Overview

Today, Acadia is not a country, but a common bond shared by people of its heritage.

We hope you will find the material here helpful in discovering a culture begun in North America. These hard-working people, devoted to church and family, faced struggles unlike most others which created a unique cultural identity – Acadian.

Our aim is to highlight genealogical sources, historical events and places, language, food, music and joie de vivre typical of this group, to shed light on what may be a difficult area of your family history research.

“In addition to the roughly 300,000 Acadians in the Maritime provinces, there are likely more than 1 million people of Acadian descent in Québec, 200,000 in Ontario and the western provinces, 400,000 in the northeastern United States, and 800,000 in Louisiana.” (source: Encyclopedia of Canada’s peoples; Paul R. Magocsi, editor)

The links provided here offer a wealth of information on this subject. We will be adding to this site regularly as more articles and references are submitted. Please feel free to contact us with comments and suggestions.

Origins of Acadians

The varied origins of Acadians at the opening of the eighteenth century is captured in a statistical snapshot prepared by the French scholar Geneviève Massignon. In 1707:

• 36.1 percent of the Acadian population could be traced to the Loudunais region of France, southwest of Nantes.

• 11 percent came from the centre-west areas of France, the regions of Poitou, Saintonge, and Angoumois.

• 4.1 percent were from Aunis.

• Some 2.7 percent originated in Anjou, one family each from Tours, Orléans, and Paris, representing respectively 0.3, 0.2, and 0.5 percent of the total population.

• The numbers from Normandy (1.2 percent) and Brittany (1.2 percent) were less than half of those who had an anglophone heritage (4.7 percent).
• There were families from Maine, Bourgogne, Champagne, and Brie, accounting in total for 9.2 percent of the population.

• A family from Flanders made up 0.4 percent of the population, and Guyenne, Provence, and the Basque country accounted for another 2.5 percent.

• Almost a quarter of the population, 23.9 percent, left no trace of particular regional affiliation but were of obvious French backgrounds.

• There was at least one family, accounting for 0.2 percent, from Portugal, and 1.6 came from France’s larger colony along the St Lawrence.”(source: The Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples – Acadians -by: Naomi Griffiths, www.multiculturalcanada.ca)

Links to Acadian Information and Resources

Leger – Legere ~ Rick Leger’s database of descendents of Jacques Leger Dit La Rosette.

Terriot Acadian Family (English and French) ~ The Jehan and Perrine Terriot family website.

Fédération des Associations de Familles Acadiennes (FAFA) [in French] ~ Acadian Families Federation – New Brunswick.

Société de Généalogie de Québec ~ Genealogical Society of Quebec City; publishes the quarterly journal L’Ancêtre.

French-Canadian Genealogical Society of Connecticut ~ French-Canadian genealogical society with a research library in Tolland, CT; publishes the biannual journal Connecticut Maple Leaf.

Maine Franco-American Genealogical Society ~ French-Canadian genealogical society with a research library in Auburn, ME.

1838 Census Antigonish County, NS

1901 Census of Canada ~ At Automated Genealogy

Acadian – Cajun Genealogy, History, and Culture ~ This site is about the history and genealogy of the Acadian and Cajun people. A comprehensive website on the subject, consisting of over 800 web pages.

Acadian Culture in Maine

Acadian Research ~ Very large list of publications available.

Acadian and French Canadian Ancestral Home ~ (Lucie LeBlanc Consentino) Acadian & French Canadian genealogy and history. The premier site for history & genealogy.

Acadians and French from Parishes of St. Peter’s, Tracadie, NS and St. Paul’s, Havre Boucher, NS CAN ~ A RootsWeb’s WorldConnect project.

Acadian, Canadian, and Maine ~ Parish registers, cemeteries, vital records, other genealogy sites.

Acadians in Exile ~ Genealogy, history and culture.

Acadian History ~ Nova Scotia history and genealogy books online. Genealogy plus free stuff!

Acadian History (Mike Girouard) ~ The Acadian history page on Mike Girouard’s Girouard Family site. Includes census data, biographies, and essays on Acadian life.

Acadian Studies Centre Anselme-Chiasson ~ To promote the recovery of Acadian families, genealogy sector contains a large amount of primary sources such as parish registers and censuses.

Acadia and New France (Quebec) Genealogy ~ The Olive Tree website is dedicated to providing free access to genealogical data and bringing free information to the genealogical Internet community.

Acadieville ~ Acadieville is a small community located in the heart of Acadia in the county of Kent in New Brunswick in eastern Canada.

An Amateur’s Guide to Acadian Genealogy

Archives Nationales de Québec ~ Books, films, music, periodicals, digital books, images, archival material also link for Tanguay Dictionnaire.

Blupete’s History Page (Peter Landry) ~This site contains two complete online books on the history of Nova Scotia plus numerous other essays and links. Mr. Landry’s History of Nova Scotia: Book #1, Acadia (1604-1763) is probably one of the most thorough and well-documented Acadian histories available onlineCanGenealogy.com – Acadian genealogy sources ~ A large collection of links.

Cape Breton GenWeb Project ~ Cape Breton cemetery transcriptions.

Centre D’études Acadiennes [in French] ~ The Acadian archives at the University of Moncton, Moncton, New Brunswick.

Coalition des Organisations Acadiennes du Québec.

CyberAcadie (in French) ~ Acadian History at your fingertips! ~ A website on the history of the Acadian people. Discover their history and the Acadia on the Web.

Same Site Translated to English by Google CyberAcadie (in English)

Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online ~ History of Canada’s inhabitants and their culture. This phase presents persons who died between the years 1000 and 1930 or whose last known date of activity falls within these years.

Ensemble Encore – Database of Acadian History ~ Acadian Memorial Foundation, Inc.

FrancoGene (Denis Beauregard) [French and English] ~ The Acadian material includes an index of Acadian genealogical resources and a genealogical dictionary of Acadian descendants.

Grand Pré, Nova Scotia ~ The main goal of the Société Promotion Grand-Pré is to promote Acadian culture and history related to Grand-Pré.

History of Madawaska Acadians (Scott Michaud) ~ A brief history of Acadia and the Acadians who settled the Madawaska region of northern Maine.

Important dates in the settlement and dispersion of the Acadians

LeBlanc and MacLean Families of Nova Scotia ~ Selected obituaries (not just LeBlanc and McLean) published in Nova Scotia newspapers.

Les Doucet du Monde ~ Emphasizes pride in our French and Acadian heritage. Two lineages of the Doucet/Doucette are emphasized, with much history.

Library and Archives Canada

Madawaska Public Library ~ Useful link for genealogy resources on the first Acadians of Maine and Western New Brunswick.

Musée Acadien du Québec à Bonaventure, Gaspésie, Québec

New Brunswick and Portion of Nova Scotia ~ Indexed cemetery page with headstone photographs.

New Brunswick Provincial Archives – Searchable B,M,D records database.

Nova Scotia Archives & Records Management

P.E.I. Family Lineages ~ The Island Register – P.E.I. (Prince Edward Island) genealogy.

Some places where Acadians settled in Québec after 1755

The Acadians from the Québec Perspective

The Acadian Odyssey ~ Acadia : Origins of the name. Where Acadians came from, their heraldry, history etc.

The Bourgeois Story, Heritage Rediscovered (Marc Bourgeois) – This site provides a detailed genealogy of the “Bourgeois” descendants of Jacques (Jacob) Bourgeois and Jeanne Trahan, Port-Royal 1642/43. It includes over 10,000 Bourgeois’ from the United States and Canada.

The CBC site about the Acadians

The Fortress of Louisbourg ~ The Official research site of the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site in Cape Bretton, Nova Scotia. Update to

University of Ste-Anne Acadian Archives ~ The Acadian archives at the University of Ste-Anne, Church Point, Nova Scotia

Village Historique Acadien site

Voici the Valley Cultureway ~ Very thorough compendium of information available on the internet about French heritage communities on both sides of the St. John River

 

Josée Vachon ~ Popular performer of traditional and contemporary Quebecois and Acadian folksongs. She was inducted into the AFGS Hall of Fame, Class of 2007.

Grand Dérangement ~ This musical group from Nova Scotia describes their musical style as “based on Acadian traditional music to which has been added a rock flavor, a flash of Celtic and Irish influence and world beat rhythms.”

Daniel Leger ~ A native of St. Anthony in the county of Kent in New Brunswick, Daniel Leger said poet of everyday life. In November 2009, Daniel Leger takes the music scene by storm and launch Balance , second album of his career. Nominated ADISQ in category Country Album of 2010.

Blou ~ These very talented musicians have a vast repertoire of original, contemporary and traditional music. Originating from Nova Scotia’s Acadie in Canada, their music is inspired by their Acadian roots, which is both a source of ingenuity and creativity.

Dominique Dupuis ~ A young Acadian fiddler from Memramcook.

Waylon Thibodeaux ~ Louisiana’s Rockin fiddler.

Feufollet ~ This group from Louisiana performs original and traditional songs in the French language including twin fiddle pieces from the 1800’s and early 1900’s in addition to traditional accordion pieces.

Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys ~ An alternative, Cajun band from Louisiana.

Zachary Richard ~ Louisiana-born singer, songwriter and poet.

Beausoleil ~ This Louisiana group blends traditional Cajun music with elements of zydeco, New Orleans jazz, Tex-Mex, country and blues.

Acadian Culture in Maine ~ The foods of the Upper St. John Valley reflect both Acadian and French-Canadian traditions, as well as a more general regional tradition.

18th Century French Cuisine ~ 18th century French cuisine as a habitante in Nouvelle France may have cooked.

History of Acadia ~ L’Encyclopédie de L’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia link from Marianopolis College in Quebec.

Abbe Museum ~ Acadia National Park & Bar Harbor, Maine. The focus of the Abbe Museum is on the Native American culture and its history in Maine.

The Acadian Museum ~ Located in Cajun country in Erath, Louisiana, commemorates and honors the Acadian heritage and Cajun people of Louisiana.

Musée Acadien & Archives de Pubnico-Ouest ~ The Acadian Museum & Archives is owned and operated by the Société historique acadienne de Pubnico-Ouest. West Pubnico, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. If you have d’Entremont or Muise lines, this site will be helpful.

The Acadian Collection of the Fitchburg Public Library ~ This collection is permanently housed in the Fitchburg Public Library. The contents are currently being catalogued. As a result, many of the titles in this collection can now be searched via the online catalog.

ACADIANS very good overview ~ Acadians are the descendants of a group of French-speaking settlers who migrated from coastal France in the late sixteenth century to establish a French colony called Acadia in the maritime provinces of Canada and part of what is now the state of Maine.