Terrebonne Genealogical Society

TGS Newsletter
Vol. 23 No. 4 July 2004

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

Membership, book orders and/or 
     address changes, contact: 
      Corresponding Secretary: Jess Bergeron 
      Email:  jessndot at juno.com
      Phone (985) 876–2348 
      TGS, Station 2 Box 295, Houma, LA 70360-0295 
News items or events, contact: 
     Newsletter Editor  Ed Hicks
      5306 Hwy 1, Raceland, LA 70394-2033 
      E-mail: edhicks at mobiletel.com
      Phone: (985) 532–3586 
NEXT MEETING: 
Saturday, July 31, 2004           Main Library, Houma, LA 1:00 p.m.
 
     At the June meeting, Audrey WESTERMAN announced that there would be a “State Recognition Ceremony” on July 4th at Grand Bois Park in Lafourche Parish. The Indian tribes that she has been working with for may years would celebrate being officially recognized by the state of Louisiana. Audrey has since reported that the celebration was a big success, and that she was honored at the party for providing genealogical and historical information which led directly to acquiring state recognition. She was able to prove (using her genealogical research skills) that the forebears of many of the residents of Pointe-aux-Chênes (also called Pointe-au-Chien) and Isle de Jean Charles are descended from a handful of Indians who moved to the area in the late seventeenth century. If you are interested in learning more, do yourself a favor and visit their web site at http://www.biloxi- chitimacha.com/history.htm for the complete story with pictures and documents. It is really a well-done site and you will be pleased with the experience, I guarantee. If you think you are related, check out our latest CD: Laïse Ledet’s They Came They Stayed, where you will find some of the original Native American settlers and their descendants. (Audrey WESTERMAN provided the information on those residents.) Also at the June meeting, we were treated to a “sneak preview” of this CD when we used our laptop computer and the library’s projector to show some of its highlights. All you really need to use the CD is a computer with a CD player and a browser (MS Internet Explorer® or Netscape Navigator® or Mozilla Firefox® or any one of the programs used to browse the web).
 
BIRTH: Longtime member Theresa TOUPS ELLIOTT  is happy to announce the birth of her great-grandchild Ethan Elliott SIMON, born 22 April 2004 to David P. SIMON and Jennifer C. BERTUCCI, daughter of John and Adrienne CARROUCHE BERTUCCI. David’s parents are Richard SIMON and Rebecca Ann ELLIOTT of Picayune, MS. David and Jennifer are residents of Purvis, MS. Ethan is blessed to have a sister, Kathryn Clair SIMON, and another great-grandmother, Betty BERTUCCI. The baptism was held on Sunday, 27 June 2004 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Lumberton, MS.
 
DEATHS: Our deepest sympathies go out to the family of former member Lionel “Laddie” Marion BOURDIER Sr. He is survived by the love of his life and his soulmate for more than 42 years, his wife, Catherine BOURDIER of Patterson, LA, two daughters, Clair AKES and husband Rickey, and Leslie BOURDIER; three sons, Allen BOURDIER and wife Michelle, Lionel “Skip” BOURDIER Jr. and wife Alison, and Benjamin BOURDIER; one brother, Roy J. BOURDIER; 12 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and a very special and loyal companion, his dog Demi. He was preceded in death by his parents, Armant and Marie FORTIER BOURDIER; and one brother, Charles. He served his country honorably in the U.S. Army and was a faithful member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Patterson, where he sang in the church choir. Laddie had many hobbies including stamp collecting, horticulture and the study of genealogy.
   We are sorry to report that member Kathleen CRAGO lost her mother-in-law this month. Catherine M CRAGO was the beloved wife of the late Louis L. CRAGO, daughter of the late Joseph J. and Alma FRANZ MURPHY and sister of the late Doris V. MURPHY. She is survived by three children, Jerelynn CRAGO MORICI, Jere Louis CRAGO and Michael Lawrence CRAGO; as well as grandchildren Lisa Ann MORICI, Dr. Mark Vincent MORICI, Nicole Elizabeth MORICI, Dr. Aimee Marie CRAGO, and Edouard Louis CRAGO and great-granddaughters Meagan MORICI and Abigail MORICI,. She was a native of Ashtabula, Ohio, a resident of Metairie for 58 years, and the secretary of Our Lady of the Rosary Church in New Orleans, Louisiana.
  
MEMBERS: We heard recently that Minus Blanchard is in need of your prayers. Please pray for him and his family.
  
VOLUNTEERS: Our new program of volunteer helpers in the Genealogy Department of the Terrebonne Parish Library Houma Branch has started off successfully. We know for sure that several people have been given a start in their search for their roots. At least one person has said that she is going to come to the Genealogy Room every Wednesday, now that she knows she can get some help. And you can do the same. So far, we will have a person or persons available on almost every Wednesday morning, and some afternoons. Look for the “Volunteer” tag. Our schedule is still not filled up, especially on Saturdays. Most working people only have the weekends to do their genealogy, so they would need help then. But we have a lack of help on those days. On the days of the meetings, both general meeting and Board meeting, we have members of the board who volunteered to stay, but we need some other members to step up and take a turn.
   We have all had some form of training for the work. Contact Ed HICKS if you are willing to try it. My contact information is found at the top of this newsletter.
   Have you seen the way the library staff is changing the way the genealogy books are arranged? Books related to the 50 states will be filed in alphabetical order by state. Within each state’s section, books will be filed by Dewey number. Genealogical journals (periodicals such as quarterlies) will be kept within their state and/or parish section. General journals will be filed with the general genealogy books. If you have ever been to the New Orleans Public Library or Baton Rouge’s Bluebonnet Library Genealogy Section, you know how convenient to a genealogist that arrangement can be. Somehow I think Melvil Dewey was not a genealogist. Because when books are arranged strictly according to the Dewey number it is very hard to use them for genealogical research.
 
LIBRARY SUPPORT: At the last Board Meeting we received a report on the value of donations to the Terrebonne Library System over the years. In the twenty-two years since we started, we have been donating our own publications (quarterlies and books) purchasing books and microfilm, etc. for donation, and buying equipment (computer and microfilm reader/copier) for use in genealogical research. Consequently, we have helped to build one of the most respected Genealogy Departments in the state. Back to the report. Bottom line: to date we have contributed almost $58,000 in materials and equipment. Tell the society “Thank you,” like nice boys and girls.
   
WORKSHOP: “Researching your British Isles Ancestors” is the title of the workshop sponsored by The Historic New Orleans Collection. Do you have English, Irish or Scottish ancestry? Sherry Irvine, CGRS, will present separate sessions on each country’s genealogical resources, and finish with a talk entitled “British Isles Research: Setting the Record Straight.” If you are interested, contact Williams Research Center, Attn.: Genealogy Workshop, 410 Chartres Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130. Or call (504) 598-7171 soon. Keep this date open: Saturday, August 14, 2004, from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
  
LAFOURCHE HERITAGE SOCIETY’S TWENTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL SEMINAR ON HISTORY AND GENEALOGY will be presented on Saturday, August 21, 2004, at the new “Envie” banquet facility of the Howard Johnson Hotel, 308 North Canal Blvd., Thibodaux, Louisiana. Presentations by Marjorie V. BARKER, Andrew CAPONE, Charlie DUHE and Christopher PEÑA. Be sure to register ahead to be included in the buffet lunch. If you register on that day, you will have to find lunch on your own. Registration at the door will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the program will start at 9:15 a.m., concluding around 3:30 p.m.
   Mail in your registration by August 16, with check payable to Lafourche Heritage Society in the amount of $28.00 for each participant to their address at P. O. Box 913, Thibodaux, LA 70302. Questions? Contact Clifton Theriot, (985) 448-4629, or Doris Mae Ledet, (985) 447-7595, or Elton Oubre, (985) 446-8662, email eoubre at charter.net
  
CREOLE HERITAGE DAY: will be celebrated in Natchitoches, Louisiana October 7, 8, and 9, 2004, along with the Natchitoches Tour of Homes and the St. Augustine Catholic Church Fair. You have time to get your own brochure with all the details. Sounds like a lot of fun. Don’t miss it. Write Creole Heritage Center, NSU Box 5675, Natchitoches, LA 71497, and get your order form for Creole Heritage Day Awards Banquet and Dance Benefit. The deadline is Sept.7.
  
WEB SITES TO VISIT: Check these out. For finding World War One Draft Cards 1917-1918 http://www.genealogybranches.com/worldwaronedraftcards.html *** Interested in the Cultures of Acadiana? Try this http://www.lft.k12.la.us/chs/la_studies/Cajun_Articles.htm
***Looking for a Civil War Soldier or Sailor (Union or Confederate)? http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.htm

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