The Acadian DeVaux Family of Nova Scotia

Colonel John Brooks Devoe, M.A.

(Also Deveau, Devost, Devoe)

This paper deals with research in connection with the descendants of Jacques DeVaux, son of Acadian progenitor Michel of Beaubassin. Jacques is the progenitor of those of this family who settled in southwestern Nova Scotia after their return to what had been Acadia.. I trust my cousins will benefit from the observations and suggestions made here and accept them in the spirit in which they are offered. JBD.

Greetings Cousins:

When the conflict between France and England over control of what is now Canada ended in 1763 many Acadians returned to what had been Acadia, not to the lands of their ancestors for the most part, but many to what became Nova Scotia. There was but one progenitor of the DeVaux family, Michel of Beaubassin, and those of his descendants who returned settled in three of the major Acadian enclaves established after the Deportation: Ile Madame, Cheticamp and in southwestern NS in the St. Mary’s Bay area. A minor enclave was established some years later (1847) when a number of Acadian families from the first mentioned location moved to Little Bras d’Or, near Sydney.

I am the author of the Devoe-deVaux Family History 1691-1991 which I published in 1999. For a more accurate early history of the family (its origin and the origin of the name) than had been previously been made available by any author, visit www.islandregister.com/devoe1.html which also includes a review of my book. My Family History is a thoroughly researched (and documented) story of a particular branch of this Acadian family from Beaubassin to Ile Madame on Cape Breton to Little Bras d’Or. The basic research was done some thirty years ago, in person, and is based on the actual physical examination of census reports, land records, militia listings, some NS Vital Records, and, most significant of all sources, church registers from some dozen glebe houses visited by me. Early data on the family is based on a viewing of the microfilm of the church registers of Beaubassin and other locations. No material in the history is computer website-based.

The value of the church registers in producing a lineage for a given branch is indispensable to accurate results when dealing with the 1763-1900 period; there is a paucity of civil records of b. m. d. for that period. As a result of my effort, that has been thoroughly done for the family which is the subject of my book. Others have made a similar effort for the DeVaux /Deveau family of the Cheticamp area, where there is ample evidence (specific dates of birth and baptism, godparents identified) that the primary original source had been the registers.

In recent months I have come in contact with descendants of members of this Acadian family from southwestern NS who are attempting to resolve conflicts in the lineages of ancestors from that area. Some years ago I was the recipient of many pages devoted to the family (from a number of sources) in that area and while I confess to having done no research whatever in that branch of the family, the frequent absence of specific dates of birth, dates of baptism, godparents, suggests sources either other than church registers or less than a complete recording of what surely was in those records. The supporting information is of value if for no other reason than it can often establish relationships…the Acadians had a penchant for a number of frequently followed customs with respect to the selection of godparents, i.e., selecting grandparents for the early children, a young couple soon to marry, etc.

I submit that the church registers hold a key to many of the conflicts and they can only be resolved through an examination (or a re-examination) of these records either through visits to the glebe houses or a review of those records which have been microfilmed.

The first item of business should be to compile a list of all the churches in the area extant for the time periods in question and evidence of when the church registers began, remembering that many parishes were “established” as missions and had no registers, records were kept at the church under which the mission functioned. I was most fortunate in this regard, as the late Rev. A. A. Johnston wrote a two-volume history of the Catholic Church in Eastern Nova Scotia where the details of the establishment of each church and mission was described. Perhaps such a record is available for the area.

The second step is an examination of the records of all these church registers and the collection of data on all DeVaux/Deveau individuals…copy the entire entry…including any dispensations. This may not be as easy today as it was when I managed to do it. The interest in genealogy today is far greater than in the early sixties when I began, and many pastors might be unwilling to cooperate. Perhaps enlisting the help of a priest acquaintance or relative might be a good approach. In some of my early searches I had my brother, Rev. Richard Devoe, M.M., along which was of considerable help. At other parishes I had established early contact via mail and I was welcome. At times a bottle of scotch worked wonders, and I have spent a number of pleasant summer hours in glebe houses, often being served cookies and tea by the housekeeper. The alternative to this, very much more available today in many cases, is to determine whether the records of a given church have been filmed and where copies of that film can be obtained. It is my understanding that the LDS folks have recorded many church registers in Nova Scotia and they are available at this organization’s many centers. The cost to access the film is minimal. Which reminds me, should you be welcomed at a Roman Catholic church to view the originals, be thoughtful enough to make a donation…possibly suggesting it be for their cemetery fund…where perhaps your ancestors lie.

As for resources, the single largest collection of information on the Acadians is the Center for Acadian Studies at the University of Moncton, a second choice would obviously be the College of St. Anne. If you are seeking lineages, do not go there to search anything but original sources or micro-film of the same (see caveat below however)…avoid alleged transcriptions of those sources. At U. of Moncton today you might find, in manuscript form, data which will be presented in the final volumes of friend and genealogist Steve White’s DGFA (dictionary) which might clarify some conflicts…he gives sources! I have in my library the first two volumes of the DICTIONAIRE GÉNÉALOGIQUE DES FAMILLES ACADIENNES which cover the years through about 1715 albeit there is some data (a sort of extension of facts relating to an individual) which goes beyond that date. I have no sure knowledge of the final number of volumes, but would guess it to be perhaps another eight to ten. The final body of work will become the premium source for research into the lineages of Acadian families making the works of Arsenault (who often led us astray with respect to the DeVaux family at least) and others obsolete.

While convinced that many lineage problems can be solved by way of researching original sources, in particular the church registers, a caveat must accompany such guidance. While a register is indeed an original or primary source it must be remembered that much of what is in them is based on statements made to the priest. In a marriage record, did both parties know the names of their parents? In a record of baptism, did the parents give the correct date of birth? Death records are the most suspect of the three; not with respect to the date of death, but the age, place of birth, parents’ names, which are often guesses on the part of a survivor.

Another caution is the use of microfilmed records of original sources. They are of course, strictly speaking, not an original source. If access to the original cannot be had such a record must do…but there is no assurance that the filming included everything in the register; either through error or intent on the part of the guardian of the document there could be omissions.

For the most part such concerns will not be a common factor, most entries will be found to be quite straightforward. Should some aspect of such a record cause confusion the only remedy is cross-checking other data from the register or the use of civil records such as census reports, land leases/grants, wills, etc. with the chance of clarification.

Would it be possible to form a group of those interested in getting a more accurate and complete picture of this DeVaux family that descended from Jacques, son of progenitor Michel? A division of labor of persons devoted to the effort (and meticulous in their transcriptions) should prove of benefit to the genealogical community and gain its respect. For Jacque’s beginnings the site mention above (Island Register) will provide all the answers likely to be found on the origin of this Acadian family.