The first formal French settlement in North America was founded at Port-Royal, Nova Scotia in 1605. The settlers were forced to return to France in August of 1607, but came back to Port-Royal in 1609.

The settlement grew and spread, and the Acadians remained in Nova Scotia until they were dispersed by the English in 1755.

For more Acadian history, go to the Acadian History page.

Concerned with the genealogy of all Babins anywhere, and primarily with the descendants of Antoine Babin, who was born around 1630 and came to Port Royal, Nova Scotia., moving almost at once to St-Charles-des-Mines, Grand-Pre, where all his children were born.

The descendants of Raymond Bourdages. This family was established in the Gaspé after the Dispersion of 1755. Last update: January 7, 1998. Size: 2427 people, 186K.

Pierre-Alain Bujold was born around 1668 in France and came to Acadia circa 1690, marrying Elisabeth Melanson around 1694. If you have Bujolds outside of Acadia, Quebec, and Louisiana, please do let me know, as I don't have sources for other places. Last updated: March 15, 1998. Size: 206K, 2759 people.

The famous Louis Hébert founded a French-Canadian family, but he had only one son, Guillaume, who in turn had only one son, Joseph, whose only child died in infancy. So, although Louis has many descendants, they do not carry his name. Therefore, this page only deals with the Acadian Héberts

Jehan Poirier arrived in Port-Royal around 1649, having married Jeanne Chabrat in 1648. His descendants are quite numerous, especially in New Brunswick and the Gaspé. His great-grandson Pierre (à Louis à Michel) was the ancestor of all the Gaspésian Poiriers. Because this family is so large, there are separate pages for the descendants of Pierre and for all the rest of Jehan's descendants. Please be warned that the Pierre Poirier page is really quite large: 5171 people in 346K of space. The Jehan Poirier page is much smaller, just 808 people in 45K.

There are so many sources of genealogy on-line, that I'm listing them on a separate page, Electronic Sources.

• The Centre d'études acadiennes of the University of Moncton, NB is without doubt the richest source of information on Acadian genealogy. There are many invaluable references available here, and the staff is knowledgable and helpful. Steve White, at the UMoncton, is acknowledged by most Acadian researchers to be the foremost authority on up-to-date research. However, publication of his long-awaited book has been delayed by the lack of funds at the UMoncton. It is possible to consult his notebooks by going to Moncton and using the Genealogy Center at the University. Meanwhile, at the Web site, you can consult the index to the work of Placide Gaudet and the index to the parish registers of Haute Aboujagane, New Brunswick. There is a lot of genealogical information on Acadians in New Brunswick through about 1800 at the online copy of les cahiers, vol 25, nos. 2 & 3.

• The Centre Acadien, at the Universite Ste. Anne, at Church Point, N.S., has various genealogical resources, including original documents from the 1600's and 1700's.

• The American Canadian Genealogical Society, 4 Elm Street, Manchester, NH is primarily for French-Canadian research, but it also has a good number of Acadian references, including some of Arsenault's marriage repertoires of the Gaspe from 1760 to 1960.

• There are French-Canadian Genealogical Societies in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Watch this space for more detail.

• The New England Historic Genealogical Society, 101 Newbury Street, Boston MA (617) 536-5740, has voluminous records on genealogy in New England. They have a special pamphlet explaining their resources for French-Canadian research. If your ancestors never lived in New England, this may not be your best source.

• If you don't live in an area with a high concentration of Acadian families (and perhaps even if you do), your nearest source of genealogical information may be the Family History Center of the Mormon Church (Find them in the phone book under Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). Outside of areas with lots of Acadians or Cajuns, you will have to order microfilm (of Arsenault) or microfiche (of the Arsenault corrections). Be aware that the edition of Arsenault available on microfilm is full of errors.

• Probably the most extensive and reliable source of published information available today is the 6-volume work by Bona Arsenault, Histoire et Généalogie des Acadiens. This was published in 1988. There is an earlier version of this book, copyright 1965 in fewer volumes. This not only has a great deal less information, but it is full of errors which Arsenault corrected in the later edition. You can only get the older edition if you are restricted to microfilm. If that is your situation, then you may find the earlier version interesting, but you SHOULD NOT share information from the first edition without warning that it is apt to be inaccurate.

• Bergeron's Le Grand Arrangement des Acadiens au Québec is another source of information about the same period, arranged in a format which is easier to read. In my opinion, it is less accurate than Arsenault.
  Louisiana Cajun Sources
• For Cajuns in Louisiana, there are threee major sources of information, depending on the area you're most interested in. Rev Donald Hébert has published two complete series, South Louisiana Records and Southwest Louisiana Records. In addition, The Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records covers the area of Assumption, Ascension, St-James, and St-Gabriel parishes.
  South Louisiana Records is in 12 volumes, covering from 1794 to about 1920. The first four volumes may be checked out from the public library, and if your library doesn't have them, you should be able to get them through interlibrary loan. Volume 1 is 1794-1840, vol 2 is 1841-1850, vol 3 is 1851-1860, and vol 4 covers 1861 to 1870. Additional volumes are available on microfiche at Family History Centers.

  Southwest Louisiana Records is in 41 volumes, covering from 1756 to 1909. The first 35 volumes are on microfiche at Family History Centers, and the next 5 volumes are available in hard copy at the Family History Library. They are probably also available at genealogy centers in Louisiana. If anyone has more details on availability, please let me know, as this is a frequently asked questiion, and I'm not in Louisiana to check this out.

  The Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records, is in 16 volumes, 15 of which are available at the Family History Library and on microfilm at the Family History Centers. It covers some Acadian records from 1707 to 1755, and Louisiana to 1885.

  Once you work your way back to the first volume in one of these series, then you can switch over to volume 6 of Arsenault (see above), which covers Acadians who ended up in Louisiana.

  Sources for Books
  • For books on Acadian Genealogy, try:
    The Acadian Cultural Exchange of Northern Maine
    RFD #2, Box 99
    Madawaska, ME 04756
    (207) 728-4272
  Special Events

• From August 12-22, 1994, the Acadian World Congress was held in the Moncton area. This was only the second time Acadians from all over the world gathered together in New Brunswick since the deportation of the Acadians in 1755. Hundreds of thousands of people took in the events, including seminars, picnics, and the many family reunions, or "Les Retrouvailles," held throughout southeastern New Brunswick.

  The World Acadian Congress of 1994 will be followed in 1999 by another Congress in Louisiana. Watch for more details, and come and join us!!

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Please feel free to e-mail me with any comments: Linda Jones at lwjones@compuserve.com. Copyright 1996-1998 All Rights Reserved.

Last Updated: Sunday, March 27, 1998