North Branch Library, Gray, LA 1:00 p.m.
Meeting between two hurricanes like
that, you would think that our spirits would have been kinda “dampened,”
to say the least. Well, we were not exactly unconcerned. I overheard many
members asking if the last “tropical storm” — the one called Isidore —
had caused any problem. And, sure, we had heard about Lili, and were concerned
that it had caused much damage to Cuba and was heading our way. Some of
our members were busy assisting those unfortunate citizens who lost homes
and property to the storms, and we sympathize with those whose homes and
places of business were inundated with several feet of water. You are in
our prayers. But when we were at that meeting, on that particular day,
we were genealogists to the end, and to that end, we certainly were able
to “talk genealogy.” Lots of people were making connections, finding out
about untried sources, and just having a good time sharing in general.
It seemed to me that our “talking genes” were surfacing. And we really
enjoyed Ms. Karen Hart’s explanation of the upcoming celebration of the
200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase in 2003. We got our quarterlies
after all, folks. The Collating Party was cancelled due to the weather,
but Phil, Marcie, Essie, Jess and Dorothy and their respective families
chipped in and put together some 500 issues and mailed them out. They didn’t
say how long it took, however. I think they had plenty of time, am I right?
Anyway, our thanks go out to all of you who helped.
For the October meeting our guest speaker
will be Mrs. Mary Cosper LeBoeuf, Director of the Terrebonne Parish Library,
who will discuss with us our future “home away from home,” the Terrebonne
Parish Library System’s new Main Branch building, with an honest-to-goodness
Genealogy Department on the second floor! We have heard that some of the
new equipment (such as additional microfilm reader/printers) (Someone must
have prayed for another microfilm reader/printer. You think?) and the furniture
is in and waiting for the walls and floors to be finished. Mrs. LeBoeuf
will be bringing the layout for the furnishings. Please come and show your
interest in the new facilities.
All you members from outside the parish
need to attend, too. I don’t know if everybody is aware of the spread of
our society. Besides our “regulars” that come from Jefferson, Orleans and
Lafourche Parishes, we have had members come in from Baton Rouge, Gonzales,
Slidell, Donaldsonville, Lafayette, Patterson, Franklin, and Morgan City.
And these are just the ones from Louisiana. I’m sure you remember seeing
some of our out-of-state members from Detroit, MI, Chicago, IL, Tampa and
Kissimmee, FL, Houston, Kerrville, San Antonio and Austin, TX. And we don’t
want to leave out our compadres from Mississippi (Jackson, Union, Saucier,
Carriere and Biloxi). Please come and find out what Terrebonne Parish has
in store for us. Even if you never make another meeting this year,
please let this be the one you DO make. We would like to demonstrate (in
a peaceful manner) our support of the Terrebonne Parish Library with our
presence.
It is important that we report in person
to Mrs. LeBoeuf that we plan to use the Library to the fullest extent possible
and that we appreciate all she has done for us. That is, after all, why
the new Library is being built, and why the Genealogy Department exists
— to serve its patrons. The Society has always worked hand-in-hand with
the Terrebonne Parish Library, from the time 20 years ago when the whole
Genealogy Collection could be housed in one bookcase, until the present
time. Now we have an excellent reputation throughout the country as an
up-and-coming group making a difference in Southeastern Louisiana Genealogy
research. I have heard more than one person (member or not is unimportant)
make the statement that they planned their vacation so they could come
to the Terrebonne Parish Library and do their research. They praised the
collection and the help they would get from the Library Staff who always
gave them such knowledgeable and unselfish assistance.
BIRTH
Jesse and Marrial Pitre would like to
announce the birth of their new granddaughter, Koryn Nicole Barrett, born
on 14 August 2002. She is the daughter of Lionel August Barrett and Sonya
Pitre Barrett. The paternal grandparents are Melton Maurice Barrett and
Ezola Fontenot Barrett, and the maternal grandparents are Jesse Lawrence
Pitre and Marrial Morvant Pitre. She joins a brother, Kade August Barrett,
and a sister, Kamryn Shelby Barrett.
DEATH
It saddens us to report the death of the beloved
father of member Diana M. Coupel, Claude Joseph Metrejean, 70, a native
and resident of Pierre Part, who died at 5:15 a.m. Friday, 4 October 2002.
He is survived by his wife, Angeline Landry Metrejean of Pierre Part; five
daughters: Jacqueline Gaspard and husband, David, Carolyn Morales and husband,
Alton, and Evelyn Berthelot and husband, Olan, all of Pierre Part; Diana
Coupel and husband, Jimmy, of Schriever and Eileen Metrejean of Lake City,
Fla.; two sons, Brian Metrejean and Darren Metrejean and wife, Nikki, of
Pierre Part; four sisters, Annie Giroir, Frances Hebert, Louetta Blanchard
and Maggie Foret, all of Pierre Part; two brothers, Rand Metrejean Sr.
of Morgan City and Alvin Metrejean Sr. of Bayou Vista; 19 grandchildren;
and 14 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents,
Nicholas and Louise Guillot Metrejean; one infant daughter, Emelda Marie
Metrejean; and one sister, Marie Theriot. He was owner of Claude’s Seafood.
BOOKS
We are happy to announce the availability
of a book that was formerly out of print. We have reprinted a limited quantity
of the book History of Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Church and Cemetery
Inscriptions. This is an impressive book, folks, and useful for its cemetery
inscriptions, alone, besides the map of the cemetery and a 12-page illustrated
history of the church and its environs. Many persons asked when we would
reprint it, well the answer is NOW. Don’t miss out again. It is available
for the price of $27.00 plus the usual postage ($3.00 for the first book,
$1.00 for each additional book)
Maybe you’re waiting for the Christmas
bonus, or when you win the lottery, but let me tell you this: if you wait
too long you will miss the sale. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want
to save $40.00. Well, you can save that much if you take advantage of our
book sale going on now through December 14, 2002. Talk about some valuable
books! Check out the flyers printed with this newsletter.
Awhile back, one of our members had
ordered some books from Provincial Press. This is the company that was
handling Winston DeVille’s books. The order never came in, and when she
tried to contact the company, it couldn’t be found. We heard about the
outcome this month. Provincial Press had been “merged” with or taken over
by Banner Press, LLC in Birmingham, Alabama, so that company is responsible
for all order fulfillment for Provincial Press. And responsible is the
right word. Our member sent me the correspondence from the owner of the
company. Very apologetic, he was, explaining the problem and sending the
replacement books for the ones that were lost. He even offered $25.00 credit
toward any book in their catalog. What a nice ending to the story! Genealogy
people are the nicest people in the world, right?
HELPING
As I stated in the July newsletter,
Board Member Patty W. Gravois needs help organizing the special files in
the North Branch Library. We have several vertical files which need to
be re-arranged and re-organized in the library. Ms. Mercedes Pertuit left
us some family files that are rather loosely organized. They need to be
indexed so that they will be more useful to researchers. Like to do that
sort of thing? Also, Ms. Myrtle Meyer left an obituary collection that
is priceless, but, again, needs an index. Patty has done the Bergerons
and is working her way through the Bourgeois. If you have any connections
to any local families, you may be very interested in those files. See Patty
at a meeting or contact her through the society.
Our President, Phil Chauvin Jr., needs
help researching marriages, births and successions for the Lafourche and
Terrebonne Parishes in the years 1933, 34, and 35. This data will be used
in producing the next book in our series of Vital Records. For those who
never had an occasion to use these, they are just like Father Hebert’s
books, just an extension of them. We picked up right where he left off.
Check them out. If you have never done research in the courthouse, this
is a good opportunity to “get your feet wet.” A member of our Board will
go with you to get you started and show you exactly what you need to do.
Then, when you need to do research in the original records, you will know
where to go and who to talk to. Who knows, you might even make some friends
in the court house. They have regular people working there, too.
MORE BOOKS
Longtime member Godfrey Olivier sent
along a flier from The Catholic Center in Mobile. They are offering Volume
1 of their Sacramental Records. This is an opportunity for those families
who came to Louisiana by way of Mobile, and there were quite a few in the
years when Louisiana was changing flags from the French to the Spanish
and back to the French and so on, as Elton Oubre explained in his excellent
article in the Fall, 2002, issue of Terrebonne Life Lines. Volume 1 of
The Diocese of Mobile Catholic Sacramental Records covers the years from
1704-1739 (said to be the oldest records on the Gulf Coast), and is being
issued in several different forms. The CD costs $25.00, the Library-Genealogy
Issue goes for $35.00 and the Presentation Leather Issue is $125.00 ($5.00
for shipping and handling in the U.S.) To order, write The Catholic Center,
Archdiocese of Mobile, P. O. Box 1966, Mobile, Alabama 36633, or phone
(251) 434-1589. If you do place an order, tell them where you saw it, OK?
Here’s a free resource you may be interested
in: it’s the Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865.
These online volumes list all soldiers who participated in Wisconsin’s
Civil War regiments. These two volumes were compiled in 1886 from archival
records and an alphabetical index was published in 1914. Together these
3,000 pages give Civil War service details on about 90,000 Wisconsin soldiers.
Search for soldiers by last name and/or regiment and company. Browse this
free resource. <www.wisconsinhistory.org/roster/> |
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