A wonderful discussion of the art of storytelling and the survival of Franco culture in New England can be found through Google Books at: http://books.google.com/books?id=cjFZLXskuiMC&printsec=titlepage&dq=%22franco+american+migration%22&source=gbs_toc_s&cad=1#PPP1,M1
If your family had a story about Franco ancestry it would be great if you would post it here.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Family moves and small industry in New England
Every time I sit down and do some investigation into Family a new and surprising finding pulls me even further into family movement and economics.
How people managed to meet over long distances when travel was so time consuming and difficult has become a new facination for me. Tracing the movement of Franco families throughout Maine and New England and learning of the support groups that naturally formed in those Franco communities has been an incredible journey.
It was interesting this week to find that the brother of my great grandmother was a manufacturer of agricultural tools, patented a grass saw and was part of the founding of three companies in Maine that developed cutting equipment.
I list a history of tool manufacturing source in the posting below. This museum has done a great job tracing the roots of tools, manufacturing companies and individuals involved. Check it out.
How people managed to meet over long distances when travel was so time consuming and difficult has become a new facination for me. Tracing the movement of Franco families throughout Maine and New England and learning of the support groups that naturally formed in those Franco communities has been an incredible journey.
It was interesting this week to find that the brother of my great grandmother was a manufacturer of agricultural tools, patented a grass saw and was part of the founding of three companies in Maine that developed cutting equipment.
I list a history of tool manufacturing source in the posting below. This museum has done a great job tracing the roots of tools, manufacturing companies and individuals involved. Check it out.
Monday, February 18, 2008
French History in Maine
Doing some surprising and interesting research on the French settlement of Maine from Champlain's early mapping in 1607 to the end of the French occupation of Pentagoet (Castine) in the 1700's.
If you haven't visited Castine (Pentagoet) it is a beautiful little town on the Maine coast. Now home of the Maine Maritime Academy the town has a strong sense of its history and well marked sites for avid historians of early American history.
Lots of stuff on the web with a very good article in Wikipedia that should be a starting point for history buffs as well as tourist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castine,_Maine
While we may not be able to trace our ancestors in Castine it is interesting to see the spot where the French first settled
If you haven't visited Castine (Pentagoet) it is a beautiful little town on the Maine coast. Now home of the Maine Maritime Academy the town has a strong sense of its history and well marked sites for avid historians of early American history.
Lots of stuff on the web with a very good article in Wikipedia that should be a starting point for history buffs as well as tourist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castine,_Maine
While we may not be able to trace our ancestors in Castine it is interesting to see the spot where the French first settled
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Only for the serious. Check out this opportunity to trace your ancestry through your DNA. This is a big deal in Europe and you cand find out online at:
http://www.dnaancestryproject.com/
or
http://dna.ancestry.com/welcome.aspx
The ancestry.com page will give you a look at a sample report. This could be fun if you are at a deadend with you tracing or just want to see what this is all about.
I think I will try and link myself to that beack on Ile de Re.
http://www.dnaancestryproject.com/
or
http://dna.ancestry.com/welcome.aspx
The ancestry.com page will give you a look at a sample report. This could be fun if you are at a deadend with you tracing or just want to see what this is all about.
I think I will try and link myself to that beack on Ile de Re.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Starting out with a blog
I've decided to blog based on my interest in my family heritage and travel related to discovering that heritage. I hope you will join me in the quest with stories of your own.
I had been an off and on genealogy taster for some years but never serious enough to do anything beyond a trip to the surname dictionary and the Reistrap Armorial for some sign of a family crest. My interest started in earnest on a small beach at Ile-de-Re, France.
This island off the French coast at La Rochelle is one of the most beautiful spots in France. Traveling on business with a friend we went to the island on a whim and to the beach because it was off-season and most of the restaurants were closed. When I stepped onto the beach I experienced a strange chill and felt the hair on my neck stand up (the true test of a great poem as someone has said). I stuffed this away in the back of my mind and we continued on our trip to Bordeaux.
Perhaps a year later I decided to use the web as an access point to genealogy material. With the first two pages of hits on the family name search I came upon a great page in Quebec.....family name traced to a forebear who migrated to Quebec from LaRochelle, France in 1647......but most incredibly.... he was a resident in the Parish on Ile-de-Re where I had had my hair raising experience.
Over the coming months I'd like to share more travel and genealogy experience in France and Quebec. This a good time to start a discussion with you all because the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City will be celebrated in 2008.
I had been an off and on genealogy taster for some years but never serious enough to do anything beyond a trip to the surname dictionary and the Reistrap Armorial for some sign of a family crest. My interest started in earnest on a small beach at Ile-de-Re, France.
This island off the French coast at La Rochelle is one of the most beautiful spots in France. Traveling on business with a friend we went to the island on a whim and to the beach because it was off-season and most of the restaurants were closed. When I stepped onto the beach I experienced a strange chill and felt the hair on my neck stand up (the true test of a great poem as someone has said). I stuffed this away in the back of my mind and we continued on our trip to Bordeaux.
Perhaps a year later I decided to use the web as an access point to genealogy material. With the first two pages of hits on the family name search I came upon a great page in Quebec.....family name traced to a forebear who migrated to Quebec from LaRochelle, France in 1647......but most incredibly.... he was a resident in the Parish on Ile-de-Re where I had had my hair raising experience.
Over the coming months I'd like to share more travel and genealogy experience in France and Quebec. This a good time to start a discussion with you all because the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City will be celebrated in 2008.
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