Charles & Pierre Melanson, sons of   John Laverdure and Priscilla Mallinson

It was generally believed that the Melanson were of Scottish origin, but this assumption was based on a historic mistake.  There is no document that demonstrates that the Melansons who came to Acadia were of  Scottish decent, in fact to the contrary there is proof that they were of English decent.  

The two Melanson brothers, Pierre, dit Laverdure, a stonemason, born in 1632, the spouse of Marie Marguerite Muis d'Entremont, the  daughter of the Lord of Pomcoup, Philippe Mius d 'Entremont, and Charles Melanson, born in 1643, the husband of Marie Dugas, daughter of  Armourer Abraham Dugas and Marguerite Doucet of Port Royal, arrived in Port Royal accompanied their parents aboard the ship the Satisfaction, with Sir Thomas Temple, the new English Governor of Acadia, which arrived in 1657. 

For the next century,  until the deportation of the Acadians in 1755, the settlement was the place of residence of Charles Melanson and his wife Marie Dugas, and their  descendents and associates.

  "The Melanson Settlement" is one of the principle Canadian archeological sites illustrating the way of rural life in Acadia in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is a mirror of the various aspects "of the daily life, their homes, material culture and their prosperity.  

In the Autumn of 1755, 1660 Acadians of the region of Port Royal embarked on the ships towards exile. Charles and Ambroise Melanson took refuge  in Quebec, while Jean Melanson and his family were refugies in France with a group of Acadians Cape Sable. Others were deported to  Maryland and other States. The Melanson like hundreds of other Acadians were imprisoned in the military fortresses which were neither more or less than concentration camps. At gun point, English soldiers forced them to work for them. The Melansons were imprisoned at Forts  Cumberland and Edward.

Today, this large Acadian family the name of [MELANSON] MELANSON-MELANCON-MALANSON-MALONSON can be found in all of  Canada, the United States and in France. These Acadians all descendents of PIERRE and CHARLES MELANSON arrived in Acadia during 3 ½ centuries. The majority of Charles' descendents returned to the former Acadia, resettling in Nova Scotia and Southern New Brunswick, and in the USA in the States of Maine and Massachusetts, most continuing to spell their name Melanson.   The majority of Pierre's descendents however did not return, resettling in Louisiana, Quebec, and Northern New Brunswick, in  the Bathurst region. It is this branch of the family that today predominately spells their name MELANCON.