ACADIAN-CAJUN-L Archives

From: (Pauline d'Entremont)
Subject: Sieur Philippe Mius d'Entremont
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 00:02:39 -0400

Hello everyone,

The questions of Sieur Philippe Mius d'Entremont keeps coming on this list so
I've decided to copy you some translated text of Chaper 17 of the books ;

Histoire du Cap Sable
Clarence-J. d'Entremont, prêtre
Hard cover, 5 volumes (FRENCH PUBLICATION)
Hebert Publications, Louisiana, 1981

http://www.ccfne.ns.ca/~museum/english/giftshop/books.htm

These books are in french only but maybe someday we will be able to publish
them in english. Most are translated but not all are corrected or data on
computer.

Part of the Translation of Fr. Clarence's Chapter 17

Poulet and Rivedou, early pioneers, continued to work in Acadia up to 1671 at
least; they were part of The Era of Charles de La Tour, who had installed them
at Cape Sable, where they remained for several years after his death (he died
in 1663). But one must mention also The Era of Philippe Mius d'Entremont, who,
for 12 years after his arrival in Acadia, was not only the faithful companion
of Charles de La Tour, his support and consolation during his last years under
English occupation, but also his "right arm" in the course of his
administration (1651-1654). However, Philippe Mius d'Entremont also marked the
beginning of new leadership for a generation of colonists in Acadia. After he
had served for two to three years as Major General under Charles de La Tour,
and after Acadia had been returned to France by the Treaty of Breda in 1667,
Cape Sable was given a new chief, who would henceforth lead it, even if he was
not able to live there continuously. It was he who opened the era of proper
colonization of Cape Sable.

Philippe was destined to live in Acadia for almost a half-century after
arriving in 1651, while carrying out his duties as Attorney General for the
government. His life in Nova Scotia is the subject of this chapter. However,
before we can address this matter, we must consider the question of Philippe
Mius d'Entremont's origins.

Origins

This question has puzzled many historians. Theories abound. They are not
always backed up by historical documents.

Birth

The first problem we encounter is that of the date of his birth.

Date

On December 23, 1707, Mathieu de Goutin wrote from Port Royal;
"Sieur Philippe Mius d’Entremont, native of Normandy, died 7 years ago at age
99 and several months, having lost none of his faculties not even a tooth. He
had been a major figure in the administration of Monsieur de La Tour, Governor
of this country, and had since held for 18 yrs. The post of Attorney General of
the King, and had only ceased to carry this post in 1688 because his assignment
terminated.”

If he died in 1700 at age 99+, his birth date must have been 1601.Rameau de St.
Père, historian, late 1800's, in transcribing the census of 1686, gave his age
then as 85 which reinforces a birth date of 1601. However, the census of 1686
gives his age as 77 years, and the census of 1671 recorded his age as 62;
together these indicate that his birthdate was 1609, in preference to 1601. But
if one adheres strictly to de Goutin's account, who wrote towards the end of
1707 that it had been seven yrs. Since his death at 99 and several months, and
he carefully added that "several months" one concludes that Philippe died in
the spring of 1700 rather than the winter. The census of 1671 gives his wife's
age as 45, which means she was born in 1626, she would have been 17 years
younger than her husband if his birthdate was 1609, but if he was born in 1601
then she was 25 years younger. In 1671 he had a daughter two years old, and in
1679 she was listed as 10 years old; she must therefore have been born in 1669,
when her mother was 43 and her father was 60. We believe that Madeleine Hélie
died sometime between 1671 and 1679.

This was the period during which the Attorney General might have been with the
newly appointed Governor, who was then living at Pentagoët (present day Maine),
although we believe that Philippe spent time at Pobomcoup also and later at
Port Royal.

Regarding the origin of Philippe Mius d’Entremont, de Goutin reports that he
was a native of Normandy, and that more specifically, he was BORN there.
Another historical document which dates from France at the time of exile, 1763,
states that Philippe was from the province of Normandy. We even have a third
source for this premise, a document that Rameau de St. Père said was found in
the Marine Archives about 1858, stating that Philippe was from Normandy. In
the list of Acadian families made in 1772 by Le Moyne, on the occasion of the
emigration of the Acadians to Poitou France, we find a similar account,
probably garnered from the latter source. Lauvrière (20th century historian) is
even more specific; he says that Philippe was "Norman from the Cherbourg
region." However, there is no other document, which makes this claim. Although
some of the grandsons and great grandsons of Philippe were expelled from
Cherbourg, at time of exile, we cannot be sure that this was the birthplace of
his grandparents, although Lauvrière wants to prove this.

Surnames

In searching the records for Philippe's precise place of birth, we must look to
the middle names of his children for clues.

Entremont

When looking for someone named "d'Entremont," one would expect to be able to
pinpoint the region, and that one would be able to find several accounts of the
origin of this family, due to an obvious location (i.e., "between the
mountains"). But in a country as mountainous as France, the most likely country
of birth, one can find several places on the map with the name d'Entremont. We
will confine our search to the name as found in Savoy and in Normandy.

In Savoy

In the departments of Savoy and d’Isère, halfway between Chambery and Grande
Chartreuse, is the Valley d'Entremont, in which one finds several villages
bearing the name as well, Saint-Philibert-d'Entremont, Entremont-le-Vieux, and
two villages, side by side, separated by a river, each bearing the name
Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont.

This valley has an extremely rich history, dating back to the Roman conquest.
It was particularly illustrious at the time of the crusades. The family named
Montbel-d'Entremont occupied this valley from the 11th to the 17th century. One
of the last representatives from this region was Francois-Virgine de Montbel,
Count d'Entremont, born on the 14th of December 1601; he was one of the
children of Baron Meuillon and Beatrice de Coligny, (daughter of Jacqueline
d'Entremont) who was born after the death of her father, Gaspard de Coligny.

H. Leander d'Entremont (late 1800's) thought Francois and Philippe was the same
man, and Couillard Despres took up his idea. The following are their arguments:
1. Francois was born in 1601, the same year that Philippe was born,
according to de Goutin.

2. The spouse of Francois was Madeleine, daughter of d'Élie de Tillet; the wife
of Philippe was also named Madeleine Hélie.
2. François, having risked his life for the crown of France, was forced to
submit to the destruction of his chateaux by order of Richelieu; one can view
the still-extant ruins of the Chateau Montbel and the Chateau d'Entremont on
the border of d’Isère. Then Francois disappeared from view towards the middle
of the 17th Century; and it is possible that he slipped into Paris during The
Fronde of 1648-1651. In addition, it was in 1650 or 1651, perhaps in Paris,
that Charles de La Tour encountered François/Philippe and brought him to go to
Acadia, where naturally the latter would have wished to hide his identity and
change his surname.

4. Finally, Francois/Philippe would have legally changed the name Meuillon,
name of his father François, to that of Meuis, or Mieus or Mius, all the while
keeping the name d'Entremont of his maternal grandmother.

However, in our judgment, the Savoyard François-Virgine d'Entremont and the
Acadian Phlippe Mius d'Entremont were two different persons. To support this
contention, we have the signatures of the two men, which, although they were
written 50 years apart, are too different to be that of the same man.
(See signatures in book “Cap Sable”)

In Normandy

It is strange that in Normandy, in the Department de l'Orne, there is a village
which also calls itself Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont, also written
Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont, on the Noireau River, five km. or three miles in a
straight line to the southwest of Vassy, which is the capital of the canton, in
Calvados; in addition Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont is only one kilometer, or 2/3rds
of a mile to the south of the border of this department, which makes it almost
part of Calvados. One source writes that "this town takes its name from the
many mountains nearby." Previously, toward the end of the 15th century it was
the site of the home of Saint-Germain, one of the most famous sons of Normandy.

In addition, in Normandy one finds even in the 13tb century a hamlet carrying
the name Sainte-Anne-d'Entremont, called also Sainte-Anne of the Arenum
Mountains (i.e., Sainte-Anne of the "Sandy Mountains").
Sainte-Anne-d'Entremonts was said to be in the arrondisement of Falaise in the
17th century, 35 kms. or 22 miles to the west in the department of Calvados. Is
it a simple coincidence that at the time of Philippe Mius d'Entremont the Hélie
family (to which his wife belonged) was common in Falaise. There was even a
Jacques Élie who was the District Attorney of Falaise. The name Elie in Falaise
and its surrounding area would have been a Bourgeois, or even a peasant name.
The name is also written Hélie.

Azy

Is it a simple coincidence that Philippe Mius d’Entremont gave one of his sons
his own first name, followed by the name d'Azy (spelled in several ways) and
that in his time the family of d'Assis was representing Falaise as well as the
Hélie family. This d'Assis family must have been widespread, because over the
centuries one finds throughout France branches of the same family, or other
families carrying the name in one form or another. However, the followers of
the Savoyard origin of Philippe Mius d’Entremont will be happy to know that in
the higher Savoy, in Passy, at an altitude of 1,000 meters, there is also a
plateau named d'Assy, dominating the Arve River, which cascades torrentially
through it toward the Rhone from Mt. Blancentury This locality has acquired a
certain importance recently, because in 1939 an artistic modern church was
built there, and was consecrated in 1950 under the name of Our Lady of All
Grace, by the Dominicans. On the other hand, the partisans of Philippe's Norman
origins will be happy to learn that in the area of Rouen there was an ancient
capital of Normandy named d'Assy.

Pleinmarais

There is another name which Philippe gave to another son, Abraham, that of
"Pleinmarais," most often written "de Plainmarais." In addition, in Normandy,
there was, formerly, a barony called Pleinmarais, today called I'Île Marie, in
the town of Beuzeville-la-Bastille, canton of Sainte-Mère-Église, department of
la Manche, halfway, in a straight line between Saint-Lo and Cherbourg.

There is even a Canadian family of that name, recorded in several forms. We
find in the Premier Registre de Notre Dame de Montréal:
"On the 11th of January, in 1666 the marriage of Antoine Regnault, son of
François Regnault and Magdaleine Josse, and Marie Génévièfre Plain march,
daughter of Pierre Plain march and Jeanne Catherine Dermote was celebrated.

The wife signed herself "plemarch. In the same register is written:
"On the first of January, 1679 (note mistake in text stating date as 1619, an
impossibility) Généviefre de Plainmaret, wife of de Regnault, age 30, was
buried near her home."

In Normandy one finds the name also, with intimations of nobility:
"Confirmation in favor of Jacques Barbou de Plesmarets letters of nobility
accorded to his late father's family: Versailles, Aug. 1697.

After which was written:
"Suspension of registration rendered by the court of the Aides de Chambre of
the counts of Normandy of the letters confirming the nobility of Jacques
Barbou, Lord de Plemarest ; 23 and 20 of December 1697.

It is not rare to find the term "march" instead of "de marais". One finds this
"de" even in Abraham's house (son of Philippe) when he is also called "de
Pleinmarch." Rameau de Saint-Père wrote:
"Plemarch is a Breton name, which means, it seems, 'village of the horse."

Another author mentions "de Penmarch" as being from Lower Brittany. In the
Dictionnaire Geographique at Administratif de la France et des-Colonies, Vol V,
p.3461, one finds:
"PERMARCH, a peninsula of Finistere, on the coast, south-southwest of Quimper,
in Brittany."

"The prefixes 'Ple or Ple' are variations of the prefix 'Plou,' ordinarily used
to signify 'village."

We speculate that the Breton sound of the name is the reason that Fr. Archange
Godbout has written:
"The Norman Philippe Mius d’Entremont. if that is what he was, and not a
Breton...

We are not able to resolve this issue.

However, an important fact in this quest for origins is that Philippe Mius
d’Entremont gave the name "Pleinmaret" to his seigneurie in Port Royal. After
Agatha de La Tour, widow of the English officers Bradstreet and Campbell gave
to the British crown the seigneurial rights of the La Tour family, spoken of in
Chapter 33, all the Acadian land taxes were collected by England. Early in
1734, Lawrence Armstrong, Lt. Governor of Nova Scotia, notified the Acadians
that they would have to begin to pay rent each year on the first of January. In
the list of that year of the houses of Port Royal and vicinity, one finds the
name "Pleinmaret." During this time the manor was listed under owners "Abram
Bourg, son, Réné Babineau, Clement Babineau and Joseph Babineau." However, it
was also said that this home was the inheritance of "Mr. James Muse, alias
Dantermon (sic) of Pombcoup," who is named "first consignee." At that time
there
was absolutely no written contract between these parties.

Did Philippe Mius d’Entremont give this name to the manor in Port Royal before
giving it to his son Abraham, or vice versa? (Son) Jacques, heir of Philippe,
is spoken of as "of Pombcoup," which we know was an actual manor house, and
another son Abraham is spoken of as being "of Pleinmarais," another Acadian
manor house. However, the name "Pobomcoup" originated in Acadia, while the name
"Pleinmarais" came from France. The name 'd'Azy" also came from France.
(D'Azy), the name which young Philippe was given, could have equally been
assigned to one of his properties. The fact is that we have not been able to
find one such property in Canada.

For Philippe Mius d’Entremont to give one of his sons, as well as one of his
manor houses the name "Pleinmarais," written in one fashion or another,
indicates that the name had great significance for him. We will see in Ch. 22
where this manor house was located.

The Name MIUS

While at first sight it seems that the name d'Entremont ought to be assigned to
Philippe as his family name, the name Mius was without doubt his surname. It is
clear from the documents. Historians are almost unanimous in affirming this.

Emmanuel de Cathelineau, an expert in old writings, who worked for the Archival
Service for Canada in Paris says:
"The family name d’Entremont' of Acadia is none other than Mius. This can be
seen clearly in the purchase agreement passed and signed on the October 22,
1699 at Port Royal, signed by Jacques and Abraham Mius... Which demonstrates
incontestably that Mius is their actual name and that Entremont' and 'Marais'
are surnames of the land or of fantasy. "

Pauline A. d'Entremont,


N.S. B0W 3S0



Web sites to check:
http://www.ccfne.ns.ca/~museum/
http://www.tusket.com
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/paulined/pubnico
http://www.acadian.org/hotlinks/

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• Sieur Philippe Mius d'Entremont by (Pauline d'Entremont)