Dominique was born in 1731 on the shores of the Maccan River, near Amherst, Nova Scotia (Beaubassin). He was the son of Pierre Pothier and Marie Doucet. Dominique was not in the census of 1752. He was probably at Beaubassin with his father & mother. Dominique married Anne Surette at Petitcodiac, New Brunswick on July 23, 1753. The couple made their home on the left side of the same river, near Pre-d'en-Haut (present-day Memramcook), where their first son Sylvain, was born on December 8, 1754.
In 1755, Dominique was taken prisoner during the capture of Fort Beausejour. Dominique Pothier was not deported, but was held prisoner at Port Royal and escaped by digging his way out to freedom with a pocket knife on a stormy night in 1757. Dominique was among the 84 Acadians who escaped that night. They escaped to Cocagne, and then on to Bouctouche. His son, Charles-Amand was born there around 1758.
Dominique Pothier was among Acadians who surrendered to Commander Frye, at Fort Beausejour (Fort Cumberland) in the spring of 1760 & took an Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown. Dominique was listed with wife Anne Surette taking refuge at Fort Edward 1761-2.
In 1767 and 1768 Dominique lived in the Halifax area. On August 16, 1775, Ranald McKinnon granted him a parcel of land at Eel Brook, where he settled, and thus became the ancestor of the Pothiers of Yarmouth County.
A few years later his two sons, Sylvain and Charles-Amand settled in Wedgeport. Two other sons settled in Yarmouth County. Pierre-Paul, settled at Belleville, Yarmouth Co., and Jean-Baptiste who inherited the family homestead.
Dominique Pottier died February 7, 1818, at 87 years old; he was survived by his wife, Anne Surete. He was buried the next day at the old cemetery in Ste. Anne du Ruisseau, Nova Scotia
Note:SAR church records: Baptisms, marriages, and burials in a typed list generated from the church registers, and kept at the archives in the Tusket courthouse. There are no burials available from 1838 to 1859, as these records no longer exist at the church either. Records start at 1799 and are available slightly beyond 1900.
