Discovering Your Arcadian Ancestry

Arcadians are the 17th Century French Colonists who settled in the first permanent French settlement in North America.  This settlement was known  as Arcadia  was comprised of the maritime provinces of Canada (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec).  The U.S. State of Maine was also part of Arcadia.  So in effect, Arcadia was the North American portion of the French Colonial Empire.

The Arcadians came from several different areas of France. During the 17th Century, Europe was constantly at war and battles between France and Britain for control of territory left the Arcadians stuck in the middle.  Both France and Britain insisted on oaths of allegiance from the Arcadians.  As the French Colonial Empire expanded into North America, several Arcadian families immigrated there.

Between 1755-1763, many Arcadians were forced to leave their home and land in Canada by the British Empire and many settled in the U.S. State of Louisiana ... they then became known as Cajuns.

The cool thing is that there is an extensive lineage-linked database of genealogical information (with the original source of the data included when available) that will help you discover your French and Arcadian ancestry. . Some of the individuals are French-Canadian, and not Acadian. These are included to assist your research, given the fact that there were (and are) numerous inter-marriages between French-Canadians and Acadians.

To get started searching your Acadian-Cajun Family, click here.