Since northern Vermont borders Québec, French-Canadians have played a role in the settling of that state since early colonial times. With a second influx during the Industrial Revolution, many of us have ancestors who lived in Vermont at some time. Today’s guest, Ed McGuire, explains the history, geography, records...
If you live in or visit southern California, you have to schedule a visit to the French-Canadian Heritage Society of California. Other than the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, this is the West Coast’s largest repository for French-Canadian resources. Suzy Goulet takes us through the collections, projects...
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...
Most French-Canadian genealogists will find that they have several soldier ancestors who were members of the Carignan-Salières Regiment, a unit sent to the young colony by King Louis XIV in 1665 to protect it from the attacks of the Iroquois. In episode #41, Bill Kane, vice-president of La Société...
More KKK members in New England than the South? Really? Yes, at one time in the early 20th century this was true. And they were attacking Franco-Americans. Why? Dr. Eileen Angelini will tell us this interesting story about a little-known chapter in American history. In Language Tip #39, we’ll...
You’ve probably heard many times, “Parish registers are easy to read. Once you know how to read one type of record, you can read them all. They follow a pattern.” “Oh, no! This record is different!” And that’s true – for the most part. But what happens when you...
Most of us have a voyageur or two in our family tree. What was life like for them? And what was life like for the wife left alone months on end? In an interview with author Marcel Pronovost, he shares with us the discoveries he made about his ancestors,...
In this episode, Susan McNelley, author of Hélène’s World: Hélène Desportes of Seventeenth-Century Québec, rejoins us for a more in-depth look at two themes covered in her book: ‘Survival’ and ‘Relationship with the Natives.’ It’s a fascinating look at social history from that time period in Nouvelle France. Also,...
Oral histories are a window to the past. Two Salem State professors take us on a journey back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries to the Salem Franco community of the Point. We learn about life in this ‘Little Canada’ and how the Great Fire of 1914 affected...
