Genealogy

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The Boudreau (Boudrot) Family: Our Acadian Roots

Expulsion of the Acadians by George Craig This is the forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath itLeaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the huntsman?Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian farmers,—Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the woodlands,Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven?Waste are those pleasant farms, and the farmers forever departed!Scattered like dust and leaves, when the mighty blasts...

Tales of House Stark Part I: Stark Lineage

House Stark Sigil by Bruno Alberto In honor of the Game of Thrones final season, the month of May will be dedicated to tales about our own House Stark. This Stark line, who our Stookey ancestors descend from, arrived in the American Colonies during the same generation as the Pilgrims. These Starks were pioneers, warriors, and scoundrels—some more in line with the worst of House Targaryen. This family begins with Aaron Stark, one of the grittiest characters in our family...

Marin Boucher: A Pioneering Percheron Emigrant

Building New France After French explorer, Samuel de Champlain founded the city of Quebec in 1608, Louis XIII, King of France needed craftsmen and other industrious individuals to build, settle, and grow the region. Robert Giffard, Champlain’s ship surgeon, received one of the original land grants from the King in exchange for recruiting settlers. Giffard sailed back to the Perche region of France, his homeland, and began traveling from town to town creating excitement about the opportunities which awaited travelers...

Hans Bürki: A Story of Persecution and Perserverance

Nijmegen (Nimewegen), Holland in 1641 Hans Bürki: Langnau, Switzerland 1710 “For the remembrance of my descendants and of all my fellow believers, I, Hans Bürki, of Langnau, want to relate what happened to me. I had gone to the mountain called Bluttenried (Community of Langnau), in company with my wife and two sons. There a poor man came to us to whom we gave something to eat; this man subsequently went to Harvag to the authorities and told them that...

Johan Peter Steigerwald (Stierwalt): German Craftsman

  Coming to America Johan Peter Steigerwald, known as Peter, was born in 1730 in the Hesse region of Germany and grew up in Floersbach, about 35 miles east of Frankfurt. In 1749 Peter is named on a Hesse Lutheran Parish registry with his father, Johannes (John), as one of the emigrants who left for Pennsylvania. Much like the Swiss Anabaptist movement, the early 1700’s saw large numbers of German Lutherans moving to the English Colonies in search of religious freedom. Johannes...

Finding Jacob Ove: Researching Norwegian Ancestors

Jacob Ove (left) with an unidentified person (right) My memories of visiting Great-grandma and Grandpa Conlin while growing up are primarily connected to sweets — namely butterscotch candies and fig newtons. Grandma needed those candies to keep Grandpa sweet…or so she said. When I grew older and began genealogy research there were plenty of stories and information passed down about Grandpa Conlin’s Irish Family and Grandma Conlin’s mother’s Norwegian family, but when it came to her father, I only knew two things:...