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ALEXIS PARISH ;" ROLLO BAY

A BRIEF HISTORY.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ALEXIS FARISH

When in 1755 the dastardly edict went forth which commanded the the expulsion of the Acadians from Grand Pre on the shores of the Bay of Fundy, six families, more fortunate than the others, managed to keep together. They suspected treachery underlying Captain Murray 's proclamation which was set for them at Grand Pre, They did not repair to the church, but concealed themselves in the woods and from their hiding place they witnessed their homes burned and their flocks scattered, Having prepared some large canoes, they made their way across the strait to "lie Jean" and landed at Point Prim . These people were John and Ambrose Bourque and their families, Joseph Pitres and family, Honore Michel (Black smith) and wife, no family, — Leblanc and family, — Chaisson and family. When they arrived at Point Prim , they knelt down and gave thanks to God for having delivered out of the hands of their enemies, and for bringing to a place of refuge. After which, so tradition says, they made the best feast they could to cheer every¬ body. Finding after a short sojourn at Point Prim that they were net safe from the English, who at that time were stationed at Port-la-Joie, they took their canoes and paddled up to 3ay Fortune where they were joined by five or six families from Peter's Harbour.

These people had been suffering from the measles when their unfortunate countrymen were shipped from Peter's, and, being too ill to be moved, escaped expatriation. A few families of Chlveries, D 'Aigles, and others who were concealed or lived at Savage Harbour removed later to Little River to the south of Bay Fortune (Now ). During the first few few years that these Acadians spent in Bay Fortune they refused to take the oath of allegiance and were regarded as prisioners of war, Every Spring officers from Port-la-Joie would come in the name of the king to take account of the seed that they sowed and in th«. Autumn thes same licensed oppressors would arrive to relieve the poor Acadians of their hardly won crops, leaving them barely sufficient to sustain life throughtout the cruel winter.

Some of the women of Bay Fortune determined to evade the injusticej as fast as the grain was threshed, they would conceal a portion of it in their clothing and carry it away to the woods where they would hide it and thus secure an extra store. After some years, seeing that there was no other course open to them they submitted to the inevitable, took the oath of allegiance and wer$graciously permitted to have undisputed possession of the fruits of their industry. They, however, made one proviso, that they should never take up arms against the King of France,

In the year 1798, the proprietor of Lot 43, William Townshend , an Englishman, came to claim the land surrounding Bay Fortune , The Acadian settlers refused to acknowledge Mr Townshend 's claim to the land on the grounds of their being possessed of a letter of recommendation from the British officer xvho had administered to them the oath of allegiance. This paper specified that they were re-instated in their property as securely as when they held it under Louis XVT of France, The matter was taken to the courts and Mr Townshend wonj the Acadians were forced to leave Bay Fortune ,

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The greater number -went to , but about fourteen families 3ourques, Pitres , Chaissons and Peters removed to wh(;re they purchased lands from the late John Cmmbridge upon which they settled in the year 1801 or 1802. Two families of Longue-epee went to Souris , where the Chiveries of Little River removed some years later. The old burial ground at Bay Fortune is still discernible on the property of Mr Charles Aitken ,

There had been in the time of the French Occupation a Catholic Church at Bay Fortune , but it fell into ruins and was never replaced by the Acadians, 'Travelling missionaries frequently held stations in thesettlement in the house of Honore Michel who was a prosperous blacksmith without a family. The first priest of whom there is mention made as having served these Acadians is Monsieur Magdandj then came a Monsieur Ledru whose letters to the Bishop of Quebec may be seen in the Archives of the Diocese of Charlottetown .

After Monsieur Ledru 's departure the next priest to visit Bay Fortune was the Abbe de Calonne who, sent by the Bishop of Quebec to make Inquiries as to the state of the Church in lie Jean, established himself near Port-La-Joie, on what is now called the Warren Farms , whence he started on various missions throught- out the Island.

Soon after his arrival it chanced that one, Germain Chaisson , of

Bay Fortune fell ill of the small-pox, A messenger was dispatched

to Joie and the priest set out to administer the consol¬ ations of religion to the sick man.

There was no "royal road" to duty for the brother of a first minister of France, Through dense forests and treacherous togs, over meadows on which the summer sun beat piteously, across bays and rivers, on foot and by canoe the good priest pursued his weary way. When he arrived at Chalsson's house, he found the sick man almost smothered for want of air, and proceeded to give a lesson In hygiene by opening all doors and windows. Having revived the patient, he heard his confession and remained with him until his death which occured shortly after. This Germain Chaisson was considered quite a scholar in his day and was also a very good man, one who made a point of collecting the inhabitants of the settlement and reading the prayers of the Church to them on Sundays and rloly Days when they were without a priest. Naturally he was much esteemed and all his neighbours, protestant as well as catholic flocked to his funeral. The Abbe de Calonne seized the opportunity to preach a very clear and practical instruction over the grave, one which made a deep impression upon all who heard it, and of which their descendants talked about for years,

After the Abbe Calonne, came Abbe Gabriel Champion and then Father Aeneas Bernard MacEachern , afterwards first Bishop of Charlottetown , under whose direction was built the first log chapel in the year 180^. At this time there were but eighteen families in the parish and they all assisted in the building of the little church which was but thirty feet in length by twenty in

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breadth and twelve feet high, it was dedicated to Alexis by Bishop Plessis on July 17, lgi2, and stood down close to the shore beside the old burying ground where sleep the pioneer settlers of , There are no very old tombstones to be seen in this ancient cemetery5 those placed there in the early days were made of old red sand stone and have crumbled away.

The second church was built in 1824, The builder was Bartlett Dunphy. The third church was built in I653 by Lawrence Murphy and Lawrence Peters It stood on rising ground overlooking one cf the fairest landscapes of Prince Edward Island until it was replaced by the present inspiring structure in 1930. On this spot, the line of vision is broken by two beautiful bays, the points of land that separate them being high and well wooded in parts, while the farms thereon give evidence of great fertility. This church was sixty feet in length by forty-two in widths the height of the wall was twenty-two feet. Between 1870 and I872 a sanctuary and vestibule were added to it. The high altar which came from Montreal was delicately though profusely colored in blue and gold with touches of pink, grey, and brown, The frontal was carton plerre, a representation of the Last Supper In bas-relief, Above the altar was a fine stained-glass window representing the Holy Family, (Ihis window is now above the altar in New Zealand Mission Church which was built in 1932 to servo the people of that area,).

The cemetery of is considered oy some to be one of the most beautiful on the Island, It lies to the east of the church and is shaded by many graceful white birch trees. The monument to Reverend Edward Walker , D,D. who served as pastor for forty-six years adds grace and beauty to this city of the Dead,

This parish possesses several relics of the past, the dearest among them which is the bell, Long ago in the dim past the English govern¬ ment being determined to get rid of the French Inhabitants of the then populous little town of Pierre situated on the harbour of that name, sent three hundred of the French adrift in a leaky vessel avowedly with the intention of transporting them to France, Before . leaving, these poor people as was the custom of the Acadians buried such things as they considered too sacred to fall into the hands of the English, among which was their church bell. In 1870 a Mr Garret Barry of Peter's Harbour while ploughing in his field struck some object that gave a metallic .soun^ and which proved to be the bell of the old church of Pierre which had lain unharmed in the earth for ome hundred fifteen years, Mr Barry presented his treasure trove to the parishioners of Morell who exchanged it for a new bell with the people of , The old relic was rapturously welcomed by the descendants of its first owners and was trilled by kindness. Everybody wanted to ring it and everybody did ring it; in consequence it was oroken and had to be ecast. In 1882 it was placed in the tower of the old church and, when the present church was built, it was placed in its tower there to call the faithful to Mass and devotions,

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■The bell has *he following Inscription!

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Jesu + fene + Joseph nP , Cosse n*a faite, Tdchelin, 1723. + En 1870 J »al ete retiree des ruir.es d'un acien village Acadien, I. P. E. 'in 1882 les paroissiens de m'ont fait refrondre par .leneely et cie de , jj, y on SOuvenir de leurs Ancetres dc l'Acadie."

The Priests who have served in the parish of Alexis since the tine of Bishop Aeneas Bernard fecSachern arei Reverend Jean Louise Beaubien

Joseph Etienne Cecile Antoine Gosselin Williar: Bernard MacLeod John 1-ss.c Donald R. IficFhee Francis MacDonald Dugald IJacDonald Donald P. MacDonald Edward Walker

Reverend Reginald MacDonald Louis Callaghan Alphcnsus L. Slnnott David McTague Wilfred A. Keefe

The Reverend Dr. Edward Walker was the first resident priest and he built the present parochial house. There is in this day no vestige nor nark of the trials through which the pioneer settlers passedj° their descendants live in peace and plenty, drawing harvests from land and sea and adhering strictly to that faith for which their forefathers suffered in the cruel days of old.

The following were the first settlers of the mission of Alexis, , Paul Fitres , Joseph Pitres , William Pitres , Joseph Bourke , 61son bourke, L 'Aumant Chaisson, Raphael Ghaisson , Jean Chaisson . Jean Longue epee, Jean D »Aigle, Charles D'Aigle

N « B, This was copied from a history of the Church written by Rev, A. E. Burke, D ,D,, in 1885, and updated by the lat« Profess or Henri Blanchard , of Prince of Wales College, and published in the Charlottetown Guardian in 1954, A few words have been added.

A. M , D. G .

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