(Includes information about surrounding area also)
Researched and compiled by Winston BOUDREAUX
The original plan for the project was begun at first mainly to describe
exact location of the Pointe Noire community. I soon learned that there
is controversy as to what is considered to be Pointe Noire. This material
was gathered over a three year period.
I am not a writer or researcher; at best I am an amateur genealogist
interested in preserving family history and the history and folklore
of Acadia parish and its people. The information found in these files
was taken from the sources listed below.
The courthouse records are probably considered the most accurate since
they are the official records of the parish. Some of the records were
written in French and some of the handwriting (French or English) was
barely legible. I tried to translate as best I could and tried to guess
at illegible words by the context of the sentence or type of act being
described.
Newspapers of old were, in some ways, very different than today and
it sometimes seemed that information stated was the sole opinion of the
writer. Some of the advertisements for the cures provided by certain
medicines were certainly exaggerated and sometimes the words used to
describe people were openly racist.
Stories related by family members or handed down by others through the
years are sometimes inaccurate. It is possible the teller's memory had
failed or was given wrong information or was changed to reflect
personal views of a person or a family. I have not made any audio
recordings of these casual interviews and have not tried to prove or
disprove anything they said. I have attempted to relate the stories
exactly as I heard them.
The project was not at first intended to include material about crimes
like murder, robbery, manslaughter, slander and such and, where included,
is not intended to embarrass relatives or descendants. Activities
such as these happened often and were openly reported in newspapers
and stories verbally handed down. I believe any information about
our families in any context is a part of history. If it is not
recorded, it will be lost forever.
I have some relatives that have done things I am not particularly proud
of but if those deceased relatives can look down on me they might not be
proud of me either.
I am planning to place all my old research notes to the Pointe de l'Eglise:
Genealogical & Historical Society, Inc. website. Even some that does
not include Pointe Noire.
The society is a non-profit organization in the purest sense of the
word. Volunteers have donated thousands of manhours working to make
Acadia parish information available to the public.
It was my intention to publish this information but I cannot complete it
due to poor health and I don't want to see it wasted.
If this project helps only one person learn a previously unknown fact about
their community, family or ancestor then it was worth the time, effort
and money I invested.
If it is feasible, and with the approval of the webmaster and the
society, I would invite any reader of this material to offer additional
information, corrections or stories of their own. Photos of Pointe
Noire people would be a great addition, please consider sharing.