Marie-Thérèse Vianot (Vienneau), mother of New Brunswick Pinets (ca. 1740 - 1817)

Research and writing
Céline Pinet

Marie-Thérèse was born circa 1740 in France, the eldest child of Michel Vianot and Thérèse Baude from Saint-Martin de Bollene, France. Michel worked as a winemaker with his parents and Thérèse was shepherdess.

Michel and Thérèse were married around 1739. By 1750 several families, including that of Michel Vianot, left France in search of a promised land in Île Royale (Cap Breton), Acadia. The climate of uncertainty prevailing in Acadia is probably the reason why the ship transporting them did not make its way to Louisbourg but stopped in Maine for supplies and made a long detour to the St. Lawrence River towards Quebec City. The passengers landed there after several months of sailing. The family stayed in Quebec City for five or six years before relocating to Saint-Charles-de-Bellechasse where Michel was responsible for the maintenance of a grain mill. They had several children during this period.

It was in Saint-Charles-de-Bellechasse, that Pierre Pinet, a widower for eight months, married Marie-Thérèse on October 30th 1758. She was 18 years old. Pierre and Marie-Thérèse had 6 children before 1770. Three died as babies. On June 14th 1769, Michel, the last child of Michel and Thérèse, was buried in Quebec. Shortly after, the Vienneau family, accompanied by Pierre and Marie-Thérèse and their three children, left for Acadia. They settled on the banks of the St. John River (now Magerville to 14 miles from Fredericton). Five children were added to the Pinet family during their 18 year stay in that region. On July 1786, Pierre obtained a permit to settle in Upper Caraquet and April 27th 1787, Pierre, his son, Dominique and 10 others received a grant of 2,972 acres in Upper-Caraquet (Bertrand). They are the pioneers of that village.

Pierre was about 57 years when he moved to Bertrand in 1787. He died before his daughter Euphrosine’s wedding in 1792. Marie-Thérèse died on May 1817 at 77 years old.

Sources :
Bergeron, Adrien – Le grand arrangement des Acadiens au Québec
Caraquet, NB – Registre de la paroisse Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens
Dionne, Raoul – La colonisation acadienne au Nouveau-Brunswick (1760-1860)
Gaudet, Placide – Histoire de la paroisse de Cap-Pelé (Sur L’Empremier – vol. 2, no.1)
Hébert, Paul-Maurice – Les Acadiens de Québec
LeBlanc, Ronnie-Gilles
Pitre, Marie-Claire – Les Pays-Bas, histoire de la région Jemseg-Woodstock sur la rivière Saint Jean pendant la période française (1604-1759)
Thériault, Fidèle – Les familles de Caraquet, dictionnaire généalogique
White, Stephen - généalogiste au Centre d’Études Acadiennes