Stephen White books supply Acadian genealogy resource

Some years ago, a program on Maine Public Radio brought to my attention Stephen A. White, who was working on a mammoth project about Acadian genealogy.

Generally, the term French Canadian describes those with Quebec ancestry, while Acadian refers to the French who occupied what is now Nova Scotia and parts of New Brunswick until the British deported them in Le Grand Derangement of 1755.

In many cases, it has been easier to trace my husband’s French-Canadian ancestors, such as the Sauciers and Ouellettes and Chasses, with their pattern of moving up the St. Lawrence River every couple of generations until reaching the St. John Valley. The Acadians, on the other hand, those who stayed in this part of North America, sometimes moved to a variety of locations in New Brunswick and Quebec before settling in the Valley.

White’s two-volume “Dictionnaire Genealogique des Familles Acadiennes,” published in 1999, is a project of the University of Moncton’s Centre d’Etudes Acadienne, or Center for Acadian Studies. Several more volumes are in the works, but the first two cover the period 1636 to 1714.

My husband’s Theriault ancestors are outlined in a 22-page section on the family of Jean Theriot and wife Perrine Rau. White carries the family through the children and grandchildren of the emigrant ancestors, including excellent source information and historical notes. The books are in French, but I found that I could follow a good bit of the text with my high school French from the late 1960s. In addition, the set-up of the genealogies makes it clear who are the parents and who the children.

The title page credits the work of Father Hector Hebert, a Jesuit, and Abbe Patrice Gallant, with preface by Father Anselme Chiasson, a Capuchin priest. Without the work of numerous priests and brothers, including Monsignor Cyprien Tanguay, Brother Eloi-Gerard Talbot, Monsignor Henri Langlois and Father Youville Labonte among them, the amount of Franco-American genealogy available would be but a fraction of what it is.

What makes White’s work doubly a treasure are his references and bibliography, including the location of original records. At the end of the 1,600-page work is a good listing of names and their alternates. Theriot, sometimes spelled Terriot and Theriault, also was called Bernard, for example.

“Dictionnaire Genealogique des Familles Acadiennes” is available at the Maine State Library in Augusta, and at the Acadian Archives in the library at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.

It is available for purchase for $195 in Canadian currency, before taxes, at the bookstore at the University of Moncton. It’s a beautiful drive this time of year, but you also can order it by mail, from Centre d’Etudes Acadiennes, Universite de Moncton, Moncton, New Brunswick, E1A 3E9, Canada. Mailing costs are $15 Canadian.

The easiest way to order the books is to go to the Web site at www.umoncton.ca/etudeacadiennes/centre/cea.html, click on publications and print off an order form. The Web site also has a link to a universal currency converter so you can figure out what to send by check or money order in U.S. funds.

As I write this, $210 Canadian converts to $134 and change, so I’d probably send something like $136, but do check on the rate before you send it.

There also is an English Supplement for $30 Canadian, plus $15 mailing costs. Again, use the universal converter if you want to send a check for U.S. funds – it will be approximately $29 or $30. The state library does have that supplement, as well.

The publications page has links to sample pages for both the books and the supplement

If you go to the Web site and click on genealogy, you also will find information on 37 Acadian families: Allain, Arsenault, Babin, Babineau, Bastarache called Basque, Belliveau, Bourdage, Boucher, Boudreau, Bourgeois, Bourque, Caissie, Collet, Cormier, Daigle, Devarennes (Gaultier de Varennes), Doiron, Gaudet, Gautreau, Girouard, Goguen, Gosselin, Hache called Gallant, Landry, Leblanc, Leger, Maillet, Martin, Melanson, Petitpas, Poirier, Richard, Robichaud, Savoie, Surette, Thibodeau, Vauture.

This weekend, the Hancock County Genealogical Society has asked me to speak about genealogical resources at Bangor Public Library and the University of Maine’s Fogler Library. The meeting begins at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Riverview Room at Ellsworth Public Library.

The Washington County Genealogical Society will meet at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Gates House Museum in Machiasport. The topic will be research materials housed in the genealogy room of the Gates House, which is the home of the Machiasport Historical Society. For information, call Frances Raye at 853-6630 or Valdine Atwood at 255-4432.

3047. FOX. Seeking information on parents and exact birthplace for Orlando B. Fox, listed in 1870 Census as living in Oakfield Plantation, Aroostook County (roll 538, p. 316). He is listed as 36 years old, birthplace Vermont. He is the only Fox listed in 1870 index with Vermont birthplace except for my great-great-grandfather John Fox, who was enumerated in Augusta, Kennebec County, 30 years old. John’s Civil War record says he was born in Greensboro, Vt. Could he and Orlando be brothers? Charlene Fox Clemons, RR1 Box 337, Hancock, ME 04640; or e-mail foxtail@downeast.net.

3048. MCCARSLIN-MCCASLIN-GRAY. Parents sought for Alexander McCarslin or McCaslin, b. 1762, d. Sept. 20, 1853, at Penobscot. He resided at Sedgwick, md. June 13, 1788, Abigail Gray. He served in the Revolution and in the War of 1812. Possibly son of James McCaslin and wife Mary Jane (Poor), but need proof. James d. 1776, Gardiner. If they are Alexander’s parents, need their ancestry also. Al Myers, P.O. Box 101, Castine, ME 04421-0101; or e-mail aem@ezonline.com.

Send queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or send e-mail to familyti@bangordailynews.net.