escapes the deportation and settles in Grand-Pré, N.S The descendants of Joseph (1711) will eventually settled in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

9. The Mazerolle Deportation Children of Joseph (1711) son of Louis Mazerolle (nicknamed Saint-Louis) (1661)  In his first mariage, he and Marie Josephte Douaron (Doiron) have four children: Marie-Josephe (1736) Died at a very young age. Joseph (1739) Deported to Boston – 1755 Jean (1741) Died at birth Simon (1743) Deported to Williamsburg, Virginia in 1755 and then to Southampton England 1756. In 1763 he was repatriated to France where he marries, that same year, near St-Malo. He settles in Nantes near Châtellerault in 1773. Leaves on the ship « La Bergère » in June 1785 headed for New Orleans where he settles in Bruli (now Brusly) in August 1785

10. Children of Joseph (1711) son of Louis Mazerolle (nicknamed Saint-Louis) (1661)  In his second mariage to Anne Daigle, they had another four children:  Mathurin (1749)  Françoise (1751)  Pierre (1753)  Paul (1754) And those that stayed ….

11. And those that stayed …. Joseph (1711) and his second family were not deported and he becomes Father Leloutre’s right hand man. Note: Father Leloutre was the French commissioner named by the Governor of New France to encourage the Acadians to fight the British in the region of Fort Beaus éjour which fell into the hands of the British on June 15 th , 1755. Joseph (1711) flees with his second family to St-John Island (PEI) but leaves again in 1756 and settles in the parish of St-Charles in the Domain of Livaudière (currently the parish of St-Gervais, in the county of Bellechasse) south of Québec city, a long the southern arm of the Boyer River

12. Mazerolle Settlement Joseph (1711) leaves Bellechasse county in Québec with his second family and settles (1769) along the Saint-John River, west of Fredericton N.B., near McNally’s ferry, on the north side of the Saint John River - current region of Mazerolle Settlement. Joseph (1739) son of Joseph (1711) returns from exile in Boston on August 31, 1765 and settles in Charlesboug, Québec. He leaves Charlesbourg in 1777 and settles near his father, along the Saint John river. Note: New Brunswick becomes a separate province from that of Nova Scotia in 1784 The United Empire Loyalists arrive along the Saint-John River and disturb the Acadians already settled along the river.

13. In 1785, Joseph (1711), his son Joseph (1739) and his grandson Louis-Joseph (1767), gather the Acadians and a group of natives on Joseph (1711)’s lot and obtain, from the New Brunswick government, a large land grant on both sides of the Saint John River. It was located between the current locality of Rivière Verte and Edmundston N.B. Lots #1 and 32 on the west side of the river are assigned to the Mazerolles i.e. lot #1 to Louis-Joseph (1767) and lot #32 to his older brother, Jean-Baptiste (1765), both sons of Joseph (1739). The grant obtained in 1785 was officially called the Mazerolle Grant which becomes the parish of St. Basile du Madawaska in 1792 Joseph (1711) gives his land along the Saint John River, west of Fredericton N.B., to his son Joseph (1739) and leaves the Saint-John River with his second family about 1786. St. Basile

14. Baie Ste-Anne Joseph (1711) and his second family settled on the western shore of Ouines Bay (Bay of Winds) and founded, together with the Thibodeau family, the locality of Baie des Vents; currently Hardwicke, part of the parish of Baie Ste-Anne. Françoise (1751?) leaves Baie Ste-Anne and settles in the Tracadie region about 1786. Pierre-Augustin (1753?) leaves Baie Ste-Anne and settles in the Pokemouche region about 1786. Mathurin (1749) and Paul (1754), progressively settle west of the land of Joseph (1711), up to the shores of the Baie des Vents River, currently called French River

15. Baie Ste-Anne’s first Church In 1800 the St-Laurent Mission of Baie des Vents was officially founded. The church, rectory and cemetery were located at MacDonald’s Point on Paul Mazerolle’s (1754) land. This was therefore the first church of Baie Ste-Anne. In 1821, the widow of Paul (1754), Marguerite Thibodeau, officially gives, by contract to the church, the land occupied by the St-Laurent Mission of Baie des Vents. Many descendants of Mathurin (1749), and a number of descendants of Paul (1754), sons of Joseph (1711), settled in the current parish of Baie Ste-Anne on the south-eastern side of the bay.

16. Lot # 5 Joseph (1711) endorses the granting of lot 5 in Baie des Vents for a member of the French royal family who was fleeing the French Revolution. The latter soon disappeared from the region. All the members of Joseph’s (1711) family are sued by the surveyor for his surveying fees. The matter settled after the death of Joseph (1711) about 1793, Mathurin (1749) then becomes owner of the lot # 5.

17. Pointe Sapin Mathurin’s (1749) son, Joseph-Mathurin (1787) settles in the current region of Pointe Sapin in 1813 and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of Pointe Sapin. Paul’s (1754) son, Lazare (1798) obtains a lot in the Kouchibouquac N.B. region.

18. Rivi ère du Portage Paul’s (1754) son, Lazare (1798) settles with his wife and first four children in the current parish of Rivière-du-Portage in 1829. Lazare’s (1798) youngest son, François-Xavier (1842) is recognized as the founding father of Rivière-du-Portage having given a lot for the church, rectory, cemetery and school to the parish. About 1920, Jérémie Mazerolle (1872), François-Xavier’s (1842) son, grandson of Lazare (1798), settles with his family in Inkerman N.B.

19. Dalhousie In 1929, Alfred Mazerolle (1886), son of Lazare (1835), grandson of Lazare (1798), settles with his family in Dalhousie N.B. In 1930, Léon Mazerolle (1905), son of François-Xavier (1873), grandson of François-Xavier (1842), great-grandson of Lazare (1798), also settles in Dalhousie N.B. His family will join him there in 1931.

20. For more information and to purchase the books, please contact Rodrigue Mazerolle at [email_address]