Part I

Les  Doucet du Monde, Doucets of the World, a family organization which promotes pride in the French heritage, saw a need to honor our Acadian ancestor, Germain Doucet, Sieur de La Verdure, who  was commandant of Fort Pentagoet in present day Castine, Maine, from 1635 to 1645.

Les Doucet du Monde (LDDM) was established in October of 1997 to prepare for the family reunion which was held during the Congrès Mondial Acadien, World Acadian Congress, in Louisiana in 1999.

Following the success of the family reunion, the desire grew to continue the family organization, gathering additional genealogical information, having extended family activities, and building a greater appreciation of those who have walked before us.

A group of over fifty members and their families attended the Doucet reunion in 2004 in Church Point, Nova Scotia.

Les Doucet du Monde was proud to sponsor noted Acadian genealogist Stephen A. White’s presentation at the 2009 Doucet reunion in Grande-Anse, New Brunswick.

A commemorative plaque honoring Germain Doucet will be presented to Our Lady of Holy Hope Church in Castine, Maine, to assure that Germain’s  memory  will be preserved, as it pertains to his 10 years of service at the fort.  The church was erected over the site of Fort Pentagoet.

Arrangements have been made with Father Mower to formally present the plaque to him, as Pastor of the church, on August 15^th, the national day of Our Lady of the Assumption, who is Patron Saint of the Acadians.  Father Mower, in accepting this plaque from Les Doucet du Monde, has agreed to attach it at the entrance of the newly renovated church, for all to see.

Several members of Les Doucet du Monde are planning to attend the ceremony of the formal presentation on August 15^th, at a time yet to be announced.  It is hoped that several members of the parish will also be there for the presentation, and they are kindly invited to do so.

Part II 

Germain Doucet, Sieur de La Verdure, is said to be from Couperans in Brie, France, arrived in Acadia in 1632 with the Commander Isaac de Razilly and the three hundred hommes d’élite,  hand–picked men.

Germain Doucet was a Captain of Arms in the small army of D’Aulnay, a lieutenant under Razilly.  He is thought to have been accompanied by his wife whose name is unknown, his  son Pierre, and a daughter,  Marguerite.

After the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed on March 29, 1632, Cardinal Richelieu commissioned Razilly, a Knight of the Order of Malta, to retake possession of Acadia from the English.  

Two ships, the Espérance-en-Dieu and the Saint-Jehan, left  from Auray in Brittany, France on July 23, 1632.  On September 8, 1632, the group arrived at La Hève (La Have, Nova Scotia), where they constructed fort Sainte-Marie-de-Grâce.

Within three months of their arrival, Razilly sent D’Aulnay to retake Port Royal, which was still occupied by the English. Doucet, who would always be D’Aulnay’s faithful friend, accompanied him on this mission. 

At Port Royal, the English colonists who wanted to leave the colony and return to England were boarded on the Saint-Jehan and were sent first to La Hève.   Germain Doucet then accompanied the Saint-Jehan to England to return the English colonists.  From there, Doucet returned to France, where he met D’Aulnay aboard the Espérance-en-Dieu,  and they returned to Acadia with new French colonists. 

In 1635, D’Aulnay was ordered to retake possession of Fort Pentagouet at the western end of Acadia, in present day Castine, Maine, from the English.  Once again, Germain Doucet accompanied D’Aulnay [this time with his family]. 

After the fort was retaken, D’Aulnay returned to Port Royal and left Doucet in command of a small garrison with about twenty men.  The English soon sent a detachment from Plymouth, Massachusetts to try to retake the fort, but the French, under the command of Germain Doucet, successfully repelled the attack.

Razilly was governor of part of Acadia.  The rest of the colony was governed by Charles de La Tour.  La Tour and Razilly coexisted in Acadia on peaceful terms, but in late 1635 Razilly died suddenly, leaving his position as governor to his brother, Claude de Razilly. 

Part III 

Unwilling to leave France, Claude de Razilly delegated his powers to Charles Menou D’Aulnay.  Soon after D’Aulnay succeeded to this post, relations with La Tour deteriorated, in part because of a confusing geographic division of the colony between the two governors by the King of France. 

By 1636, this quarrel had degenerated to open warfare, and La Tour demanded that D’Aulnay give up the post at Pentagouet, as commanded by Doucet.  D’Aulnay and Doucet refused to do so and proceeded to make plans to reinforce the fort.  

A small party was sent from Pentagouet to Port Royal for provisions, which may have included the commander Doucet. They were captured by forces loyal to La Tour and held prisoner.  Soon after, La Tour was defeated and captured following a naval engagement with a vessel belonging to D’Aulnay. 

In 1645, after the death of Isaac Pessely, the commander of Port Royal, Doucet was named commander of its garrison.

By 1647, the forces loyal to D’Aulnay had consolidated their power over the colony, and La Tour was forced to take refuge in Quebec.  However, in May 1650, D’Aulnay died from exhaustion when his canoe overturned in the Rivière du Moulin.   

Some persons claim that he drowned, but a statement by a priest claims that his head was above water when he was found. 

D’Aulnay’s widow, Jeanne de Motin, and Germain Doucet executed D’Aulnay’s possessions.

In 1651, Jeanne de Motin married her husband’s rival, Charles de La Tour, and through this marriage La Tour retook possession of the colony.  Doucet signed as a witness to their marriage, and La Tour left him in command of the garrison at Port Royal.

In July, 1654, despite the fact that England and France were at peace, Major Robert Sedgewick of Boston attacked and took La Tour’s fort at Pentagouet, and proceeded immediately to lay siege to Port Royal. 

Doucet and his men resisted the attack for 16 days; however, faced with an opponent superior in numbers and armament, Doucet was finally forced to surrender Port Royal to Sedgewick and the English.  Doucet and his wife were taken prisoner and were ordered to return to France. 

According to Stephen A. White, at the Université de Moncton, there is no evidence that Germain Doucet and his wife returned to France.

Copyright (c)  Carol Doucet, June 2010  Member of Les Doucet du Monde