The records show the origin of the Duyon/Duon family to have been of the highest nobility, and socially to be on par with the best families in France.
Pierre Duon and his brother Abel refused to sign a loyalty oath to the Monarch of England. That meant that they would have to go in the army and fight against there own people. Pierre was sent to South Hampton England and jailed. He later was sent to St. Marlo France. His brother was deported to Boston. In the 1700's England and France came to an agreement to allow the Arcadians to return to Nova Scotia.
Mathieu Duon's grandson Jean-Baptiste, the son of Jean-Louis was the first to arrive in Canada during the Arcadian period. In the years 1755-1778 the Expulsion of the Grand Derangement began. British soldiers separated families and put them on ships. Approximately 6,000 people of Arcadian origin were deported to areas such as: New England, Louisiana, France and England, to name a few. Some died at sea in shipwrecks. Many others went by land to Maine and Vermont.
From LeBlanc to White, Poirier to Perry, the Boudrot to Boudreau, many families changed their names. The Duon families had the most changes. The Duons in Louisiana kept the Duon name for two and one half generations and then changed to Duhon. The reason for this change has not been documented. Abel Duon settled in West Pubnico and his descendants changed to Deon. Pierre Duons decendents changed to DeYoung and Deon in Pomquiet. The Duyon families from Arichat were from Pomquet. They were the Duon, Deon, and Duon families. Their names were Deyoung changed to Duyon, probably by the Catholic priests from England, who replaced the French priests by order of the crown of England. The Queen of France gave Pierre Duon the title Sir Pierre Duon for his devotion to her country.
I'd like to thank the following people for their most valuable assistance over the last two years. Without their help and knowledge a Duon/Duyon family tree would not have been possible.
Stephen A. White Professor of Genealogy, Moncton University
Jeane Belford
Sheila DeYoung Honeycutt
Other sources: Notredame de L'Assumption Church Records
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