What was the reaction of my ancestor when he received these orders of deportation? Very wicked, one could say. In the nature of military life, he could not disobey his Superior without risking very serious penalties, but there is one reason why he, in fact, certainly had some nightmares.
He had married in Annapolis, Elizabeth Winniet. Her mother, Marie-Madeleine Maisonnat, French and Catholic, was still living when the deportation orders were given. Marie-Madeleine Maisonnat was the daughter of Madeleine Bourq and Pierre Maisonnat, the famous French pirate, commonly known as "Captain Baptiste", who inflicted heavy losses to the British by capturing their trade vessels. For more informations on the Captain Baptiste, well known pirate, click on the Website: "http://perso.orange.fr/ch.lagarrige/cap-baptiste4.htm". (**French only.)
If John Handfield's mother-in-law had the same temperament as her famous father, and what Captain Knox claimed in his journal confirms this hypothesis, life with his mother-in-law could not always have been easy. Captain Knox wrote:
There is an old French gentlewoman here, of the Romish persuasion, whose daughters, grand-daughters, and other relations, have, from time to time, intermaried with officers, and other gentlemen of this garrisons, whereof some of the former's were of respectable rank. . .
An editor's footnote in the diary explains:
It is quite possible that Madame Winniet, as related by the author, attended councils of war and gave orders, for the lieutenant-governor and commander of the garrison was her son-in-law, she herself was the wife of a member of the Council who had great influence in the community, and her children were married to offficers. Who would have dared to question the authority of an old lady boasting of such powerful official connections?
Knox mentioned that she was French and Catholic. As a French Catholic she must have seen clearly that her compatriots were the victims of an injustice. Imagine the situation of the son-in-law caught between his duty and his mother-in-law. We will see, in the following, that the events will confirm the basis of the perplexing situation in which he found himself.
The order of deportation did not set the date when the exodus was to begin. Winslow and Murray lost no time, but Handfield tarried. Why? Perhaps, he was thinking that the difficulties mentioned by the other officers, would make Lawrence to change his mind, or was it to give the alarmed population a chance to get away or hide? When the first ship, rented by the Government, arrived in Annapolis, on 31 August 1755, John had not yet arrested one single person, and the same day he wrote to Winslow in Grand Pré requesting some reinforcements. They only arrived in October 1755, and here is an extract of the letter he dispatched to Winslow on that occasion:
Annapolis Royal 8 October 1755
Sir:
As the Party you Sent here Complains of a Soreness in their Feet Occasioned by the Badness of the Roads, I have ordered them to proceeed in the transportes bound up the Bay five of which being furnished with pilotes among the Inhabitants of this River you will be pleased to return them by the first opportunity, that they may embark with the Families on their going out of the Province. . .
We see in this letter that Handfield wanted the families to stay reunited. And why did he return the men he held? He would have been able to look after them and use them.
The correspondence exchanged by the English officers have been published in the Report of the Canadian Archives 1905 , Volume II, 1905. Here is a very brief summary of what pertains to my Ancestor:
September 29: Winslow asked Lawrence to send him the ships that were waiting at Annapolis, because Handfield was not ready.
October 01: Lawrence gave Handfield the order to send the ships to Grand Pré and told him he will send others.
October 27: Lawrence commanded Winslow to send Handfield 80 soldiers, two Captains, and four junior officers.
November 3rd: Winslow ordered Captain Adams to bring the detachment to Annapolis and take the orders from Handfield.
After this date, the deportation order was executed, but how many families were able to save themselves during these three months? Some authors have mentioned that about 80 percent of the Habitants of the region of Annapolis were deported.
On December 9th 1755, the last six vessels, loaded with 1664 peoples, left the Annapolis Bay.One of these transports, The Pembroke, was seized by the acadians conducted by the pilot Beaulieu (or Fontaine alias Beaulieu) and the ship’s carpenter Charles Belliveau. The transport sailed to St-John New Bruswick and the 225 peoples aboard walked toward Quebec city, where they arrived in the Spring of 1756.
Winslow's Journal, of which a manuscript copy is held in the Nova Scotia Archives, permits us to follow, almost day by day, the developments of the years 1754-1755; the names of all the ordinary soldiers who in 1754 participated in the capture of Fort Beausejour; the troop movements, the disembarkations, etc., all is recorded. This is the only Journal that I had the chance to examine page by page, where there are so many details. Winslow also noted the names of all the persons that he deported from Grand Pré and surrounding areas.
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