Photo courtesy of Cyrille LeBlanc, reporter for Le Courrier of Nova Scotia

Neil LeBlanc - Second Acadian to be named Consul General to Boston, Massachusetts

It is with great pleasure that the Acadians of New England welcome Neil LeBlanc as the next Canadian Consul General assigned to Boston, Massachusetts for the next four years.

From CBC News

Former Tory minister turns diplomat

Last Updated: Thursday, July 13, 2006 | 6:42 PM AT CBC News

Neil LeBlanc, a former Tory cabinet minister in Nova Scotia, has been named Canada's consul general in Boston.

LeBlanc's four-year appointment was announced by the federal government on Thursday. He will begin his new job in mid-August. "I've been asked to serve and I'm willing to do so," he told CBC News. LeBlanc held various cabinet positions during his 14-year run as the member of the legislature for Argyle. He was finance minister when he decided to leave Province House in 2003, choosing not to run for re-election.

He became chief administrative officer of the Municipality of the District of Argyle.

"I have a good understanding of finance, of the economy," LeBlanc said. "I think I bring something positive to the table." Part of his new job is to promote trade and investment opportunities between Canada and the Boston area.

Cyrille LeBlanc
Pigiste au Courrier
C.P. 87 Wedgeport
Nouvelle-Écosse
B0W 3P0
902-663-2908
Télécopieur maison 902-663-4448
cyrilleleblanc@ns.sympatico.ca

Neil LeBlanc was born in Wedgeport, Nova Scotia on August 8th, 1956 to Alfred LeBlanc and Gladys Bourque. His three siblings are Charmaine, David and Jocelyne. His family lived in Wedgeport until 1966 where Neil attended school until grade four when his family moved to Melrose, Massachusetts. There Neil attended until 1970 when he graduated from 8th grade at which time his family returned to Wedgeport. In 1974 Neil graduated from 12th grade at the school he had attended in Ste Anne du Ruisseau since the family's return to Wedgeport. In 1977 he received his Bachelor's degree in Commerce from St. Mary University.

Neil married Grace Ann d'Entremont from West Pubnico in 1978. Jordan was born in 1982, Shawn in 1984 and Monique in 1992.

In 1984, at the age of 28, he became one of the youngest members to be elected to the Nova Scotia legislature. After his second election victory in 1988, he was named Solicitor General, becoming one of Nova Scotia’s youngest Cabinet Ministers.

A dedicated husband and father, experienced businessman, proven leader in Cabinet and Caucus, volunteer and member of numerous community and non-profit boards, and as a proud Acadian who has received special recognition for promoting Nova Scotia’s Acadian heritage and culture.

In October 2003 he was the recipient of the Certificate Léger Comeau de la Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse for his contribution to the Acadian people of Nova Scotia.

In May 2004 he was conferred an Honorary Degree in Political Science from Sainte-Anne University, Church Point, Nova Scotia, for his contribution to Acadian heritage.

The LeBlanc family of Wedgeport exists since 1778 shortly after 28 December, when in the absence of a priest, Joseph LeBlanc, son of Pierre LeBlanc (to Jacques) and Marie-Madeleine Babin (to Joseph) of Church Point (Pointe-de-l'Église), married Marie Amirault, daughter of Jacques (to Jacques) and Marie-Madeleine Belliveau (to Pierre dit Piau) of Amirault Butte (Butte Amirault). This marriage was ratified at Ste-Anne-du-Ruisseau on 24 August 1781 by Father Mathurin Bourg (Bourque).

Joseph LeBlanc was born in the fall of 1752. He was just a toddler living with his parents at Rivière-aux-Canards (now Cornwallis) when in 1755 his parents were deported to Massachusetts.

The history of his parents and family leaving Salem, Massachusetts in 1772 to return to Nova Scotia is well known. They had left Salem for Ile-à-Séraphin, Pointe-de-l'Église (Church Point). Joseph LeBlanc who would settle at Bas-de-Tousquet, was the twin brother of Madeleine. However, history does not tell us why Joseph decided to later settle at Wedgeport. He died here the night of November 16, 1812 at approximately 58-60 years of age.

Joseph LeBlanc and Marie Amirault had eleven children:

  • Rosalie who married Étienne d'Entremont on May 5, 1800. He was the son of Paul (to Jacques) and Isabelle Modeste Belliveau (to Charles) of Pubnico-Ouest.

  • Joseph married twice: first on August 5, 1806 to Marguerite Belliveau, daughter of Isidore Belliveau (to Charles) and Ursule Amirault (to Jacques) of Pubnico-Est, where Joseph settled. Marguerite Bellieveau having died April 6, 1808, a few days after giving birth to their first child, Joseph then married Marie d'Entremont on July 30, 1810. She was the daughter of Benoni d'Entremont (to Jacques) and Anne Marguerite Pothier (to Dominique).

  • Madeleine married February 3, 1806 to Benjamin d'Entremont, brother of Étienne who married her sister Rosalie.

  • Marie was also married on February 3, 1806 to Joseph Lévi d'Entremont, brother of Étienne and of Benjamin of Pubnico-Ouest. They had twelve children - all died at very young ages. They adopted Charles-Amand Maurice of Bas-de-Tousquet who inherited they property.

  • Marguerite married April 17, 1809 to Marc Amirauls, son of Ange Amirault (to Jacques) and Natalie Belliveau (to Charles) of Pubnico-Est.

  • Anselme married November 22, 1812 to Anne d'Entremont, daughter of Cyrille d'Entremont (to Joseph) and Anastasie Pothier (to Dominique) of Pubnico-Ouest.

  • Frédéric was born about 1790. He married Anne d'Entremont, sister of Marie, the second spouse of Joseph so cited, on October 17 1815. This was the first with marriage along with that of Philippe d'Entremont (to Bénoni) to take place in the new church of St-Pierre de Pubnico. They had 21 children.

    • Note: Frédéric died March 26, 1888 at 98 years of age. The St-Michel Parish registers of Wedgeport tell us that he was the olest Acadian in the country of Yarmouth. He had the use of all his faculties until the end and he died a holy death.

  • Benjamin was born in 1792. He married Euphrosyne Pothier on January 7, 1818. She ws the daughter of Charles Amand Pothier (to Dominique) and Marguerite d'Entremont (to Joseph).

  • Natalie was born in 1794 and married Joseph Josué d'Entremont November 22, 1812. He ws the brother of Marie, anne and Philippe mentioned in other siblings' marriages.

  • Ursule was born July 11, 1796 and married October 28, 1816 to Sylvain Pothier, brother of Euphrosyne.

  • Simon-Cloud was born September 7, 1800 and married Ursule Boudreau on April 12, 1825. She was the daughter of Amable Boudreau (to Michel) and of Monique Duon (to Abel).

    • Neil LeBlanc descends from Benjamin who was the 8th child of Joseph LeBlanc and Marie Amireau.

    As stated above Benjamin was born in 1792. He married Euphrosyne Pothier on January 7, 1818. She ws the daughter of Charles Amand Pothier (to Dominique) and Marguerite d'Entremont (to Joseph).

    Benjamin and Euphrosyne had a son Liboire born 5 May 1830 who married Elisabeth Byrne on 6 October 1857. She was the daughter of Michel and Bridgeo Power. Liboire died 31 August 1893 at the age of 63.

    Liboire Alfred was born to Liboire and Elisabeth on 3 November 1866. He married Natalie LeBlanc daughter of Magloire and Amarante LeBlanc on 2 October 1894. Alfred died 25 April 1958 at the age of 91.

    Charles Edouard was born to Alfred and Natalie known as "Auree" on 13 September 1904. He married Philomene Pothier daughter of Anselme and Louise Surette on 9 August 1927. Charles died at Yarmouth on 10 March 1990 at the age of 85.

    Alfred LeBlanc was the son of Charles and Philomene Pothier. He married Gladys Bourque.

    Neil LeBlanc was the son of Alfred and Gladys Bourque he married Grace Ann d'Entremont.

    The following are the first five generations:

    Ancestors of DANIEL LEBLANC

    Generation No. 1

    1. DANIEL LEBLANC, born Abt. 1626 in France; died Bet. 1695 - 1698 in Port-Royal , Acadia-(DBIM). He married (1) FRANÇOISE GAUDET Abt. 1650. She was born Abt. 1623 in France, and died Bet. 1698 - 1700 in Port-Royal, Acadia-(DBIM). She was the daughter of JEAN GAUDET and UNKNOWN.

    Notes for DANIEL LEBLANC:

    Notes from Stephen A. White, Acadian Genealogist, Moncton University, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada:

    i. The place of origin and the ancestors of Daniel LeBlanc are unknown. Some have wanted to believe that Daniel descended from a noble family of Dauphiné, based on research by d'Entremont (J. Alfred LeBlanc - the Origins of the LeBlanc Family, "Footprints of the Exiled: A LeBlanc Family Newsletter", vol I, 1986, p. 7), but the family proposed (to René to Alphonse to Pierre) is a Blanc or deBlanc family, rather than LeBlanc (see MM. de La Chenaye-Desbois & Badier, "Dictionnaire de la noblesse, 3e édition, Paris, 1863, vol. III, p. 314-317).

    ii. The jointly-owned land mentioned below, leads us to believe that there existed a bond of some kind between Antoine Gougeon and his son-in-law Guillaume Blanchard on one side of the family and with Daniel LeBlanc on the other. The nature of the connection is yet unknown.

    Historical Notes:

    Daniel LeBlanc settled on the north banks of the Port-Royal River (today called Annapolis River), to the northeast of the marshlands of Bélisle, about nine miles further up than fort at Port-Royal, and a half mile further down than Saint-Laurent chapel, where he died between the years of 1693-1698 (Placide Gaudet "Arbre généalogique de Mgr Edouard LeBlanc, évêque de Saint-Jean, N.B. (First Acadian Bishop), BRH vol XVIII, 1912, p. 357).

    October 5, 1687: State of executed works in Acadia by Sir d'Aulnay; among those who made their mark: Daniel LeBlanc. Therefore, Daniel came to Acadia before the death of d'Aulnay in 1650 (ANF, Col, C11D, vo II, fol 85).

    May 24, 1690: Daniel LeBlanc is one of six members of the Council demanded by Phips and responsible to maintain the peace and to render justice (BRH vol SVIII, p. 357).

    August 1695: Daniel LeBlanc promises fidelity to the king of England at Port-Royal - "he made his mark" (Massachusetts Archive, Vol II, fol 540).

    1734: Schedule of the Seigniorial Rents payable yearly by the Inhabitants of Annapolis Royal...

    The names of the Several Plantations:) 1. Paradis Terrestre 2. Do La Grave or Point LeChesne

    Explanatory Notes by Stephen A. White

    i. The place of origin and the ancestors of Daniel LeBlanc are unknown. Some have alleged that Daniel descended from a noble family from Dauphiné, basing themselves on the research of H.-Léandre d'Entremont, but the line he suggested (à René à Alphonse à Pierre) is of a family named Blanc or de Blanc, rather than LeBlanc.

    ii. The joint grants they received (as mentioned below) suggest that some sort of relationship existed between Antoine Gougeon and his son-in-law Guillaume Blanchard on the one side and Daniel LeBlanc on the other. The nature of this relationship is unknown.

    Biographical Notes by Stephen A. White

    Daniel LeBlanc "settled on the north bank of the Port-Royal River (today the Annapolis River), to the northeast of the marsh at Bélisle, about nine miles above the fort at Port-Royal, and a half mile below the chapel of Saint-Laurent, where he died between the years 1693-1698."

    5 October 1687: Account of the work accomplished in Acadia by Sr d'Aulnay, among those who made their marks: Daniel LeBlanc. Daniel thus arrived in Acadia before d'Aulnay's death in 1650.

    24 May 1690: Daniel LeBlanc was one of the six members of the council demanded by Phips and charged with keeping the peace and meeting out justice.

    --August 1695 (old style): Daniel LeBlanc took the oath of allegiance to the King of England at Port-Royal; he made his mark on the document.

    Source: English Supplement to the DGFA by Stephen A. White, page 209-210

    The first Grantees: (24) 1. Daniel LeBlanc & Guillaume Blanchard (30) 2. Daniel LeBlanc and Antoine Goujon pay one Den par Arpent (per acre)

    The Present Possessors: 1. John Prince and Pierre Godet 2. Guillaume Blanchard, Joseph LeBlanc and his brethren.

    (GB, PRO, CO 217, vol VII, fol 90)

    Port-Royal censuses of 1671 45a 1686 60a, 1693 66a. He was a laborer (farmer).

    *Official Documents*

    Registers of Port-Royal, Grand-Pré
    Déclarations de Belle-Ile-en-Mer (unedited documents volume II, page 170; volume III, pages 23, 24, 42, 48, 54.
    Port-Royal Census of 1671: labore/farmer, 18 cattle(horned animals), 26 sheep, 10 arpents of worked land
    Port-Royal Census of 1678: 12 pièces de bétail, 12 arpents
    Port-Royal Census of 1686: 15 cattle; 20 sheep; 7 hogs; 6 arpents; 2 guns
    Port-Royal Census of 1693: Jean Laforest 15a and Marguerite Leprince 12a domestics, 20 cattle; 35 sheep; 9 hogs; 18 arpents of worked land; 3 guns.

    Source: Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes by Stephen A. White, 983

    Notes for FRANÇOISE GAUDET:

    Françoise was a widow when she married Daniel. She had been married to an unknown Mercier. She was the daughter of Jean Gaudet and unknown mother. She died between the Port-Royal census of 1698 and 1700 (Décl BIM)

    Source: Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes by Stephen A. White, page 666 & 983

    Generation 2.

    2. JACQUES LEBLANC, born Abt. 1651 in Port-Royal, Acadia-(DBIM); died Aft. 26 May 1731 in St-Charles- des-Mines, Acadia-(DBIM). He was the son of 2. DANIEL LEBLANC and 3. FRANÇOISE GAUDET. He married (1) CATHERINE HÉBERT Abt. 1673. She was born Abt. 1656, and died Aft. 26 May 1731 in St-Charles-des-Mines, Acadia-(DBIM). She was the daughter of ANTOINE HÉBERT and GENEVIEVE LEFRANC.

    Notes for JACQUES LEBLANC:

    According to notes by Stephen White, Jacques was a farmer. Birth: Déclaration Belle-Isle-en-Mer Port Royal 1651; death: BIM

    Official Documents:

    Registers:

    Grand-Pré
    L'Assomption, Québec
    Trois-Rivières, Québec
    Déclarations de Belle-île-en-Mer (Doc. inéd. vol II, p 170; vol III, p 24, 48, 120)

    Census:
    Port-Royal - 1678: 4 horned cattle, 30sheep - 1686: 25 cattle, 30 sheep, 15 pigs (c), 6 arpents in value, 3 guns

    Les Mines - 1693: 12 cattle, 6 sheep, 6 pigs, 11 arpents, 1 gun Rivère-St-Antoine, Les Mines 1701: children omitted, 4 cattle, 12 sheep, 1 gun

    Les Mines - 1703: 4 sons, 2 daughters, 2 capable of bearing weapons - 1707: 3 sons over age 14, 2 sons under age 14 [sic], 1 daughter over the age of 12, 1 daughter under the age of 12 [sic], 15 cattle, 25 sheep, 12 pigs, 4 arpents

    - 1714: 2 sons

    Source: Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes by Stephen A. White, page 985-986

    Notes for CATHERINE HÉBERT:

    Death: Déclaration BIM

    In census of Port Royal 1671, 15 years old, 1686 23 years old, Le Mines 1693 37 years old.

    Source: Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes by Stephen A. White, page 798

    Generation 3.

    3. Jacques LeBlanc, born Abt. 1677; died Bet. 1719 - 1723. He was the son of JACQUES LEBLANC and CATHERINE HÉBERT. He married (1) Élisabeth (Isabelle) Boudreau Abt. 1715. She was born Abt. 1696, and died Aft. 13 Sep 1756. She was the daughter of CLAUDE BOUDREAU and ANNE-MARIE THIBODEAU.

    Notes for Jacques LeBlanc:

    Port-Royal census 1686 11a, Les Mines census 1693 17a.
    1st source: Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes by Stephen A. White, page 986 c. (21.)

    Official Documents:

    Registers for Grand Pré; Registers for Pointe-de-l'Église (Church Point) copy obtained by Placide Gaudet

    Source: Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes, unpublished by Stephen A. White, p. 529 21.

    Notes for Élisabeth (Isabelle) Boudreau:

    Source: Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes by Stephen A. White page 190

    Generation 4.

    4. Pierre LeBlanc, born Abt. 1719 in Grand-Pré, Acadia; died 06 Jul 1799 in Church Point, Nova Scotia. He was the son of Jacques LeBlanc and Élisabeth (Isabelle) Boudreau. He married (1) Marie-Madeleine Babin 04 Oct 1745 in Grand-Pré, Acadia. She was born Abt. 1724. She was the daughter of Joseph Babin and Angélique Landry.

    Notes for Pierre LeBlanc:

    Source: Acadian Church Records, 1707-1747, Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Volume 1a Revised - Marriage: SGA-3,34a, p 150

    Death at 78 years of age and according to Placide Gaudet

    Census: Massachusetts 1763-Marriage dispensation 3-3;3-4 consanguinity

    Marriage witnesses: Joseph Babin, François LeBlanc, Pierre Babin & Claude Babin who signed and Joseph LeBlanc

    Source: Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes, unpublished - by Stephen A. White p. 529 21 c. #84 & page 624 84.

    LE BLANC, PIERRE, co-founder of Pointe-de-l’Église (Church Point, N. S.); b. c. 1720 at Grand Pré, Nova Scotia, son of Jacques Le Blanc and Élisabeth Boudrot; m. 4 Oct. 1745 Marie-Madeleine Babin and they had at least ten children; d. 6 July 1799 at Pointe-de-l’Église.

    Soon after his marriage Pierre Le Blanc settled on the Rivière aux Canards (Canard River, N. S.), and at the time of the Acadian deportation in 1755 he owned three horses, five oxen, seven cows, 13 head of young cattle, 18 pigs, and 55 ewes. With their four children Pierre and his wife were deported to Boston, Massachusetts, where on 25 Nov. 1755, soon after their arrival, a fourth daughter was born on the quay. The Le Blancs apparently lived at Lynn, near Boston, and they were still there in April 1767 when a tenth child was born. They must have been reasonably well off since, unlike most of the Acadians in Massachusetts, they did not leave the colony in 1766. Of those that did, a number returned to Nova Scotia, where, in the interests of opening up the colony, the British authorities had since 1764 allowed Acadians who took the oath of allegiance to settle.

    It was not until 1771 that Le Blanc and François Doucet, a fellow exile, set out by boat to explore the coast of the district of Clare in Nova Scotia, where Acadians had been established since 1768. They returned to the region with their families in 1772 and settled at a place later called Pointe-de-l’Église. Tradition has it that on their arrival one of the Le Blanc daughters, Madeleine, dite La Couèche, revived the flagging courage of her weary and discouraged elders by seizing an axe and beginning to cut the trees and branches needed for a shelter. By 1775 22 families were settled in the region, including that of Pierre Doucet, François’s son.

    That year Pierre Le Blanc obtained a grant of 200 acres of land, and in 1785 he bought or was granted 350 more. His descendants and those of François Doucet today constitute the majority of the population of Church Point and Little Brook. One of Le Blanc’s sons, Joseph, was a pioneer of present-day Wedgeport, settling in that area in 1778; many of his descendants are still there.

    J.-Alphonse Deveau

    Archives paroissiales, Sainte-Marie (Church Point, N.-É.), Registre des baptêmes, mariages et sépultures, 1799–1801. N.S., Dept. of Lands and Forests, Crown Lands Office, Index sheet no.6. PAC, MG 30, C20, 13. Arsenault, Hist. et généalogie des Acadiens, 733. P.-M. Dagnaud, Les Français du sud-ouest de la Nouvelle Écosse . . . (Besançon, France, 1905), 24–25. C. J. d’Entremont, Histoire de Wedgeport, Nouvelle-Écosse (s.l., 1967). I. W. Wilson, A geography and history of the county of Digby, Nova Scotia (Halifax, 1900), 42.

    Generation 5.

    Joseph LeBlanc, born Sep 1753; died 16 Nov 1812. He was the son of Pierre LeBlanc and Marie-Madeleine Babin. He married (1) Marie Amireau 28 Dec 1778 in Pointe-de-l'Église, Baie Ste-Marie, Nova Scotia. She was born Abt. 1759. She was the daughter of Jacques dit Tourangeau Amireau and Marie-Madeleine Belliveau.

    Notes for Joseph LeBlanc:

    Joseph was a toddler when, in 1755, his family was deported to Massachusetts from Rivière-aux-Canards (now Cornwallis).

    Marriage Notes for Joseph LeBlanc and Marie Amireau:
    Marriage ratified by Father Mathurin Bourg.

    More About Joseph LeBlanc and Marie Amireau:
    Marriage: 28 Dec 1778, Pointe-de-l'Église, Baie Ste-Marie, Nova Scotia Marriage Ratified: 14 Aug 1781, Ste-Anne-du-Ruisseau


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