(Nova Scotia's Montbeliard
Family Names by Terrance Punch, reprinted from
Art Rhyno's webpage "Nova Scotia's Montbeliard Family Names")
LANGILLE is a name that does not appear in early lists of residents in the principality, and is confined to an area on the eastern fringes of the Pays. By the early 18th century a family of the name was established in the vicinity of Dampierre-les-Bois.
My family came from a small city in eastern France, in the department of Doubs, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) southeast of Paris called Montbéliard, which was until 1793, an independent country.
In the 12th century, Montbeliard had been a province within the Holy Roman Empire with a mixed French and German heritage. The German House of Wittemberg incorporated it as an integral part of its Duchy in 1397 and had ruled it, albeit with significant interruptions, from that day. During the persecutions of the Protestants in France in the later part of the 17th century, the area had been overrun by French protestant refugees, many of whom settled in Lutheran Montbeliard.
As a result of the many wars over the ensuing years, by 1752 Montbeliard had become geographically separated from the rest of the Duchy of Wurttemberg by an expanding France. Although the German House of Wurttemberg still ruled over Montbeliard, it had found it necessary to concede that its rule, outside of the main town, was only as an agent of the King of France. Although the Wurttemberg rulers did not enforce the King of France's edicts for the restoration of Catholicism in Montbeliard, neither did they aggressively put down the French inspired mobs who sought its enforcement in the countryside.
Eventually orders were given that all children should be baptized in the Catholic faith and finally to stunt the growth of the Reformation, all the Protestant churches ordered to be handed over to the Catholics or to be destroyed. One of these churches was in Montbeliard. When the Catholics came to take the protestants' chapel fifty young men among them George Tattrie and Peter Maillard assembled at it, armed only with stones, and were prepared to resist. A detachment of troops was sent against them with a priest as their head. He warned the party gathered, of the uselessness of their resistance. They, however, refused to yield when a section of the troops was ordered to fire, which they did, killing two and wounding others. Among them was George Tattrie, who received a ball in the fleshy part of the leg. The order to fire was answered by a volley of stones by which some of the soldiers were badly injured and it is said one killed. The Protestants were again summoned to surrender but refused until the Priest called on the whole detachment to fire. The Reformists were forced to surrender.
In 1751, after being persecuted by the Catholics, they gladly accepted an offer, which the British government was offering to those who wished to settle in the new world. They received the offer from a representative of a Dutch shipping agent named John Dick. Dick was appointed by the British Board of Trade to recruit "Foreign Protestants" along the Rhine to settle in Nova Scotia. They were brought from Montbéliard, along with about 420 French-speaking Protestants to Nova Scotia from 1749 to 1752.
The offer that was made to them was that the British Government would make them an interest free loan covering their fares and any incidental costs incurred while awaiting boarding in Rotterdam. The loan could be paid off by work that the immigrant would be liable to provide the Nova Scotia government on various public works, such as building forts, laying roads, etc. If the settler died before the loan was fully paid off, then the balance would be waived and his family not held responsible. Enough land for a large farm, along with the basic farming implements and materials to build a house, would be provided to each settler and his family without charge. For their first year in Nova Scotia, they were to be housed and fed by the government. Although the immigrants were themselves financially responsible for getting to Rotterdam, Mr. Dick's representatives would assist them in obtaining transportation.
After accepting the offer They put themselves and what goods they had on a raft and drifted down the Rhine until they reached Rotterdam. troubles were not over. The British government had promised to provide them with passage and supplies but failed to do so. The whole party was left without means of support. Finally the government was induced to act and in the following spring, four vessels sailed for America. Two of these vessels set sail for Nova Scotia and two to South Carolina.
David Langile and his son, John James Langille (not on the shiplist), my ancestors sailed on the ship Sally. Passengers boarded on 30 May 1752. On 2 June the ship left Rotterdam for Hellevoet Roads, where it waited for a wind to begin the Atlantic Crossing. Sally's voyage proved to be most difficult and even the Captain, John Robinson, died on the voyage. William Broeklebank, the first mate, took over. Of 258 people, 218 arrived alive (12 adults, 26 children, and 4 seamen, including the captain, died.) The passengers were allowed to disembark on 26 Sep 1752. The remaining provisions were sold to the Nova Scotia government, and the berth places were ripped out (the lumber from this was sold as well) to make room for cargo on the return voyage.
The passengers spent the first fall and winter on a George's Island within the shelter of the harbour. Their Barracks were crudely built temporary shelters. According to a letter of complain that the settlers sent to the Board of Trade and Plantations in London they describe their barracks providing little protection from the elements, and that there was a scarcity of beds forcing many to sleep on the bare floor.
The new arrivals had an additional complaint of their own. They had discovered that the contracts signed by the earlier arrivals credited them with $30 toward their debts for each day's labour, where as the contracts of the 1752 arrivals called for only $20 per day. In addition, they complained that no French speaking pastor had made available to minister to their religious needs.
The new Governor of Nova Scotia, Colonel Peregrine Thomas Hopson, who had relieved Colonel Edward Cornwallis, attempted to correct at least some of the problems. New barracks were built on the mainland for the french settlers and they were transferred there from George's Island. Partly because of the onset of winter and partly because of a desire to avoid a confrontation on the wage issue, work demands on the settlers practically ceased. Dr. Moreau, a former French Catholic priest who had become an Anglican, was appointed as pastor to the French speaking immigrants.
The winter of 1752/1753 was a difficult one for the immigrants. An epidemic swept through the immigrant communities, hitting the French settlers particularly hard. Approximately one out of every six french settlers died over that first winter.
By the early spring of 1753, the British authorities had come to a decision as to where to settle their Foreign Protestant immigrants. The site of an abandoned French hamlet, named Merligash, was chosen. It had more than 300 acres of land that had been previously cleared by the French inhabitants which could be quickly put to use for small vegetable gardens. It was close enough to Halifax to be readily supported by a fleet stationed there in time of war. To honour the King, the British authorities changed the name of the settlement to "Lunenburg", which was one of the German ducal titles of King George.
In the last half of April 1753, surveyors were sent to Lunenburg, along with a force of Rangers for protection. Their job was to provide a rough survey of the land there so that the major elements of the settlement could be sited.
On Monday, May 21 at 7 am, a meeting of the settlers was assembled on the Halifax parade grounds, adjoining Saint Paul's Anglican Church. The plans for the settlement were announced and lots drawn for the town plots. In addition, the able bodied men (about 500 in number) were formed into a militia and officers appointed from their ranks to serve under the British senior officers.
The plan was to give to each family a small plot, 40' by 60', in what was to become the town center along with enough building materials for a small, one-room, shelter. Each family was also to be assigned the use of a small "garden plot" nearby, suitable for the growing of vegetables to supplement their government rations. By the following spring, 30 acre plots of uncleared land were to be given to each settler family, where they could build more substantial farm houses.
David Langille's town lot was located in Strasburger's Division--Section A. The thirty acre lot Frederick Maillard received was located in North West Range--A.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 29, about half of the settlers began loading on the ships that were to take them to Lunenburg. The Nova Scotia government had chartered most of the available ships down as far as New England to ferry the settlers and their supplies. To minimize the number of ships required, the settlers were to be moved in two separate expeditions, about a week apart. The expeditions were to accompanied by a small flotilla of British warships and a detachment of Rangers to provide assistance should the settlers encounter Indian or guerilla resistance.
While the first settlers and their supplies were being loaded and the warships assembled, the wind shifted and the small fleet was pinned in Halifax Harbour for more than an entire week. On June 7, the ships finally escaped the confines of the harbor and, after a short sail, reassembled at Lunenburg. Colonel Lawrence, the commander of the expedition, ordered that the settlers be held on board until the troops and contract working parties had landed, check the area for the presence of guerillas, assembled the building materials at the town sites, and erected a temporary blockhouse and palisades for defence.
After being on board the ships for over a week, the settlers were in no mood to be delayed even further. Many disembarked on their own, found their town plots, and began collecting whatever building materials they could as these were being landed, without regard for the precise counts of nails, bricks, and lumber that had been allotted to each family. Colonel Lawrence was only partially successful in having his troops force these settlers back to their ships. In spite of these difficulties, by June 17 both expeditions had landed their settlers, the building materials had been distributed, and the initial work on defences completed by the troops and their contractors brought from Halifax.
Colonel Lawrence continued to be dismayed by the rebelliousness of the settlers and their unwillingness to assist in the erection of the defence works - in spite of their work contracts. The settlers, on their side, were disturbed by the crude conditions at Lunenburg. They had understood that they were to receive full homesteads immediately, in the form of a large plot of cleared land and a fully built and furnished farmhouse. Although some of the discrepancy was due to ambiguous terms used in the translations from the English of the settlers' original contracts, the British authorities were aware that there were some legitimate grounds for the settlers' dissatisfaction in this regard.
Also, the settlers had been able to supplement their government rations while at Halifax by purchases from the marketplace, paid for by odd-jobs performed for local households and merchants, which they weren't able to do at Lunenburg. Beside, any time spent on fulfilling their work contracts meant less time spend on the building of their shelters and the putting in of a vegetable garden.
To avert a all out rebellion, Colonel Lawrence, with reluctant support of the Governor and his Council, increased the food ration by "two pounds of bread a week with molasses" per adult (in lieu of an equivalent value in rum), temporarily suspended the enforcement of the settlers' work contracts, and agreed to pay full wages in cash for any work voluntarily performed. He hoped that the cash wages paid would attract merchants from Halifax who might be able to provide additional foodstuffs as well as other personal goods, such as clothing, additional building materials, etc, which the merchants did.
By the time cooler weather arrived in the autumn of 1773, the setters had erected their first homes and put in root crops for the winter. In fact, even though a lot of the settlers had indebted themselves to the Board of Trade and Plantations for the cost of their passage, many of them had retained sufficient savings to purchase the additional materials and contract labour to built large, framed houses. It was Colonel Lawrence's efforts and the progress that had been made that contributed to taking much of the edge off of the settlers' anger, but dissatisfaction with what was perceived as failure of the British Government to fully meet the terms of their contracts, however, persisted among them. Petitions of grievances were prepared and sent to the Governor in Halifax and the Board of Trade and Plantations in London.
In September 1753, Colonel Lawrence returned to Halifax, leaving a small garrison of British troops and the armed militia of settlers under Colonel Sutherland to defend Lunenburg. By the end of November, morale among the settlers had begun to seriously deteriorate. A rumour had arisen among the french settlers that one of their number, by the name of John Petrequin, was hiding a letter from a relative in London, which concerned the petitions that had been sent to the Board of Trade and Plantations. By the time the rumour had spread among the German speaking settlers, it had taken a ominous turn. The alleged letter was now believed to have confirmed their suspicions that the efforts of the Board to make concessions to the settlers had been thwarted by the Governor and his Council in Halifax. The settlers became so angry when Petrequin denied that any such letter existed, that they seized him and imprisoned him in the town's blockhouse.
When Colonel Sutherland tried to intervene, the settlers' militia was called out and shots were exchanged with the British troops, wounding two settlers. An armed standoff ensued, with neither side willing to yield. The Governor, upon hearing of the situation, dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Moncton with a force of two hundred regulars. Lieutenant Colonel Moncton orders were to restore the government's authority, disarm the militia, and arrest the ringleaders for trial in Halifax. Moncton landed at Lunenburg on December 22, 1753. Faced with this formidable force, the militia soon surrender.
By December 24, Moncton was able to report that he had completely accomplished his mission. An officer of the settlers' militia, John William Hoffman, was arrested and charged with tricking the illiterate Petrequin into believing that some pieces of paper were a letter from Petrequin's cousin in London and then using the subsequent uproar to mount a treasonous rebellion. The government lacked substantive evidence, other than the contradictory and self-serving testimony of Petrequin himself, and Hoffman was ultimately convicted of only lesser misdemeanors. He left Nova Scotia after serving some time in prison at Halifax.
After the rebellion of 1753 had been put down, things became calmer at Lunenburg. By March 1754, the thirty acre plots had been assigned by lot. After the lots had been drawn, trading of plots occurred among the settlers prior to their occupation. Many of the french settlers, who had been scattered randomly among the more numerous German speaking settlers, traded their plots so as to be concentrated into one area along the distant North West Range section of Lunenburg, from three to six miles from the town's center.
During that spring and summer, the settlers began to occupy the thirty acre plots as they were properly surveyed and staked out. For the most part, the plots were wooded and required clearing before a house could be built and the land farmed. The British authorities decided to encourage the settlers to occupy and begin farming the plots as soon as possible by extending the free rations an additional year beyond the one year originally agreed to and offered to distribute free seed and livestock throughout the year - as it became available to them. The amount of seed and livestock to be distributed to each settler was depend, in part, on their participation in the uprising, on the use previously made of the small garden plots and town lots, and on the progress made at clearing their new thirty acre plots. Married men were also to be favoured over single men in the distribution of the seed and livestock.
By June 28, 1754, the Council in Halifax had made contracts for the purchase of livestock and seed from New England. Shipments began arriving in September. By December, 1754, it was reported to Halifax that over one hundred families were already settled on their thirty acre plots. Unfortunately, the fall of 1754 was unusually dry and the winter of 1754-1755 was unusually severe. Most of the livestock died, in part, due to the lack of shelter and in part due to the lack of sufficient stored feed. Early in 1755, the Board of Trade and Plantations authorized more money to be spent, if necessary, on free livestock for the settlers. This money was never expended, however, because a more economical source of livestock for the Lunenburg settlers soon appeared.
At the end of July 1755, believing that full scale war was immanent, the Council at Halifax made the decision to deport all the "disloyal" French inhabitants from the British controlled areas of Nova Scotia. The deportations began almost immediately and, by September 1755, had progressed sufficiently to permit contingents of settlers from Lunenburg to be authorized to proceed to Minas to seize the livestock and other possessions that had been left behind by those French inhabitants who had already been deported. A similar expedition was authorized in June of the following year.
Progress on the clearing of the heavily wooded land in Lunenburg was slow and the farms that had been established by mid-1755 still did not produce nearly enough food for the inhabitants of Lunenburg. Accordingly, the Governor again prevailing against the strong opposition of the Board of Trade and Plantations authorized the extension of free rations for the settlers for an additional year until the summer of 1756, albeit at a somewhat reduced rate and excluding those few settlers who were well established.
The first Indian raid on Lunenburg occurred on May 8, 1756 just before the formal declaration of war between England and France. The raid resulted in the deaths of four settlers, some destruction of property, and the taking prisoner of one adult woman and four of her children. Similar raids occurred every few months over the next three years. Although no more than a small number of settlers were killed or carried off in any of the individual raids, the constant threat of lurking Indians and the consequent need to be continuously on guard drove some of the settlers from their distant thirty acre plots into their better defended town lots and seriously restricted the activities of those who chose to remain on their plots. In addition this threat, there was also the threat of French privateers operating out of Louisbourg commandeered ships from Lunenburg that were carrying lumber to be sold at the Halifax market.
The threat from bands of Indians operating in the Lunenburg area cease early in 1760 when the various tribes surrendered at Halifax. Due to the unusual circumstances of the war, the Governor had been repeatedly able to convince the British Board of Trade and Plantations to extend, albeit grudgingly, the provision of rations to the settlers until the summer of 1760, when they were finally terminated.
David Langille and family had remained in Lunenburg for eighteen years when a Joseph Frederick Wallet DeBarres , son of a pastor from the old land who in Lunenburg, making charts of the Nova Scotia coast. DeBarres had been rewarded for his service to the British Government in North America with a grant of 20,000 acres of land in Nova Scotia and he offered to rent to the French settlers land from his estate at Tatamagouche(a Micmac word for the place where the two rivers meet) in the northern part of the Province. The men and their families dissatisfied with the poor farming conditions and the lack of French schools for their children to attend were glad to accepted his offer.
Col. DeBarres provided a ship to take them to Tatamagouche, Colchester County NS. They sailed through Gut of Canso and then westward along the Northumberland Strait, they made Cape John, and then having passed Amet Island, they saw the shores and uplands and the waters of the harbours and rivers, where they were to settle.
On April 11, 1771, DesBarres made a special joint lease of the intervale along the France River, which he renamed Frederick Rivcer in perpetuity to David Langille and his eight associates, James _______, John Boutelier, Peter Tattrie, John Maillard, James Bigney, Langille, and Matthew Langille. Each Tenant was to have a lot of sixty acres. However, Matthew Langille, George Tattrie, John Millard and John James Langille (son) were the only ones to settle under the leases.
By settling in Tatamagouche, they were actually helping Col DeBarres to meet the requirements of this government land grant which stated that he must settle the land with settlers or the land would revert back to the crown. Several of these families sailed in 1771 and 1772. Many of their names are still common in and around Tatamagouche. This includes the name Langille.
I have my family's genealogy. My great grandparents were Rufus Rhindress Langille and Ella Haley. Rufus's father was Alfred Langille (born: 1837). If anyone has more information, please contact me at GFMMillard@Hotmail.com. Click here to see the rest of My Family Genealogy.