Petitpas mixed-blood
For those of you who come from the mixed-blooded branch of the Petitpas family, here's an excerpt from Maria Amelia Fytche's 1907 book entitled, "The rival forts, or, The velvet siege of Beauséjour : a tale of Acadie and its rival forts, with pen pictures of noted characters of the times, drawn from original manuscripts in the archives at Halifax, and from the private letterbook and journal of Richard Yolland, gentleman, sometyme Lieutenant of the 24th foot, whereof General the Honourable Edward Cornwallis, Governor of His Britanic Majesty's Province of Acadie, was Commander."
This excerpt found on pages 182 and 183.
This excerpt, which appears to be based on a journal entry, states that "It was
confirmed when he enquired if by chance I had ever met a half-breed coureur-de-bois, Pettipas."
I'm not fully certain as to who this “half-breed coureur-de-bois, Pettipas” could be however, I have reason to believe that he may have been a relative of Barthélemy (Bartholomew) Petitpas.
I state this because Barthélemy was mentioned in Abbé Pierre Antoine Simon Maillard’s 1758 Manuscript entitled, “An account of the customs and manners of the Micmakis and Maricheets savage nations, now dependent on the government of Cape-Breton: from an original French manuscript-letter, never published, written by a French abbot, who resided many years, in quality of missionary, among them : to which are annexed, several pieces, relative to the Savages, to Nova-Scotia, and to North-America in general.” This manuscript is also discussed in another section of this collection.
The following is stated about Barthelemy (Bartholomew) Petitpas on pages 64 and 65 of Abbé Maillard’s Manuscript:
“About the same time one named Bartholomew Petitpas, an appointed savage linguist, was carried away prisoner to Boston. The savages have several times demanded him in exchange for English prisoners they then had in their hands, of whom two were officers, to whom they gave their liberty, on condition of the Bostoners returning of Petitpas; whom, however, they not only kept prisoner, but afterwards put to death.”
It’s important to note that Barthélemy (Bartholomew) Petitpas was the son of Claude Petitpas (Junior) and his First Nations wife, Marie-Thérèze (see http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/petitpas_barthelemy_3E.html). Barthélemy appears in the household of Claude Junior and Marie-Thérèze on the 1708 census of Acadia as their 21-year-old (born circa 1687) son.
