FrancoAmerican Gravy: Family History & Stories from Upstate New York, Quebec and Acadia

Stories of family and ancestors who lived and worked in Cohoes (textile and garment workers, butchers and barbers), Waterford (canalers), Whitehall (farmers and canalers), Port Henry (iron miners and Civil War soldiers), Champlain (canalers and farmers) and other towns along the Champlain Canal in New York State with some diversions to the places they emigrated from....Quebec (landless farmers, shoemakers, sailors, soldiers), Acadia (more farmers), and even Cornwall, England (tin miners).

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Acadians, not Cajuns, in our Families

FrancoAmerican Gravy Family,
Now that I have posted entries about the Acadian people and their expulsion from the lands now called Nova Scotia, I hope you are starting to get the picture that you have some Acadian ancestors. The story of our Acadian forefathers and foremothers is important. Although the Acadian Expulsion occurred over 250 years ago, the story is repeated in today's headline news in every corner of the world. The Acadians in the Mylott, Wills and Rivet families remained in the northeast - Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Brunswick until they could safely make their way into Québec. They did not end up in Louisiana.

When my mom read the poem Evangeline to me when I was in grammar school, she told me was a love story about a woman who lost her true love and found him in the last moments of his life. Although many times their life paths almost crossed, they never touched again until the last lines of the poem. In some ways just like the poem, I am writing these stories now so you will know them before it is too late! The love story of Evangeline and Gabriel takes second seat to the greater story in the poem - the expulsions of the Acadian people and their suffering. They endured and because they did, we are here today. The families in this blog came form Québec and upstate New York. If circumstances were slightly different I would be writing from Louisiana as a Cajun descendant instead of as an Acadian descendant in the northeast!

Below is a recap of the stories written about Acadians in this blog so far. This list includes some early posts that may not have been well researched but I am reviewing them for accuracy and hope they will "make the cut"!

Acadian Update 2016

Acadians, not Cajuns, in our Families

Acadians in the Mylott-Glode Family

Acadians in the Rivet Family