Placide Gaudet
Encyclopedia
Placide Gaudet was a Canadian historian, educator, genealogist and journalist. He signed his name as Placide P. Gaudet. Gaudet is noted for his research into the history and genealogy of the Acadian
people and played an important role in the preservation of their history.
He was born at Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick
, the son of Placide Gaudet and Marie Vienneau dit Michaud. Gaudet's father died shortly before his birth and his mother returned to her father's farm. She moved to her father-in-law's farm in Dorchester
in 1862. Gaudet was educated at St. Joseph's College in Memramcook. He began studies for the priesthood at the Grand Séminaire de Montréal but left in 1874 due to poor health, returning to New Brunswick. He then took on a number of short term teaching positions. From 1883 to 1885, he was given a contract by the Canadian archives to copy church archives in Acadian areas, supplementing his income by teaching. Gaudet worked for several newspapers including the Courrier des provinces Maritimes, Le Moniteur acadien and L'Évangéline. In 1890, Gaudet married Marie-Rose Arsenault. He taught at the Collège Sainte-Anne
from 1895 until the college was destroyed in a fire in 1899. Later in 1899, he was hired by the Canadian archives to copy Acadian parish archives from Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. In 1906, Gaudet published Report concerning Canadian archives for the year 1905, a genealogy of Acadian families. As a result of his work and his own private research into local history, he became a noted authority and speaker on Acadian genealogy and history. Gaudet published Le grand dérangement in 1922. He retired on a small pension in 1924, moving to Moncton
. Gaudet died at a hospice in Shediac
at the age of 79.
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
people and played an important role in the preservation of their history.
He was born at Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick
Cap-Pele, New Brunswick
Cap-Pelé is a Canadian village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.The community's population meets the requirements for "town" status under the Municipalities Act of the Province of New Brunswick, however there has been no move to change municipal status.-Geography:It is located on the...
, the son of Placide Gaudet and Marie Vienneau dit Michaud. Gaudet's father died shortly before his birth and his mother returned to her father's farm. She moved to her father-in-law's farm in Dorchester
Dorchester, New Brunswick
Dorchester is a Canadian village and shire town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.It is located on the eastern side of the mouth of the lush Memramcook River valley near the river's discharge point into Shepody Bay...
in 1862. Gaudet was educated at St. Joseph's College in Memramcook. He began studies for the priesthood at the Grand Séminaire de Montréal but left in 1874 due to poor health, returning to New Brunswick. He then took on a number of short term teaching positions. From 1883 to 1885, he was given a contract by the Canadian archives to copy church archives in Acadian areas, supplementing his income by teaching. Gaudet worked for several newspapers including the Courrier des provinces Maritimes, Le Moniteur acadien and L'Évangéline. In 1890, Gaudet married Marie-Rose Arsenault. He taught at the Collège Sainte-Anne
Université Sainte-Anne
Université Sainte-Anne is a francophone university located in the seaside town of Pointe-de-l'Église in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the only French-language university in the province of Nova Scotia and is one of only two such universities in the Maritime Provinces, the other being the Université...
from 1895 until the college was destroyed in a fire in 1899. Later in 1899, he was hired by the Canadian archives to copy Acadian parish archives from Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. In 1906, Gaudet published Report concerning Canadian archives for the year 1905, a genealogy of Acadian families. As a result of his work and his own private research into local history, he became a noted authority and speaker on Acadian genealogy and history. Gaudet published Le grand dérangement in 1922. He retired on a small pension in 1924, moving to Moncton
Moncton, New Brunswick
Moncton is a Canadian city, located in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The city is situated in southeastern New Brunswick, within the Petitcodiac River Valley, and lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces...
. Gaudet died at a hospice in Shediac
Shediac, New Brunswick
Shediac is a Canadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.Situated on Shediac Bay, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait, the town calls itself the "Lobster Capital of the World" and hosts an annual festival every July which promotes its ties to lobster fishing; the largest lobster...
at the age of 79.