Collection of objects – Documents and archives

Deed of donation from Joseph Arsenault to Benoît Arsenault et al. | Act of donation |

Information about the object

Historical period

1913

Dimensions

Height: 22 cm. Width: 9 cm.

Classification

Communications -- Document

Accession number

1990.5.2

Division

Documents and archives -- Means of expression -- Pieces and documents

Collection

Eva Arsenault?

Donor

Eva Arsenault

Category/theme

Description of the object

Deed of gift made on June 23, 1913, by Joseph Arsenault, son of Sébastien, to Benoit Arsenault et al. 10 pages held together by a metal fastener in the upper left corner and folded.

Value of the item

The object bears witness to an Acadian family, the Arsenault family of Bonaventure. The document mentions three generations of Arsenaults united on the same land:
1) Sébastien Arsenault (1804-1866), son of Grégoire & Théotiste Bourg, 1804-1866, married Geneviève Cavanagh on January 12, 1830, in Bonaventure (https://www.nosorigines.qc.ca/GenealogieQuebec.aspx?genealogie=Arsenault_Sebastien&pid=174309)
2) Joseph Arsenault (1849-1933), son of Sébastien & Geneviève Cavanagh, married Marie-Louise-Denise Forest on February 16, 1874, in Bonaventure (https://www.nosorigines.qc.ca/GenealogieQuebec.aspx?genealogy=Arsenault_Joseph&pid=461196)
3) Benoît Arsenault (1874-1962), son of Joseph & Denise Forest, married Marie-Diana Henry on February 18, 1901. (https://www.nosorigines.qc.ca/GenealogieQuebec.aspx?genealogie=Arsenault_Benoit&pid=468126)

The object bears witness to the development of Acadian and Gaspé society in general. The document also illustrates a method of transmitting family heritage typical of French Canadians, namely inter vivos gifts.

Learn more

The systems of inheritance in New France and in subsequent centuries have been discussed in numerous articles:
- Family reproduction in New France, a text by Jérôme Luther Viret (https://www.cairn.info/load_pdf.php?ID_ARTICLE=HSR_046_0097&download=1)
- The transmission of heritage in expanding territories, a text by Sylvie Dépatie (https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/haf/1990-v44-n2-haf2391/304878ar.pdf)