When Hilarion Thériault sensed his final days approaching at 71 years old, he made a will — a rare act for Acadians in the 19th century. This was uncommon because many Acadians had little property to pass on. Following the Acadian deportation, numerous lost their land and homes. Moreover, Roman Catholics in the province were prohibited from owning property until the 1780s. While many occupied the land they lived and worked on, obtaining land titles proved to be a struggle for decades.
Thériault, however, was determined not to depart unprepared. Colby Gaudet, a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University, delved into Thériault’s will and 23 others from the small Acadian community of Clare, N.S., to gain insights into how certain families managed the legal and religious aspects associated with death and mourning.
According to Gaudet, this act was both a form of resistance and compliance. Acadians utilized the existing Anglophone property system while emphasizing their Roman Catholic faith. Thériault’s will included requests for debt repayment, reparations for any wrongdoings in his memory, and a desire for family peace.
Maurice Basque, a historian at l’Institut d’études acadiennes at the Université de Moncton, highlighted that these wills were crafted amidst significant social ostracism of Acadians. The Acadian expulsion in 1755, led by Lt.-Gov. Charles Lawrence, resulted in the forced removal of Acadians who refused to align with the British Crown. The Acadian lands were seized by the Crown and distributed among New England settlers as part of a British plan to replace the Acadian population.
Despite some Acadians eventually returning, their reintegration was met with challenges. Basque noted that they were systematically barred from certain positions of authority through oath tests designed to force individuals to renounce core Catholic beliefs. This situation was further complicated by the fact that all county judges overseeing wills were Anglo-Protestants, creating a language barrier for Acadians who had to draft wills in a language unfamiliar to many.
Gaudet’s examination of the wills shed light on the unapologetically Catholic nature of the community leaders who left them behind. These individuals, like Thériault, who was a founding churchwarden, ensured that their wills reflected their deep ties to the church and Catholicism, despite societal stigmatization.
Furthermore, the wills unveiled insights into the relationship between Black individuals and Acadians. Gaudet’s research began with the will of Amable Doucet, who bequeathed a Black slave named Jerome to his wife along with his other possessions. Another will studied by Gaudet involved Étienne Thibodeau selecting his neighbors, including a Black man named Anselm Hatfield, as witnesses, showcasing the diverse interactions within the community.
The study of these wills provides a glimpse into the intricate social, legal, and religious dynamics of the Acadian community in Clare during a challenging period in history.
