GRAND PRE RECORDS FOUND
by Alice Chauvin Bradshaw
Extracts from CMA 99 press release
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Sacramental Records from Canada Found in Louisiana..Lafayette, Louisiane
- Parish registers from the former land of Acadia, Nova Scotia Canada,
were found in the catholic diocese of Baton Rouge, in Louisiana. Even if
these documents were discovered in 1887, they will be exhibited for the
first time during CONGRÈS MONDIAL ACADIEN - LOUISIANE 1999, an event
taking place from July 31stto August 15th.
These registers, which date from 1707 to 1748, formerly belonged to
Saint-Charles aux Mines parish, better known as Grand-Pré, Nova
Scotia. Exiled Acadians brought these volumes along with them as they
traveled, first along the New England coast, and then to Louisiana. The
documents found their way to Saint Gabriel Church of Cabanocé,
Louisiana, near the Mississippi River, below present day Baton Rouge.
These registers contain 2,244 entries, such as information on 1,414
baptisms, 557 marriages and 272 burials. They also offer valid details
on the Acadians of Saint-Charles aux Mines, as well as for a number of
families who later settled in Louisiana.
Throughout the first fifteen days of August, during the CMA, these
sacramental records will be exposed to the public at the West Baton
Rouge Museum, in Port Allen, Louisiana. The exhibition will be titled
"The Bridge to our Acadian Past : Sacramental Records from the Diocese
of Baton Rouge Archives." There will also be a reception on Friday
August 6th, which will be honoring this exhibition.
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Extract from: Si longtemps séparé
Et quand la famille se rassemble
Je vois même qu'on se ressemble
Quand l'Acadien joue du violon
Et le Cadien l'accordéon
Chère Acadie
Je pense souvent à toi
Mais je ne peux pas me détacher
Du pays où je suis né
Ceux qui ne sont pas Acadiens
Ne peuvent pas comprendre
Qu'est-ce que c'est d'avoir
Le coeur en Acadie
Et les pieds en la Louisiane
English translation
And when the family is reunited
I see the ressemblance
When the Acadian plays the fiddle
And the Cajun the accordeon
Dear Acadie
I often think of you
But I cannot detach myself
>From the place where I was born
Those who are not Acadians
Cannot understand
What it is to have
The heart in Acadie
And the feet in Louisiana