MOREAU
MOREAU is a common French name found at New Orleans, Pointe Coupee, Mobile, Avoyelles, and other locations. Of interest here is a Joseph Valentin Moreau because his descendants can be found in large numbers across Avoyelles Parish.
Joseph Valentin Moreau was born one of twelve children to Louis Moreau and Catherine Bonhomme. He was baptized at Sillery, Quebec, Canada, on July 2, 1709. During his early years, he was employed as a crewman on trading canoes which traveled from Quebec to outlying settlements in Canada and as far as Louisiana. Joseph Valentin seems to have married and lived in Illinois.
Records then show where he was a resident of Mobile where he was married to Marie Jeanne LaFleur. Sometime between 1765 and 1770, Joseph and his family moved from Mobile to the Opelousas Post presumably to avoid living under British rule after the French and Indian War. He died at Opelousas on March 11, 1782. Marie Jeanne died there also in 1803.
Joseph and Marie were known to have had eight children. Pierre Celestin Moreau is of special interest because he was the progenitor of the large Moreau family of Avoyelles Parish. Pierre and his family can be placed at Bayou Rouge prairies in Avoyelles as early as 1795.