Many authors have attempted to explain the history of the Acadians, but I didn’t become interested in learning about it until a few years ago. I tried to tackle one book, but the writing style and presentation of the information made it difficult for me to get immersed in it. Then, in 2019 I beganContinueContinue reading “Book Review…The Acadian Diaspora: An Eighteenth-Century History by Christopher Dodson”
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Black Cajun: Researching My Acadian Ancestors
I’ve concentrated most of my family research efforts on my black ancestors, but I actually have about 25% European ancestry that I should explore. Seeing Sweden and Italy in my list of ancestral lands was surprising, but it has been common knowledge in my southwest Louisiana family that we have French roots. What I’m beginning to learnContinueContinue reading “Black Cajun: Researching My Acadian Ancestors”
The CHEVIS BOYS and the MURDER at COULEE CROCHE! Using Newspapers and Genealogy to Investigate a Family Story
PART SIX: THE END The Hanging At the time convicted murderers, Jean Baptiste and William Chevis, had received their original reprieve in the summer of 1896, it had been almost a year since Dr. Duchesne T. Courtney’s killing. After T.S. Fontenot’s term had ended on June 22, 1896, H.H. Deshotels became the new sheriff andContinueContinue reading “The CHEVIS BOYS and the MURDER at COULEE CROCHE! Using Newspapers and Genealogy to Investigate a Family Story”
The CHEVIS BOYS and the MURDER at COULEE CROCHE! Using Newspapers and Genealogy to Investigate a Family Story
In case you’re wondering what is the outcome of Chevis brothers’ indictment for the murder of D.T. Courtney, here are the particulars of the trial and the other legal strategies used to get them out being hanged.
The CHEVIS BOYS and the MURDER at COULEE CROCHE! Using Newspapers and Genealogy to Investigate a Family Story
PART FOUR: MORE TRUTHS In Part Three of this series, I used creative license to try to understand what the victims and witnesses involved in the Chevis incident may have experienced, based on newspaper reports. In this post, I share the perspectives of Dr. D.T. Courtney’s accused murderers and their mother.1 Leontine Chevis Leontine didn’tContinueContinue reading “The CHEVIS BOYS and the MURDER at COULEE CROCHE! Using Newspapers and Genealogy to Investigate a Family Story”
The CHEVIS BOYS and the MURDER at COULEE CROCHE! Using Newspapers and Genealogy to Investigate a Family Story
Read Part 3 of the Chevis Boys and the Murder at Coulee Croche…You’ll learn about the points of view of some of the main actors in this incident, based on reports featured in local newspapers.
The CHEVIS BOYS and the MURDER at COULEE CROCHE! Using Newspapers and Genealogy to Investigate a Family Story
PART ONE: MURDER The weekly editions of the St. Landry Clarion and Opelousas Courier were preparing to go to press when the news broke of the up and coming physician’s impending death. The publishers really didn’t have a whole lot of time or information, which is why the story appeared on page three, some of theContinueContinue reading “The CHEVIS BOYS and the MURDER at COULEE CROCHE! Using Newspapers and Genealogy to Investigate a Family Story”
Reconstructing the Life of George Wheaton: Part I
Extract from the Reconstructed Constitution of the State of Louisiana with Portraits of the Distinguished Members of the Convention and Assembly; Lithograph, 1868; The Historic New Orleans Collection, 1979.183. Retrieved from http://hnoc.minisisinc.com/thnoc/catalog/1/17819. Recently, my family and I took a vacation that we called our “Civil Pursuits Trip”. We visited Civil War and Civil Rights sites in Mississippi, Alabama,ContinueContinue reading “Reconstructing the Life of George Wheaton: Part I”
Recollections of Grand Coteau, Louisiana: How Interviewing Living Relatives Can Help You Make Sense of Your Ancestors
One of the best ways to understand our ancestors’ lives better is to talk to them and ask them questions about how life was where they lived, worked, and played. I know, I know. You’re going to say, “How do I do that when so many of the ancestors I’m most interested in are deceased?” Well,ContinueContinue reading “Recollections of Grand Coteau, Louisiana: How Interviewing Living Relatives Can Help You Make Sense of Your Ancestors”
The Genealogy Griot 