In 1790 and 1794 the British had granted to the Acadian settlers in Madawaska lands totalling 22,265 acres on the north and south banks of the Upper St.John River between the mouth of the Madawaska River and the mouth of the Grand River. This entire area was a territory that was in dispute between the US and Great Britain, a dispute that was not settled until 1842.
By 1831 the population of the Madawaska Settlement had greatly increased, and included not only the descendants of the original Acadian settlers but also new settlers from Canada (Québec). As part of a move by the State of Maine to establish its claim to the territory, the Governor of that state commissioned John Deane and Edward Kavanagh to undertake a survey of the Madawaska Settlement. The two men travelled to the upper St.John valley in July and August 1831; the resulting survey is transcribed on this site as The Deane and Kavanagh Report, July-August 1831: Survey of the Madawaska Settlement.
Included in Deane and Kavanagh's report is information on the owners of the originally granted land, information they gathered from Pierre Lizotte one of the original grantees, and George Thibedeau. Included is not only the names of the original and 1831 owners, but also whether the original grantee was still living, whether they had left Madawaska, and other information.
If you have any further information on this survey or the original grants, please let me know.
The first grant made by the British in the upper St.John River valley, 11 June 1790 was to Pierre Duperré. The grant, made by the Government of New Brunswick, comprised 213 acres on the south side of the St. John River, opposite the islands just below the mouth of the Madawasaka River.
The second grant made by the British was dated 1 October 1790. The following tables contain the information given to Deane and Kavanagh by Pierre Lisotte, Pierre Duperré's half-brother, during their 1831 survey of the Madawaska Settlements.
The first column gives the names of the original grantees; the second column the names of the people who owned those same lots in 1831. Additional remarks are in italics. The total amount granted on both sides of the river was 16,709 acres, with an allowance of 10 percent for roads and waste land.
1790 Grants on South bank of St. John River | 1790 Grants on North bank of St. John River
South Bank of the St. John River
Names in order of their lots beginning on the south side of
the St. John, opposite the Green River, and extending up the St.
John nearly to the mouth of the Madawaska:
| Original Grantees, 1790 | Claimants of same lots in 1831 |
| Joseph Muzerolle | Jean Baptiste Souci (lives on lot) |
| Jean Baptiste Thibedeau, Jr. | Jean Baptiste Souci |
| Phirmain Cyr, Jr. | Chrisostome Cyr (lives on lot) |
| Louis Sansfacon | |
| Maturin Beaulier | Xavier Martin (lives on lot) |
| Joseph Ouellette | Phirmain Thibedeau (nobody lives on lot) |
| Joseph Sausiers (or Souci) | Germain Cyr (lives on lot) |
| Zacharie Ouellette (deceased by 1831) | John Martin & François Lisotte |
| Jean Marie Saussiers | has been sold often |
| Joseph Cyr, Jr. | Joseph Cyr, Jr. (lives on lot) |
| Jean Martin | Jean Martin (lives on lot) |
| Antoine Cyr | |
| Alexandre Ouellette (deceased by 1831) | Joseph Hebert |
| Michel Cyr | Louis Gotté Bellefleur (lives on lot) |
| Jean Baptiste Cyr, Jr. | |
| Phirmain Cyr, Sr. (has gone to Montréal) | Menin Cyr (lives on lot) |
| François Cyr | his son (father and son both now live on lot) |
| Jacques Cyr (deceased by 1831) | Chrysostome & Xavier Cyr (his sons; both live on lot, C. on West and X. on East) |
| Joseph D'Aigle, Jr. | (lives on lot) |
| Jean Baptiste Fournier | Jean Baptiste Fournier, Jr. (both live on lot) |
| Joseph D'Aigle, Sr. | (lives on lot) |
| François Cyr, Jr. (deceased by 1831) | divided between Chrisostome and Joseph Cyr, his brothers (live on lots) |
| Joseph Ouellette (deceased by 1831) | François Picard (lives on lot) |
| Jean Baptiste Muzerolle, Jr. (deceased by 1831) | Simon Hebert's son-in-law (lives on lot) |
| François Albert | |
| Paul Potiers or Marichaud | (lives on one of lots) |
| Simon Hebert | (still owns lot) |
| Pierre Lisotte | (lives on one of lots) |
| Augustin Dubé (deceased by 1831) | François Albert, deceased by 1831, bought it; his son Anselm Albert now lives on lot |
North Bank of the St. John River
Lots on the north side of the St. John, in order ascending
the stream, extending from near the mouth of the Green River to
the Indian Settlement, or one and a half or two miles below the
mouth of the Madawaska River.
| Original Grantees, 1790 | Claimants of same lots in 1831 |
| Etienne Thibedeau | Louis Thibedeau (his son; lives on lot) |
| Joseph Thibedeau | (lives on lot) |
| Jean Baptiste Thibedeau, Jr. | (lives on lot) |
| Antoine Gagnon | (sold and exchanged often) |
| Joseph Gendreaux ('gone away' by 1831) | D. Pelletier (lives on lot) |
| Alexandre Cyr | Benoni Terrieau (lives on lot) |
| Jean Vasseur (deceased by 1831) | Benoni Terrieau |
| Pierre Cyr | (sold) |
| Paul Cyr (deceased by 1831) | Rami DuChene (lives on lot) |
| Joseph D'Aigle | (occupies it but lives on S. bank) |
| Jean Baptiste D'Aigle | |
| Marie Margaret D'Aigle | Celeste Souci (lives on lot) |
| Olivier Cyr | (lives on lot) |
| Thomas Costin ('gone out of the country'; deceased by 1831) | One part owned by Church in parish of St. Basil; one part by others |
| Alexis Cyr | (lives on lot) |
| Joseph Mercure (deceased by 1831) | Alexander Albert (lives on lot) |
| Michel Mercure (deceased by 1831) | Michel Martin (lives on lot) |
| Jean Tardif | (has leased lot to another person) |
| Louis Mercure (deceased by 1831) | Alexandre Martin (lives on lot) |
Information on these grants is from "Report by Messrs.
Deane and Kavanagh," edited by W.O. Raymond, in Collections of the New
Brunswick Historical Society (St.John, N.B.) number 9 (1914), pp.437-440
Information on the grantees of 1794 and the possessors of the lots in 1831, provided by George Thibedeau to Deane and Kavanagh during their 1831 survey of the Madawaska Settlements.
| Original 1794 Grantee | Location and amount of land | Owner in 1831 | Remarks |
| Joseph Souci, Jr. | North bank 3 miles below Grande River | Leonard Coombs | Coombs' family has been there one year; he came the year before |
| Aaron or Larion Cyr | 45 rods above the Grande River, North Bank; 60 rods front | Mr. Needham, a merchant in Fredericton | took it up for debt; old house, barn, not now occupied; 50 acres cleared |
| Augustin Violette | South bank, opposite to the mouth of the Grande River | Jacques Violette, his son | |
| François Violette (deceased by 1831) |
Augustin Violette, his son | ||
| Joseph Cyr | South bank | Thomas Cyr | lives on North bank |
| Phirmain Cyr (deceased by 1831) |
South bank | Henri Cyr, his son | |
| Joseph Cyr, Jr. | Henri Cyr | ||
| François Cormier (deceased by 1831) |
South bank, opposite to the Grand Isle | His son | |
| Jean Baptiste Cormier (deceased by 1831) | South bank | - part occupied by
Benjamin Thibedeau - part by Henri Souci - part by one other |
|
| Alexis Cormier (deceased by 1831) |
South bank | Julien Thibedeau (occupies lot) |
|
| Pierre Cormier | South Bank | (now occupied by himself) | |
| Louis LeBlond (moved to Canada) |
South Bank | Jean Baptiste Vasseur (occupies lot) |
|
| Gregoire Thibedeau | South Bank | J. B. Vasseur (occupies lot) |
|
| Phirmain Thibedeau | North Bank | (occupies lot) | |
| Olivier Thibedeau | North Bank | Phirmain Thibedeau (occupies lot) |
|
| Jean Thibedeau | North Bank | - 1/2 Phirmain Thibedeau
- 1/2 Henri Vasseur |
|
| Joseph Terrieau, Jr., now Sr. | North Bank | (occupies lot) | |
| Joseph Terrieau (deceased by 1831) |
50 rods front | Laurent Terrieau (his son) |
|
| Baptiste Thibedeau | North Bank | - 20 rods front occupied
by Phirmain Ducette - 40 rods front occupied by Baptiste Olivier Thibedeau |
|
| Olivier Thibedeau | North bank and on both sides of the Green River | - 50 rods front by
George Thibedeau - 10 rods front by Phirmain Ducette |
|
| Olivier Thibedeau, Jr. (drowned 1830) |
North Bank | Phirmain Thibedeau | |
| Jean Thibedeau | North Bank | - 1/2 occupied by
Phirmain Thibedeau - 1/2 occupied by Henri Vasseur |
|
| Germain Souci (deceased by 1831) |
South Bank, nearly opposite to the mouth of Green River | - 1/2 occupied by
his son, Jean Baptiste Souci - 1/2 occupied by Louis Thibedeau |
Louis Thibedeau lives on North bank, first house above Green River |
| Louis Ouellette | Joseph Cyr | ||
| Baptiste Charette ('has gone to Canada' by 1831) |
Joseph Aiotte | ||
| Joseph Michaud (deceased by 1831) |
- 1/2 occupied by
his son - 1/2 occupied by Bonaventure Lisotte, son of Pierre |
This information is from "Report by Messrs. Deane and
Kavanagh," edited by W.O. Raymond, in Collections of the New Brunswick
Historical Society (St.John, N.B.) number 9 (1914), pp.435-437.
Return to Early Land Grants in Madawaska
Return to the Upper St.John River Valley
Page
Last revised 24 Feb 2002
©2002 C. Gagnon