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Episode 019-September 2, 2014

A recent post on the French-Canadian Descendants Facebook page resulted in many people reminiscing about their childhood, a lot of humor, and a lesson on swearing. We’ll take an in-depth look at this in Language Tip #19 when we look at the pronunciation of the letter D. In the main segment, Lucie LeBlanc Consentino will recap for us her experience at the Congrès Mondial, or World Congress 2014, a celebration of Acadian heritage.

News

Upcoming events:

American-French Genealogical Society, Woonsocket, Rhode Island:

• September 6-Using the Film Room at the Library
• September 20-Beginning French-Canadian Genealogy by Dennis Boudreau
• September 27- How to do Research at Home for Free with LDS including FamilySearch Wiki by Bill Pommenville

American-Canadian Genealogical Society, Manchester, New Hampshire Fall Conference and Annual Meeting with three speakers, September 27th, 8 AM-4 PM:

• A Treasure Trove of Naturalization Records Online by Walter Hickey
• Using Print-on-Demand: Writing a Family History Book Your Relatives Will Actually Want to Read! By Sandra Goodwin
• Advanced French-Canadian Research by Michael LeClerc

French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan, at the Mount Clemens Public Library, September 13th, 11 AM:

• Farming in the Detroit River Region circa 1701-1820 by Brian Leigh Dunnigan

Three new Maple Stars and Stripes web pages:

Appearances–

• Lists upcoming speaking engagements

Maple Stars & Stripes Boutique

• Shop for books or home items and decor with a French-Canadian flair. Don’t forget to go to the top of the right column to toggle between ‘Books’ and ‘Home Items/Decor.’ Books mentioned on the podcast will be listed if available on Amazon.

Maple Stars & Stripes Community Helpers

• A list of volunteers, services they offer, and contact information.

Language Tip #19- The Sound of /D/

The French-Canadian Descendants Facebook group (you have to have a Facebook account to view this) has been discussing the word ‘maudit,’ pronounced by some ‘mood-zee.’ It’s a word most of us from French-Canadian families are familiar with. The discussion turned to pronunciation. For most dialects, the D makes a DZ sound. Parisian French tends to make a D sound similar to English.

After analyzing many French-Canadian surnames, including my mother’s maiden name, Sourdif, it appears that the /DZ/ sound only appears in words where the D is followed by the letter I, with the exception of the words where the I is followed by an N.

 

 

 

 

 

Could this affect your research? In the 1900 and 1910 US Population Censuses are two gentlemen whose last name is spelled ‘Parazee.’

 

Frederick’s heritage is clearly stated as French-Canadian. Could he really be Frederick Paradis?

 

World Acadian Congress 2014

The Congrès Mondial, or World Congress, is a celebration of Acadian culture held every five years in some place associated with Acadian history. Last month, August 2014, the Congress was held over 2-1/2 weeks, spread out over different venues located in New Brunswick, Québec province, and northern Maine.

Lucie LeBlanc Consentino, a font of Acadian knowledge, attended this Congress and shared with us some of her experiences.

Lucie’s mother is French-Canadian, and her father is Acadian. Although she researches both sides, after learning of the struggles of the Acadians and realizing how difficult research was because of lost records, she dedicated her life’s work to giving a voice back to the Acadians.

Many French-Canadians trace at least some of their lines back to Acadia. After the deportation, some Acadians resettled and intermarried among the French-Canadians.

Cousin Connection

The World Congress was a great time for cousins to reconnect. There were family reunions, masses, concerts, and tours throughout the two-and-a-half week period with venues located in areas of New Brunswick, eastern Québec province, and northern Maine. People came from Louisiana, Texas, and even as far away as France to attend the celebrations.

August 15th was the National Day for Acadians. In Madawaska, about 4,000 people attended the mass dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, the patroness of Acadians. That was followed by lunch, delicious jambalaya by Chef Roy from Louisiana.

That afternoon everyone could work off those calories with some Cajun music and dancing. Later in the evening, about 20,000 people enjoyed a concert performed by well-known Acadian artists.

Lucie spoke at the Doucet family reunion at Grand Isle, Maine, and delivered the news that, because of recent yDNA testing, those descended from Germain Doucet Jr. have native ancestry.

August 16th was the LeBlanc family reunion at St. Jacques, New Brunswick, where she had a kiosk with the theme ‘Acadians in Massachusetts.’ Many cousins and members of her social media network stopped by to visit and share family information. Many photos of these activities will soon be posted on her website.

Be sure to check out the CMA 2014 Listed Families page. Here you will find links to the Acadian surnames represented at the CMA. Some have links to wonderful genealogical information.

Side Trips

Lucie also enjoyed the side trips, especially ones that took her to places where Acadians settled. Such a trip was the one she took to St. Basile, again taking many photos that will eventually be on her website. She posts these pictures for those who will never be able to travel to these places.

She also took side trips to Grand-Pré and Prince Edward Island where there is a new exhibit at the museum. But especially enjoyable was the personal tour by Stephen White, noted Acadian genealogist, who took her to the monument in Village des LeBlanc, named for her ancestors, where they settled after being released from the prison at Fort Cumberland.

Mothers of Acadia

Lucie is also the administrator of the ‘Mothers of Acadia mtDNA Project. “The object of The Mothers of Acadia mtDNA Project is to test descendants of the pioneer/founding Mothers of Acadia, and of other maternal forebears of today’s Acadians, whether of French or of Native extraction.” If your direct maternal line leads you to Acadia, be sure to check out the project.

World Acadian Congress 2019

In August 2019, the next World Congress will be held in southeastern New Brunswick and a portion of Prince Edward Island.

Lucie’s Website

Acadian & French-Canadian Ancestral Home: a repository for all things Acadian. Here is a sampling of the tremendous amount of information that you will discover here. You can find the links in the sidebar on the home page.

• Early Acadian census records
• Articles by Stephen White of the Centre d’Études Acadiennes at the University of Moncton
• Articles by George Arsenault
• Cemetery information
• mtDNA information
• Acadian history
• Information on Native Americans
• Prisoners and Exiles
• Research Aids

Speaking Engagements

Lucie will be speaking on September 27 at the Methuen Public Library, Methuen, Massachusetts. Her talk, sponsored by the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, is ‘Genealogy 101: From the Roots Up.’

Email: luciemc [at] gmail [dot] com

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