For this series, I am indebted to the staff of Dimond Library at the University of New Hampshire; the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester; and Lise Moran of the Whitefield Historical Society. All shared valuable documentary resources on the history of Whitefield. Every research project begins with a spark and mine came, oh, let’s say, […]
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Research Note: Detroit’s Grand Old Man
Edouard Lacroix: it’s a common name. When I moved to the St. John Valley, I was regularly asked whether I was related to Edouard Lacroix. Also known as “King” Lacroix, this fellow, a Beauceron, served in Quebec’s legislative assembly and played an essential part in the development of the Allagash region. His lumber interests were […]
Continue readingMigrant Families: Quebec to New Hampshire
In Query the Past’s last post, we explored the history of Newmarket, New Hampshire, as an industrial and post-industrial town. From the 1870s to the 1920s, opportunities in manufacturing attracted hundreds of French Canadians. These migrants laid the basis for a lasting Franco-American presence that endures to this day. The present blog post provides brief […]
Continue readingIt Happened in Newmarket
Only several times in its venerable existence has this blog grazed the Franco-American communities of New Hampshire’s Seacoast region. We have learned about Exeter residents Pie Narcisse Legendre and Edward Daignault and about the mill workers of Somersworth. Recently, the blog referenced the “deserving poor” of a small mill town. There has been little else. […]
Continue readingImmigrants and Uncharitable Statements
In March, the Bangor Daily News published an opinion piece by Tommy Pinette, of the University of Maine, who establishes a parallel that should be uncontroversial. There is an inherent danger in making historical comparisons; events never repeat perfectly. But Pinette argues persuasively that the rhetoric and barriers experienced by Maine’s Somali population would have […]
Continue readingRural (Franco-)America
As previously noted, I am inclined to follow one of my former professors in his definition of history. He understood our field as the best possible interpretation of the past based on the best available sources and methods. On a more practical level, it is the unending effort to depict, as far as can be […]
Continue readingInvisible Franco-Americans
Much has been made of the invisibility of Franco-Americans—invisibility in larger historical narratives, in popular media, and beyond. This was not an issue in the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. As a predominantly immigrant, working-class population, Franco-Americans were certainly underrepresented in certain spheres. On the other hand, they did not lack visibility as we […]
Continue readingSt. Johnsbury and the Two New Englands
You can find regular nuggets of French-Canadian and Franco-American history on Query the Past’s new Facebook page. Click “Follow” on the page to avoid missing news and updates. We might file this story under “Those Other Franco-Americans,” the QTP series on communities whose French heritage remains little known. Relatively few people in New England, perhaps […]
Continue readingIl y a 250 ans, les fondements de l’américanité
C’est un épisode de notre histoire que nous connaissons peu mais qui a momentanément rivalisé la Conquête de 1759-1760 en importance. À l’automne 1775, l’armée des insurgés anglo-américains envahit la vieille province de Québec et prend Montréal. Pendant près de six mois, ce corps expéditionnaire assoit imparfaitement son pouvoir sur la vallée du fleuve Saint-Laurent […]
Continue readingMaking Culture in the Valley
On November 9, I had the pleasure of addressing the annual meeting of the Greater Grand Isle Historical Society in Grand Isle, Maine. The notes below are a close approximation of my spoken remarks. * * * Thank you for the invitation. It is a pleasure to chat with you all and celebrate the history […]
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