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 […]
Continue readingKeeping Kinfolk in Franco-American Holyoke
The funeral of Mrs. Melanise Larocque, 26 Broadway, was held from the home this morning [February 3, 1936] followed by solemn requiem high mass in St. George’s church. Rev. George Gagnon was celebrant, Rev. Elzear Larochelle deacon, and Rev. Albert Paquette sub-deacon. A delegation from the St. Anne Sodality of the church attended. Bearers were […]
Continue readingReinvigorating Franco-American History
This week marks this blog’s seventh anniversary. Thank you for your continued readership. In 2000, in the American Review of Canadian Studies, C. Stewart Doty wrote of “The Future of the Franco-American Past.” Doty proposed lines of research that would substantially improve our understanding of Franco-American history. In the wake of a decade of sustained […]
Continue readingHow Franco-America Was Built
The latest issue of the academic journal Recherches sociographiques deserves the attention of anyone and everyone with an interest in the transnational history of Acadians and French Canadians. It honors the sixtieth anniversary of a pioneering issue on French-Canadian migrations with a new set of articles that highlight the extent to which, in the intervening […]
Continue reading