An earlier version of this essay appeared in the spring/summer 2025 issue of Le Forum, the quarterly publication of the Franco-American Centre (University of Maine). Please cite appropriately, and please consider supporting the Franco-American Centre. * * * A man named Michaud graced the first page of the Boston Daily Globe on July 29, 1903. […]
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Bad History
A new academic year is upon us and, with it, new opportunities to expand our field of knowledge. In history, as in all disciplines, research comes with potential pitfalls. Trained historians, though imperfect, quickly learn to avoid conceptual and methodological missteps. Problems are more frequent when practitioners of other disciplines or casual writers attempt to […]
Continue readingVoting as a Franco-American in the 1930s
In appreciation of those who have followed and supported Query the Past, I am pleased to share another translated excerpt of “Tout nous serait possible”: Une histoire politique des Franco-Américains, 1874-1945, the first regional synthesis of Franco-Americans’ political involvement. The excerpt below takes us into the messy politics of the Great Depression. * * * […]
Continue readingVermont’s Ladies of St. Anne (1919-1940)
Between emergent historical research, the state-appointed Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the upcoming PoutineFest, interest in Vermont’s French heritage appears to be ticking in the right direction. Those wishing to learn more should consider attending the Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society’s annual conference in South Burlington on September 27. Vermont PoutineFest will be held the next […]
Continue readingPapa Michaud Was a Rolling Stone
Michaud: it’s a common name. Statistics published several decades ago ranked it among the 50 most common surnames in Quebec—ahead of Desjardins, Parent, Charbonneau, and Lacroix. Just across the border, it outnumbered all other names in the early records of the Fort Kent, Maine, Catholic parish. Michauds are still present all across the Upper St. […]
Continue readingThe Cultural Ecosystem
In May, the Acadian Archives in Fort Kent hosted ten visitors from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York for a two-day cultural tour of the St. John Valley. Most of these visitors were in the Valley for the first time; they discovered the region’s physical and cultural landscape through its historic sites. The group’s […]
Continue readingFreddie, We Hardly Know Ye
In some Franco-American circles, nearly 140 years after his death, Ferdinand Gagnon still benefits from instant name recognition. Gagnon was an ardent defender of French-Canadian culture in the United States and he became known as the father of the Franco-American press. He founded and edited Le Travailleur in Worcester, Massachusetts; this was one of the […]
Continue readingThose Other Franco-Americans: Tupper Lake in 1900
This post is inspired by conversations with historian Jason Newton, who recently published an op-ed on New York State French Canadians in Albany’s Times Union. * * * Demars. Facteau. Boyer. Vachereau. Bushey. From local street names, an attentive visitor would quickly recognize a historic French-Canadian presence in Tupper Lake, New York. As in countless […]
Continue readingNotes from a So-Called Artificial Country
Canada’s forty-fifth general election concluded on April 28. Though the margin was relatively slim from a historical standpoint and this will again be a minority Parliament, the Liberal Party increased both its popular support and its seat count. Prime Minister Mark Carney will likely hold the reins of power until the New Democratic Party selects […]
Continue readingSurvivance as a Phase
Many important works of Franco-American history—local studies, surveys, biographies, etc.—have appeared in the last decade. Researchers who are engaged in scholarship have their own, slightly forbidding arena in the form of academic journals. Typically, broader perspectives on the United States’ French universe from non-historians have been accessible online or in occasional in-person events, with few […]
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