“In 1766 five Hebert families had settled along the Mississippi River in the First Acadian Coast (St. James Parish), and two single men named HEBERT were in the Attakapas.  These early families may have come with the Acadians who arrived by ship in 1765.  Two years later nine HEBERT families arrived with the group of Acadians who had been exiled to Maryland, all of whom were settled along the Mississippi near St. Gabriel, present Iberville Parish.  The Maryland refugees, together with those who had previously settled in St. James, began perhaps the state’s most renowned line of HEBERT families, many of whom became prominent antebellum sugar planters, chiefly on the west bank of the river in Iberville and West Baton Rouge parishes.  Among the Maryland families who settled near St. Gabriel was Paul HEBERT (m. 1736 Marguerite Melancon), a great-grandson of Etienne, one of the clan’s progenitors.  Paul’s six sons and most of their descendants remained in the Iberville area, and by the 1790's some had acquired land along the river in present West Baton Rouge Parish.  One of Paul’s grandsons, also named Paul (m. 1817 Eugenie Hamilton), established a sizable plantation a few miles down river from Plaquemine.  There his son Paul-Octave, who became Louisiana’s fifteenth governor (1853-56), was born and reared.”
  (to be cont. in later issues of La Gazette HEBERT)

HEBERT Family Reuion Dedicated to Paul Hebert:

      The July 5, 1997 Hebert Family Reunion to be held in Cocagne, province of New Brunswick, Canada will be dedicated to one of our forefathers, Paul Hebert (one of 4 pioneer settlers who founded Cocagne) great-grand-son of Antoine Hebert, who with his brother Estienne, came from France to settle in Port Royal, Acadie, around 1640.  Although both of these are the ancestors of all Acadian Hebert families, Paul is reputed to be the only descendant of Antoine having settled in territory that would become in 1784 the province of New Brunswick.
      A little over a century after the arrival of his ancestor Antoine, Paul would barely escape Deportation in 1755; however, in order to save himself and his family from starvation like the many others hiding in the camps in the wood of the Miramichi, he would surrender and be imprisoned with his family in Fort Beausejour, then re-named “Cumberland” by the British.  There, Acadians comprised two types of prisoners: those who had literally “missed the boat” by hiding in the woods, later surrendering or being captured; and those who were initially kept as slave labourers to ensure the subsistence of British; troops.   
      When the conflict between France and Britain was settled in 1763, prisoners were released.  Like most others, Paul and his family relocated from island to island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence until they arrived at their intended destination of the Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon which remained French territory.  These were now unfortunately over-populated with refugees from the recent conflict, and French authorities were brought to the point of having to shift into deportation mode themselves to other French territories.
      At this point, four heads of families having family links grouped together... and with the combined resources of two, they were able to purchase a schooner.  They eventually made their way to Halifax, applied to, and were granted permission by the British administration in Halifax to settle in an unsettled area named Cocagne... (one of the 4, Joseph Gueguen, was known to the British as a translator whose services they had previously used...).  There would later be a requirement to re-apply for land ownership when the territory was divided to form the new province of New Brunswick in 1784....
      Paul had a family of 7 children of whom 4 were sons: Jean, Joseph, Pierre and Francois.  They settled in Cocagne as the 5th generation of this line, as did the next two generations...  A century after Paul’s settlement in Cocagne, that is, from the mid - 1860's to the turn of 1900, now at the 8th and 9th generations, there are descendants for whom only a birth is registered locally.
      This indicates establishment elsewhere than Cocagne and surrounding areas.... It is known that a significant number of Acadians established themselves in the USA, specifically in New England according to oral tradition of some families.
      Those of this line down from Paul Hebert currently living locally, and in the USA, are of the 10th through the 12th or 13th generations. 

     L’Association des HEBERT d’Acadie was formed at the request of attendees at the family reunion held in New Brunswick during the Acadian World Congress of 1994.  The family is registered with the Federation of Association of Acadian Families (Federation des Association de Familles Acadiennes, Inc.) (FAFA).  The HEBERT Association is encouraging the creation of Chapters to its association (which I would hope L’Association des HEBERT du Monde would become).
      We have received a packet of information on the July 5, 1997 reunion in Cocagne.  The packet includes a pre-registration form, an order blank for what looks like a great (“cool,” as the kids would say) T-shirt, an outline of the day’s festivities (includes description of some “lip smacking” chow), and the address of the president of the reunion committee. 
       I would be more than happy to see that a copy of the information in that packet is mailed to anyone who may be interested.  Write to request the packet and enclose a 32-cent stamped self-addressed envelope.
      I would also like to hear from those of you who may be considering going to the reunion July 5, 1997, in Cocagne.
      The sooner the Cocagne Reunion Committee hears from us, the better they can plan their feeding program.

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Do you have printed or computer generated (gedcom) Hebert genealogy that you would like to share with those who might be coming in 1999 for the reunion.  We will be setting up a genealogy research area for our visitors.  We need your help.  Mail your information to the La Gazette HEBERT address.  The education committee will be in charge of this program.  Education chairperson is Joe Hebert of Abbeville and the co-chairperson is Edgar Leger of New Brunswick.

Board of Directors Meeting - January 26. 1997:

 The Board of Directors met at the home of Sheila Hebert Collins.  Judge Byron Hebert was unable to attend due to illness, so Russell Gaspard was asked to conduct the meeting in Judge Hebert’s absence.
 A discussion to incorporate was chaired by Attorney Larry Hebert, our legal advisor.  Larry assured us that incorporation papers would be filed with the Secretary of State within the week.
 Our financial coordinator and advisor Randy Lege well file papers with the State for sales tax exemption and with IRS for a Federal I.D. number and file for a 503-c status (authorizing us to grant a tax write-off for donations)
 The rest of the meeting centered around preparing for a 1-1½ to a 2 day reunion.  Committee reports were given by Bobby Hebert - - Entertainment; Joe Hebert - - Genealogy; and Sheila Hebert Collins - - Membership.
 Some discussion was held on food, on site preparation, and on housing.  Twenty two people attended.  The Meeting adjourned for SUPER BOWL XXXI.
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LE COIN FRANCAIS (The French Corner) will appear occasionally.  CMA-LA ask that we include as much French in our movement as possible.  The front page article is a summary of the first two issues of LA GAZETTE HEBERT. 
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FEBRUARY 16TH MEETING TO BE HELD AT THE COURTHOUSE IN ABBEVILLE - EAST ENTRANCE (CHARITY STREET) 2ND FLOOR COURTROOM – BEGINNING AT 2:00 p.m.
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EVENTS CALENDAR: (Correction)- The Association of Heberts of Acadia’s FAX # is 506-855-7528.  I listed it wrong in issue 2.