Nadeau family picking potatoes in 1946

Researching my Nadeau ancestors, I encountered various spellings of the family name, including Nadeau, Nadow, Nadot, Nedeau, and Neddow.

My Nadeau Family migrated from Kamouraska, Quebec, Canada in the late 1700s. My 3rd Great Grandfather, Jean Baptiste Nadeau, appears to have been the first Nadeau to migrate to the Saint John River Valley around 1790.

Jean Baptiste, son of Louis and Marie Genevieve Michaud, married Marie Anne Albert, daughter of Francois Albert and Marie Anne Paradis on 7 August 1788 at Kamouraska, Kamouraska County, Province of Quebec. Their first son, Jean Baptiste's birth and baptism is recorded in the parish registers of St André de Kamouraska on 1 Jul 1794 with a note that he was born on 8 Mar 1794 and that they were living in Madawaska.

My Nadeau Family is descendant from Joseph Ossany Nadeau, who according to Bernard Nadeau in his book Canuck Odyssey, arrived in Canada in 1662 as a contract laborer (engagé) possibly aboard le Sacrifice d'Abraham. Joseph was born in Genouillac in the diocese of Angouleme, the ancient province of Angoumois, today the Department of Charente and Charente Maritime, in France. Angouleme is located 440 kilometers south west of Paris. See the map of the St. Lawrence River with MouseOver popups on the villages where Joseph and Marguerite lived.

Canuck Odyssey is no longer available in print, but Bernard granted the LDS Family History Center permission to microfilm the book, which is available on FHL fiche #6088634.

Various spellings of the Soucy family name were encountered while doing this research, including Soucie, Soussis, Sussie and Soucy.

My Soucy Family migrated from Rimouski, Quebec, Canada to Winterville, Maine sometimes between 1861 and 1866. The Saint Francois de Madawaska parish register shows an entry for Rosalie's baptism on 10 May 1866. Rosalie was the daughter of Cléophas Soucy and Catherine Arsenault, my grandmother Soucy's grandparents. Her birth is shown as nearly a month earlier, on 19 Apr 1866. Was the family living in Winterville, or Township 14 Range 6 at the time?

Cléophas Soucy, son of Joseph Soucy and Marie Petronille Coté, was born in May 1823 in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada. He first married Adele Migneault on 22 Nov 1847 and then Catherine Arseneault on 21 Jan 1852 according to the Ste Cecile de Bic, Rimouski parish register. My notes indicate that Cléophas Soucy was buried at St Joseph in Wallagrass, Maine in 1898. I was not able to find his tombstone last summer. My aunt indicates he was the first person buried in the St Mary's Cemetary, in Eagle Lake, Maine.

My Soucy Family is descendant from Jean Soucy who came to Canada with the Carignan-Salière Regiment in June 1665. Jean was in the Grandfontaine Company. In 1669 Jean was working for Pierre Bécart, seigneur à lîle aux Grues. It is most likely from him that he obtain a land concession on l’Île aux Oies where he built his house in 1674.

For excellent census information and history of the St John Valley, visit the Upper St John Valley web site. Use the new 1860 U.S. Census search.

View the cemetery plot or the alphabetic listing of the Ste Luce Cemetery in Frenchville, Maine provided by the Ste Luce Parish, or search the database of existing headstones. See also the Ste Luce Church Registers on the upper St. John Valley web site.

See our veterans page for some of the Nadeau and Soucy relatives who served their country through military service.

See our most wanted page for some relatives and photos we need help to identify.

See our Roy and Boucher Family.

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