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Most Michauds in North America are descended from a single individual,
Pierre Micheau (or Michel) dit Michaud, an immigrant from the Poitou -- now called Vendée -- region of western France. The name Michaud itself actually means 'little Michael', and as such, has been adopted by other French "Michael" families around the world at various times.
At the time of Pierre's birth (1637), the Micheau family lived in
Fontenay-le-Comte, the historic
capital of ancient
Bas Poitou, France (now the Department of the Vendée.
This whole region of Atlantic France was part of the old
Kingdom of Aquitaine,
an area which, owing to its geographic significance along the Atlantic coast, has at various times ruled itself, belonged to England, and/or
belonged to France.
As a result of this constant conflict, particularly the Wars of Religion that consumed the area from the 1500s to the early 1700s, it is very difficult to trace French families back before the time of Pierre's father, Antoine Micheau (1602-1662). We do know, however, that between battling armies, Richeleau's persecution of the Poitevin Protestants, and constant crop failures and food shortages, the region was in great turmoil, causing many young men and women to look to New France as a place of opportunity and advancement.
Pierre Micheau was one of these young men, and his life story in the New World follows....
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