Cassie Deveaux Cohoon

Jeanne Dugas of Acadia, a Novel Cassie Deveaux Cohoon

In many ways, the story of Jeanne Dugas and her family is the story of the Acadians. Born of Acadian parents at Louisbourg, Jeanne Dugas (1731-1817) and her husband Pierre Bois were among the founding families of the Acadian village of Chéticamp in 1785. Descended from one of the three most prominent families in Acadia, Jeanne Dugas and her family lived for more than thirty years under the threat of capture and deportation by the British militia and attacks by pirates and privateers. In this historical fiction, we follow Jeanne Dugas's trials and tribulations from Louisbourg to Grand Pré (NS), to Port Toulouse and Mira (Cape Breton), Île-Saint-Jean (PEI), Remshic (NS), Restigouche (NB) and back again-often more than once. Finally captured by the British militia, she and her family were imprisoned for three years on George's Island, where three of her four children died. When released, they sought refuge on Île Madame (Cape Breton) and finally to the area now known as Chéticamp.