Name for former Acadians that went from Canada to Louisiana?

Answer 1

The arrival of the Acadians in Louisiana can be dated from the settlement of Salvador Mouton, his nephew, Jean Diogene Mouton, and their families. They are believed to be the first to reach here in the mass migration that would eventually bring two-thirds of the survivors of the Acadian exodus to Louisiana.

Salvador's son, Jean, was founder of Lafayette. It is for him that St. John Cathedral is named. Another descendant, Alexandre Mouton, would become the state's first Acadian governor (also the first elected as a Democrat and the first to be selected by popular vote rather than chosen by the legislature). Over the years the Moutons would become both widespread and influential. One family historian counts 6,000 Moutons who still carry the family name, and another 6,000 who are married into other families.

(Other reliable sources tell me that the Mouton ancestors did not arrive in Louisiana until 1764 - a few years earlier they are listed as prisoners at Fort Edward in Nova Scotia.) [This is what Stanley LeBlanc has to say about this: 1755 arrival of the Moutons in Louisiana is a myth. The Moutons arrived in 1765. A daughter of Salvator and a daughter of Louis were baptized in New Orleans in December 1765.

The February 1765 arrivals were sent to Attakapas and Opelousas but many went to St. James later that year. Those who arrived in May 1765 and later were placed in St. James. The names mentioned in the last paragraph didn't "follow" the Moutons. Some arrived at the same time.

There is some indication that some Moutons arrived with the 1764 group and were placed just above the German Coast [the area known as Vacherie] but I haven't found any actual documentation.

Jean, son of Salvador, is known as the "father of Lafayette" His son, Alexandre was the Governor.]

These first Acadian settlers came to Louisiana by foot and by raft, directly from Canada, walking along the Great Lakes to the upper reaches of the Mississippi, then hiking and rafting down to Louisiana. They settled on the west bank of the Mississippi in what is today St. James Parish, near the home of Mathias Frederick, a German who was probably the first white settler of the region.

Other Acadian families followed the Moutons to St. James in the years after the dispersion: Bergeron, Saunier, LeBlanc, Bourgeois, Guilbeau, Poirier, Roy, Guidry, Cormier, Martin. Louis Pierre Arceneaux would not be far behind. We know him better by another name. He would become the Gabriel in Longfellow's epic, Evangeline.

By 1770 the Acadians outnumbered everyone else. The St. James militia roster of that year lists 104 names. All but ten are Acadian.

The settlement they formed became known as St. Jacques de Cabahannocer (St. James of Cabonocey), for a church built there by a man named Jacques Cantrelle. He was not Acadian. He'd come to Louisiana directly from France, but the little church named for him would be remembered as the first church of the Cajuns in Louisiana.

Cantrelle had first settled in the Natchez country north of Baton Rouge. But in 1729 an Indian uprising had all but wiped out the settlement. Cantrelle escaped by hiding in his corn shed. His wife was killed when he left her hiding in the woods while he returned to their cabin to fetch a few possessions. He was one of only 20 survivors of the massacre.

He resettled at Kenner, near New Orleans, married a second bride there, then moved to New Orleans in 1736 -becoming prominent in social and civic affairs. He stayed in the city until 1763, when he and his son-in-law, Nicholas Verret, moved to plantations they had been building in St. James. Cantrelle named his plantation Cabahannocer, from the name given a nearby stream by the Choctaw Indians. It means "clearing where the ducks lands."

Answer 2

They were called Acadians, they were the descendants of French colonists who settled in Acadia, on the northern portion of North America's east coast (in Canada). When these people immigrated to Louisiana, which was French ruled, they were called Cajuns by the peoples there who could not pronounce the word Acadian...

Answer 3

An ethnic slur for Acadians is "coonass", related to "coon" refering to African-Americans. This is one of those words which can be either good or an insult depending which group is saying it and to whom! A safe word to use is "Cajun" and they are a very exclusive society and proud of their type of French and heritage. I love to listen to them.

Answer 4

Cajuns - a distortion of 'acadian'

Answer 5

Cajuns

Answer 6

Like others have said, Cajuns - the word is a mispronunciation of "Acadien" (say it in French and it sounds similar).