Terrebonne Genealogical Society TGS Newsletter Vol. 19 No. 3 May 2000 Visit our home page at http://www.rootsweb.com/~laterreb/tgs.htm

 CONTENTS:
NEXT MEETING | DEATHS | MEMBERS' NEWS
ORGANIZATIONS | CONFERENCE

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

North Branch Library, Gray, LA 1:00 p.m.

The April meeting was a good, fruitful, sharing meeting. If you weren’t there, you missed a golden opportunity to further your search for ancestors. Also, we set the record straight about the tornado. We had reported in the last newsletter that none of our members had reported being affected by the "Houma Tornado." Well, we got corrected at the April meeting. Theresa "Tee" Toups Elliott (Mrs. Melvin) gave us an account of the whole thing. She and a friend happened to be in a car on the street right opposite the TG&Y that was most damaged by the rain and high winds and hail that the tornado brought. Some of the sheet metal that was torn off the buildings actually hit the car she was riding in, and some of the insulation covered the windshield at one time during the frightening ordeal. Tee and friend survived with the only trauma being the memory (and having a brand new car in the shop for a month).

As this newsletter goes to press, the plans for a speaker for the May meeting have not been finalized, so it is just going to have to be a surprise. We hope it’s not a surprise to us, too.

Some of our members have asked about the availability of a videotape recording of the program "Against the Tide" so a friend found out for us that they are available through "Zack’s Boutique," which can be found on the Zachary Richard web site <http://www.zacharyrichard.com> unless you would rather write to Zack’s Boutique, P. O. Box 1378, Scott, LA 70583 or FAX (318) 269-9540. The online price is $30 (US) plus $3.00 shipping and handling for orders inside the US. For orders from outside the US, add $7.00 for shipping. I presume the same prices apply to mail orders. I know that it sounds expensive, but on his web page he claims that "part of the proceeds go to help Action Cadienne preserve French in Louisiana." It is a real neat web site. You can access it in French or English. The boutique has music CD’s & cassettes and good-looking T-shirts available. I hope everybody who was unable to catch the broadcast of the program will be able to get a copy — especially if you have children, but even if you don’t. You will surely learn something about our heritage, even if it is just the kind of shoes our ancestors wore. It was well done. Worthy of the History Channel.

DEATHS

Our sympathies go to member Wayland Paul Marcombe who lost his father, Hector Philip Marcombe, on Monday, April 24, 2000. He was a native of Cut Off and resident of Vacherie. Besides Wayland, he is survived by another son, Robert Everest, four daughters, Rose Cecile Clement Hanes, Elizabeth Enola Morvant, Marlene Marie Marcombe Webre and Donna Mary St. Pierre; 20 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, August and Elizabeth Pitre Marcombe; one daughter, Katherine Ann Yeats Mayet; two brothers, Joseph Sylvain and Paul Marcombe; four sisters, Cecilia Guidry, Elizabeth Pierce, Marie Marcombe and Augusta Isabella Rebstock; and one granddaughter, Paula Marcombe. Mr. Marcombe was one of the three graduates of the first graduating class of 1928 at the Cut Off High School. He was a teacher in the Lafourche Parish school system for 25 years. In 1954 he joined the State Department of Revenue Division of Motor Vehicles and was manager of the Thibodaux office until his retirement in 1976. He was a parishioner of Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

Newly elected board member Patty Whitney Gravois lost her beloved uncle, Leo Francis Whitney, Sr., a native of New Orleans and resident of Houma. He is survived by his wife, Mary Lou Camp Whitney, one son, Leo F. Whitney, Jr., three stepsons, Richard Babin, Ronnie Babin and Randel Babin, two daughters, Karen Marcum and Mary Beth Tate; one stepdaughter, Robin A. Legel; two brothers, Bernard Whitney and Msgr. Philip Whitney; two sisters, Claire Marie Lottinger and Genieve Darsey; 10 grandchildren; 11 step-grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Marianne Bueche Whitney, his parents, Philip and Claire Tinney Whitney; one son, John David Whitney, one stepdaughter, Rebecca Whatley; two brothers, Stephen and Donald Whitney; and three step-grandchildren. He was a retired accountant for Whitney’s Bookkeeping and Tax Service, a U.S. Navy World War II veteran, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of the American Legion. He was a past president of the Louisiana Accounting Association, a past president of the Formal Optimist Club, a past president of the Terrier Club, a member of Gideon International, a member of the Elk’s Club and a member of the Top Blood Donors with 138 pints of blood donated in Houma. He was a member of Christ Baptist Church.

We were sorry to hear of the passing of Lillian Nugent, the half sister of member Aimee H. Grillet. Mrs. Nugent was a native of Edgard and a resident of Terrebonne Parish. Besides Aimee, she is survived by half sister Marjorie H. Blanchard, former daughter-in-law Dolores Trahan Landry Acosta, grandsons Louis E. Landry, Jr. and Dana Landry; and six great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husbands, Louis Landry, Rene Clement and Howard Nugent; her sister, Mabel Hotard; her parents, Ernest Hotard and Noemie Millet Hotard; one son, Louis E. Landry, Jr.; two brothers, John and Arnold Horn; two sisters, Noemi Derouen and Anna Borne; half sister Mildred H. Lambert; and Aimee Maurin Hotard, her stepmother. She was a retired hairstylist and a Catholic.

MEMBERS’ NEWS

Board member Louis Duet forwarded this to us and suggested that some of our members might be interested. I quote: "A TV producer, Jamie Brown of Credo Entertainment in Winnipeg is looking for two couples who are willing to become authentic pioneers. They aim it to be as authentic as possible, with the exception of video cameras to document the experience. Each couple will be paid $100,000 plus expenses, and the ideal people would be an older couple and a younger couple who are related." They go on to say that no method of contacting this producer was given, but suggested you look on the internet. Good luck. I tried and got either nothing or an avalanche of possibilities. The word "credo" translated from Latin is "I believe." Does that imply that I am gullible? Maybe, but the project sounds interesting.

Louis obviously spends a lot of time on the internet. He also sent a notice of the sequel to the Ancestors TV show of a couple of years ago. There will be 13 new episodes broadcast on PBS starting in June, 2000. You might try looking up the web site <http://www.kbyu.org/ancestors/> to get a list of the episode titles and broadcast order for the series. I suppose that, as usual, you should check your local listings for channel and time of broadcast. It sounds like the emphasis will be on original records, as eleven of the thirteen titles have the word "record" in them.

Member Cecil Escheté forwarded something that may be of interest to those who have a little Landry blood running through their veins. (Doesn’t everybody?) Don Landry, who was very active in the Congrès Mondial Acadienne - Louisiane 1999 has received a copy of the liturgy for the Feast of Saint Landry. Written in Latin, it will have to be translated to French and English. He is asking for volunteers to help him in that task. If you sing, you may be interested to hear that he is getting the Gregorian chant that accompanies the Mass. He will need an organist, too. He would like to record the chant so it will be available for use when no choir is available. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? The only address I can find for him is e-mail: Don2717@aol.com.

Several of the members are working on the next Vital Records book (1927-28-29), so if you know that there is an event (birth, death, marriage) that somehow went unrecorded, please send a notice to Jess Bergeron at the society address. You would be helping yourself as well as others.

If you get a chance, ask our President Phil Chauvin about his recipe for Peacock Sauce Piquante. That’s all I’m going to say.

Board member Essie Cavalier is looking for the records of the Christ Episcopal Church of Labadieville for the years before 1888. It seems that they are missing, and were probably kept in a parishioner’s home, so they could be anywhere. If you have a lead, please contact Essie or Marcie Cavalier, 701 Alex St., Houma, LA 70360-7211 or phone (504) 876-0416.

Please remember in your prayers our members who are not feeling very well. Especially pray for Bennie Naquin Hardberger.

ORGANIZATIONS

One of the lasting benefits of the Congrès Mondial is CAFA (Confederation of Associations of Acadian Families) (in French it makes sense) and all the individual family associations that are being maintained so that we will be a little better prepared for the celebration in Nova Scotia in 2004. Take for example The Association de la Famille Daigle. They have an excellent newsletter with interesting articles, and a web site that is well above the average at <http://www.members.tripod.com/lloyddaigle> or you can get to it (and others, I presume) by accessing <http://www.cafa.org/> and click on "Families." If you prefer, you can write Association de la Famille Daigle, 125 River Oaks Dr., Luling, LA 70070, or attend the next meeting scheduled for 2:00 p.m., June 4, 2000, at Vermilionville, 1600 Surrey St., Lafayette, LA. If you are not interested in visiting the exhibits, but only are there to attend the meeting, you will not be charged a visitor’s fee. Excellent Cajun food is available.

You might be interested to know about the ISDSA, or International Society of Daughters and Sons of Slave Ancestry. Their mission is to launch a nationwide campaign to identify and preserve African American family history. The society produced the Tribute to Enslaved Ancestors Photo Exhibit, being held at the Carter G. Woodson Library, Chicago, Illinois, from May 1, 2000. We hope it is not too late to view the exhibit. For inquiries, contact ISDSA, P. O. Box 436937, Chicago, IL 60643-6937, or phone (773) 238-2686, or e-mail <isdsa@aol.com> Visit the web site at <http://members.aol.com/isdsa/club/index.htm>

CONFERENCE

The Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago invites you to its 18th annual conference - Basics and Beyond: Exploring Records and Techniques. The conference will be held on Saturday, October 14, 2000 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Olive-Harvey College, 10001 S. Woodlawn, Chicago, Illinois. Tony Burroughs, internationally renowned lecturer, author and professional genealogist, will be the keynote speaker. He teaches genealogy at Chicago State University and is the president of Black Roots. Mr. Burroughs has appeared as a genealogy expert in the Public Television series Ancestors (1997 & 2000). Prepaid registration costs $25.00 for members, $30.00 for non-members and $15.00 for students with ID. For further information contact Alma McClendon at (773) 233-8045 or AAGHSC, P. O. Box 37-7651, Chicago, IL 60637.
 

Return to the TGS News Page

Return to the  Main Page