Acadian Ancestral Home

Today really feels like Autumn in Massachusetts. We finally had a frost last night and it is only 32F just now. I suppose many feel as I do when this time of year rolls around - I get very nostalgic and think back on all that we enjoyed as family when I was growing up. It was great to have Mémère and Pépère living nearby as well as all of our aunts, uncles and cousins. These close family bonds of everyone living in the same neighborhood no longer exists in today's mobile society.

Speaking of aunts and uncles: All of my life I believed that my Lévesque grandfather had come to the U.S. with only one brother and a sister named "Joséphine". I never knew them and being the last born in my family I suspect that ma tante Joséphine was deceased by the time I was born. I had quite a surprise some six months ago when I accidentally came across information revealing to me that my grandfather had 8 siblings - not the two I had long known about. I decided I would work at finding their baptismal and/or birth records so this week I went to the American-Canadian Genealogical Society in Manchester, New Hampshire to check out records in the Drouin Digital Database that we acquired more than a year ago.

Sure enough, I found all of the baptismal records for all of the children born to my great grandparents. They were all born at St-Octave de Métis in the Gaspésie region of Quebec. That too was quite a surprise. This is one reason why I always say that our research is never done - we just never know what new information or what Ancestors are waiting to be found.


Recently my thoughts have also been turning to CMA 2009 and wonder how plans for that great event are shaping up. When Vaughn Madden was manager of CMA 2004, I was always kept up to date as plans moved forward. Though I have been in touch with some of the 2009 committee members I really don't know too much unless I go to the web site. Some complain that nothing seems to be happening but I do recall that it was not much before 2002 that plans seemed to really move forward as plans developed for 2004. Today I've included a photo taken of me at the closing Mass held at Grand-Pré on August 15, 2004. We were singing "Ave Marie Stella" which is the Acadian National Anthem. Though it looks like I am the only one waving a flag, there were very many people behind me doing the same.

Hopefully you are all doing well with your research. Keep you eyes open for the unexpected. You might find pleasant surprises you didn't expect.

My best,

Your Cousin Lucie