French-Canadians are one of the largest immigrant groups to New England, yet, according to today’s guest, they remain relatively silent. Jeanne Douillard has made it her mission to explore the reasons for this. Today Jeanne fills in the historical background of the two largest French groups to settle in...
First, this question is not meant to be controversial. My goal is to have an analytical, academic discussion of this, for some, emotionally-charged word. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but it was brought to the forefront after a discussion with one of my podcast guests. You...
Governor Lawrence declared it “a great and noble scheme.” Coming at it from the point of view of an Acadian descendant, it doesn’t seem in the least “grand” or “noble.” Lucie LeBlanc Consentino continues her series on Acadian history with this interview focusing on the deportation itself. Acadians suffered...
Okay, MSS listeners. A fellow listener needs your help-ASAP. Here is the email I received: “Am getting married on July 2, and at age 58 don’t have my mother around to ask. Are there any simple french-canadian wedding ceremony traditions that are still used by families in New England?...
Québec records often list home parish in France for our immigrant ancestors. Are you ready to take that information and extend your family lines back a few more generations? Today’s guest Anne Morddel, professional genealogist and author of The French Genealogy Blog, shares her expertise with us. Anne leads...
Welcome back to the conclusion of our interview with Muriel Normand. Join us as Muriel explains the other common dominant diseases, as well as the recessive, mtDNA, and x-linked diseases. Knowledge is power, and this is one topic with which familiarity could mean the difference between a correct and...
With such a small number of immigrants coming to Québec in the 17th and 18th centuries and the fact they they remained fairly isolated from other ethnic gene pools, descendants of these pioneers often face medical problems caused by genetic inheritance. Today’s guest Muriel Normand takes us through Genetics...
Anyone with French-Canadian ancestry has multiple Filles du Roi ancestors. It’s a given. And we seem to be fascinated with these strong girls who faced so much and survived long enough to produce children whose descendants have spread out across Canada, the United States, and the world. In today’s episode,...
The religious orders that established themselves in New France did more than just tend to the spiritual needs of our ancestors. Susan McNelley, author of Hélène’s World: Hélène Desportes of Seventeenth-Century Quebec, rejoins us for an in-depth look at the theme of religion as it applied to 17th-century Québec....
Is it possible to go to bed a Canadian and wake up an American? Sure is! It happened to our ancestors thanks to the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. Guest George Findlen shares the story of this uncertain period of time and the depositions created by our ancestors to prove the land...
