The following article was published in The Casket, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, July 26, 2000, in The Acadian Connection column
THE SETTLEMENT OF POMQUET
Written by Alfred M. Benoit
The following article was published in The Casket, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, July 26, 2000, in The Acadian Connection column
THE SETTLEMENT OF POMQUET
Written by Alfred M. Benoit
Aujourd'hui, nous allons parler de l'etablisement de la village de Pomquet. Cette village est situe sur la cote de la Baie Saint-Georges, quinze kilometres l'est d'Antigonish. Le nom 'Pomquet' est us mot qui devient originalment de 'Popumkek,' un mot Miq'maq. Il y a deux ou trois definitions qu'il faisent reference a la plage.
Pomquet was established by 1774 by a group of five acadian families who arrived from St. Malo, France, via the Jersey Islands and Arichat. The families consisted of Broussard, Doiron (also known as Durant), Duon (also known as DeYoung), LaMarre and Vincent. The year has been determined by two pieces of documentation. The first is the land grants given to these settlers in 1789 which noted they were in the area for about 16 years. The second piece of information is that according to the census taken in France, the Vincents had a daughter born in the spring of 1773. Therefore, it can reasonably be determined that Pomquet was founded by 1774.
Between 1785 and 1794, more acadian families from St. Malo arrived and included Boudreau, Landry, Broussard (nephew to the first Broussard), Melanson and Rosia (now Rogers). Morell also arrived in Pomquet during this time frame, possibly from Quebec. All these new family names are mentioned in the 1794 census of this area.
By the 1817 census, new settlers arrived in Pomquet. The family name DeKrauz (Cross) arrived from near Paris and Philippard came with the Trappist monks. Drouillet and Toupais settled in Pomquet but their origins are unknown. Wolfe (now DeWolfe) arrived here from the acadian village of Chezzetcook, near Halifax.
The last two settlers to arrive were soldiers who fought in the Napoleonic wars. Venedam and Renyrimbault (Rennie) both arrived after the 1817 census and were both married in 1822 in Pomquet.
These were all the original settlers who made up Pomquet in its early years. The Delorey and Benoit families in Pomquet originally came from Tracadie. Over the last few decades, acadians from other regions and English-speaking families moved to Pomquet.
Posted on this website 05/02/03. For more information, please visit the Village of Pomquet website at: http://www.pomquet.ca/Back to Home Page
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