L’Acadie!

The Harvard Historical Society and the Warner Free Lecture Trust have come together to present a special two-part speaker series in October.

The series chronicles the experiences of French-Canadians and Acadians in North America who were forcibly relocated or voluntarily immigrated to New England beginning in the 18th century until the early 20th century. Two million New Englanders are descendants of French-Canadians or Acadians, and yet they remain among the region’s least known historical communities.

The two-part series will examine the social, religious, and political issues that contributed to the immigration of these peoples to New England.

Part 1 – L’Acadie – Friday, October 8, 2021 at 7:00 PM by videoconference

Harvard resident Joe Theriault discussed how Nova Scotia was once home of the Acadians in 1604 when the French settled the colony. Our town historian Henry Nourse wrote about the Acadians in 1894 in his book “History of Harvard,” as did Longfellow in his beautiful poem “Evangeline, a Tale of Acadie.”

Joe Theriault is a past president of the Harvard Historical Society and author of two books about his Acadian ancestors, “Destination: Madawaska” and “Mills of Madawaska.”

His talk related the story of Acadia, the first French colony to be settled in North America, and the unwilling role that the Lancaster militia, with some Harvard members, played in Acadian history. He also talked about the families who were brought to Lancaster, one of which was transferred to Harvard, after the expulsion of the Acadians by the British. Theriault’s research shows there are 15 descendants of Acadian families in Harvard today, in addition to him.

Part 2 – A Distinct Alien Race – Friday October 22, 2021 at 7:00 PM by videoconference

Author David Vermette continued the story over 100 years later and places late 19th and early 20th century French Canadian immigrants to the U.S. in an historical context that includes the early French presence in N. America; the events after the Civil War that drew them to the region, particularly into the textile industry; and the little-known story of the opposition and conspiracy-mongering they faced when they arrived as had the Acadians 100 years before. Vermette’s talk exposed immigration and labor history with surprising resonance for today.