Chula Vista Genealogical Society member Bobbie Lane presented "Where in the World is Acadia?" talk today in the CVGS Program Meeting. Bobbie's CV was presented in "Where in the world is Acadia" by Bobbie Lane on Wednesday, 26 May.
The 30 attendees heard about the history of Acadia from first European settlement in 1605 to present times, and how Bobbie's ancestral families lived through one of history's tragic deportations inflicted on a settled people.
She used a history timeline to discuss important events from settlement of various places in Atlantic Canada (the current provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island) through the many wars between England and France, with the native Indians usually helping the French settlers. And then, in the 1750's, the deportations of French-speaking Acadians to English Colonies, to Louisiana, to England, and to France. Some of those deported to these places eventually migrated to Louisiana and other French colonies. Some of the Acadians escaped and ended up in Quebec and New Brunswick.
Bobbie explained how Longfellow's poem, Evangeline, energized interest in the plight of the Acadians, and led to a resurgence in pride in Acadian heritage.
As she explained each era of Acadian history, Bobbie related how her ancestral families fared - where they settled, resided and eventually migrated. She had two families that fled to Quebec and one that was deported to France but was lost on a sunken ship during the trip. Someone in her line has had a mtDNA test done that indicates that Ann Marie, who married Rene Rimbauld, was a native Indian.
Bobbie used overhead slides of maps and photographs to illustrate her talk. She and her husband travelled to Nova Scotia in 2009 on vacation and learned the history, geography and culture.
Here is a photo of Bobbie speaking and Gary Brock helping by putting up the overhead slides.
After the talk, Susi Pentico presented a certificate of appreciation to Bobbie with Gary looking on:
Bobbie's son videotaped her talk so that her relatives back in Illinois could see and hear about their Acadian relatives.
No comments:
Post a Comment