My earliest memories and only childhood memories of New York State are of peaks and valleys: a family trip to Whiteface Mountain and Ausable Chasm. Eventually I would see New York City, Jamestown, Little Falls, Troy, Whitehall, Ticonderoga… the list goes on (though Watkins Glen remains obstinately on the bucket list). Only recently did I […]
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La Saint-Jean-Baptiste chez les Franco-Américains (1945-1956)
Pour une mise en contexte par rapport à l’histoire franco-américaine, consultez mon billet détaillant les grandes lignes de ce passé ou encore mon survol du parcours politique des « Francos ». Il y a quelques années, il a été question ici même des gigantesques défilés de la fête de Saint Jean-Baptiste en Nouvelle-Angleterre à la fin du […]
Continue readingThe Lost Wor(l)ds of Franco-America
This post marks the fifth anniversary of this Franco-American history blog. Sincere thanks to everyone who has read, encouraged, and supported its research and reflections. The author delivered the following remarks as the opening lecture of the University of Maine at Fort Kent’s Scholars Symposium on April 26, 2022. The transcript appeared in the summer […]
Continue readingFlashpoint: Fall River
October 25, 1881: one of the best-known dates in the history of New England Franco-Americans. It was on that day that community leaders appeared before Carroll D. Wright, a Massachusetts civil servant whose latest report had represented French-Canadian migrants as “the Chinese of the Eastern States.” Ferdinand Gagnon, Hugo Dubuque, and other “influencers” answered Wright’s […]
Continue readingHistoire des Franco-Américains : Un survol
Les résidentes et les résidents des États-Unis qui déclarent des origines françaises se comptent par millions. Pensons à la population huguenote installée en Amérique du Nord à l’époque coloniale et dont l’empreinte culturelle s’est largement effacée. Plusieurs grandes villes du pays reçoivent plus tard des gens venus directement de l’Hexagone. La Louisiane, le seul état […]
Continue readingA Vindication of Franco-Americans
There is nothing more interesting and, at the same time, more heartening than a reading of the slim volume that Mr. Chandonnet has published at Desbarats. Our exiled compatriots have been so maligned; it has been so often said that on setting foot on foreign soil, they lose all memory of their God and their […]
Continue readingThose Other Franco-Americans: New Bedford, Part II
This week we resume and conclude our overview of New Bedford’s Franco-American history. See Part I here. Franco-Americans’ institutional network continued to grow in the 1890s and early 1900s. The Francs-Tireurs, one of the earliest and largest fraternal and cultural societies in New Bedford, played a significant role in community building. Other groups appeared in […]
Continue readingThose Other Franco-Americans: New Bedford, Part I
New Bedford gets a raw deal. Its Franco-Americans even more so. The city is known for its whaling history and images straight out of Moby Dick—rough, hardy Yankee whalers who in time passed the torch to Portuguese fishermen. Seafarers are more compelling, more romantic figures, we might suppose, than mill workers, whatever their ethnic background. […]
Continue readingReview: Schubart, The Lamoille Stories
Book Review Bill Schubart. The Lamoille Stories: Uncle Benoit’s Wake and Other Tales from Vermont. Hinesburg: Magic Hill Press, 2013 [2008]. Yet, the rural Franco-Vermonters have a sense of their identity as French people, both those who live on family-owned farms, and those who live in mini-mill towns like Beecher Falls. The French-Vermonter’s identity is […]
Continue readingVisions of Kerouac
This is no ordinary mois de la francophonie. This month marks the centennial of Jack Kerouac’s birth. The anniversary provides the opportunity to assess the legacy of the celebrated author and Franco-American icon—a legacy that should be explored in its full complexity, from Kerouac’s personal weaknesses to his pioneering work. We should hope that renewed […]
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