COURTSHIP

 Courtship was very strict. Girls were required to have a chaperone every time she went out with a young man.  The time they spent together was usually at the girl’s house with her parents or the chaperon monitoring all of their actions.  This, of course, was to protect her honor and prevent premarital pregnancy, which could result in banishment until her marriage. The girl and boy in a courtship were not allowed to spend time together more than once or twice a week.  They were acquainted in public, in plain sight of everyone, and probably met on a few occasions, at a bee or on the church steps, for instance. The courtship period did not last very long. The young man would ask the girl’s parents for their permission to many their daughter rather quickly after courtship started.  Although I was not able to find clarification on this, I learned that if a courtship seemed to be indefinitely prolonged, the suitor might receive an envelope from his intended containing a coat, which signified that the engagement was over. Proposals were formally made on Thursday evenings to the parents, rather than to the fiancée herself. Couples who wanted to marry did not make the final decision; rather, this often required the approval of the entire extended family.. Women who were not married by 20 were be considered “old maids” after that.

Because Cajuns traditionally marry within their own community where a high proportion of residents are related to one another, marriages between cousins are not unusual. Pairs of siblings frequently married pairs of siblings from another family. Although forbidden by law, first-cousin marriages have occurred as well. Financial concerns influenced such a choice because intermarriage kept property within family groupings. One result of such marriages is that a single town might be dominated by a handful of surnames.

WEDDINGS

Cajun marriage customs are frequently similar to those of other Europeans. Customarily, older unmarried siblings may be required to dance barefoot, often in a tub, at the reception or wedding dance. This may be to remind them of the poverty awaiting them in old age if they do not begin families of their own. Guests contribute to the new household by pinning money to the bride's veil in exchange for a dance with her or a kiss. Before the wedding dance is over, the bride will often be wearing a headdress of money. Today, wedding guests have extended this practice to the groom as well, covering his suit jacket with bills.

 Another Cajun wedding custom, "flocking the bride," involved the community's women bringing a young chick from each of their flocks so that the new bride could start her own brood. These gifts helped a bride establish a small measure of independence, in that wives could sell their surplus eggs for extra money over which their husbands had no control.

*The first Cajun song ever recorded was sung by Joe and Cleoma Falcon in 1928, and it spoke of getting married.


AFTER THE WEDDING
The newly-weds usually lived with one set of parents until they were able to build their own house. During the wedding reception, older unmarried sibling were required to dance barefoot in a tub or dance with a mop/broom. This is a way of poking fun at the older one for still being single

JUMPING THE BROOM
If a bride and a groom got married without a priest being able to be present, they would jump a broom held by family and friends. That would make their marriage legal until the priest was able to come to their village.
 
CHARIVARI
If a bride or groom has been previously widowed or divorced, family and friends would interrupt the wedding night by banging loud pots and pans outside their window. The company would not stop the noise until they are invited in for something to drink and eat. This is a playful way of honoring the new couple.


References used to gather information

http://www.everyculture.com/multi/A-Br/Acadians.html#ixzz3lvc8bs1M

http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/cajun_wed.html

http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Acadie/exposition_e.html

              BREAUX
In my research of the Breaux family I find that Vincent Braud is the patriarch of the Cajun Breaux families that reside here in Louisiana today.  

A history of Vincent Braud taken from Acadians in Gray goes as follows. “Renée Breau, perhaps from La Chaussée, near Blois, in the Orleanais region of the Loire valley of France, born in c1616, was the first member of the family to go to Acadia.  She married Vincent Brun perhaps at La Chaussée in c1644.  A year later, a kinsman named Vincent Breau stood as godfather to their daughter Madeleine, baptized at La Chaussée.  (Eminent Acadian genealogist Stephen A. White concludes that this Vincent Breau probably was the one who went to Acadia a few years later, but that this Vincent was neither a brother nor a nephew of Renée.)  Renée's husband Vincent Brun may have gone to Acadia as a single man aboard the ship St.-Jehan in 1636, served an indenture there as a laborer, and then returned to La Chaussée to marry.  His first wife, Renée's sister, died in childbirth soon after they married, and Vincent Brun remarried to Renée Breau.  He returned to Acadia in c1648, this time with a wife and two daughters.  They were thus among the first families to settle in the colony. 

Vincent Breau dit Vincelotte, also perhaps from La Chaussée, born in c1631, came to Acadia in c1652 as a plowman.  In c1761 he married Marie, daughter of Antoine Bourg, at Port-Royal.  They had a dozen children.  Five of their sons, all born at Port-Royal, created families of their own.  Four of their daughters married into the Savoie, Gaudet, Lebert dit Jolycoeur, and Saulnier family.  Vincent died at Port-Royal in c1685, in his mid-50s, probably around the time that his twelfth child, daughter Élisabeth, was born.  His widow Marie, who was 14 years younger than he, stayed on their homestead along haute rivière, now the upper Annapolis River, and did not remarry.  She died in September 1730, age 86.”

Several of Vincent’s descendants were exiled from Acadia during the expulsion of the Acadians by the English.  Some were sent via ship to other areas of the British Colonies in America, some were sent to the Caribbean and other areas of the world, some were sent to Louisiana, some were sent to England. 

From 1756-1763 the Acadians were located in 4 primary areas in England: Bristol, Falmouth, Liverpool, and Southampton.  A total of over 1200 Acadians arrived in England.  In 1763 when the group was moved to France there were barely 800.  In 1785, Spain paid for 7 ships to transport those Acadians to settle in Louisiana. For Spain, it meant settlers to buffer the zone between Spanish land and the British land. For the Acadians, it meant a chance to join their fellow Acadians and to regain some of what they lost during the Exile.  Several Braud’s were found on those passenger ship lists.

Meaning of the name Breaux: Our Acadian name of Breaux is from Braud or Brault. Our Canadian cousins call it Breau, Breault, Brault.  The meaning of the name is one who came from, or lived near a closed, wooded area or park.

Family Crest: The Breaux family crest is shown above in the article picture.

Famous People with the last name Breaux:
John Breaux, American politician, former United States Senator and U.S. Representative from Louisiana

Jack Breaux, American politician, former mayor of Zachary, Louisiana

Breaux Greer, American javelin thrower

Delvin Breaux (born 1989), American football player

Marc Breaux (1924–2013), American choreographer

Don Breaux, American football player and coach

Tim Breaux, American basketball player

D-D Breaux, coach of the Louisiana State University's women's gymnastics team

Places with the name Breaux: There is only on place in the world with the name Breaux and that is Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.

Population of Beaux’s in the world today: Breaux is a moderately common surname in the United States. When the United States Census was taken in 2000, there were about 12,046 individuals with the last name "Breaux," ranking it number 2,749 for all surnames. Historically, the name has been most prevalent in the Southeast, especially in Louisiana. Breaux is least common in the midwestern states.

Links used for this research

http://www.acadiansingray.com/Appendices-ATLAL-BREAUX.htm

http://Acadian-Cajun.com

http://www.acadian-cajun.com/7ships.htm

http://surnames.meaning-of-names.com/breaux/

http://Wikipedia.com


If you would like me to do a segment on your Cajun family name, please comment with your last name.  Cajun names only please as this is a blog on Cajuns.

Growing up in south Louisiana I had a Maw Maw and a MaMere.  I always thought to myself that I was going to be called MaMere by my grandchildren because it is the Cajun way to go.  Plus, I thought it had a more endearing meaning.  It means “my mother”.  What sweeter name can your precious little grandchildren call you?

Once I had children, I would tell them that when they grew up and had children, I wanted their babies to call me MaMere.  Well, they would not have it!  They all said they would refuse to tell their children to call me that.  They said it was too old fashioned. That really hurt my feelings.  That is what I want to be called!  I had no back up. All I could do was hope that in time they would soften up to the idea.

(Just for the record, I am not a grandmother yet.)

One day I was talking to my youngest child, Caleb, who never met either of his grandfathers.  My husband’s daddy passed away on his first birthday and my daddy passed about three years before Caleb was born.  I was telling him how my daddy called me “Cincha” because he didn’t pronounce the “th” in Cynthia when he said my name.  Caleb’s eyes got really big and he exclaimed, “That is going to be your grandma name!  You are going to be Cincha!”  It took me by surprise, but I liked it.  It will be in memory of my sweet daddy.

So, there you have it.  When I finally become a grandma, I will be called Cincha.  So, if you are somewhere one day and you hear a little child calling their grandma “Cincha”, that will be me.  

What is your grandma/grandpa name and do you have a story behind it?

Please share in the comment section =)

Growing up in Golden Meadow Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays meant that Ma Mere Breaux was going to get out her giant bowl and whip up a batch of about 20 of her tarte a la bouille and sweet potato pies along with some delicious tea cookies.  I always looked forward to that.  Sometimes she let us watch, sometimes she let us help.  One time I remember as the best time ever baking at Ma Mere’s house.  It was the time that she cut out our hands with the tea cookie dough and put gum drops as our finger nails. 

Ma Mere passed away about 8 years ago.  My Momma usually helped her bake in some kind of way.  She always made a huge batch of dough in that big ole bowl she had.  It was a stainless steel bowl that was about 2 feet in diameter. It was huge, but when she took that bowl out, we all knew what that meant!  Goodness was about to be made in Ma Mere’s kitchen!  One thing we never thought about was losing her and so nobody ever sat down with her and put her recipe down on paper.

So many holiday seasons came after Ma Mere left us.  I always missed those pies and those cookies.  I always talked about getting the girls of the family together to bake like Ma Mere did.  Years came and went and we talked about it, but we never did it.

A few years ago we finally got the tradition going.  Our first year didn’t go that great!  I invited all of my siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins and a few of my friends over to my house in order to start a tradition of getting together and making pies and tea cookies.  My Momma made a gumbo and it was great as usual.  My friend’s son made a banana nut bread with satsuma drizzle icing that was out of this world!  We found a few tarte a la bouille recipes online and printed them.  We picked the one that we though looked the best and started to cook it.  My Momma was cooking the bouille and it wouldn’t get thick so she kept adding flour to the pot.  It got thick all right, but it taste like flour.  Our tea cookies were fun to make but they came out hard like a rock and nobody wanted to eat them! Oh lawd, the first year of our tradition of baking was a disaster!

The next year rolled around and I invited everybody back.  This year was a little better.  The pies were still not just right.  Not like MaMere made but they were edible.  We had our gumbo and all of our fixing and it was a good time together even though the pies were not as perfect as we were dreaming about. At least we made good memories even though we hadn’t yet figured out how to make good pies.

I did some experimenting with some recipes a few weeks later.  I made up my mind I was going to find the perfect pie and tea cookie recipe and I did!  Next year’s holiday get together is going to have Momma’s gumbo and some delicious tarte a la bouille pies and tea cookies just like MaMere used to make!

Don’t worry, I’m not going to be stingy, I’ll share it!

Here you go!

Enjoy!

Tarte a la Bouille Pies and Tea Cookie

 Makes 2 pies and about a dozen tea cookies

Ingredients for pie shells

 3 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

1 block melted butter

1 cup milk

pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

 
Ingredients for bouille

1 1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup cornstarch

pinch of salt

8 egg yolks

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups milk

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

2 cans 12oz Pet milk

 

Directions

Sweet Dough for 2 pie shells and lattice: I use Mrs. Da Da Martin’s recipe
Mix flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together in one bowl. In a separate bowl, mix milk, butter, vanilla extract and egg yolks. Mix well then add dry ingredients a little at a time until well mixed. If dough is sticky keep adding a little flour at a time.

*Use excess dough to make tea cookies.  Roll dough on floured surface. Cut with cookie cutter. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees until golden brown.

Bouille filling for 2 pie shells: Mix all ingredients (sugar, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks, vanilla,& milks) together in a 5 quart pot with a mixer. Cook on top of the stove on medium/high heat, stirring almost constantly with a wooden spoon until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and let stand until it gets like a pudding consistency, then pour into pie shells. Top with dough strips to make a lattice, weaving them like a basket. Brush the lattice and crust with leftover egg-whites just before you put it into the oven.

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until light brown. Let it cool before cutting and serving.

Genealogy has been a passion of mine since I was a teen ager.  My curiosity began while watching an episode of The Walton’s.  I don’t remember exactly what the storyline was, but someone was trying to find out about their family’s history.  I started asking my parents and grandparents to tell me about our family.  I asked my Maw Maw Thibodeaux if she would write down all of her and Paw Paw Thibodeaux’s family.  Because she couldn’t read or write, I sat with my Ma Mere Breaux and she told me about her family and I wrote them down.  I now had a family tree that went as far as my great-grandparents and all their children.  This was my starting point.

The next thing I did was join a genealogy club in my area.  There I was able to sit with others who showed me the ropes.  I was able to get some print outs of family tree charts ( you can find those online and print them for free) I would suggest doing a Google search to find out if there is a group that meets together in your area.  The benefit in this is that you will probably have other members who had family coming from the same destinations and they can direct you to a place where you are likely to be successful in finding the information you need on your ancestors. Even better, you might find someone with the same ancestors who has already done a branch or two of your family tree and they will be happy to let you copy it!

My family is strongly rooted in south Louisiana.  One thing I learned right away is that Reverend Donald Hebert’s books have a wealth of information for me.  I would suggest that after you have written down the basics of your family tree from talking to your family members, I would go to Reverend Hebert’s books. If your family has lived in south Louisiana for any amount of time, you should find them there.  He puts out a new volume every 10- 20 years or so.  So, I am probably listed in there by now.  And, if you have been here for any length of time, you probably are too. There are two collections of books.  One set is for south Louisiana and the other is for southwest Louisiana. In my experience the south Louisiana set is geared towards Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption, Ascension, and St. Mary Parishes.  The southwest set is geared towards the Louisiana parishes the west of the Atchafalaya River. 

To search the Reverend Hebert collections, simply go to the volume that covers the year your relative was born.  When you open the book it is ordered alphabetically by last name, then first name.  You can usually find: baptism date (where), birth date (where), marriage date (where and to whom), death date (where), and parents.  This information is not available for each entry, but it is there if it was available at the time of the entry.  Any library will have these books in the genealogy section.  The only problem is that you can’t check the books out.  You have to stay there and do your research.  I was able to fill up a lot of my family tree using these books. 

One thing you have to keep in mind in finding out when or where a person was born in south Louisiana is to search baptism records in the Catholic Church.  For the most part, our ancestors were Catholic.  Be it Acadian, German, Spanish, Portuguese; they were mostly Roman Catholic and it was important to baptize their child.  So, if you find you can’t find a birth record when doing research, look for a baptism record.  You will probably find it there.

Another thing to keep in mind is that often times the last name you are searching may have a different spelling from how you spell it now.  Sometimes when a child was born and the parent was asked to spell their last name, due to illiteracy, the parent did not know how to spell their name.  The person writing the document spelled it as best they could.  So, if you see a name and it looks like that could be your ancestor, but the name is off a little.  Chances are that it is yours.

Once you have exhausted Reverend Hebert’s books, I would look into other books in the Library.  New Orleans and Baton Rouge have a huge genealogy section.  You can search through old newspapers, microfilm of censuses, anything you want.  The library is staffed with personnel that can help you to find specific books that will help you to find the information you need.  It is important to know if your ancestors were part of a migration to Louisiana.  For example, were they Acadians, were they Germans, were they Los Islenos? 

To our Acadian family scattered abroad. I would suggest you begin your searching at http://acadian-cajun.com and  http://www.afgs.org/acadia/AHS-Links.html  When the Acadians were exiled from Acadia, the English took them to some of the 13 colonies.  At that time they were owned by the English.  Some of the Acadians escaped into the woods and later settled in nearby areas.  Many of those Acadians settled down in French Canada, just west of Acadia (now Nova Scotia), and were assimilated into the French-Canadian culture. When the war ended in 1763, some tried to return to their homeland, only to find that it had been given to someone else.  Those Acadians who moved to larger towns, like Quebec and Montreal, merged into their surrounding culture.  Some Acadia communities remained in New Brunswick and still exhibit the Acadian culture today.  Areas settled by Acadians in those early days, that still bear links to the Acadian culture, can be found in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.  Others were brought to the Caribbean.  Others were brought to England and jailed.  So, not all Acadians came to Louisiana.

One last bit of advice. I loved to hear my grandparents talk about their youth and their family.  One thing I regret was that I did not record them when they told me things.  The memory fades and I don’t recall all the details.  I would suggest you either record or write down things you learn from your family.  They are a treasure that you want to keep for future generations.

Today, the internet has a wealth of information.  I have put together a list of websites you will find helpful in researching your family history.  

https://familysearch.org/ is the database put together by the Church of Latter Day Saints.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is pretty diligent at researching their family history.  I was able to search and find every person I looked up.  I could see birth dates, birth place, marriage date, marriage place, death, and death place.  I could not see documentation on any of these events.  I have found that a membership on Ancestory.com is profitable for finding those things.   You can locate them and print them from their site for the most part. 

 http://nutrias.org/links/genlinks/genlinks.htm is a list of good Genealogy reference links from the New Orleans Library

http://www.vitalrec.com/la.html is a  website for vital records  

http://nutrias.org/links/genlinks/genlinks.htm  is a list of good Genealogy links reference from the New Orleans Library

Free research sites

http://selu.libguides.com/content.php?pid=56074&sid=516871

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1674847

Please comment below if you have any questions about researching your family genealogy.  There is so much out there that it is pretty impossible to outline it all in this brief blog post. If you would like me to blog on something in particular please let me know and I would be happy to blog on it.  I can also do more information on the Acadians who settled in other places other than Louisiana if anyone is interested in that.  Just comment if you want more info.

All of the things that are Cajun dance in my head once in a while. Here and there I have a friend or a relative pick my brain about some tidbit of knowledge I have about our Cajun heritage.

I recently met a man from China on vacation at Disney World. He asked me where I was from and I told him that I was from Louisiana. I proudly told him that I was a Cajun. To my surprise he did not know what a Cajun was.

What exactly is a Cajun? Do you know?

In this first post, I will give you a brief history of how we got from France to Louisiana and how we became known as Cajuns.

In 1605 the explorer Samuel De Champlain, of France, and his men made a settlement at Port Royal which is present day Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. A group of settlers were brought from La Rochelle and La Havre France to live there in Nova Scotia. They called the land Acadie and the people were called Acadians. They lived there in Acadie for 80 years. Through those years Acadie had gone from British to French rule and back again. The British devised a plan to expel the Acadians from their homes in order to get rid of them once and for all. The Acadians were put on ships kicking and fighting. The ships were dispersed to the other British colonies of America, to France, and to the Caribbean Islands. In time the Acadians made their way to the bayous of Louisiana. The Acadians are our people. The people, that in present day, we affectionately call Cajuns.

In a nutshell, this is how we came to be Cajuns living in Louisiana. I will color in the lines later.