Acadian Archives/Archives acadiennes

Acadian, French Canadian, and Franco-American Resources

The standard sources for Québecois and Acadian genealogy (Jetté, Tanguay, Arsenault, Bergeron, PRDH, etc.) are useful for establishing ancestry prior to the arrival of a family in the Valley. Once established here, standard genealogical resources such as census returns, court records, deeds, and wills are useful.

Additional resources for local genealogical research include books on marriage, birth, and death records from renowned genealogy author Jean-Guy Poitras. His books contain records from Catholic parishes on the Canadian side of the St. John Valley. Records from Catholic parishes on the American side of the Valley are available through the Léon A. Guimond collection, generously donated by the Fort Kent Historical Society and housed at the Acadian Archives. This collection includes books and records from Mr. Guimond's research in the St. John Valley, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

These resources are available here at the Archives and at many other repositories. Additional resources for local genealogical research are available at Maine State Archives in Augusta ME and Provincial Archives of New Brunswick in Fredericton NB. For purely Acadian genealogical research, Stephen White of Le Centre d'études acadiennes in Moncton NB is the leading authority.

  Research Organizations  Genealogical Consultants

Langlois Marriage Repertoire

The Langlois Marriage Repertoire is a compilation of marriage records from Catholic parish registers on both sides of the Valley: New Brunswick (1792-1935) and Maine (1792-1920). Also included are selected marriage records from parishes outside the Valley, allowing many local families to trace back to their earliest ancestor in North America. The marriages were compiled by Rev. Henri Langlois, o.f.m., between 1962 and 1967, during his residence as pastor at the Fort Kent People's Benevolent Hospital. They were published in eight volumes following Fr. Langlois' death. Langlois, Fr. Henri (Ernest Lang, ed.). Dictionnaire généalogique du Madawaska: répertoire des mariages des paroisses de la vallée supérieure de la rivière Saint-Jean au Nouveau-Brunswick et au Maine. S.l.: s.n., 1979, 8 vols. (Reprinted 1997 by Quintin Publications, 2 Felsmere Avenue, Pawtucket RI 02861-2903.)

Craig Family Reconstitutions

Dr. Béatrice Craig, a professor of history at l'Université d'Ottawa and a leading authority on the early history of the Saint John Valley, used parish registers, census returns, and property transfer records to reconstitute all families known to have resided in the Valley between settlement and the mid-19th century. Arranged by head of household, the Craig Family Reconstitutions provide data for both parents and children on a single sheet; in some cases, spouses of children are also included. While not always easy to read (Dr. Craig intended them only as personal research notes and not for publication) the reconstitutions provide a quick "snap shot" of more than 3000 families.