Terrebonne Genealogical Society

TGS Newsletter
Vol. 21 No. 3 May 2002

Visit our home page at http://www.rootsweb.com/~laterreb/tgs.htm

Newsletter Editor Ed Hicks, 5306 Hwy.. 1, Raceland, LA 70394-2033

E-mail: edhicks@mobiletel.com                 Phone: (504) 532-3586

Membership and/or address changes:
Please send by mail to TGS, Station 2 Box 295, Houma, LA 70360-0295


NEXT MEETING Saturday, May 25, 2002
North Branch Library, Gray, LA 1:00 p.m.

     For all her work with researching the Underground Railroad in Terrebonne Parish, Patty Whitney Gravois received a print of Harriet Tubman, who helped many to freedom. The scene is a typical one showing some former enslaved persons being assisted on their way to “free” states. It was a gift from Noella Walker, who made the presentation at the April meeting. You may remember the discussion in two newsletters last year in March and April.
     Also at the April meeting, Audrey Barnes Westerman recommended a couple of websites. For translating documents, she and others recommended <http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr> and for help with genealogy, try <http://geneanet.com> which purports to be a universal register of all the world’s genealogical resources, whether Net-based or not, and whether free or fee-paying. The “babelfish” site should be helpful; it even has Asian languages (Chinese, Korean and Japanese).

DEATHS
     Genealogists and former students of Miss Laise Ledet will be saddened to hear of her passing from this world on 25 April 2002. She was a retired teacher for Terrebonne Parish School Board for 30 years and was a member of many Catholic and civic organizations. She was in the U.S. Women’s Army Corps during World War II, and the author of They Came, They Stayed. She is survived by two brothers, John J. Ledet and Louby J. Ledet of Pointe-aux-Chenes, and one sister, Della Ledet Rougeau of Houma. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Ledet and Cecile Brunet Ledet; six brothers, Charles Ledet, Evest Ledet, Paul Ledet, Paulin Ledet, Wilfred Ledet and Louis Ledet; and one sister, Oline Ledet.
     Our sympathy is extended to our president, Phil Chauvin, Jr., and his sister, author Phoebe C. Morrison who lost their uncle, Eugene "Gene" Warren Arcement, Sr., 78, a native of Montegut and resident of Houma. He died at 3:30 am. Sunday, May 12, 2002. He is survived by his wife, Reta Mae Placker Arcement; two sons, Eugene Warren Arcement, Jr. and James Joseph Arcement of Houma, one daughter, Eloyne Mary Erickson of Denver; seven grandchildren: Jeffery Arcement, Chris Arcement, Michael Arcement, Matthew Arcement, Brad Whittington, Betsy Whittington and Emily Chauvin; and two great grandchildren, Haily Arcement and Saddi Arcement. He was preceded in death by his parents, Abdon and Heloine Belanger Arcement; three brothers, Edward Arcement, George Arcement and Raymond Arcement; and four sisters, Edith Degeneres, Hattie Chauvin, May Matherne and Dorothy Labit. He was a cook for Texaco for 33 years, and a parishioner of St. Louis Catholic Church.
     Our hearts go out to member Nick Porto who lost his wife, Joyce Scioneaux Porto, on 5 May 2002. She was a homemaker, a resident of Donaldsonville and a native of New Orleans. Survived by her husband, a son and daughter-in-law, Nick and Christie Porto; three sisters, Janice S. Treese, Mary S. Oubre, and Gail S. Jacobs; three brothers, Louis Scioneaux, Joe Scioneaux, and Norman Scioneaux; and a grandson, Cody Paul Porto. She was preceded in death by her parents, Loisel J. And Stella LeBlanc Scioneaux; an infant daughter; and a grandson, Beau Michael Porto. She was a member of Community Worship Center of Plattenville and American Legion Ladies Auxiliary.
     Member Sandra Heltz Barré lost her beloved mother, Lydee Aucoin Heltz, on Thursday, 21 March 2002. She was the wife of the late Rudy Heltz, mother of Anita Millet, Sandra Barré, Dave Heltz and the late Raymond Heltz; daughter of the late Achille and Angela Aucoin; sister of Mildred Breaux and the late Camille, Medric, Erby, Alex, Claude, Eddie “Chicken” and James Aucoin, Agnes Alexander, Manette Cashio and Isabelle Simon; and also survived by three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She was a resident of Reserve, LA, for 68 years and a native of Plattenville.

PRAYERS
     At the April meeting we were informed that Carley Ledet of Quitman, AR, is in need of our prayers. He hasn’t been feeling well, lately. Also Ray Chaisson, husband of Jacquie H. Chaisson of Houma. And although Godfrey Olivier is back home, now, after an extended session in the care of others, I’m sure he would appreciate your prayers.

SPARE COMPUTER
     You may remember a plea that we made last month for a computer that our industrious Corresponding Secretary, Jess Bergeron, could use to acquire email service. We are happy to report that the request bore fruit. J. Dwain Broussard of Pasadena, TX, had just what we needed. And we may be lucky enough to have a means of transporting it to Louisiana. Stay tuned for the continuing saga.

PUBLICATIONS
     Every now and then we get requests for the address of Hebert Publications. You may write to Bonnie Beaullieu, P. O. Box 147, Rayne, LA 70578, or phone 337-873-6151.
     The 20-year index for the Terrebonne Life Lines, our fabulous quarterly, has been issued on CD, at last. After working on it for over five years, it is ready to use. It is a bargain at $15.00 per copy and $3.00 shipping and handling, it searches 79 issues of T.L.L. and comes up with all the occurrences of an individual. It is called a “surname” index, but it is much more because it indexes the whole name of a person, and includes many references to those who had no surname, such as Native Americans, enslaved persons, and religious (nuns). The article index is very helpful when you are looking up a family history or cemetery research. To use the CD requires a computer (having a CD drive, of course) with a web browser (Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer). It is compatible with Macintosh and Windows operating systems. Send in your order now, or pick up a copy at the meeting and save postage.

LETTER OF THANKS
     Mary Cosper LeBoeuf, Director of the Terrebonne Parish Library System, wrote a letter thanking the members of the Terrebonne Genealogical Society and giving us a glimpse of some features of the new main library. Since I am out of space, I will try to get it into next month’s newsletter.

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