Doucet is an Acadian name
How the wandering began
I am the tracer of my family’s tree, which — as is true for many Acadians and French Canadians — looks more like a rambling thicket than a stately oak.
In pre-Internet days, such a trace was perfect for anyone with a penchant for solving mysteries and a love of little-read books and papers. At one genealogical society, I found the name “Doucet” in the trace. The researcher on site looked at me and said. “Doucet is an Acadian name.” His tone indicated “obviously.”
“What’s an Acadian?” I felt awkward. Sounded like something I, searching French Canadian roots, should already know.
But I didn’t.
Since then, “Acadian” has emerged from its invisible presence in my life to a front-and-center passion to know and understand this part of my heritage. Including how the ethnic cleansing of the population in 1755 Nova Scotia influenced and affected the following generations.
Along the way, through the wanderings, I’ve learned there is an abundance of others — many of them cousins — who also feel gobsmacked that Acadians and our history seems invisible to our mainstream cultures in both Canada and the U.S.
Do you feel similarly? That you want to know more about this culture? Or do you feel there is more to your family story than you think or know?
Do you want to read more about this heritage?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, please join in my wanderings. You can either subscribe or follow Acadiann. I expect to post monthly. Whether the frequency increases or special sections for paid subscribers emerges, I don’t know. For now, I’d love for this to be a space to celebrate, investigate, and navigate the many streams that are Acadie.
I’d love to know what you seek about Acadian culture.
I just found you doing who knows what google searches as I'm prone to do during my research. I'm really glad you're here and I might be inspired to start my own substack. Seems like a good place to document things.
Yesterday, researching my family at home which is where the paperwork is so I don't have their names in front of me, an entry stopped me dead in my tracks. "died at sea". Both husband and wife. It was so striking I didn't have the emotional capacity to try and figure out what happened to the child? Or were they adults by then? All I could do was stare at those words. Died at sea.
I, of course should have assumed that my family had members that did so. I've identified probably 20-30 different families that are in my direct line that weren't able to remain on continental soil. It only makes sense being that I'm from Louisiana. But until yesterday I hadn't found any direct casualties of the expulsion in my line.
Right before that I found an ancestor that died in liverpool. Again, knowing that people were sent to England and seeing it right in front of me apparently not being the same thing.
Anyway, I say all of that for the purpose of just saying thank you. I'm glad you're here and I'm happy to find another perspective of the story other than what I was told by my grandmother and history class.