The Lunenburg Connection

“Bouteiller (in Latin buticularius) was a title given in the Middle Ages to the officer in charge of the wine supply of a royal, imperial or princely court. He could also have a role of cupbearer, which means that he could be called upon to serve the king at table on great occasions.

The title appeared in the West during the Carolingian era. The butler was then one of the four great officers of the court, with the chancellor, the chamberlain and the seneschal.

The function then spread to most courts in Western Europe. In the English courts of the Middle Ages, it was called butler, which retained the two original meanings of cupbearer (one who serves the wine) and bottler (one who manages the wine reserves).”

Source; https://fr-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Bouteiller

The Foreign Protestants

“In 1749, the British colony of Nova Scotia was almost completely populated by native Mi’kmaq and 10,000 French-speaking and Roman Catholic Acadians. The British, specifically the Board of Trade, wanted to settle Protestants in the region. Attracting British immigrants was difficult since most preferred to go to the warmer southern colonies. Thus, a plan was developed to aggressively recruit foreign Protestants, who came mostly from German duchies and principalities on the Upper Rhine. The Duchy of Württemberg was the major source, which included the French region of Montbéliard, and there were also “Foreign Protestants” from what is now the tripoint of France, Germany and Switzerland.”

“After disembarkation at Halifax, the Foreign Protestants stayed at Halifax to assist the British in building the new outpost. They built their own chapel in Halifax, Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church. Issues arose as a number struggled with high rents in the “shanty town” they had to live in, as well as trouble accessing building materials and having to pay exorbitant prices, while they awaited their promised lands. Governor Hopson and his council had a large number of the Protestants removed and resettled in the Summer of 1753 to Merliguish/Merligash, renamed to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Conditions in Lunenburg were initially quite poor and rumours that the people were not receiving all of the support authorized by the British Parliament resulted in the Lunenburg Rebellion in December 1753. The Foreign Protestants also faced numerous Mi’kmaw attacks, such as the Raid on Lunenburg (1756).”

Source; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Protestants

Jean George Boutilier was born Aug 19th, 1691 in Etoben, Montbeliard, France.

Jean George Boutilier married Sarah Grange on Jan 19th, 1723 in Etoben, Montbeliard, France.

Jean George Boutilier, departed Europe on the May 30th, 1752 aboard the “Sally”. The “Sally” arrived in Halifax in September, 1752. It is assumed that Jean George and Sarah Grange died at sea on the Atlantic crossing. When the “Salley” arrived in Halifax, their children were registered as orphans.

The orphans of John George and Sarah included;

      • Catherine Boutilier (1724-????) Interestingly, Catherine was 28 years old in 1752

      •  Jean (John) George Boutilier Jr. (1729-1784) Jean was 23 years old in 1752

      • Jacques James Boutilier (1735-1827) James was 17 years old in 1752.

 

The Boutilier families would eventually settle in the Lunenburg area. The families were involved in fishing, farming and in transportation.  They owned 3 schooners and were involved with shipping coal from Sydney, Cape Breton to Halifax.

“After the fall of Louisbourg in 1758, Captain William Cox was left in charge of English soldiers in Sydney. In 1796 Cox obtained a grant of 1300 acres of farmland along the Spanish River where he had been living since 1790. English soldiers cleared the land, built a house, stable and barns. They, then set up a grist mill and a road was built from his farm to the mill. Captain Cox lived on the farm with his wife and ran a successful grist mill and dairy farm. He named the land Cox’s heath before returning to England in 1809.

James Boutilier from St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia ran a coal shipping business carrying coal from Sydney Mines to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He purchased Captain Cox’s land for £300 in gold. Three brigantine ships sailed up Spanish River in May 1811 carrying the Boutilier, Lewis, and Andrews families, who settled in Coxheath. The grist mill was turned into a sawmill when wheat became difficult to grow. It was used in a ship building and repair business run by the Boutilier and Andrews families in the mid-1800s. Around 1850, several Scottish families began to settle near Blacketts Lake. By the turn of the 20th century, the original land of Captain Cox was divided into 25 separate farms. The farms provided the main supply of farm products for the residents of Sydney.”

Source; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coxheath,_Nova_Scotia

On August 31st, 1752, Jean (John) George Boutilier Jr. (1729-1784) married Anne Catherine Maillard (1733 -????) at St Paul’s Anglian church in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Jean (John) George Boutilier Jr. (1729-1784) and Anne Catherine Maillard (1733 -????) had a large family, which included;

      • Frederick Nicholas Boutilier (1754-aft 1818)

      • John James Boutilier (1765-1791)

      • George Frederick Boutilier (1774-1791)

The brothers, John James Boutilier (1765-1791) and George Frederick Boutilier (1774-1791) were convicted for the murders of Frederick Eminoud and Catherine Eminoud at Lunenburg in 1791 and sentenced to hang.

Frederick Nicholas Boutilier (1754-aft 1818) and Anna Barbara Magdalena Hirtle (1758-1791) were married at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on July 27th 1779.

In 1807, Frederick Nicholas Boutilier (1754-aft 1818) purchased land in Mill Creek, on the North West Shore of the Little Bras D’Or, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

In 1818, the List of inhabitants in the District of Little Bras d’Or included Frederick Nicholas Boutilier (1754-aft 1818), (age 65). The country of his parents is listed as Switzerland.

Frederick Nicholas Boutilier (1754-aft 1818) and Anna Barbara Magdalena Hirtle (1758-1791) had at least 12 children.

      • “George” Frederick Boutilier (1779-????) born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.

      • “Jacob” Frederick Boutilier (1780-????), born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. Jacob married Elizabeth Adams at St. Paul’s Anglian church, Halifax on April 15th, 1807.

      • John “George” Boutilier (1782-????), born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. George married Elizabeth Cann at St. George’s Anglian church, Sydney, Cape Breton on July 15th, 1808.

      • “James” Frederick Boutilier (1784-????), born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. James married Susan Gould at St. George’s Anglian church, Sydney, Cape Breton on Dec 11th, 1810.

      • “Philip” Peter Boutilier (1786-????), born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. Philip married Jane Madore at St. George’s Anglian church records, Sydney, Cape Breton on Aug 21st, 1813.

      • “Elizabeth” Catherine Boutilier (1788-????), born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. Elizabeth married Joseph King at St. George’s Anglian, Sydney, Cape Breton on Dec 11th, 1810.

      • “Ann” Mary Boutilier (1790-????), born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. Elizabeth married John “Joseph” Marche at Petit bras d’Or, Cape Breton on Sep 21st, 1812.

      • Susanna “Catherine” Boutilier (1790-????), born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. Elizabeth married John “Joseph” Young (1792-aft 1851) at Petit bras d’Or, Cape Breton on Sep 25st, 1812.

      • Hannah Dorothy Boutilier (1794-1800), born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.

      • Gertrude Barbara Boutilier (1796-1796), born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.

      • Sophia Magdalene Boutilier (1797-????), born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. Elizabeth married William Gould at Sydney, Cape Breton on Aug 18th, 1813.

      • Henry Joseph Boutilier (1799-????), born in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.

On September 21, 1812, John Joseph March (1786-aft 1871) married Ann “Marie” Boutilier (1790- aft 1881), the daughter of Frederic Nicolas Boutilier (1754-aft 1818) and Anna Barbara Magdalena Hirtle (1758-1791).

Source; St. George’s Anglian church records, Sydney, Cape Breton.

 

On September 25, 1812, “John” Joseph Young (1793-aft 1851) married “Susanna” Catherine Bouthillier (1792-aft 1851), the daughter of Frederic Nicolas Boutilier (1754-aft 1818 and Anna Barbara Magdalena Hirtle (1758-1791)

Source; St. George’s Anglian church records, Sydney, Cape Breton.

 

On August 12th, 1865, a Peter Young married an Elizabeth March. A 2nd degree of consanguinity was recorded for the marriage between Peter Young and Elizabeth Marche.

Source; Allan T. Stride.

This suggests that Peter Young (1793-aft 1851) and his wife Elizabeth March (1840 – aft 1912) shared one set of grandparents. I suspect that Frederic Nicolas Boutilier (1754-aft 1818 and Anna Barbara Magdalena Hirtle (1758-1791) are the common grand parents.

Not conclusive, but the first names given to the children of both the Young and the March families suggests a connection to the Boutilier family.

Researching one’s family history is no easy task. There is always potential for errors in the recording and/or in the transcribing. It is also easy to get sidetracked.

Both the 1911 and 1912 census for Stephenville, NL., Part 1, include Peter Young (1829-aft 1912) and his wife Elizabeth March (1840-aft 1912). They are living with their son Fredrick Young (1880-aft 1912) at Romaines Brook, Bay St. George, NL.

Source; NL GenWeb, West Coast ~ Bay St. George District, 1911 & 1912 Census, Stephenville Part 1

On the January 24th, 1851, George Young (abt 1825-aft 1883), the son of John Joseph Young (1793-aft 1851) and “Susanna” Catherine Bouthillier (1792-aft 1851) married Susan Webb (1832-1878) at Bay St. George on the west coast of Newfoundland. John Joseph Young (1793-aft 1851) and “Susanna” Catherine Bouthillier (1792-aft 1851) are listed as “of this mission”.

Did John and Catherine live in Bay St. George? I believe so.

Did John and Catherine have a son, Peter? I believe so.

As a child, I had often heard my grandfather say that someone’s grandmother was “Dutch”. My thinking at the time was, that someone’s grandmother was from the Netherlands. After many years of research, I learned that the “Foreign Protestants” were referred to as the “Deutsch”, which was a reference to the German language.

After considerable research, I discovered that Susanna “Catherine” Boutilier (1792-aft 1851) was the grandmother of William Young (1856-1936), my great Grandfather.

John “Joseph” Young (1793-aft 1851) and Susanna “Catherine” Boutilier (1792-aft 1851) were my Great Grand Parents X 3.