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Nicolas Denys,
son of Jacques Denys and Marie Cosnier, was baptized 2 June
1603 at Tours, a French city along the Loire River. He was
sixth of ten children. His father was a member of French
nobility - a counselor to Henry IV and accredited in the
jurisdiction of Tours (écuyer, conseillir du roi et licencié
en l’élection de Tours). Nicolas’ maternal grandfather was a
furrier and Gentleman of the Bed Chamber (pelletier et valet
de chambre du roi) to Henri IV.
Children of
Jacques & Marie (Cosnier) Denys
|
Name |
Born/Baptized |
Married |
Died |
|
Marie |
bp. 24 Mar 1596 |
(1) ca. 1620 Antoine de Nervéeze
(2) 13 Oct 1633 René Robin |
|
|
Jacques |
bp. 10 Sep 1597 |
22 Feb 1646 Anne Pelou/Pellou |
18 Mar 1648 |
|
Françoise |
bp. 26 Dec 1598 |
|
|
|
Simon |
bp. 12 Jan 1600 |
(1) 26 May 1628 Jeanne Dubreuil
(2) 15 Jun 1643 Françoise Dutertre |
11 Nov 1678 |
|
Anne |
bp. 17 Sep 1601 |
|
|
|
Nicolas |
bp. 2 Jun 1603 |
1 Oct 1642 Marguerite LaFitte |
Jul 1688 |
|
Françoise |
bp. 27 Dec 1604 |
8 Jun 1627 Louis Robin de
Mongenault |
1 Jan 1679 |
|
Anne |
bp. 15 Sep 1607 |
|
|
|
Hugues |
bp. 19 Nov 1608 |
|
|
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Jeanne |
bp. 25 Oct 1610 |
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Many
contemporary sources tell us that Nicolas Denys was born in
1598. I have been unable to substantiate that date with any
primary source. In his Dictionnaire Généalogique Des
Familles acadiennes, généalogiste Stephen White does not
address Denys’ birth date - only his date of baptism.
However, if one studies the Denys family chart above, the
baptisms of these children derived from primary sources
portray a fairly clear chronological order of birth. As a
result, one might suggest that Nicolas was more likely born
in 1603.
Denys emerges as a merchant in La Rochelle in the 1630’s,
with apparent interest in mercantile trade beyond France. In
Impressions of Cape Breton, Brian Tennyson suggests that
Nicolas may have been a descendant of John Denys, the famous
explorer who is said to have made a map of Canada in 1506.
Should this be the case, Nicolas comes by his trade and
colonization interests naturally.
To understand the life of Nicolas Denys in Acadia, one needs
to have some understanding of the times in which he lived,
the politics of those times and the people who had both
positive and adverse affects on his goals and
accomplishments. So the story begins with the Denys’
experiences in Acadia, moves to his successes on Cape Breton
Island and ends with his final settlement in today’s New
Brunswick.
As you read this, you will find some information that
contradicts material already appearing on the Internet about
Nicolas Denys and his compatriots. Simply, every possible
effort has been made to confirm this biography with either
primary source documents or material that accredits itself
to primary source material. Additional research will take
place during Winter 2004 with access to an appropriate
facility. In the meantime, we’ll begin with Nicolas Denys’
first Acadian venture in 1632.
Isaac de Razilly: Isaac de Razilly was a French naval
hero and a Commander of the Order of Malta. Peter Landry
tells us in his History of Nova Scotia that, by 1626, de
Razilly was an advisor to his cousin, Louis François Armand
Jean du Plessis, Duc of Richelieu, Cardinal and Statesman of
France. And Cardinal Richelieu, of course, was Chief
Minister to France’s Louis XIII.
Together Richelieu and de Razilly founded the Company of New
France, later called the Company of 100 Associates, a
trading and colonizing group established in 1627 for the
purpose of developing French colonial interests in North
America. Its shareholders included merchants and court
officials whose goal was to transport 4,000 settlers to New
France by 1653 and to financially support their settlement
effort over a period of three years. In return, the Company
was granted a perpetual monopoly of the fur trade and a
limited monopoly of other trade in French-controlled areas.
Cardinal Richelieu, Samuel Champlain and Isaac de Razilly
were among the founding members.
After its initial five-year operation, little progress had
been made by the Company in establishing settlements in
Acadia. Some support had been given to Champlain in Quebec
and to the remnants of an earlier fur trade operation
originally led by Charles Biencourt, a deceased naval
commander and sieur of Poutrincourt. However, the 1632
Treaty of St-Germain-en-Laye returned undisputed ownership
of Acadia to France, and this provided sufficient impetus
for a renewed effort in Acadia. Company shareholders agreed
that France should definitely step up new and more permanent
settlements in North America, but it was a question of how
to further fund the overseas operation. The solution was to
split up massive territories and sell them off to smaller,
private entrepreneurs.
Cardinal Richlieu appointed his cousin, Isaac de Razilly,
Governor of Acadie and lieutenant- governor of all of New
France. His mission, after three years of Scotish
occupation, was to set up a seigneurial regime and
re-establish the Acadian colony for France. This time de
Razilly intended to establish a true French settlement in
North America, instead of earlier temporary forts, trading
posts, and fish depots.
To finance the operation, de Razilly, his brother Claude de
Launay-Razilly and a financier named Jean Condonnier formed
their own company named the Razilly-Condonnier Company.
Ships were chartered and colonists and engagées were
recruited. De Razilly sailed 4 July 1632 from Auray, France,
aboard l'Esperance de Dieu. (This fact was related in the
Gazette of Théophraste Renaudot.) With him were two
transports carrying 300 people, livestock, seeds, tools,
arms, and everything needed to establish and maintain a
community.
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Two lieutenants
came with de Razilly to Acadie: Charles de Menou d’Aulnay de
Charnizay, said to be a relative of de Razilly, and Nicolas
Denys, also reported to be related to de Razilly. D’Aulnay’s
responsibility was to settle the new émigrés on the land and
oversee their farming effort. Denys’ charge was to begin
building up Acadian fisheries, the fur trade, and an export
lumber trade with France. The group landed on the west shore
of the La Hève river in September 1632. Once in Acadia, de
Razilly took possession of Port Royal, drove the British
away and sent home all of the Scots who had not yet left
Nova Scotia.
Charles (Turgis)
de Saint-Étienne, sieur de La Tour: By agreement, de
Razilly and his group shared the area with Charles (Turgis)
de Saint-Étienne, sieur de La Tour, (more commonly referred
to these days as Charles La Tour.) La Tour came to Acadia in
1608 with his father, Claude and Jean |
de Biencourt,
sieur of Poutrincourt. He remained in the area with
Poutrincourt’s son, Charles Biencourt, after the English
raid in 1613. The pair lived among the natives and it is
said that the men were cousins.
Eventually, La Tour established a fur trading operation at
the mouth of the Penobscot River in today’s state of Maine,
but was unseated by the English in 1626. Biencourt settled
in Port Royal. La Tour is said to have inherited the
property of Charles Biencourt when he died in 1623 and
France named him administrator of the colony the same year.
During this early period, La Tour married an Amérindienne
and had three known daughters and, at least, two sons.
Shortly thereafter, he established a fur trading operation
at Cape Sable.
The La Tour family was Protestant and, although his father
entered the service of England and pleaded with his son to
do the same, Charles refused. Instead, in February 1632 he
was further appointed Governor and the French King’s general
representative in Acadia. The same year, La Tour sailed to
France to clarify the boundaries between his territory and
that of Isaac de Razilly who had also been named Governor of
Acadia.
Although La Tour is sometimes portrayed to be subordinate to
de Razilly, he was still his own boss in possession of prior
territorial rights and not directly accountable to De
Razilly. De Razilly was more of a Royal Governor - an
overseer for Richelieu and Louis XIII and, in this capacity,
kept an eye on La Tour’s activities but more closely managed
the efforts of d’Aulnay and Denys. De Razilly and La Tour,
having separate interests, worked peaceably together in
Acadia. La Tour was given the Seigneurie of Jemseg, a rich
hunting and fishing area along the St. John River in New
Brunswick. Additionally, he received financial backing to
build another fort at the mouth of the Saint John River and
by 1635 had moved part of his operation to that area. La
Tour also made an alliance with the Denys family. These
people were businessmen. As long as no one over-reached, the
profit potential was significant for everyone and it was in
their best interest to maintain the peace for France.
The Settlement at La Hève: Nicolas Denys’ older brother,
Simon, accompanied him on the 1632 voyage to Acadia.
Although Nicolas was single at this time, Simon was married,
leaving behind a wife and three children under three years
old. Initially, the brothers established a shore fishery at
La Hève. Their next step was to select a location for their
first permanent fishing station and the two brothers chose
Port Rossignol (today’s Brooklyn.) Their eldest brother,
Jacques, having also sailed from Auray in 1633, joined them
there. The Denys operation exported cod to Brittany and
Portugal and their efforts were successful for a couple of
years. However, the war between France and Spain also
affected Portugal and they lost a year’s catch causing them
to sustain large financial losses. Although, the brothers
remained at La Hève focusing on lumber interests in the
forestry there, the first fishery was deemed a failure.
Despite setbacks, de Razilly’s group was successful in
establishing the first permanent Acadian colony and had a
large hand in resolving conflicts not only with their
British neighbors, but also within their French ranks.
De Razilly’s primary focus was agriculture, an obvious
necessity if he hoped to sustain the settlement. Some of his
people were sent up river to establish the first farms and
in 1635 his brother, Claude de Launay-Razilly, was granted
the seigneurie of Port Royal. Lumber ran a close second in
terms of importance, not only for housing, but for profit
which purchased the necessities to expand and maintain the
colony. During the Summer months, French ships brought
additional men and supplies to the colony. By 1635 the
colony was ready for more settlers and de Razilly sent
Nicolas Denys back to France to recruit them. He also sent
La Tour and d’Aulnay down to Penobscot to oust the English
from La Tour’s original fort.
Things were going fairly well until de Razilly died suddenly
at La Hève 2 Jul 1636. He was 49 years old. Isaac de Razilly
had provided sensible leadership and was a steady influence
in France’s recolonization effort. Peter Landry says “...de
Razilly established the root culture of the Canadian people
and a number of people in the United States...” Nicolas
Denys tells us “he had no other desire than to people this
land, and every year he had brought here as many people as
he could for those purposes." It is said that Denys was
still in France when de Razilly died. De Razilly’s untimely
death followed that of Champlain who had died in Quebec six
months earlier. The loss of both men in such a short time
frame was a significant blow to leadership in New France.
Both men were highly respected individuals, but de Razilly
will be remembered as the “Father of Acadie.” .
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Charles de Menou d’Aulnay de Charnizay:
Charles de Menou d’Aulnay took control of the La Hève and
Port Royal operation after the death of de Razilly. He was
the lieutenant of Isaac’s brother and heir, Claude de
Launay-Razilly and by February 1638, had a Letter from Louis
XIII appointing him lieutenant-general of all Acadia with
authority over Port Royal and La Hève.
Under the terms of an earlier legal contract, D’Aulnay and
La Tour were to share power in separate sections of Acadia.
According to Peter Landry....
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“Though the
vacuum created by de Razilly's death was to be felt in 1636,
La Tour and d'Aulnay did not immediately lock horns. No
direct conflict can be seen from a reading of the historical
accountings, until after d'Aulnay laid charges against La
Tour in the French courts in 1641. During this first five
year period, 1636-1641, we see that both adversaries had
fortified their positions. Certainly they put all their men
to work to build ever stronger fortifications. In addition,
they both returned it seems yearly to France to recruit more
friends and more backers. Both La Tour and d'Aulnay were
successful in this regard, to a degree. Settlers were
recruited and brought out, though not many.
“Also, each of these Acadian barons contracted for an
influential wife: La Tour for Françoise Jacquelin; and.....d'Aulnay
for Jeanne Motin. On the 26th of March, 1640, La Tour and
Françoise had set sail for Acadia aboard the L'Amitye de la
Rochelle; she carried eight passengers and a crew of 20. La
Tour had entered into a formal contract at Paris for his
wife.
“As for d'Aulnay and his Jeanne Motin; well, she was a young
and available French girl (a scarce commodity in the early
years) who was already in the colony having come out in
1636. She came out with her married sister, who was the wife
of the Sieur du Breuil, Razilly's lieutenant at Canso. At
some point a romance blossomed between d'Aulnay and Motin;
and, undoubtedly, proper arrangements would have been made
with her father, Louis Motin, Sieur de Courcelles, who in
addition to owning shares in the Razilly-Condonnier Company,
was the controller of salt stores located at one of France's
colonies, perhaps in the Caribbean.“
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However,
d’Aulnay was looking for quick profit and was not in a
sharing mood. Unlike de Razilly, who found a way to work
with Charles LaTour, D’Aulnay was not at all interested in
competition. So, the battle for Acadia began anew but this
time amongst French interests struggling for mercantile and
financial supremacy.
D’Aulnay moved the center of his operation to Port Royal and
took on Charles LaTour for control of the entire region.
With the de Razilly family’s backing, d’Aulnay’s authority
and future seemed assured. Nevertheless, to further secure
his position, he married Jeanne Motin, a daughter of Louis
Motin, one of the senior members of the Razilly-Condonnier
Company
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Additionally,
d’Aulnay forbade the Denys brothers to continue exporting
lumber to France, so Nicolas and his brothers decided to let
La Tour and d’Aulnay fight it out. The brothers returned to
France. Simon Denys had undoubtedly made a few earlier trips
home as he had a total of four known children by 1635.
We learn from a summary of Jean Daigle’s earlier work, The
Acadians of the Maritimes, that “the development of the
colony was delayed for several years as a result of internal
quarrels that consumed energies. Both Charles de Menou
d'Aulnay, who was now established at Port-Royal, and Charles
La Tour, who was based on the Saint John River and at Cape
Sable, requested that the king of France settle the
boundaries of their respective jurisdictions. Far from
settling the matter, the court issued a strange document
which illustrated the vague notion officials in France had
of the geography of Acadia: each man was given command of
the other's economic territory. As a result, the two
lieutenants carried out a ruthless struggle until 1645.”
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Eventually
LaTour’s commission was revoked, his wife, Françoise
Jacquelin, dies as a result and d’Aulnay was named Governor
and Lieutenant-General of Acadie. La Tour, his three
daughters, and his four year old son retired to Quebec.
The Denys Family in France: While in France, Nicolas
Denys became engaged to Marguerite LaFitte, daughter of
Pierre and Béatrix Cabèce. They were married 1 October 1642
at Notre Dame de la Rochelle. Although deceased at the time
of her marriage, Marguerite’s father had been a merchant of
Bordeau. Nicolas’ father had died in 1631, the year before
he accompanied de Razilly to Acadia.
During their time in France, Nicolas and Marguerite’s first
two children were born. His sister-in-law, Jeanne Dubreuil,
died leaving his brother Simon with seven children. Simon
remarried Françoise Dutertre while there and they had three
additional children.
Aside from personal changes, there were political ones as
well. Cardinal Richelieu had died during the winter of 1642
and Louis XIII April 1643. Although five year old Louis XIV
would succeed his father, for the present his mother, Anne
of Austria acted as regent and Cardinal Jules Mazarin was
Chief Minister.
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La Compagnie
Miscou: Despite his earlier experiences, Nicolas wanted
to return to Acadie. He recognized opportunity there and
approached the Company of 100 Associates to acquire
commercial rights for one of its subsidiaries, la Compagnie
Miscou, in an area apart from d’Aulnay and LeTour. About
1645, with court papers in hand, the Denys family returned
to Acadia. They established a dry cod fishery and trading
post at Miscou, at the entrance to Chaleur Bay.
The Denys’ endeavor was again short-lived. In addition to
d’Aulnay’s 1638 authority from the King, between
January/February 1642, Claude de Launay-Rasilly had
transferred all of his inherited rights to d’Aulnay. In
April 1645, d’Aulnay further captured Fort Sainte-Mary on
the St. John River and La Tour took refuge in Quebec.
D’Aulnay became master of Acadia and, from his viewpoint,
his papers were superior to those of Denys. Thus, he also
seized the Miscou post in 1647 and once again forced Denys
to abandon his trade. |
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It seems that
Denys may have returned to France, although it’s not clear
exactly when or for how long the family remained there. His
daughter, Marguerite, was probably born in Acadia in June
1645. Looking at the parish registers of St-Barthélemy in La
Rochelle, son Jacques, appears to have been born there in
the Fall of 1646. And Marguerite, Jacques, and Richard were
all baptized at La Rochelle 20 August 1647. His brother,
Jacques, who had married there in 1646, also died there in
1648.
The Denys Family on Cape Breton Island: We know that
Nicolas Denys and his family were back in Acadia by 1650.
Charles d’Aulnay drowned May 1650 as a result of a boating
accident, leaving his widow, Jeanne Motin, with eight
children. Nicolas and his brother, Simon, took advantage of
this opportunity and restored an abandoned fort on Cape
Breton Island near the former site of San Pedro. The Mi’kmaq
had long traveled this area portaging their canoes across a
narrow strip of land which separated the Bras d’Or Lakes
from the Atlantic Ocean. Denys renamed the area St-Pierre.
He built a trading post there, as well as constructed a
haulover road across the isthmus so that his boats could
pass from the ocean to the lakes and visa versa. They
established a fishery consisting of cod which they dried
before shipping to France. Trade was between the Denys
establishment and the Mi’kmaq, who supplied furs in exchange
for European goods. Simon Denys rebuilt Capain Charles
Daniel’s post at St. Ann. Nicholas, Simon, and their group
of colonists became the first permanent French settlers on
Cape Breton Island.
In 1651, Jeanne Motin, the widow d’Aulnay (probably on the
advice of her lieutenants), and with the help of Denys’ own
people, captured the fort at St-Pierre. At the time, Denys
was away on a trading trip at Fort Ann. She seized his goods
and broke up his fishing establishment. When Denys returned
he was robbed of his vessel, his merchandise, and equipment
valued at 53,000 livres. Simon Denys was also captured and
Madame d’Aulnay’s “team” transported both brothers to a
prison in Port Royal. Eventually they were permitted to
leave Acadia and sailed to Quebec on a ship belonging to the
Jesiuts. This time, Simon Denys had had enough and he chose
to remain in Quebec with his family. A determined Nicolas,
on the other hand, went to establish a settlement and
rebuild a home for his family at Nipisiguit (Bathurst, NB).
La Tour Returns: After Charles D’Aulnay’s death,
Charles LaTour seized the opportunity to return to Acadia.
D’Aulnay had used his considerable influence to misrepresent
La Tour in France and convinced the courts that La Tour was
a traitor to French interests. In 1650, La Tour went to
France and was able to clear his name and recover his
property. In February 1651, La Tour is made Governor &
Lieutenant-General of all of Acadia and in September of that
year, he returns to Acadia.
Stephen White, genealogist, tells us that “he (La Tour) went
to France and recovered both his property in Acadia and his
commission as Governor” and “in order to put an end to the
disastrous rivalry between their factions, he contracted
marriage with d’Aulnay’s widow, 24 Feb 1653.”
And Jean Daigle tells us that by marrying d'Aulnay's widow,
La Tour sought to ensure "peace and tranquility in the land
and harmony and union among the two families...while at the
same time consolidating his position and recovering his
establishments in Saint John and Cape Sable.” Bottom line:
this marriage was a political and financially expedient move
on both parts to solidify their claims and holdings in the
colony.
During the same year, Nicolas Denys is granted a seigneury
of all lands between Cape Canso and Cape Rosier (just north
of the Gaspe Peninsula) and a monopoly on the right to
establish fixed fisheries in Acadia. Under this arrangement
Denys became Lord Proprietor and Governor of Cape Breton
Island. Things were looking up! Denys and La Tour had
managed to work together in the past.
Emmanuel Le Borgne Arrives in Acadia: In the meantime,
another player enters the complicated Acadian scene. This
time it’s a man named Emmanuel Le Borgne. Le Borgne was a
merchant banker of La Rochelle and a charter-holder and
creditor of the late Charles D’Aulnay. Le Borgne had heavily
invested in D’Aulnay, but news traveled slowly in those days
and he did not receive word of D’Aulnay’s death until 1653,
three years after it occured. Alarmed, he immediately set
sail for Acadia, determined to recoup his investment. His
sons, Emmanuel and Alexandre, accompanied him.
Le Borgne’s arrival changed the power structure in Port
Royal. He proceeded on the basis that all of Acadia was in
the hands of the late Charles d’Aulnay and that La Tour and
Denys were interlopers on that territory. Unable to reach
any monetary agreement with the d’Aulnay/La Tour family, Le
Borgne forced La Tour’s now wife, Jeanne Motin, to sign a
document acknowledging d’Aulnay’s debts. As a result, Le
Borgne simply took over Port-Royal in 1653, where most of
his financial interests were located.
His next move was to attack the posts belonging to Nicolas
Denys. Miscou Island, Nipisiquit, St-Pierre and St. Ann were
all looted of goods and provisions. He captured Denys at
Nipisiguit and brought him to Port Royal where he was
imprisoned aboard Le Borgne’s ship. The fact that Denys had
papers apart from the d’Aulnay holdings, did not impress Le
Borgne one iota.
Enter Robert Sedgwick: Le Borgne was trumped in July
1654 by the unexpected arrival of a British fleet commanded
by Major General Robert Sedgwick. Sedgwick, under the orders
of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, had
undertaken an expedition against the Dutch in New York.
However, when he arrived in New York, he found that peace
had been already made. From there, and without British
orders or French provocation, Sedgwick attack Acadia
instead.
During this attack, Charles La Tour was forced to surrender
to the English expedition. He was sent to England where he
was held until he took an oath of allegiance to that country
in 1656. Madame La Tour was permitted to remain in Acadia
with her children. Emmanuel Le Borgne was transported to
France, but left his eldest son, also named Emmanuel, as a
hostage at Port Royal. His son, Alexander Le Borgne,
eventually married a daughter of Charles La Tour and Jeanne
Motin. Le Borgne was not to return to Acadia and died in
France in 1675. For whatever reason, Sedgwick freed Nicolas
Denys from Le Borgne’s prison.
Denys later blamed Le Borgne for the British defeat of
Acadia. Compatriot or not, Le Borgne refused supplies and
ammunition to La Tour and is said to have aided in the
British attack on Port Royal. After a two-week siege, the
French surrendered and Acadia was held by the British until
the Treaty of Breda in 1667, yet not totally turned back to
France until 1670.
Major General Robert Sedgwick returned to Boston, leaving
Captain John Leverett behind at Port Royal as Governor and
Commander of the forts at Port Royal, St. John and
Penobscot.Acadia without establishing a garrison.
Denys Experiences Peace: Once released from Port Royal,
Nicolas Denys set out directly for France to his strengthen
his Acadian claims and protect his financial interest in
both the fishery and the fur trade. He arrived back in
Acadia in 1654 armed with 120 men and a commission from the
Compagnie of New France giving him the entire coast, the
islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence from Cap-Canso to Cap-Rosiers,
just north of the Gaspé Peninsula. He was named Governor and
Lieutenant-Governor and carried Letters of Patent from the
King of France which were posted in all ports and harbors of
Acadia: |
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“governor and general representative [of the King] in the
whole country, Cape Breton, Île St-Jean, and other
neighboring islands and direct seigneur and owner of said
country.”
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Everyone seemed
to leave Nicolas Denys alone during this period. Emmanuel Le
Borgne is granted Royal commission as governor of Acadia but
he was handily addressed and was in France. Things remained
stable for Denys during the next 14 years. From St-Pierre he
managed all his distant operations which included fisheries,
lumber mills and farms.
The Company of 100 Associates is Disolved: The
company had not been as successful as it had hoped. In 1628
its ships were captured by the English, who the next year
siezed parts of French Canada. By 1631 the company was
forced to cede its trade monopoly to subsidiary companies. |
Ten years later
with the failure of these subsidiaries, the company resumed
the fur trade only to relinquish it again in 1645. The
company maintained an administration, made land grants, and
brought settlers to New France until the 1650s when war with
the Iroquois disrupted the fur trade and threatened the
French colony. Overwhelmed by these difficulties, the
company surrendered its charter in 1663 and Louis XIV
assumed control of all French territory in North America.
This had more or less put an end to the “baronial wars.”
La Tour Retires: In 1656 Oliver Cromwell granted
Acadia to Thomas Temple, William Alexander, and Charles La
Tour. However, La Tour was about 63 years old by this time
and sold his interests to Temple and Alexander. He decided
to retire to Cape Sable where he and Jeanne Motin raised
their five children. Jeanne died at Cape Sable before March
1663. Charles died about 1664, around age 72. La Tour is
considered one of the founding fathers of Acadia. He had
spent fifty-six years of his life in North America.
Fire Destroys Denys Establishment at St-Pierre:
During the winter of 1668-1669, a fire destroyed the
buildings and businesses Nicolas and his son, Richard, had
established at St-Pierre. Nicolas was now in his 70s and
this was a final defeat. He was financially ruined. The
family retired to a small farm at Nipisiquit (Bathurst, NB).
Here Nicolas maintained a garden and grew fruit trees. He
left journals about fruit propagation in the area.
Nicolas Denys, Author: Not one to sit around
apparently, Nicolas spent his time at Nipisiquit writing
about his years in North America. Despite his many
reversals, he continued to support the development of
Acadia. In 1672 his Description Geographique et Historique
Des Costes De l’Amerique Septentrionale was published in
Paris. This was followed by an additional work.
In the Fall of 1682 he passed on his Letters patent to his
son, Richard.
The Descendants: Nicolas and Marguerite had seven
children. The following is a chart representing what we know
about them.
His oldest daughter married a seigneur of Beaubassin,
Commandant and Governor of Acadia & Town Major of Montréal.
One of his grandsons was a Lieutenant in the later Port
Toulouse garrison and Town Major at Louisbourg. One thinks
he might have been pleased that his family extended their
roots in North America.
The Children
of Nicolas & Marguerite (Lafitte) Denys
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Name |
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Spouse |
Died |
|
Marie |
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v 1666 Michel Le Neuf de LA Vallière |
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Nicolas |
bp. 14 Sep 1644 |
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Marguerite |
b.v. Jun 1645, bp. 29 Aug 1647 |
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4 Jan 1654 |
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Jacques |
b. 10 Sep 1646, bp. 29 Aug 1647 |
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Richard |
bp. 29 Aug 1647 |
(1) Anne Patarabego
(2) Françoise Cailleteau |
1691 |
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Charles |
bp 13 Sep 1648 |
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Jacques |
bp. 17 Dec 1650 |
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Nicolas
Denys died in 1688. Many sources say he died at Nipisiquit.
In his Dictionnaire Généalogique Des Familles acadiennes,
Stephen White says “probably Paris before July 1688.” His
brother Simon had died 10 years earlier at La Rochelle. We
do not have a death date for his wife, Marguerite Lafitte.
Denys spent the greater part of 50 years in Acadia. Although
he was never quite successful in bringing new colonists, he
certainly succeeded in the area of trade. He was one of the
principals of Acadian beginnings, a dynamic individual and
certainly one of courage and tenacity.
He encountered many difficulties with rival merchants. His
business establishments were never included in the censuses
of the times - probably because he was at odds with those in
authority. Much of Nicolas’ business was done with Quebec.
There he had numerous associates and friends.
Brian Tennyson believes that Denys’ greatest achievement was
neither commercial nor political, but literary. In
Impressions of Cape Breton Tennyson says:
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“His
Description Geographique et Historique Des Costes De
l’Amerique Septentrionale, intended to encourage settlement
in Acadia, was not successful in its day but is now
considered to be one of the most valuable accounts of Acadia
produced in the 17th century.”
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In the Fall of
1691, Nicolas’ son, Richard, died at sea. The ship on which
he had embarked for Québec, Le Saint- François-Xavier, was
lost with all hands. He left three known children. His
widow, Françoise Cailleteau, remarried Pierre Rey-Gaillard
at Quebec, June 1694. |
Nicolas Denys
settled on Cape Breton Island some 63 years before France
conducted its initial survey of Isle Royale in 1713.
Nonetheless, the members of that first commission found
distinct remnants of his presence there, as did Nicolas when
he rebuilt the early Portuguese camp of San Pedro. Each of
us makes contributions and leaves our mark. |
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June 2004, All Rights Reserved
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