Article published in Richard A. Davies (Ed.), The Haliburton Bi-centenary Chaplet, Papers presented at the 1996 Thomas Raddall Symposium, (Wolfville, NS: Gaspereau Press, 1997) 165-176.

This paper intends first to introduce Abbé Sigogne, with whom Thomas Chandler Haliburton became acquainted early in his public life, and then to document the friendly and collaborative association that developed between the two. This is what Haliburton had to say about Sigogne :

Go to the Township of Clare [... and] visit their worthy Priest at the rising of the sun and you will see him surrounded by his little flock, returning thanks to the giver of all good things; follow him to the bed of sickness and see him pouring the balm of consolation into the wounds of the afflicted; follow him into the field, and you will find him setting an example of industry to this people; to his closet and you will find him instructing the innocence of youth; to his Chapel and you will see the wild untutored savage gushing from the forest, with all his fierce and untamed passions, stand awed and subdued in the presence of the holy man. You will hear him teach him to know the presence of his God in the silence and solitude of the wilderness, in the rush of the cataract, in the order and beauty of the planetary system, and in the diurnal and salutary change of night and day. That savage fails not in the gratitude of his heart to thank his God that the white man had taught him the light of revelation in the dialect of the Indian.⁽¹⁾

This much-quoted praise of Sigogne is from Haliburton's oration to the House of Assembly on 26 February 1827. Beamish Murdoch writes in his History of Nova Scotia : "This speech was the most splendid piece of declamation that it has ever been my fortune to listen to."⁽²⁾ (return from 2) It produced a unanimous resolution in favor of the Catholic petition to end the test oath for Catholics. What is particularly interesting in this matter is not so much the successful removal of the test oath, but Haliburton's personal remarks about Sigogne. He wrote to Sigogne on 10 March 1827, that he had supported the resolution for two reasons : first, because "his judgement and feelings both concurred in it and secondly, ... (he appreciated) the unanimous support of all (his) people."⁽³⁾ (return from 3) They had treated Haliburton, as he says, "in a manner so cordial and so friendly that I shall ever retain a most grateful remembrance of it."⁽⁴⁾ (return from 4) In Haliburton's election to the House only a few months before, the people of Clare had been "an important factor in the county vote",⁽⁵⁾ (return from 5) under Sigogne's influence voting overwhelmingly in favor of Haliburton. Yet, in spite of that unanimous support and in spite of Haliburton's intimate friendship with Sigogne --- or as Blake Crofton puts it, Haliburton's "affectionate intercourse"⁽⁶⁾ (return from 6) with Sigogne --- the Acadians had not tried to influence Haliburton's vote on the test act. The petition he defended was in his own judgement worth defending. He knew that, as he wrote to Sigogne, had he been unable to support the petition, Sigogne and his Acadians would have received him with the same kindness and respect they had previously accorded him. Haliburton argues that the bond of friendship between himself and Sigogne had been cast in such a strong mold that even an issue of this magnitude would not have divided them.

Why had Haliburton been so forceful in defending this petition ? He took an hour or more to explain his reason. Basically, he explained: "Every man had a right to participate in the civil government of that country of which he is a member ... without taking any test oath, unless these oaths were necessary for the safety of the government."⁽⁷⁾ (return from 7) The second part of the syllogism, as Haliburton called it, was that the imposition of test oaths on Catholics was not necessary for the safety of the government. It followed therefore that the test oaths should be removed.That was the gist of his argument. His long eulogy of Sigogne, therefore, was being made in an effort to authenticate the minor proposition of that syllogism. If the Acadians had such a faithful pastor, such a valiant defender of their cause, such an ardent arbitrator in their slow but progressive fight to re-establish themselves in a foreign land, so to speak, although it had once been their own, would there be any justification for continuing the test act ?

(II)

I would like to explain briefly who Haliburton's "worthy priest" was and why he deserved this unpatronizing commendation by Haliburton before the House of Assembly. Haliburton boasted of "being in habits of intimacy and friendship for many years [...] with this venerable and excellent pastor".⁽⁸⁾ (return from 8) His name was Jean Mandé Sigogne.

In London, in 1799, Father Sigogne received his call to the then remote and undeveloped mission field in south-west Nova Scotia. Sigogne was born in 1763 in a small French village just east of Tours, called Beaulieu-lès-Loches. He was educated in the classics, and then studied theology at the Grand Séminaire in Tours. At the age of 24, he was ordained within that diocese and went about quite happily exercising his ministry as curate until the astronomical upheaval of the French Revolution overtook even his small parish of Manthelan.

Sigogne's father adopted the republican philosophy, thus seriously complicating the son's life. Even worse, as a priest, he had personally to choose between the conservative politics of the Church of Rome and the radical ideology of the Republicans. Because he remained staunchly faithful to the Pope, he was, in 1791, divested of his priestly functions. He remained in his parish for some time and practised his ministry in hiding, out of fear of being beheaded. In the summer of 1792, the unrelenting national turmoil and personal danger drove him to England, as it did many of the French clergy.

In England, Sigogne learned to speak and write English fluently, as is evident from his English correspondence. English was his sixth tongue;⁽⁹⁾ (return from 9) later in Nova Scotia, he added his seventh, Mi'kmaq, in order to better serve a people who were dear to his heart. After seven years in exile, his chief ambition was to resume his priestly duties. Details of his selection for the pastoral mission in Nova Scotia remain unclear.⁽¹⁰⁾ (return from 10) We know that Sigogne left England on 14 April 1799. His 59 days at sea ended with a close call in a storm off Halifax harbour on 12 June.⁽¹¹⁾ (return from 11)

After his arrival in south-west Nova Scotia on 4 July 1799, Sigogne spent his remaining 45 years -- he died in November 1844 -- serving the Acadian and the Mi'kmaq peoples. His mission field encompassed two large parishes. His base was both at Sainte-Marie (Pointe-de-l'Église/Church Point) in the District of Clare, and at Sainte-Anne-du-Ruisseau, some 80 kilometres south of Church Point, in the Municipality of Argyle. This was the heartland of Acadian resettlement in Nova Scotia, and it had been without a resident priest since the return of the deportees after 1755.

(III)

The Haliburton and Sigogne relationship was three-tiered : its first stage included that unspecified period ending around 1823, and is related to the great 1820 fire in Clare. During this period the two first made their acquaintance. The second stage began in 1823 and ended about 1827, when Haliburton was elected to the House of Assembly. The last stage, after 1827, was when the two friends collaborated on several humanitarian projects.

As a young lawyer settling in Annapolis Royal in the summer of 1821, Haliburton became acquainted, likely through mutual friends, with this legendary priest who travelled great distances to administer sacraments to his faithful. Archival documents show that Sigogne trekked out on horseback and every other means to visit distant areas of his pastoral mission. Baptismal records for the Digby and Granville area indicate that he christened there many Mi'kmaq and white people as early as 1801.⁽¹²⁾ (return from 12) Haliburton had many reasons to seek out, very soon after he settled in Annapolis Royal, this remarkable pastor, whom he later described in such ideal terms, almost as if Sigogne were a remnant of a past golden age.

Haliburton knew Judge Peleg Wiswall, in Digby, as evident from Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia, and Wiswall knew Sigogne. They corresponded as early as 1823, sharing their concerns about the Mi'kmaq in the Annapolis and Bear River area, about schools for Acadians and about an exchange of reading materials and gifts.⁽¹³⁾ (return from 13) Early in 1806, Sigogne was appointed justice of the peace for Annapolis county, so he often had occasion to consult Wiswall, as well as Haliburton, to get advice on the legal matters of those he called his "children".⁽¹⁴⁾ (return from 14) Haliburton probably met Sigogne through this mutual collaborator, Judge Wiswall. Although the first correspondence found between Haliburton and Sigogne is dated 5 September 1825, it is clear that the two knew and corresponded before that date. Haliburton's 1825 letter is a response to one from Sigogne, indicating a previous and on-going communication; he informs Sigogne that, while recently in Halifax Haliburton met friends of Sigogne who inquired of his health. This was in reference to Sigogne's close call with death during that great fire of 1820 in Clare, which claimed many houses, barns, the church, the glebe and, sadly, many documents which might have shed light on this period of Acadian history. While trying to save documents and holy objects from the church, Sigogne received severe burns on his face and right hand; these kept him in bed for a month under the care of a physician. He was out of circulation for almost three months.⁽¹⁵⁾ (return from 15)

In preparing his General Description of Nova Scotia, (1823), Haliburton probably did not consult Sigogne. The work was general in scope, referring only to the Acadians, their customs, their religion and such. Nothing indicates that Sigogne advised Haliburton about any of these matters. Later, in the preparation of his Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia (1829), there is ample evidence that Sigogne played some part in providing information to Haliburton. This publication provides a more detailed account of the various areas of the province. The single most convincing argument that he consulted with Sigogne in the description of Clare consists of the statistics supplied by the parish register of Sainte-Marie. Haliburton tabulates for six consecutive years, 1818 through 1823, the vital statistics of this parish under Sigogne's charge. These records no longer exist today; they were destroyed, possibly in that great fire of 1820. The only way for Haliburton to have obtained these statistics is from the parish records, and these were controlled by Sigogne. We can therefore argue that the friendship between Haliburton and Sigogne evolved almost immediately after Haliburton's arrival in Annapolis Royal in 1821.

Haliburton's letters to Sigogne are a fertile source of information about their relationship. In the one dated 5 September 1825, Haliburton advises Sigogne in a dispute between two parish landowners who are seeking justice through the courts. This is not the only case in which Haliburton counseled Sigogne about litigations between his parishioners. In another letter, dated 1827, Haliburton tells Sigogne to consult volume one of the provincial laws, "an act for punishing criminal offenders"; Sigogne may thus exercise his powers as justice of the peace and "give speedy justice [with] a cheap mode of getting at it".⁽¹⁶⁾ (return from 16) In both letters, 1825 and 1827, Haliburton cautions the Acadians, through Sigogne, that they should not, at any cost, have recourse to the civil courts in order to reach a settlement. "Law is extremely expensive",⁽¹⁷⁾ (return from 17) he writes, so he would rather see them "settle their suits at home". How interesting that Haliburton should be advising Sigogne and his parishioners to avoid litigation in court, in effect doing exactly what the curate, Father Félicien, had done in Longfellow's Évangéline. Sigogne had been recommending precisely that, the avoidance of legal conflict, to his parishioners ever since his arrival, though obviously not always with success. On numerous occasions, the peaceful pastor deplores to his bishop the divisive litigations among his parishioners, his recommendations to the contrary not withstanding.⁽¹⁸⁾ (return from 18) Also, as early as 1799, a few short months after arriving among the Acadians, Sigogne had convinced them formally to accept and sign a contract regulating their social and religious behavior. Quasi judicial in nature, this remarkable social contract regulates, in 28 articles, numerous areas of daily social eventualities. Articles 8 to 12 are explicit about avoiding the civil courts to settle differences among themselves. A kind of court based on Christian charity is recommended instead, involving elected elders, the priest and even, if needs be, the bishop. The regulations allow recourse to courts of justice only as a last resort, and then chiefly in cases where "strangers to the Catholic faith" or outsiders are involved (Articles 13 to 16). In these cases, Christian means of reconciliation must be taken first. Where the Catholic party is too poor to obtain proper representation of legal rights in a civil court, "the parish shall assist him".

Haliburton's advise to avoid civil suits, therefore, did not fall on deaf ears, as far as Sigogne was concerned. Yet for his parishioners, it was another matter. The outcome of the case referred to in Haliburton's 1825 letter is uncertain. Apparently it was settled out of court. It is also difficult to conjecture what happened in the case referred to in the 1827 letter in which Haliburton writes: "Tibido (Thibodeau) has complained to me of some scandalous reports spread by one of Amero's (Amirault) daughters concerning a child of his and requested me to bring a suit thereon."⁽¹⁹⁾ (return from 19) Strangely enough, Sigogne had written in 1816 about a case with a plot very much like that described by Haliburton in 1827. Its scenario went this way: a young woman, 16 or 17 years of age, had come to Sigogne accusing a certain young man of being the father of her yet unborn child. She alleged that the young man, in getting his way with her, had promised her marriage. A few days later, after the rumor had spread, she returned to Sigogne and retracted her story. Sigogne did not treat this kind of situation lightly; he ordered the young woman to beg forgiveness from the young man, on her knees, in front of the full congregation assembled for service the following Sunday. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the man was not completely satisfied with this apology. Enticed by his entourage, he threatened to take revenge and bring it to court. Dismayed but not undaunted, Sigogne had to intervene again. This time he spoke harshly from the pulpit in an effort to quell the escalating drama. The parishioners naturally took sides along the lines of neighbourhood and extended families. The affair subsided temporarily, but flared-up again, and finally it ended up in civil court. Sigogne did not report the outcome of the case, as it was undoubtedly an embarrassing no-win situation. Dispirited, he sadly reported to the bishop that this incident not only created divisions among his people, but it also alienated many of his faithful from the Church and the sacraments. ⁽²⁰⁾ (return from 20)

Is it possible that this affair reported in 1816 by Sigogne might be the same case as referred to by Haliburton in 1827? Was there an error in the date of Haliburton's letter making it 1827 instead of 1817? Or, if not, was it a typical and recurring incident among Sigogne's flock, (revealing not only their sexual behavior but their propensity to seek litigation at all costs)? These questions have to remain unanswered for the time being. Clearly these documents suggest that the parishioners of Sigogne were somewhat litigious and that both Sigogne and Haliburton preferred for them to settle differences among themselves and to avoid unnecessary personal expenses and divisions.

(IV)

It is easy to imagine a further basis of affinity in thought and attitudes between Haliburton and Sigogne. The influence of the period during which Haliburton grew up and his education in "the tory Anglican establishment"⁽²¹⁾ (return from 21) made him a strong believer and supporter of this establishment and a proponent of Toryism. He supported the authority of the reigning regent over Parliament and wanted to preserve the existing social and political order.⁽²²⁾ (return from 22) Sigogne, likewise, preached a civil obedience that sounds like Toryism. On numerous occasions, this pacifist reminded his flock that saving their own souls required that they submit themselves to social order and civil authorities on earth. Actually, entire sermons were devoted to indoctrinating his parishioners in these beliefs. "We must obey", he said, "the powers established by God Himself, and he who refuses this obedience certainly exposes himself to damnation in refusing He who commands it."⁽²³⁾ (return from 23)

This recurring theme in Sigogne's teaching reflected accurately the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada at the time. A particularly strong message in this regard was sent to the Maritime Acadians in 1766 by the then bishop of Quebec, Mgr. Briand.⁽²⁴⁾ (return from 24) Sigogne no doubt recalled vividly the troubles in his native France during the French Revolution, of which he was in many ways a victim. The civil order had been totally disrupted by Republicans and that regent had been beheaded. Such extreme turmoil had begun, Sigogne told his faithful, when self-proclaimed philosophers and so-called reformers --- followers of Rousseau and Voltaire, whom he considered the most hypocritical of all --- spread antisocial maxims and antireligious principles through their seditious writings.⁽²⁵⁾ (return from 25) Sigogne would not let the same thing happen among his people here in Nova Scotia. On many occasions, Sigogne is reported to have lead faithful in prayers for the King, the Governor, etc.⁽²⁶⁾ (return from 26) He was continually exhorting his people to remain faithful to their pledge of allegiance to the Crown and to his representative.⁽²⁷⁾ (return from 27) Sigogne was grateful to the English, and he remembered their kindness during his seven-year exile in Great Britain, as well as the many favors extended to him by the governors of Nova Scotia after his arrival.⁽²⁸⁾ (return from 28)

Sigogne and Haliburton, it would seem, collaborated together because they shared common and fundamental values rooted in the past. Yet neither of them was prepared to accept the status quo in all things. Well educated and capable of critical thought, they were ready to initiate projects aimed at social progress where and when harmful conditions existed or disadvantaged people were in need. One such condition was the plight of the Mi'kmaq people, who lived in a deplorable situation in many respects. Early in 1820, under the direction of Judge Wiswall --- but also with the interest and encouragement of Haliburton --- Sigogne started a project to establish an Indian reserve at Bear River.⁽²⁹⁾ (return from 29) Their intent was to have houses built, plots to sow, and a chapel with a burial ground for the Mi'kmaq people to call their own. In a letter dated 23 January 1827, Haliburton acknowledged Sigogne's efforts and expenses to relieve this people from their poverty and neglect: "by far too much for any individual", as he said. He promised to take the matter up with Sir James, which he did, and which proved to be successful as indicated in a letter dated 10 March 1827. Haliburton writes to Sigogne that Sir James "is fully aware and duly appreciates the laborious, undeviating and zealous exertions you have ever made for their religious instructions."⁽³⁰⁾ (return from 30) Soon afterwards, in the late 1820s, a section of land was granted for the Mi'kmaq people in the Bear River and Annapolis area. In 1831, a grant of £100 was made available for the construction of a chapel. Thus the collaboration of humanitarians like Wiswall, Haliburton, and Sigogne in seeking to improve the conditions of the Mi'kmaq people at Bear River began to bear fruit.

In those trying times for the Acadians, who were still returning from exile, the influence of Haliburton, Wiswall, and Sigogne --- remarkably all strangers in their own way to the Acadian people --- helped them stand up in defence of their rights. Although Haliburton moved on in his career, his friendship remained strong with Sigogne, who continued in his own chosen career until his death in 1844.

NOTES

(1) "Provincial Legislature, Monday, February 26", Supplement to the Novascotian 1 March 1827.(return to 1)

(2) Beamish Murdoch, A History of Nova Scotia or Acadie, vol. 3 (Halifax, NS: James Barnes, 1867) 577.(return to 2)

(3) Thomas Chandler Haliburton, letter to Jean Mandé Sigogne, 10 March 1827, Burke Papers, vol. I, no. 40, Archives of the Archdiocese of Halifax (AAH). (return to 3)

(4) Burke Papers, vol. 1, no. 40, AAH.(return to 4)

(5) Brian Cuthbertson, Johnny Bluenose at the Polls (Halifax, NS: Formac, 1994) 146.(return to 5)

(6) See F. Blake Crofton, Proceedings of THE HALIBURTON of the University of King's College, no. 1, Haliburton : The Man and the Writer, (Windsor, NS: J. J. Anslow, 1889) 17. Crofton writes : "In ... many other of his utterances Mr. Hopewell is evidently voicing the Judge's own views, tinctured by his affectionate intercourse with the venerable Abbé Ségogne (sic), an exile of the Revolution."(return to 6)

(7) Supplement to the Novascotian, 1 March 1827, 77.(return to 7)

(8) Supplement 77.(return to 8)

(9) Jean Mandé Sigogne letter to Gallicher, 19 August 1816, CN-2-19, Centre d'études acadiennes (CÉA). Languages known to Sigogne on his arrival in Nova Scotia were French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and English ; he claims to have known a sixth one which has as yet not been identified. He clearly indicates in the letter that the Mi'kmaq language is his seventh learned.(return to 9)

(10) Gérald C. Boudreau, Le père Sigogne et les Acadiens du sud-ouest de la Nouvelle-Écosse (Montréal: Bellarmin, 1992) 59-65.(return to 10)

(11) "Journal de l'Abbé J. M. Sigogne. De Londres à Halifax sur le brig Stag, en 1799", L'Évangéline 30 October 1890:1-2. This diary gives a detailed and revealing account of Sigogne's trans-Atlantic voyage to Nova Scotia.(return to 11)

(12)"Un manuscrit de l'abbé Sigogne", L'Évangéline 30 décembre 1897.(return to 12)

(13) Public Archives of Nova Scotia (PANS), MG 1, vol. 979, F8/1.(return to 13)

(14) PANS, RG 1, vol. 172, 155.(return to 14)

(15) Sigogne, letter to Plessis, 14 October 1820, Archives de l'archevêché de Québec (AAQ), 312 CN, Nouvelle-Écosse, V:78; also 22 January 1821, V:79.(return to 15)

(16) Haliburton, letter to Sigogne, 8 June 1827, PANS, MG 1, vol. 1693, no. 10A.(return to 16)

(17) Haliburton, letter to Sigogne, 5 September 1825, Edwards Collection of Canadiana, Acadia University Library.(return to 17)

(18) Sigogne, letter to Plessis, 20 November 1816, and 14 October 1817, AAQ, 312 CN, Nouvelle-Écosse, V:73 and V:75.(return to 18)

(19) Haliburton, letter to Sigogne, 18 June 1827, PANS, MG 1, vol. 1693, no. 10A.(return to 19)

(20) Sigogne, letter to Plessis, 20 November 1816, AAQ, 312 CN, Nouvelle-Écosse, V:73.(return to 20)

(21) "Haliburton, Thomas Chandler", DCB, vol. 9, 348-357.(return to 21)

(22)"Tory" in The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 1968 ed.(return to 22)

(23) Sigogne, "Avis au peuple", sermon, 29 March 1808, CÉA, CN-2-44, 1.(return to 23)

(24) Pastoral letter, 16 August 1766, AAQ, 20 A, Évêques de Québec, I:106.(return to 24)

(25) CÉA, CN-2-43, 3-4.(return to 25)

(26) Sigogne, special prayer for the Monarch, the Governor, etc, NAC, Sigogne Papers, vol. 2, MG 23 C-10, Abrégé du Prône, 8-9.(return to 26)

(27) "Avis au peuple", 1: "J'espère ... que vous ne donnerez jamais de scandale à notre église & à la foi Catholique que de manquer de fidélité en démentant ces promesses & en vous rendant coupables de désobéissance & d'infidélité à l'égard de la puissance ou du gouvernement à qui vous avez juré obéissance de si bonne volonté & avec un zèle si prompt il y a près de cinq ans."(return to 27)

(28) Sigogne, letter to the Committee of the Shelburne Temperance Convention, published in the Yarmouth Herald on 25 December 1835, dated 5 November 1835, "I, with a particular pleasure and gratitude, remember the many proofs of attention and esteem I have received from the English people since I am in the country."(return to 28)

(29) See Gérald C. Boudreau, "The Nujjinen of the Mi'kmaq People and the Construction of their Chapel at Bear River, Nova Scotia", in Nova Scotia Historical Review, 16.1, (1996): 7-20.(return to 29)

(30) Haliburton, letter to Sigogne, 10 March 1827, AAH, Burke Papers, vol. I, no. 40.(return to 30)

Home Page

Page d'accueil

Write to the author of this page.

pour écrire à l'auteur de cette page.