Central Quebec
The first group of Acadians to arrive in the region in 1758 consisted of families from Quebec City. Abbé Le Guerne settled them in the seigneury of Bécancour, south of Lake Saint-Paul. This area, known as Bois des Acadiens or Village des Acadiens, was served by the parish of Nicolet. A second group, led by Michel Bergeron, arrived in the seigneury of Godefroy. The members of this group fled Sainte-Anne-des-Pays-Bas (Fredericton) after the British took possession of it in 1758-1759. They traveled up the Saint John River toward Cacouna and ended up in Bécancour.
The third group of arrivals, who began arriving in 1767, were deportees returning from the American colonies; they developed the seigneury of Roquetaillade. The parish registers of the region contain several records of baptisms and marriages contracted during deportation that were formalized by the Catholic Church.
As early as 1787, these three groups demanded their own territory, which they already referred to as Sainte-Marguerite or Godefroy. They won their case in 1802. The clergy officially named it Saint-Grégoire-le-Grand. A list published in 1803 shows 303 families, mostly of Acadian origin, for a population of about 1,500. Since 1965, this parish has been part of the city of Bécancour. Other Acadians also settled in Saint-Pierre-les-Becquets and Gentilly.
Today, Bécancour proudly displays its Acadian heritage with a giant chair painted in the colors of Acadia and a huge Acadian flag flying atop a 100-foot flagpole.
Among the pioneer families, we still find today the Béliveau, Bergeron, Champagne, Cormier, Désilets, Doucet, Hébert, Landry, Leblanc, Pellerin, and Richard families.
Please click on a name in the list below to go directly to its designated section.
Bécancourt (Saint-Grégoire sector)
Bécancourt ( Saint-Grégoire sector)
Linked to the Great Upheaval, the Acadians arrived and settled in three successive waves in the contiguous seigneuries of Bécancour, Godefroy, and Roquetaillade. They came from Beaubassin (Nova Scotia), Sainte-Anne-des-Pays-Bas (New Brunswick), and the Anglo-American colonies.
As early as 1758, some of them settled in the territory of the seigneury of Bécancour, south of Lake Saint-Paul. A second group arrived around 1764 in the seigneury of Godefroy. Some chose to join friends and family and developed the seigneury of Roquetaillade starting in 1767.
As early as 1787, these three groups demanded their own territory, which they named Sainte-Marguerite or Godefroy. These tenacious Acadians won their case in 1802, when civil and religious authorities granted them their own church and parish. The clergy named it Saint-Grégoire.
In order to determine the contribution of property owners to the construction of the Saint-Grégoire church, a list published in 1803 lists 303 families, mostly Acadian, representing a population of approximately 1,500 people. Their names were: "Arcennaux, Belliveaux, Bergeront, Bourg, Cormier, Hébert, Héon, Leblanc, Leprince, Pellerient, Poierrier, Richarre, Vigneaux..."
In 1965, this parish became an integral part of the City of Bécancour. The Saint-Grégoire sector preserves the memory of Acadian heritage by giving meaningful names to its roads, streets, and boulevards: Port-Royal Boulevard, Sainte-Marguerite River, Hébert Street, Thibodeau Road, etc.
The descendants of these Acadian refugees form one of the largest Acadian communities in Quebec.
Text written or compiled by Jeanne-d’Arc Hébert, Barbara Dubuc, and the Acadian Museum of Quebec.
Monument to the Acadian Odyssey
Place of interest
4100 Port-Royal Avenue
The monument is part of the international commemoration project for the Great Upheaval, led by the Société Nationale de l’Acadie. The goal of this undertaking is to highlight the odyssey of the Acadian people. In 2018, sixteen monuments have already been erected, including five in New Brunswick, three in Nova Scotia, one in Prince Edward Island, one in Newfoundland and Labrador, four in Quebec, one in Louisiana, and one in Miquelon (France).
The City of Bécancour, in collaboration with the Société acadienne Port-Royal and the Commission de l’Odyssée acadienne, unveiled the very first monument of the Acadian Odyssey in Quebec on August 14, 2011. Several hundred people attended the ceremony, which took place in front of the Saint-Grégoire presbytery. The text describes the successive arrivals of three groups of Acadians who came to settle in the territories of the Godefroy, Bécancour, and Rocquetaillade seigneuries. It bears witness to the massive arrival of Acadians between 1755 and 1767 in a territory that today forms one of the largest Acadian communities in Quebec.
Text written or compiled by Diane Robert and the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Old Mill of Saint-Grégoire
Place of interest
4060 Port-Royal Avenue
This windmill was built between 1808 and 1810 on the banks of the Marguerite River, at the top of the village. Joseph Bourg, a carpenter and mason, built it for Étienne LeBlanc, Lord of Godefroy. Until 1843, farmers used it to grind their grain into flour.
Badly damaged by time, the mill ceased to function around 1875. Rendered inoperable, it was sealed off and preserved as a relic. Without maintenance, the mill deteriorated over the years. In 1957, the Old Windmill was recognized as a historic monument and, in 1961, it was classified as a heritage building by the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications. In order to preserve it, a committee of citizens began several initiatives in 1988. Their many efforts led to its reconstruction in 1993, using its original stones, on the historic site of the village.
From 1994 to 2006, the Corporation du Vieux Moulin de Saint-Grégoire, which became the Société acadienne Port-Royal, presented various exhibitions there. In 2007, the exhibition Les Acadiens à Saint-Grégoire (The Acadians in Saint-Grégoire) was inaugurated . One floor of the building is also dedicated to the history of the mill.
Text written or compiled by Barbara Dubuc, Jeanne d’Arc Hébert, and the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Church of St. Gregory the Great
Place of interest
4100, Port Royal
The construction of Saint Gregory the Great Church took place between 1803 and 1806. In 1811, the parish wardens acquired the tabernacle from the Récollets Church in Montreal, a work attributed to Charles Chaboulié, along with its altarpiece, the centerpiece of the church, against which the tabernacle is placed. This ornament, created in 1713 by the Flemish sculptor Jan Jacques Bloem, known as Leblond, enriched the décor of the church of Saint-Grégoire-le-Grand. In 1812, sculptor Urbain Brien, known as Desrochers, was commissioned to design the rest of the décor. Acadians from the community participated in the construction and decoration of the church, notably master carpenter Jean-Baptiste Hébert and carpenter and sculptor Augustin Leblanc.
This church, the oldest in the Diocese of Nicolet, is now considered a jewel of Quebec religious architecture due to its rich furnishings and décor. Built in the neoclassical style, the Church of Saint-Grégoire-le-Grand was designated a heritage building in 1957 by the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications. Twenty-three heritage objects, classified in 1965, are preserved there. This place of worship has been protected since 1978.
Text written or compiled by Ghislaine Beaudry and the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Source: Les cahiers nicolétains, vol. 2, no. 4, December 1980. Quebec Cultural Heritage Directory © Ministry of Culture and Communications, 2007
Hébert Manor
Place of interest
20200 Acadiens Boulevard
This mansion, built by Jean-Baptiste Hébert around 1840–1845, has a monumental appearance with its two stone levels, eight openings on the façade, and two imposing side chimneys. The bourgeois appearance of this residence reflects the notoriety acquired in the community by its builder and owner.
Text written or compiled by the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Jean-Baptiste Hébert (1779–1863)
Personality
Born in Bécancour, Jean-Baptiste Hébert was a farmer, like his father. Talented and ambitious, he became a master carpenter and construction contractor. His reputation was such that he was entrusted with the construction of the churches of Saint-Grégoire, Saint-Louis, Saint-François-du-Lac, and Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies, as well as the Séminaire de Nicolet, the church and presbytery of Saint-Pascal de Kamouraska, and the convent of Kamouraska.
Hébert also pursued a military career. He was a captain in the 3rd Battalion of Militia in Bécancour and commanded the Saint-Grégoire de Nicolet Company during the War of 1812. He was later promoted to the rank of major. He served as a churchwarden on numerous occasions and also held the position of justice of the peace.
Alongside these activities, Hébert was actively involved in politics. In 1808, 1809, and 1810, he was elected representative for Buckingham in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Lower Canada. He left politics for a few years, then won the 1835 by-election and became representative for Nicolet. Hébert was imprisoned on February 4, 1838, for his participation in the Patriotes rebellion; he was released on the 27th of the same month. His political involvement ended in 1838.
He passed away in Kamouraska at the age of 83.
Text written or compiled by the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Belliveau-Béliveau Monument
Place of interest
4000 Port-Royal Boulevard
The monument was inaugurated during a gathering of the Belliveau and Béliveau families. It was unveiled on July 21, 1984, under the honorary presidency of Jean Béliveau and Véronique Béliveau. More than 2,500 people from Canada and the United States attended the event to pay tribute to their ancestor, Antoine Belliveau.
The monument is formed of a cube of dark green granite, symbolizing the strength of family cohesion.
Tribute to our ancestors
Antoine Belliveau, who came from La Chaussée, France, in 1644, settled in Port-Royal in Acadia, and married Marie-Andrée Guion around 1650.
The Belliveau and Béliveau families of America
Jean-Baptiste Belliveau and Marguerite Melanson, deported to Boston in 1755, settled in Bécancour (Saint-Grégoire) around 1765.
Joseph Belliveau, husband of Marie Gaudet, then of Marie Bourg, deported to Boston in 1755, settled in Bécancour around 1766.
Charles Belliveau and Osithe Dugas, deported to Boston in 1755, settled in
Saint-Jacques de l’Achigan in 1767.
The Bélivaux of Canada and the United States have as their first ancestor in Quebec either Joseph, Jean-Baptiste, or Charles Bélliveau.
Text written or compiled by the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Port-Royal Acadian Society
Institution
4060 Port-Royal Boulevard
819-233-4411
www.sapr.ca
The Société acadienne Port-Royal was founded in March 1993 under the name Corporation du Vieux Moulin de Saint-Grégoire. It was not until 2011 that the corporation adopted the new name we know today.
Mission and mandate
The Société acadienne Port-Royal (SAPR) is dedicated to disseminating, promoting, and raising awareness of Acadian history and regional Acadian heritage. Serving a large region that welcomed many Acadians who were deported or fled from British authorities, the SAPR's mandate is to highlight the Acadian heritage of the City of Bécancour, while promoting the contribution of Acadians to the development of the Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec regions.
To this end, it is presenting four exhibitions in three different venues and developing a major genealogy documentation center.
Text written or compiled by Sylvie Lessard and the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Festicadie
Event
This festival was created in 2009 to pay tribute to the first Acadian settlers of Saint-Grégoire. Every year in mid-August, numerous activities take place over the course of a weekend. It all kicks off loudly on Friday with the Grand Tintamarre parade. This is a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, which involves making noise to mark sad or joyful events. The entire population is invited to make noise in the streets of Saint-Grégoire with improvised instruments. People are also invited to decorate their homes along the parade route. Children and adults alike celebrate in costume and makeup in the colors of the Acadian flag. On Sunday, between the Acadian mass and the auction on the church steps, a wreath of flowers is laid at the foot of the Acadian Odyssey monument by the Acadian family of the year.
Nicolet
Congregation of the Sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Institution
251 Saint-Jean Baptiste Street
613-933-9755
www.sasv.ca
Around 1850, the parish priest of Saint-Grégoire-le-Grand, Father John Harper, sought to educate the girls of his parish by appealing to religious teaching communities. When the Congregation of Notre Dame refused, the priest received permission from the bishop to found a religious teaching congregation in Saint-Grégoire. He chose young women from the parish who were already qualified to teach. In 1853, four aspiring nuns embarked on the experiment: Léocadie Bourgeois became Mother de l'Assomption, Mathilde Leduc became Mother Sainte-Marie, Julie Héon became Mother de Jésus, and Hedwige Buisson became Mother Saint-Joseph. The first three aspirants were of Acadian origin.
August 17, 1857 marks the establishment of the secular congregation under the name Sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. The motto of this religious community, Respice Stellam, Voca Mariam ("Look to the star, call upon Mary"), defines its nature as a Marian congregation. These nuns, who excel in the arts and music, have educated several generations of women in Quebec, Canada, the United States, Japan, Brazil, and Ecuador. In 2014, they continue to shine throughout the world.
In the former convent of Saint-Grégoire, an exhibition designed by the Museum of World Religions presents their mission, their beginnings, and their establishment.
Text written or compiled by Jeanne-d’Arc Hébert and the Acadian Museum of Quebec
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