From: George Boudreau
Beautiful-- Your Site is a Monument to our Acadian Heritage.
George Boudreau
From: Nathalie Godin
Bonsoir madame LeBlanc, Je me nomme Nathalie Godin et je suis, moi aussi, d'origine acadienne. J'ai eu le bonheur de tomber sur votre site en naviguant dans le site capacadie.com. Toutes ces pages les plus intéressantes les unes que les autres me donnent vraiment le goût d'aller à la recherche de mes ancêtres.
Félicitations pour votre beau travail.
Nathalie Godin From: Joe H.
Hi Lucie, Your website is incredible. I have a genuine interest in learning everything I can about the wonderful Acadian people and their ability to survive, despite the early setbacks ever etched in history. Your information is quite extensive. I was especially interested in the Acadian/ Louisiana connection. I travelled to the Congres Mondiale in Lousiana during the summer of 99. It was an unbelievable experience.
Each year I take my grade six students to Universite Sainte Anne in Pointe d'Eglise Nova Scotia for our end of year trip. It was here that I first heard about the World Congress99. Thanks so much for all the research you have done. It is by far the best website I have found on Acadian History. I will also make it part of my computer studies program next year at my school.
Joe H.
From: Marilyn
Lucie, I have been researching my French Canadian family and stumbled across your web site. What a wonderful job you have done! I just finished reading a novel by Janette Oke about the Acadians and their deportation and ran across names that fit into my family. Upon looking through your Acadian names and then going back into my family tree I have discovered that my family was indeed Acadian too! I find LeBlancs, Landrys, Thibodeaus, Martins, Ayots, and Grangers sprinkled into my Dupuis/ Marchand family. I have been puzzled by the Louisiana Dupuis and how they got there, now I know. Germain Dupuis was born in Boston, Ma. of parents born in Grand Pre'. I wondered how that happened, now I think they must have been deportees. They returned to Acadia and were buried there. What a marvelous heritage I have found! I can hardly wait to learn more about this hardy lot and the trials they endured.
Thank you again for all of your hard work in putting together this web site.
Gratefully yours,
Marilyn Jeanne
From: Emily Subject: History and your website
Lucie,
I remember the very first time I read and went through your website and what a thrill it was. I still to this day have a great appreciation for all of the wonderful work you have done and share with so many, many people. God has given you such an outstanding gift.
Right now I am attempting to connect some family lines together that I have gathered information on and just wanted you to know that you have helped me a great deal. Sometimes I think I just might read the words off of your site and wear them out, because I have to go back to it so often.
Thank You!!!!!!!
Emily Variani Gaines
From: Garrett Subject: 'I am Acadian"
Dear Mrs. C,
My name is Garrett. I am 11 years old and live in Calgary, Alberta. I am doing a Heritage Fair project for my Grade 6 Social Studies class. My Mémère had a geneaology chart given to her by one of her nieces. My Aunt who lives a few kilometers from Grand-Pré sent it to me. My Mémère is the 14th of 16 children. She was born in 1905. Her grandmother was Tharsile LeBlanc, daughter of Charles LeBlanc, son of Jean-Baptiste LeBlanc, son of Siimon LeBlanc & Marguerite Terriot (who was exiled to Boston), son of Antoine LeBlanc, son of Antoine LeBlanc, son of Daniel LeBlanc & Françoise Gaudet.
Your web-site gave me such excellent information. We've spent hours looking at it!
I also visited Grand-Pré a couple of summers ago. I look forward to your reply.
Thanking you in advance,
Garrett
P.S. I liked the page with all the accents!
From Garrett after his project was completed and presented:
Hello Mrs. C.
Thank-you for helping with my heritage fair project. I received a 30/30 on my presentation. I even got on the local T.V. station. I will be attending the District Heritage Fair in May. We have a scanner now. When I get my pictures back I'll send you a picture of what my project looked like.
Cousin Garrett
From: "Louis Le Jeune" Dear Lucie,
Sorry to have taken so long to answer your message. Your excellent site has been in my «liens sur l'histoire» (history links) for over a year. I know it well and your work is quite impressing.
Thank you for your appreciation of my site.
Bonjour de Québec.
From: txkajun1 To: Lucie M. Consentino Subject: Acadian Cousin
Hi Lucie, I wrote to you a few months ago after starting to research my lineage of the Broussard family. I took a trip to St. Martinville a week ago and emotional and heart warming is the words I'd like to use. I visited the memorial and toured the Olivier Plantation. There was much more I wanted to see but time did not permit. I could feel the spirits of my ancestors as I stood in awe of all that I was seeing. I plan to go back soon to see the Acadian Village and visit Broussard and other areas. Just sitting here typing this note to you makes me emotional. Thank you for your research which has helped me find my family and and the attachment to who I am. Words cannot discribe. I pray to God that I will be able to travel to Nova Scotia in 2004 for the next reunion. I am also trying to search the Classmates.com site to see if there are any cousins in Nova Scotia which can start a pen pal relationship with. I've not found any Broussards yet but I have found a few Richards. I hope by emailing them, I will be able to find someone. Thank you again for all your hard work on your site.
Love, Laurie
From: Sandra Guerard To: LucieMC
Lucie:
A few years ago you were of wonderful assistance to me as I began searching for my Guerard and French-Canadian LeBlanc roots. I appreciate all of your help and your expertise very much!
Since that time, I have indeed been able to trace the Guerard roots, back to Martin Guerard (Guerand)(dit LeGrapt)(dit GratLard) and back to Honfleur in Normandie. I found Yvan Guerard, a distant cousin in Canada, and we have had great fun working together. Yvan has done a terrific job, and we have become good friends. He and his wife flew down to CT for a family reunion which was the result of our work together.
This past summer, my husband and I were in Normandie and went to Honfleur, and also to Cahagnolles, the tiny village where my LeBlanc ancestor (Georges, son of Jean LeBlanc and Marie-Therese Avisse) was born.
I have also been tracing the other French-Canadian lines of my family, such as Pepin, Lachance, Beauregard, etc. and have been having good success.
My purpose in e-mailing you is to again thank you for all of your help as I began the searching. I'm not sure that I would have been able to learn as much, had it not been for your patience, helpful information, and time. I am most appreciative! Thanks again,
Sandie Guerard
Dear Ms. Consentino,
Congratulations! Family Tree Magazine at www.familytreemagazine.com has chosen Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home as Site of the Day for Feb. 4, 2001, because we think it will be a wonderful online resource for our readers.
Susan Wenner Associate Editor, Family Tree Magazine Web: http://www.familytreemagazine.com E-mail: SusanW@fwpubs.com Phone: (513) 531-2690 Ext. 274 Mail: 1507 Dana Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45207 USA
From: Marcel Comtois To: LucieMC
hi!......i just love your website....it is very well done..very pleasant to look at and the information is very moving to me.........I have " Dubois " on my mother's side and wondered if Jean Dubois was the same as the one in my lineage ( on my mother's side )........he was born around 1663 and died around 1780.......... my mother was Lucie Dubois............ I have bookmarked your site.....I just love it.....where are you located?... warmest regards,
Marcel Comtois in Raleigh North Carolina USA
From: Joseph C. D. To: LucieMC
I just had tell you how wonderful it was to find this site. The reading material is just fantastic and the layout first rate. Thanks to Sharon Sergeant of the Boston States mailing list I was able to find it. She had made a posting he other day advising of three new links.
The most exciting part was finding information on ancestors. I found excellent material on my 8th great grandfather Abraham Dugas, and my 12th great grandfather Jacques Bourgoeis, to mention a few. I am a Heinz 57 mix, being German and Polish on my mother's side, and French and Irish on my dad's side. I emailed several family members the information on the web site.
I look forward to continues visits to the site and all of the excellent information it has.
Best Regards
Joseph
From: JoAnn To: LucieMC
Dear Lucie:
My husband and I have just spent the most enjoyable 6 hours visiting our ancestors through your research. Thank You. Thank You. We are in the infancy of our research and just reading historical pages such as you provided is a great place to start. We indeed will visit many more times. A great place for us to spend our retirement days.
Sincerely,
JoAnn
From: Ted Richard To: LucieMC
Hi Lucie:
I've visited your site three times in the last few days and I must tell you that it is the most outstanding genealogy site, I've ever visited. You truly deserve a U.S. Navy "Well Done" for your efforts.
I am descended from Michel Richard dit Sansoucy, and have been able to trace my ancestry back to Michel. If you would like Family tree Maker file of my line, I'll gladly send it to you. I was born in Fitchburg, Mass, July 16, 1930 and was raised in Worcester. After High School, I served 20 years in the US Navy and then another twenty in Federal Government.
Again, thanks so much for your efforts.
Ted Richard
From: Andree Routledge To: LucieMC
Hi,
Just quickly toured your pages, will pass it on to others! But must say I was caught off guard when the music for "Partons la mer est belle" started playing, have not heard that in over 30 years, have a lump in my throat.
Best regards,
Andree
January 05, 2001
From: Tonya Blanchard Lawrence To: LucieMC
Hello there! I want to thank you for offerring such a terrific site. I had been told as a child that my ancestors had "been kicked out" of their land, but never knew to what extent and how many families were involved. I really didn't know what it ment to be Acadian, and i'm so gratefull that you provided this information. I am a Guillame Blanchard descendant, and i live in Iowa.
Sincerely yours,
Tonya Blanchard Lawrence
August 2000
Cousins all,
If anyone hasn't taken advantage of Lucie's web site, I urge you to try it. It's a wonderful resource and one that I visit regularly. I find it hard to believe that it's only two years old!
I particularly appreciate her contributions that deal with our heritage and the historical articles. They are particularly interesting because they talk about the trials and hardships visited upon our ancestors by the circumstances of the time.
I remember my father talking about the hardships visited upon our family by the British, and the cruelty of the actions taken. I was always aware of the stories about the taking of "our land" and getting terrible lands later because the "English" had taken all the good farm land. Those stories had been handed down verbally, generation to generation to my father, and by him to me. Little did I know then, (60 years ago) how accurate they were. If anything, the cruelty and hardships were more severe than I had imagined.
Lucie's web site has given me a real insight into the stories I had heard as a child. For that, I am very grateful.
Lucie, Merci Beaucoup! :o)
Bob Dugas - Lynn, MA
JBOBDUKE
From: WCHollier To: LucieMC
Hello,
I came upon your website by chance this morning. Your account of the grand dérangement is the most moving I have ever read; it captures the human tragedy in a way I've not seen before (here in southern Louisiana, where Acadian descendants abound, every schoolboy knows the story). Moreover, your website's coverage is the most comprehensive I've ever seen. If my comments sound superlative, it's only because I'm enormously impressed. I plan to devote a lot of time in the next few days to exploring your site. Although I have no Acadian forebears, I do descend from numerous French-Canadian families which came here after the English conquest. Thanks again for your significant contribution, especially for the material regarding les filles du Roi and the Carnigan-Salières regiment.
Regards, W. Charles Hollier
From: Tim Hunter To: LucieMC Subject: Your Website
My name is Tim Hunter (Actually the name was CHASSE up until 3 generations ago when the name was anglicised). I just had to write and let you know that your web site completely blew me away. Not only is it the best looking genealogy site I have been on (and I make it a habit to visit just about all of them) but it is the most informative one. You should be very proud of yourself for the excellent work you have done on it.
Not only did I learn a lot about my own Acadian ancestors but I was embarrassed to have been so ignorant of their history. You see, I have been researching my family for over 30 years, Concentrating on the three quarters that are English, Scottish and Irish, because the French side of my family was so easy to trace (in comparison) because of the excellent church records and of course Tanguay's excellent work, and sort of forgetting about the French side. What a mistake.
First, I thought my acadian ancestors were in Quebec not Nova Scotia or New Brunswick and I had no idea of the hardships and problems they had there. Of the families you listed, I have traced my tree back to at least half of the names therein. Names like Levesque and Brun and Ouellette and Robichaud, etc. I just jumbled them in with the Quebec French and left it at that. Thank you for clearing that up for me and thank you for showing me my ignorance.
Anyway, I just had to write and praise your fabulous site. Again, it was a distinct pleasure to visit such a well planned, well documented and well researched site such as yours. Our ancestors (for I know we share many of the same) would be proud of your work. The preservation of their history, to know they have not been forgotten and live in us, their descendants is what it is all about after all, isn't it?
Thank you for your time.
your Acadian cousin,
Tim Hunter Old Town, ME
From: Patricia Hill To: LucieMC Subject: The best web site I have seen in a very long time.
Greetings,
I would like to congratulate you on a wonderful web site. I did a general search for Acadian Geneology sites, and stumbled upon yours. It is now bookmarked. My family began searching for our roots many years ago. We were just beginning to make head way when we lost our family farm to a horrible flood in fall 1994. We have spent the last few years using all our time and energy starting over. Consequently, we are only now starting to research the family again.
I am always saddened and angered when I read of my ancestors mistreatment throughout history. I so enjoyed reading many of your sidebars, although many of the stories brought tears to my eyes.
My mother is a Budro. To my knowledge, her family are the only ones who had this spelling thrust upon them by English speaking burocrats. Our ancestors were placed into the concentration camps in England, then sent to France. They then traveled on Le Bon Papa to Louisiana. My mothers several times removed grandfather was the first Budro/Boudreaux to appear in Texas Census records.
Your site has given me new found inspiration. I can't wait to continue my hunt for my Budro, Benoit, Theroit, Hebert, etc. ancestors.
Sincerely, Patricia Hill
From: Gabe Trahan To: LucieMC Subject: Thank you
Thank you so very much for the most wonderful web page that anyone can discover. You are certainly doing a fantastic job and I can't thank you enough for your diligence and hard work. For years I have tried to connect my family history with the original Nicholas Trahan. And now thanks to your work, my cousin Father Romeo Trahan SSE and a sister in law Marie Trahan, the search has come to a happy ending.
My family and I find your page especially interesting due to the fact that my dad was Gabriel Trahan, son of Ovila, grandson of Napoleon and my mother was a Leblanc! Yvonne Leblanc. Unfortunately my mother's heritage remains a secret, a secret that I will now turn my attention to. It seems her brothers and sisters were all named Joseph and the girls named Marie and were reffered to by their middle name.
Your web page is fascinating and I have spent many hours enjoying it. Thank you again.
Gabriel A. Trahan (I have 9 brother's and sisters) Milton Vermont
From: Joe Bonnevie To: LucieMC Subject: Web Site
Hello, I just had to send you an e mail to tell you how much I enjoy and appreciate your web site. It is one of the best that I have seen on the web. The many times that I have visited I could not leave without have tears. Thank You for keeping our heritage and history alive so we and others will NEVER forget in future genetations.
I will be in Port Royal for the second time next week doing research on a map that I am working on showing the locations of the Acadian and French homes at Port Royal in 1710. My ancestor is Jacques Bonnevie dit Beaumont. Merci, votre cousin, Joseph Bonnevie.
From: Joseph Simon LeBlanc To: LucieMC Subject: First time visitor
Found your web site as a link in the "CAFA" web site in Louisiana. I cannot express to you the wonderful feeling I got when I was browsing. I congratulate you on an excellent site. Not just excellent but the best I have ever seen.
My family is Joseph (me), Severin, Severin, Joseph, Josine, Jean Piere, Pierre, Rene, Daniel. I go back to 5 of Daniel LeBlanc's sons line through my Mother and Father.
I am presently secretary of the FAMILLE de LEBLANC, INC. organization formed to organize and hold the official LeBlanc Family reunion in 1999. Our organization is still functioning. We hope to continue as long as we have interested individuals. Thank you once again for a beautiful web site. Keep up the good work.
Joseph Simon LeBlanc, Jr.
From: Pam Roder To: LucieMC Subject: Family tree and Acadian Website
Dear Lucie,
You have done a wonderful job of gathering info and presenting it in such a unique manner. Thank you for all of your hard work! Most of the folks that I teach are" in the dark" re much of Acadia's history. Your site has put a lot of info at my fingertips and provided many ideas for continued research.
Thanks again for providing this site!
From: Michel Belliveau Baie Sainte Marie, Nouvelle-Écosse Monday, February 21, 2000 9:21 AM
Your web site just blew me away....thanks for keeping it up. As we here in Nova Scotia will be hosting the third World Acadien Congress in 2004, I am sure you will be visited more and more. If I had the money, I'd have it translated in acadien...sounds like a project....Here in N.S., we are getting acadian families organised to host a great reunion in 2004 and in 2005 ,the 400th anniversary of Port-Royal. The internet will be an indispensable tool for spreading information on genealogy, history and pride in our acadian roots. Thanks to sites and persons like you, the story of who we are and where we're going will not be lost.
From: Catherine Teresa Harding
Just a note to tell you how much all of your wonderful work is appreciated! My son Mark has been researching my father's family tree (Gotro) for some time now. I can't tell you how much our family appreciates all of the work you and so many have done to bring meaning to such an outstanding people. My husband and I have visited Grand Pre. Myself, I felt a terrible sadness when standing on the site of such historical sorrow--a part of me, my brothers and sisters, and my own child feel that sorrow. It is so very good to feel we are connecting with a heritage which has been lost to us for so long. Your site was absolutely wonderful. There is so much to see and read and feel proud of. Thank you for all of the love you have put into your work. I hope that one day our family will be able to come together to share stories and lifetimes. We were in Moncton, N. B. this summer on a holiday. It was an amazing feeling standing in front of the old Moncton Times building. This was where my father--Francis Norman Gotro published his very first article at age 16--would you believe, about the Canadian West!
Thank you so much for your wonderful Acadian gifts.
Kindest regards.
Cathy Harding (Gotro), Vancouver Island, Canada
From: Martha Dailey
Dear Luci...
I'm a history teacher...about your age....(my father was also in World War I) and I have been to all the places you record so well on your site. Today, school was cancelled because of the snow storm; I spent the afternoon reading most everything you have gathered. My daughter married a LeBlanc, so I m interested in preserving the Acadian story for them. My family name (LaCroix) is also listed on the list of principal families living in Acadia at the time of deportation.
I think of all the families in my home town who know nothing of their Acadian roots and the exciting story that would give the young people an identity that is almost lost. I will do something about it; I would like to congratulate you for all the work you have done.
I kept a small twig from the willow tree....I was so haunted at Grand Pre by the sense of my ancestors that I cried. My parents died and did not know the story....what did get passed down was a deep distrust of anything British. My maternal side is Dupont from St. Gervais, Quebec....the LaCroix line entered Vermont soon after the Civil War.
thanks again...what an afternoon. Martha Dailey
From: Céline Verret Subject: Votre site Web sur les descendants acadiens déportés en Louisiane
Chère Lucie,
Permettez-moi de vous appeler par votre prénom pour vous remercier de l'immense bonheur que vous m'a procuré une rapide navigation de votre site.
Je suis nouvellement "banchée" à Internet et je reprends ce soir mes recherches généalogiques entreprises il y a 4 ans et suspendues voilà maintenant plus de 2 ans. Étant appris, par hasard, que ma famille "Verret" avait des descendants en Louisiane, j'avais, à retour du travail, effectuer une "petite" recherche dans cette direction sur le Web. Je suis restée "accrochée! à votre site plus de 2 heures, je n'ai pas tout lu et je le quitte à regret...travail oblige. Mais j'y reviendrai!
Les informations contenues dans votre site sont une pure "Mine d'or" mais plus encore, elles constituent, dans leur ensemble, une véritable poésie, offerte avec une très grande générosité.
Merci encore et bonne soirée ou journée selon l'heure à laquelle vous lirez ce mot.
Céline Verret, Montréal, QC, Canada
Subject: Thanks...
I am sending this note to tell you how much your research has meant to me. I am almost finished with my family book on the Granger, LaPointe, Michell, and Winfree families.
The book is 400 pages of text and photos, and an additional 40-60 pages of genealogy. Your name is listed no less than 50 times in this book as a source. I am so delighted with what I have compiled, but cringe at the thought of you or François Roux reviewing it, because I am certain it has many errors (because of my lack of time). Nevertheless, both of my grown sons are very proud of the book and want to know where I am storing all my research, because when they update it in 30-50 years, they want the benefit of this research. I tell them the first place to look is your website! My husband knows you by name (and reputation), and needless to say, he has tremendous respect for both!
When you undertake a mission where credibility (and sources) count, that's when the true value of this becomes important.
Please keep up the excellent work, so my sons and grandchildren can celebrate their heritage through the valuable information you so generously share with everyone. May God grant you peace and happiness in this wonderful Christmas season. You have already given me my Christmas gift! Thanks...
Sincerely, Sharon A. Granger
From James Perry:
In my opinion, when family historical information is posted to this site, you should list your sources, however if we can quote Stephen White as a source par excellence, and others (i.e. Placide Gaudet, Cyprien Tanguay, Bona Arsenault, etc.) who all all compilers of information, though some of them may be more or less accurate then others in their research procedures. What do we make of today's Historians. (i.e. the Lucie Leblanc Consentino's and Tim and Joe Hebert's) who have ammased vast quantities of information and have made it available to all who wish to correspond with them. And I applaud Lucie and Tim, for when they answer a querry they list the source. I personally put both that source and their names and website down in my reference section, in fact I wouldn't hesitate just to list them personally as the source. They are more accuarte then some of the oldtimers. Just my opinion and I'm sure there are more out there with just as impressive and accurate websites that I just haven't visited. Lucie and Tim's sites are awesome, and if you haven't visited them, DO IT - James
Subject: The Leblanc's From: "Joe or Yvette Leblanc" To: "Lucie M. Consentino" Lucie, first let me congratulate you on the big effort on your part to assimilate the information gathered on the history, sad history from day one of our ancestors and the years thereafter when they were used and abused by the english including our mother country France. But the torture,physical and otherwise that the visiting english put the acadians through is hardly forgiveable and someday reparations should be in order. They say that what goes around comes around.Nothing can ever repay for the damages incurred by the acadians. What an experience. Your ability to put all this in order as you did deserves a place in history itself. You've done a marvelous job. The emotions ran high with me also as I went through all of your material. It took me days to fully absorb it all. I have read excerpts of other researchers through the years and I am aware of the history including the Cajuns but I never had seen anyone put it all together as well as you have. Maybe it was because you included pictures and census data right from the source, the Maritimes. I was born in Shediac,New Brunswick in 43 and since the age of twelve I was brought up in St Paul,Kent County, New Brunswick. In my early 20's I lived in Waltham,Ma for several years and then I joined the USAF. I am now a US citizen living in Georgia. I am a musician with my band "4 HIRE" where we play bluegrass and Cajun. I play button accordion and fiddle along with other instruments. I am introducing cajun as well as canadian reels and jigs to this area and they just love it. I hope to make it to cajunland in August this year for the big celebration. I was in Shediac in 94 and it was grid-locked with Leblanc's. We are like a wild seed that cannot be gotten rid of, no way. Lucie, Thanks from me personally for what you have done and keep up the good work. Hopefully, I'll get to meet you someday. Bye for now and as they say in Cajunland, Lache-pas and {"Let the good times roll."} From: GrangerSA To: luciemc@mediaone.net Lucie--I spent about 2 hours on your web site tonight. It was very touching. Your father must be very proud of you. Some of us walk this earth and leave only footprints. You have left a legacy, and are sharing. Congratulations and thanks. S. Granger Subject: LeBlanc History Date: Thu, 01 Apr 1999 19:26:48 -0500 From: Robert White To: luciemc@mediaone.net Many thanks Lucie for the wonderful presentation of our Acadian ancestors. I am Robert White did LeBlanc one of the descendents of Daniel/Antoine/Pierre Hilaire LeBlanc jr and Marie Isabelle Hebert (Parkman). I am greatly impressed by your work and style and the skill with which you present "our" story. My niece Jennifer was recently married less than a mile from the Acadian House wherein our ancestor Pierre Hilaire dit Pinault married Marie Isabelle Hebert so in a way history came back and shook hands with itself. I began several years ago a family newsletter "Footprints of the Exiled" and was in touch with several who remembered the founding of the original LeBlanc Family Society and with its leader Father Patrice LeBlanc who unfortunately passed away right after the huge LeBlanc reunion in Moncton in 1950. I have some pictures of the event which you are welcome to if you're interested in them and also some information on the original LeBlanc Family Society too. Again, thank you for your wonderful work. Cousin Rob White dit LeBlanc Subject: La Voix des Prairies From: jconway To: LucieMC@mediaone.net I am sure glad I lucked onto this sight. You and Don Landry and many others have some great postings. Information is wonderful. I am the editor of The EVANGELINE GENEALOGICAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY of Ville Platte, LA. quarterly journal La Voix des Prairies and I would like to pass some of this info on to our people. We are in the heart of CAJUN Country and many thousands of the natives here are direct descendants of the expulsion. If it is OK with you I will print some of the postings you have made, in our quarterly. Giving you full credit as the author along with your e-mail address and website. I will not EDIT them in any way, and will print them as you have written them. We have been printing some of Don Landry's postings and it has been well received. Your web site is a "BEAUTY" and reflects many hours of work and thought. Thanks for being where you are and being willing to pass your knowledge on. Jim Conway From: Joan Landry To: LucieMC@mediaone.net Earlier, I went back to your web site and saw your recent changes. You should be very proud of what you are contributing to so many people. Your work shows the love you have of family and who we are today, because of our ancestors. Generations from now will also honor you as one of the women in their family who has contributed so much time and love into knowing where they came from. Cousin Joan I have written a poem that I will add to my Family Book for my children, I would like to share this with you. Picture-Past A photo or a snapshot is... A picture of the past... To help preserve some memory... As long as it may last... It is a certain likeness we... May never see again... As youthful and as wonderful... As everything was then... Or it may be a recent view... Of old or middle age... For children or grandchildren as... They turn another page... Each one has some important place... However small it seems... Inside the family album of... Our memories and dreams... It is a preservation of... The days we used to know... Familiar faces yesterday... And those of long ago. May not be used without permission. Lucie, you are an inspiration for us all. You are leaving to many family members our memories of our Picture-Past. God Bless you. Cousin Joan Subject: Great Site From: Margaret B. I am awed by your web site. I have seen a lot of that information but never in one place. We should all be thankful to you for such organization. I too am a direct descendant of Francoise Gaudet and Daniel LeBlanc; from their son Andre. My tree is at http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/b/a/l/margaret-a-balsamo Gee, even Charles Picard's picture you had really touched me. Believe me, I don't get this excited about too many genealogy pages out there, but I certainly appreciate the time, effort and patience you have poured into yours. I am certainly going to check all the data that from your site and update mine from it. Thanks for the additional email information. You know, talking to you (via email) makes me feel that I know my ancestors now and they are not just a statistic on my tree. You don't know all that you have done for me and I have been gathering information for the past 20 years or so. You make them real. Thanks. By the way, would you tell me more about Stephen White's books, like the title etc. After all that you have said about him, I must have his books. Bye for now. Always, your cousin, Margaret From: Cotbayou To: LucieMC@mediaone.net I have visited your web site and I feel like - "I'VE BEEN TO THE MOUNTAIN". all I can say is, thank God for people like you who have the patience and tenacity to pursue their heritage this way. Lucie, I am from south Louisiana but I now live in Tennessee. The local resources are limited so I just want to thank you for all of your help and dedication. Also, I miss home terribly, seeing so many others working on the preservation of my heritage allows me to feel a little of that close-knit community that I felt back home in Louisiana. For that, I am grateful as well! Thank you again. Most Sincerely, Gordon B. From: mcgoo To: LucieMC@mediaone.net I am a descendant of the Petitpas (and other) Acadian families, and relatively new at tracing this genealogy. I did not find any of my people here today, but I will be back...thjis is a great site for learning more about the history of our people! I have added this site to my list of favorites, and will take the time to really study it next time...you have done a great job! Pat McG From: Marjorie C. To: LucieMC@mediaone.net Just a note to say that I've enjoyed your homepage. It is well organized and has tons of information. Good job! Marj From: Tracey To: LucieMC@mediaone.net Hello, I just found your website and find it quite informative. Ive bookmarked it, as it will take me some time to see it all. I've found that we are related, as I descend from Charles dit Chat LeBlanc, born September 26, 1716 and Madeleine Girouard. I'm a very amateur genealogist so I hope to learn a lot from your site. Thanks. Tracey Subject: Your Website Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 18:11:57 -0500 From: "Bill" To: Great site, perhaps the best individual effort I have seen on the Web in two years of browsing. From: Michael Melanson To: luciemc@mediaone.net Wonderful article in the ACGS Journal! Congrats! I just finished reading it. You have inspired me. I have been considering going to Nova Scotia this fall, and your article has pushed me even closer. I'll be sure to talk to you as I make my plans. By the way, you and I are cousins a few times over. I am descendant of three of Joseph dit Jos-Andre LeBlanc's children: Marguerite m. David Melanson (5th gr. grandparents) Joseph dit Jean-Andre m. Marguerite Forest (6th gr. grandparents) Francois m. Anastasie Bourgeois (6th gr. grandparents) That makes us 5th cousins, twice removed, and 6th cousins, twice removed - twice! Yikes! Congrats on a Great job, Lucie! Michael NOTE: Last fall Michael published an excellent book on the Melanson family. He can be reached at: Mbmelanson@aol.com This is not the same Michael Melanson who has a web site. Subject: Web Site From: Alfred LeBlanc Dear Lucie, Just happened to be surfing the web this A.M. and ran across your web page link on the Broussard Web page. Really a great site and the finest tribute to the LeBlanc's I ran across yet. The history and the music are awsome. This Louisiana Acadian/Cajun has been to "L'Acadie" three times and ready to go back whenever the opportunity presents itself. Just can't get enough of it. The narrative of your visit brought back memories of my last visit in 1998. Incidently, both my Mother and Father were LeBlanc's. I dabble in genealogy myself. My father is descended from Antoine and my Mother is a descendant of Rene. I live in the small town of Port Allen, LA. You Have a wonderful site and I intend to visit it often. Au Revoir, Your Cajun Cousin, Alfred LeBlanc I am very touched when I read these and the hundreds of emails I have received in the past year sharing the same sentiments. To all of my "cousins" who have taken the time to write me with such testimonies of what you have experienced on this web site, a sincere and heartfelt "thank you"! You too have touched my life in a very special way by coming here and by sharing your experience.. thus, you too have become part of the fabric of my life. To all our other cousins I've yet to meet, if you enjoy your visit, please email me? I love to hear from all of my "cousins." After all, we have just celebrated the first anniversary of this web site on April 14th.. we've only just begun! Have a great day! Your cousin in Massachusetts... © Lucie LeBlanc Consentino Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home 1998 - Present Please Navigate This Web Site Using The Sidebar To The Left If You Do Not See A Sidebar Click Here
Lucie, first let me congratulate you on the big effort on your part to assimilate the information gathered on the history, sad history from day one of our ancestors and the years thereafter when they were used and abused by the english including our mother country France. But the torture,physical and otherwise that the visiting english put the acadians through is hardly forgiveable and someday reparations should be in order. They say that what goes around comes around.Nothing can ever repay for the damages incurred by the acadians. What an experience. Your ability to put all this in order as you did deserves a place in history itself. You've done a marvelous job. The emotions ran high with me also as I went through all of your material. It took me days to fully absorb it all. I have read excerpts of other researchers through the years and I am aware of the history including the Cajuns but I never had seen anyone put it all together as well as you have. Maybe it was because you included pictures and census data right from the source, the Maritimes. I was born in Shediac,New Brunswick in 43 and since the age of twelve I was brought up in St Paul,Kent County, New Brunswick.
In my early 20's I lived in Waltham,Ma for several years and then I joined the USAF. I am now a US citizen living in Georgia. I am a musician with my band "4 HIRE" where we play bluegrass and Cajun. I play button accordion and fiddle along with other instruments. I am introducing cajun as well as canadian reels and jigs to this area and they just love it.
I hope to make it to cajunland in August this year for the big celebration. I was in Shediac in 94 and it was grid-locked with Leblanc's. We are like a wild seed that cannot be gotten rid of, no way.
Lucie, Thanks from me personally for what you have done and keep up the good work. Hopefully, I'll get to meet you someday. Bye for now and as they say in Cajunland, Lache-pas and {"Let the good times roll."}
From: GrangerSA To: luciemc@mediaone.net
Lucie--I spent about 2 hours on your web site tonight. It was very touching. Your father must be very proud of you. Some of us walk this earth and leave only footprints. You have left a legacy, and are sharing. Congratulations and thanks. S. Granger
Subject: LeBlanc History Date: Thu, 01 Apr 1999 19:26:48 -0500 From: Robert White To: luciemc@mediaone.net
Many thanks Lucie for the wonderful presentation of our Acadian ancestors.
I am Robert White did LeBlanc one of the descendents of Daniel/Antoine/Pierre Hilaire LeBlanc jr and Marie Isabelle Hebert (Parkman). I am greatly impressed by your work and style and the skill with which you present "our" story.
My niece Jennifer was recently married less than a mile from the Acadian House wherein our ancestor Pierre Hilaire dit Pinault married Marie Isabelle Hebert so in a way history came back and shook hands with itself.
I began several years ago a family newsletter "Footprints of the Exiled" and was in touch with several who remembered the founding of the original LeBlanc Family Society and with its leader Father Patrice LeBlanc who unfortunately passed away right after the huge LeBlanc reunion in Moncton in 1950. I have some pictures of the event which you are welcome to if you're interested in them and also some information on the original LeBlanc Family Society too.
Again, thank you for your wonderful work.
Cousin Rob White dit LeBlanc
Subject: La Voix des Prairies From: jconway To: LucieMC@mediaone.net I am sure glad I lucked onto this sight. You and Don Landry and many others have some great postings. Information is wonderful. I am the editor of The EVANGELINE GENEALOGICAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY of Ville Platte, LA. quarterly journal La Voix des Prairies and I would like to pass some of this info on to our people. We are in the heart of CAJUN Country and many thousands of the natives here are direct descendants of the expulsion. If it is OK with you I will print some of the postings you have made, in our quarterly. Giving you full credit as the author along with your e-mail address and website. I will not EDIT them in any way, and will print them as you have written them. We have been printing some of Don Landry's postings and it has been well received. Your web site is a "BEAUTY" and reflects many hours of work and thought. Thanks for being where you are and being willing to pass your knowledge on. Jim Conway From: Joan Landry To: LucieMC@mediaone.net Earlier, I went back to your web site and saw your recent changes. You should be very proud of what you are contributing to so many people. Your work shows the love you have of family and who we are today, because of our ancestors. Generations from now will also honor you as one of the women in their family who has contributed so much time and love into knowing where they came from. Cousin Joan I have written a poem that I will add to my Family Book for my children, I would like to share this with you. Picture-Past A photo or a snapshot is... A picture of the past... To help preserve some memory... As long as it may last... It is a certain likeness we... May never see again... As youthful and as wonderful... As everything was then... Or it may be a recent view... Of old or middle age... For children or grandchildren as... They turn another page... Each one has some important place... However small it seems... Inside the family album of... Our memories and dreams... It is a preservation of... The days we used to know... Familiar faces yesterday... And those of long ago. May not be used without permission. Lucie, you are an inspiration for us all. You are leaving to many family members our memories of our Picture-Past. God Bless you. Cousin Joan Subject: Great Site From: Margaret B. I am awed by your web site. I have seen a lot of that information but never in one place. We should all be thankful to you for such organization. I too am a direct descendant of Francoise Gaudet and Daniel LeBlanc; from their son Andre. My tree is at http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/b/a/l/margaret-a-balsamo Gee, even Charles Picard's picture you had really touched me. Believe me, I don't get this excited about too many genealogy pages out there, but I certainly appreciate the time, effort and patience you have poured into yours. I am certainly going to check all the data that from your site and update mine from it. Thanks for the additional email information. You know, talking to you (via email) makes me feel that I know my ancestors now and they are not just a statistic on my tree. You don't know all that you have done for me and I have been gathering information for the past 20 years or so. You make them real. Thanks. By the way, would you tell me more about Stephen White's books, like the title etc. After all that you have said about him, I must have his books. Bye for now. Always, your cousin, Margaret From: Cotbayou To: LucieMC@mediaone.net I have visited your web site and I feel like - "I'VE BEEN TO THE MOUNTAIN". all I can say is, thank God for people like you who have the patience and tenacity to pursue their heritage this way. Lucie, I am from south Louisiana but I now live in Tennessee. The local resources are limited so I just want to thank you for all of your help and dedication. Also, I miss home terribly, seeing so many others working on the preservation of my heritage allows me to feel a little of that close-knit community that I felt back home in Louisiana. For that, I am grateful as well! Thank you again. Most Sincerely, Gordon B. From: mcgoo To: LucieMC@mediaone.net I am a descendant of the Petitpas (and other) Acadian families, and relatively new at tracing this genealogy. I did not find any of my people here today, but I will be back...thjis is a great site for learning more about the history of our people! I have added this site to my list of favorites, and will take the time to really study it next time...you have done a great job! Pat McG From: Marjorie C. To: LucieMC@mediaone.net Just a note to say that I've enjoyed your homepage. It is well organized and has tons of information. Good job! Marj From: Tracey To: LucieMC@mediaone.net Hello, I just found your website and find it quite informative. Ive bookmarked it, as it will take me some time to see it all. I've found that we are related, as I descend from Charles dit Chat LeBlanc, born September 26, 1716 and Madeleine Girouard. I'm a very amateur genealogist so I hope to learn a lot from your site. Thanks. Tracey Subject: Your Website Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 18:11:57 -0500 From: "Bill" To: Great site, perhaps the best individual effort I have seen on the Web in two years of browsing. From: Michael Melanson To: luciemc@mediaone.net Wonderful article in the ACGS Journal! Congrats! I just finished reading it. You have inspired me. I have been considering going to Nova Scotia this fall, and your article has pushed me even closer. I'll be sure to talk to you as I make my plans. By the way, you and I are cousins a few times over. I am descendant of three of Joseph dit Jos-Andre LeBlanc's children: Marguerite m. David Melanson (5th gr. grandparents) Joseph dit Jean-Andre m. Marguerite Forest (6th gr. grandparents) Francois m. Anastasie Bourgeois (6th gr. grandparents) That makes us 5th cousins, twice removed, and 6th cousins, twice removed - twice! Yikes! Congrats on a Great job, Lucie! Michael NOTE: Last fall Michael published an excellent book on the Melanson family. He can be reached at: Mbmelanson@aol.com This is not the same Michael Melanson who has a web site. Subject: Web Site From: Alfred LeBlanc Dear Lucie, Just happened to be surfing the web this A.M. and ran across your web page link on the Broussard Web page. Really a great site and the finest tribute to the LeBlanc's I ran across yet. The history and the music are awsome. This Louisiana Acadian/Cajun has been to "L'Acadie" three times and ready to go back whenever the opportunity presents itself. Just can't get enough of it. The narrative of your visit brought back memories of my last visit in 1998. Incidently, both my Mother and Father were LeBlanc's. I dabble in genealogy myself. My father is descended from Antoine and my Mother is a descendant of Rene. I live in the small town of Port Allen, LA. You Have a wonderful site and I intend to visit it often. Au Revoir, Your Cajun Cousin, Alfred LeBlanc I am very touched when I read these and the hundreds of emails I have received in the past year sharing the same sentiments. To all of my "cousins" who have taken the time to write me with such testimonies of what you have experienced on this web site, a sincere and heartfelt "thank you"! You too have touched my life in a very special way by coming here and by sharing your experience.. thus, you too have become part of the fabric of my life. To all our other cousins I've yet to meet, if you enjoy your visit, please email me? I love to hear from all of my "cousins." After all, we have just celebrated the first anniversary of this web site on April 14th.. we've only just begun! Have a great day! Your cousin in Massachusetts... © Lucie LeBlanc Consentino Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home 1998 - Present Please Navigate This Web Site Using The Sidebar To The Left If You Do Not See A Sidebar Click Here
I am sure glad I lucked onto this sight. You and Don Landry and many others have some great postings. Information is wonderful. I am the editor of The EVANGELINE GENEALOGICAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY of Ville Platte, LA. quarterly journal La Voix des Prairies and I would like to pass some of this info on to our people. We are in the heart of CAJUN Country and many thousands of the natives here are direct descendants of the expulsion. If it is OK with you I will print some of the postings you have made, in our quarterly. Giving you full credit as the author along with your e-mail address and website. I will not EDIT them in any way, and will print them as you have written them. We have been printing some of Don Landry's postings and it has been well received. Your web site is a "BEAUTY" and reflects many hours of work and thought. Thanks for being where you are and being willing to pass your knowledge on.
Jim Conway
From: Joan Landry To: LucieMC@mediaone.net
Earlier, I went back to your web site and saw your recent changes. You should be very proud of what you are contributing to so many people. Your work shows the love you have of family and who we are today, because of our ancestors. Generations from now will also honor you as one of the women in their family who has contributed so much time and love into knowing where they came from. Cousin Joan
I have written a poem that I will add to my Family Book for my children, I would like to share this with you.
It is a certain likeness we... May never see again... As youthful and as wonderful... As everything was then...
Or it may be a recent view... Of old or middle age... For children or grandchildren as... They turn another page...
Each one has some important place... However small it seems... Inside the family album of... Our memories and dreams...
It is a preservation of... The days we used to know... Familiar faces yesterday... And those of long ago.
Subject: Great Site From: Margaret B.
I am awed by your web site. I have seen a lot of that information but never in one place. We should all be thankful to you for such organization.
I too am a direct descendant of Francoise Gaudet and Daniel LeBlanc; from their son Andre. My tree is at http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/b/a/l/margaret-a-balsamo
Gee, even Charles Picard's picture you had really touched me. Believe me, I don't get this excited about too many genealogy pages out there, but I certainly appreciate the time, effort and patience you have poured into yours.
I am certainly going to check all the data that from your site and update mine from it. Thanks for the additional email information.
You know, talking to you (via email) makes me feel that I know my ancestors now and they are not just a statistic on my tree. You don't know all that you have done for me and I have been gathering information for the past 20 years or so. You make them real. Thanks.
By the way, would you tell me more about Stephen White's books, like the title etc. After all that you have said about him, I must have his books. Bye for now. Always, your cousin, Margaret
From: Cotbayou To: LucieMC@mediaone.net
I have visited your web site and I feel like - "I'VE BEEN TO THE MOUNTAIN". all I can say is, thank God for people like you who have the patience and tenacity to pursue their heritage this way. Lucie, I am from south Louisiana but I now live in Tennessee. The local resources are limited so I just want to thank you for all of your help and dedication. Also, I miss home terribly, seeing so many others working on the preservation of my heritage allows me to feel a little of that close-knit community that I felt back home in Louisiana. For that, I am grateful as well! Thank you again. Most Sincerely, Gordon B.
From: mcgoo To: LucieMC@mediaone.net
I am a descendant of the Petitpas (and other) Acadian families, and relatively new at tracing this genealogy. I did not find any of my people here today, but I will be back...thjis is a great site for learning more about the history of our people! I have added this site to my list of favorites, and will take the time to really study it next time...you have done a great job! Pat McG
From: Marjorie C. To: LucieMC@mediaone.net
Just a note to say that I've enjoyed your homepage. It is well organized and has tons of information. Good job! Marj
From: Tracey To: LucieMC@mediaone.net Hello, I just found your website and find it quite informative. Ive bookmarked it, as it will take me some time to see it all. I've found that we are related, as I descend from Charles dit Chat LeBlanc, born September 26, 1716 and Madeleine Girouard. I'm a very amateur genealogist so I hope to learn a lot from your site. Thanks. Tracey
Subject: Your Website Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 18:11:57 -0500 From: "Bill" To: Great site, perhaps the best individual effort I have seen on the Web in two years of browsing. From: Michael Melanson To: luciemc@mediaone.net Wonderful article in the ACGS Journal! Congrats! I just finished reading it. You have inspired me. I have been considering going to Nova Scotia this fall, and your article has pushed me even closer. I'll be sure to talk to you as I make my plans. By the way, you and I are cousins a few times over. I am descendant of three of Joseph dit Jos-Andre LeBlanc's children: Marguerite m. David Melanson (5th gr. grandparents) Joseph dit Jean-Andre m. Marguerite Forest (6th gr. grandparents) Francois m. Anastasie Bourgeois (6th gr. grandparents) That makes us 5th cousins, twice removed, and 6th cousins, twice removed - twice! Yikes! Congrats on a Great job, Lucie! Michael NOTE: Last fall Michael published an excellent book on the Melanson family. He can be reached at: Mbmelanson@aol.com This is not the same Michael Melanson who has a web site. Subject: Web Site From: Alfred LeBlanc Dear Lucie, Just happened to be surfing the web this A.M. and ran across your web page link on the Broussard Web page. Really a great site and the finest tribute to the LeBlanc's I ran across yet. The history and the music are awsome. This Louisiana Acadian/Cajun has been to "L'Acadie" three times and ready to go back whenever the opportunity presents itself. Just can't get enough of it. The narrative of your visit brought back memories of my last visit in 1998. Incidently, both my Mother and Father were LeBlanc's. I dabble in genealogy myself. My father is descended from Antoine and my Mother is a descendant of Rene. I live in the small town of Port Allen, LA. You Have a wonderful site and I intend to visit it often. Au Revoir, Your Cajun Cousin, Alfred LeBlanc I am very touched when I read these and the hundreds of emails I have received in the past year sharing the same sentiments. To all of my "cousins" who have taken the time to write me with such testimonies of what you have experienced on this web site, a sincere and heartfelt "thank you"! You too have touched my life in a very special way by coming here and by sharing your experience.. thus, you too have become part of the fabric of my life. To all our other cousins I've yet to meet, if you enjoy your visit, please email me? I love to hear from all of my "cousins." After all, we have just celebrated the first anniversary of this web site on April 14th.. we've only just begun! Have a great day! Your cousin in Massachusetts... © Lucie LeBlanc Consentino Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home 1998 - Present Please Navigate This Web Site Using The Sidebar To The Left If You Do Not See A Sidebar Click Here
From: Michael Melanson To: luciemc@mediaone.net
Wonderful article in the ACGS Journal! Congrats! I just finished reading it. You have inspired me. I have been considering going to Nova Scotia this fall, and your article has pushed me even closer. I'll be sure to talk to you as I make my plans.
By the way, you and I are cousins a few times over. I am descendant of three of Joseph dit Jos-Andre LeBlanc's children:
Marguerite m. David Melanson (5th gr. grandparents) Joseph dit Jean-Andre m. Marguerite Forest (6th gr. grandparents) Francois m. Anastasie Bourgeois (6th gr. grandparents)
That makes us 5th cousins, twice removed, and 6th cousins, twice removed - twice! Yikes!
NOTE: Last fall Michael published an excellent book on the Melanson family. He can be reached at:
Mbmelanson@aol.com This is not the same Michael Melanson who has a web site. Subject: Web Site From: Alfred LeBlanc Dear Lucie, Just happened to be surfing the web this A.M. and ran across your web page link on the Broussard Web page. Really a great site and the finest tribute to the LeBlanc's I ran across yet. The history and the music are awsome. This Louisiana Acadian/Cajun has been to "L'Acadie" three times and ready to go back whenever the opportunity presents itself. Just can't get enough of it. The narrative of your visit brought back memories of my last visit in 1998. Incidently, both my Mother and Father were LeBlanc's. I dabble in genealogy myself. My father is descended from Antoine and my Mother is a descendant of Rene. I live in the small town of Port Allen, LA. You Have a wonderful site and I intend to visit it often. Au Revoir, Your Cajun Cousin, Alfred LeBlanc I am very touched when I read these and the hundreds of emails I have received in the past year sharing the same sentiments. To all of my "cousins" who have taken the time to write me with such testimonies of what you have experienced on this web site, a sincere and heartfelt "thank you"! You too have touched my life in a very special way by coming here and by sharing your experience.. thus, you too have become part of the fabric of my life. To all our other cousins I've yet to meet, if you enjoy your visit, please email me? I love to hear from all of my "cousins." After all, we have just celebrated the first anniversary of this web site on April 14th.. we've only just begun! Have a great day! Your cousin in Massachusetts...
This is not the same Michael Melanson who has a web site.
Subject: Web Site From: Alfred LeBlanc
Just happened to be surfing the web this A.M. and ran across your web page link on the Broussard Web page. Really a great site and the finest tribute to the LeBlanc's I ran across yet. The history and the music are awsome. This Louisiana Acadian/Cajun has been to "L'Acadie" three times and ready to go back whenever the opportunity presents itself. Just can't get enough of it. The narrative of your visit brought back memories of my last visit in 1998.
Incidently, both my Mother and Father were LeBlanc's. I dabble in genealogy myself. My father is descended from Antoine and my Mother is a descendant of Rene. I live in the small town of Port Allen, LA.
You Have a wonderful site and I intend to visit it often.
I am very touched when I read these and the hundreds of emails I have received in the past year sharing the same sentiments.
To all of my "cousins" who have taken the time to write me with such testimonies of what you have experienced on this web site, a sincere and heartfelt "thank you"! You too have touched my life in a very special way by coming here and by sharing your experience.. thus, you too have become part of the fabric of my life.
To all our other cousins I've yet to meet, if you enjoy your visit, please email me? I love to hear from all of my "cousins." After all, we have just celebrated the first anniversary of this web site on April 14th.. we've only just begun!
Have a great day! Your cousin in Massachusetts...