Saturday, July 28, 2018 as join all Acadians for a Day of Commemoration in St. Martinville.
The day starts out with our genealogy workshop at the St. Martinville Branch Library at 10am with a presentation by Gregory Wood, an expert on the Acadians of Maryland. From 3pm to 5pm, we team up with the Acadian Museum of Erath at the Acadian Memorial to induct Mr. Wood into the Order of Living Legends, honoring those who helped shape and define the Cajun/Acadian culture, followed by a reception.
July 28, 1755 was the date the British Governor of Acadie, Charles Lawrence, ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton “to send all the French Inhabitants out of the Province.” The order covered roughly the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island and the US state of Maine and was carried out amid a resistance movement that continued for 7 years. The ensuing diaspora spans both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, including Louisiana. The Acadian Memorial honors the Acadians who arrived in Louisiana from 1764 through 1785.
Beginning in 1988, Warren Perrin spearheaded a campaign to compel Queen Elizabeth II of England to apologize for the Acadians’ expulsion from Nova Scotia. In 2003, the Governor General of Canada, on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, signed a proclamation acknowledging the wrongs committed against the Acadians in the name of the British crown. The proclamation also established an annual day of commemoration on July 28 in Canada.
The Order of Living Legends was established in 1996, by Kermit Bouillion, a Director of the Acadian Museum of Erath. The Order honors people who have helped shape and define the Cajun-Acadian culture in Louisiana. Each year on July 28, the Acadian Museum joins with the Acadian Memorial to recognize someone who has made significant contributions to the Louisiana Cajun-Acadian culture and the Acadian Memorial.
Greg Wood‘s expertise is the French and Acadian experience in Maryland, which he has documented since 1973. A resident of Maryland, his interests derive from his Acadian and Québécois heritage on his maternal side. It also spurred his 40 years in foreign language instruction.
Greg is the author of two books, numerous articles, and a family history. His two books are The French Presence in Maryland: 1524-1800 and Guide to Acadians in Maryland in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
“His passion for research and meticulous attention to detail clearly shine throughout,” shared one of his readers on amazon.com. He, along with Marie Rundquist and Marty Guidry, a past Acadian Memorial Foundation Board President and current Board member, received the Maryland Historical Trust 2018 Excellence in Media and Publications award for their work on the project Acadians Were Here,
We are pleased to welcome him to Louisiana and to honor him for his contributions to our understanding of our Acadian history.
The Acadian Memorial is located at 121 South New Market St. in St. Martinville. Entry to the Acadian Memorial is free of charge for the day. Contact us at 337-394-2258 or at info@acadianmemorial.org for further info.
Photo caption – A historical marker found in Maryland, which is part of the state tourism project recounting the history of the Acadians in Maryland, spearheaded by Gregory Wood, Marty Guidry, past president of the Acadian Memorial Foundation, and Marie Rundquist.
