Acadian-Cajun Genealogy, History, and Culture

I really didn't become interested in genealogy or history till I was in my 20s. In the 1980s I found it interesting hearing about my family from my grandmothers. I had an uncle who had done some genealogy work on that side of the family, but there was much more to do. In the late 1980s I put together the vast majority of my genealogy. Since then I have written several books, built a very large website, and spoke on various occassions about Acadian-Cajun genealogy and history.

Acadian-Cajun Genealogical Article Index [Book]
      I went through a lot of genealogical periodicals while researching my genealogy. There was no index to all of that work so one summer (1990 I believe) I indexed hundreds of issues that related to Acadian, Cajun, and Louisiana genealogy. I assembled the index into a book and even sold some copies. I later put that entire index online. When I did that book, I tried to figure out what to call it. I had seen the terms Acadian and Cajun used. I had even seen Acadian/Cajun, but that seemed like it was saying either/or. I am actually both. My ancestry is over 50% Acadian, but my genealogy is made up of those French, German, etc. elements that are Cajun. So I used the hyphenated term Acadian-Cajun for the first time in print. Since then, I have seen it used in many other places, but it started with that 1990 index book.

Acadian-Cajun Genealogy: Step by Step [Book]
      Since there was no how-to book on Acadian-Cajun genealogy, I decided to write one. I did in 1993 and the Center for Louisiana Studies published it in1994. They did three printings. I planned to revise it to update the text and add internet information, but to date I have not completed that task. The Center was interested in doing another printing when I got the revision done.

Acadian-Cajun Genealogy & History [Website]
      I went online in 1997 and soon started a website on genealogy and history of the Acadian-Cajun people. After being located on a couple of free hosts, I bought the name acadian-cajun.com and started paying for hosting services. It was one of the first large Acadian-Cajun sites on the topic and continues to be well-used.

Acadian Church Records: Port LaJoye, Ile St. Jean, 1749-1758 [Book]
      I found in my research that there were some surviving Acadian records that hadn't been transcribed. Around 2000, I rented the microflim from Canada and transcribed the French records from Port Lajoye on Ile St. Jean (Prince Edward Island). My Acadian Church Records book included records of St. Jean the Evangelist of Port LaJoye, Ile St. Jean in the years 1749-1758 when the Acadians moved in large numbers to the island to escape the English. They were deported in 1758.

Acadian-Cajun Atlas [Book]
     I love maps. In 2002 I assembled an atlas that consisted of maps related to Acadians and Cajuns.

Future Work
      I really stopped work on the Acadian-Cajun site years ago due to heavy involvement in church work. After I eventually revise the how-to book, I want to finish work on a short history of the Acadian-Cajun people. There is no such book available now.
      I really want to do one other book on the events of a single line of Acadians from a progenitor to the present.