Jean Béliveau's Acadian Roots
Did you know that hockey great Jean Béliveau had deep Acadian roots? Explore the genealogy of “Le Gros Bill” all the way back to 17th-century Acadia, and to a dark chapter in Canadian history, the Acadian Expulsion.
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Jean Béliveau’s French-Canadian & Acadian Roots
“The passing Tuesday night of Jean Béliveau was a crowbar in the chest of Montreal, an indelicate surgical extraction of the heart of this town.”
Jean Béliveau, circa 1963 (Wikimedia Commons)
Such was the impact of Jean Béliveau, beloved player of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, nicknamed "Le Gros Bill." Born in Trois-Rivières, Québec, in 1931 to parents Arthur Béliveau and Laurette Dubé, he died at the age of 83 in 2014 in Longueuil, just across the river from Montreal.
Béliveau's list of on-ice accomplishments is remarkable: he won more Stanley Cup championships than anyone else: 17 in total (10 as a player and 7 as an executive). He is the second leading scorer of all time for the Montreal Canadiens (the "Habs"), behind Guy Lafleur. He won the Art Ross Trophy, the inaugural Conn Smythe Trophy and two Hart trophies. He was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame the year following his retirement, without the customary 3-year waiting period.
After he retired from playing hockey in 1971, Béliveau worked at the Habs head office for 22 years. Often called the "heart and soul of the Montreal Canadiens," Béliveau's reputation off the ice was just as impressive. A gentleman, he was known for being humble, modest and generous. It's been said that Béliveau personally responded to every single piece of fan mail he received (until his health declined following two strokes). He was also known for his charity work: as soon as he retired from playing, Béliveau started a foundation for disabled children.
Jean Béliveau learned many life lessons from his father Arthur. Growing up during the depression, the Béliveau family lived modestly, growing their own vegetables and raising rabbits. His father taught him strong work ethics and guided him when hockey scouts came calling.
The Beliveaus were no strangers to adversity. As many Canadians have probably guessed, the family is of Acadian origin. Jean Béliveau was familiar with his family's deep Canadian roots and knew that his ancestors were victims of a dark episode in Acadian history: "le Grand Dérangement," known as the "Great Upheaval" or "Acadian Expulsion" in English.
The 1741 marriage record of Jean Béliveau’s ancestors, Jean Béliveau and Marguerite Melançon, in Port-Royal, Acadia (Archives of Nova Scotia)
![A View of the Plundering and Burning of the City of Grimross [present-day Gagetown NB], 1758 watercolour by Thomas Davies, National Gallery of Canada.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bb6661d8dfc8c1836526d3a/1568158367011-SRIVYH0Y4GW2NKBXD4G8/The+French-Canadian+Roots+of+Justin+Bieber)
A View of the Plundering and Burning of the City of Grimross [present-day Gagetown NB], 1758 watercolour by Thomas Davies, National Gallery of Canada.
The Deportation of the Acadians, 1900 painting by Henri Beau, ameriquefrancaise.org.
In 1755, British forces began a forced deportation of the French population that lasted for 11 years (click here to learn more about the historical background and reasons for the deportation). Between 10,000 and 11,500 refugees fled to New France, Louisiana, the English colonies, Europe and the Caribbean. Thousands of Acadians died of starvation, disease, or drowning. Families were torn apart and many lost everything they owned.
The windmill in St-Grégoire-le-Grand (photo by Henri Rémillard, BAnQ)
Jean Béliveau's 5th great-grandparents, Jean Béliveau and Marguerite Melançon, were deported in 1755 from Port-Royal in Acadia. They were transported aboard the ship Helena with 321 others, arriving in Boston, Massachusetts, on 19 Nov 1755. Unwelcome in their new home, Jean Béliveau's name appears on a 1763 listing of Frenchmen wanting to return to the former New France. Along with his wife Marguerite and their 7 children, Jean arrived in Québec City on 7 Jul 1767. They later settled in an Acadian community in St-Grégoire-le-Grand, Québec, where farm land was being offered to settlers.
4 generations of Béliveau descendants would remain in St-Grégoire, until the end of the 19th century.
Are you related to Jean Béliveau? See if you can spot any relatives you may have in common. Béliveau and the French-Canadian Genealogist are 8th cousins, twice removed (click here for a handy family relationship chart).
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Sources:
Tu Thanh Ha, "Four great moves that testify to Jean Béliveau's class off the ice", The Globe and Mail (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/beliveau-remembered-for-class-generosity-off-the-ice/article21905226/), 3 Dec 2014.
James Marsh, "Acadian Expulsion (the Great Upheaval)", The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-deportation-of-the-acadians-feature, 4 Sep 2013, last edited 15 Jul 2015.
Dave Stubbs, "Jean Beliveau: 100 Greatest NHL Players", NHL.com (https://www.nhl.com/news/jean-beliveau-100-greatest-nhl-hockey-players/c-284179630?tid=283865022).
Dave Stubbs, "Bond with Jean Béliveau Forged Over the Years", The Montreal Gazette, 4 Dec 2014, page 23, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/427084345/).
Stephen A. White, Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes (Moncton, New Brunswick: Centre d'études acadiennes – Université de Moncton, 1999), page 103, entry for Jean-Baptiste Belliveau.