St. James Parish ready for Bourgeois invasion
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 28, 1999
LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / July 28, 1999
VACHERIE – From near and far, at least 1,200 descendants of Jacques Bourgeois will come to a long-planned family reunion at Laura Plantation this weekend.
According to historical records, Jacques Bourgeois was the “founding father” of the Bourgeois family in the United States and Canada. There arenow an estimated 150,000, said Norman Marmillion of Laura Plantation.
“We’re working non-stop,” Marmillion said. A committee of 22 persons hasbeen planning the massive undertaking, linked to the Congres Mondial Acadien, where Acadians in Louisiana and Canada are celebrating their historic and family linkages.
Tents are going up, food is being brought in and the last of the tickets are going out, said Marmillion, himself a Bourgeois descendent. He noted thatone of 12 Bourgeois descendants still retain the name of Bourgeois.
He said 800 people were signed up to attend as of Monday morning. The $18per adult tickets are hot items, and the price goes up to $20 at the door during the two-day event.
It all begins Friday at the St. James Boat Club on Airline Highway. There,presentations and a tableaux on Bourgeois history is planned, along with live entertainment, music, Cajun dance lessons, a photograph exhibit, genealogy displays, a war veterans memorial, oral histories and a Cajun seafood supper.
Doors open at 1 p.m. with the program starting at 4 p.m. until 9 p.m.On Saturday, a 7:30 a.m. mass at St. Michael’s Church in Convent is set,along with a wreath-laying at the church cemetery. A historical marker isbeing dedicated at 9:15 a.m. in Paulina. Then, everything moves to Vacherieand Laura Plantation for 10 a.m. with events continuing to 6 p.m.Among those activities are a summer continental breakfast, plantation tours, genealogy gatherings, children’s games, storytelling, luncheon, wine-tasting and oral history interviews.
Again, advance tickets at $18 for adults, $8 for children, with tickets at the door for $20 and $10.
On Saturday night, the reunion opens up to the general public for an Acadian Farandole (dance around the house), from 7 to 11 p.m. This is afund-raiser event to benefit the l’Association des Bourgeois d’Amerique, and tickets are $15 each and include Cajun dinner, souvenirs and refreshments.
Jacques Bourgeois, a native of Coutrans, France, arrived in Nova Scotia in 1642 and there married Jeanne Trahan, 14, of Bourgeuil, France, who gave him 10 children. Four generations later, the Bourgeois family, along withother Acadians, were expelled by the British in 1755.
In the fall of 1765, the Bourgeois descendants arrived at the First Acadian Coast in present-day St. James Parish.Marmillion noted that following the initial landing of the Bourgeois family they spread and multiplied, first along the River Parishes, then to New Orleans and the Lafourche/Terrebonne area. After the Civil War, a largegroup went to the Beaumont/Houston, Texas, area and now, descendants can be found as far away as California and Florida.
At Laura Plantation this weekend, those attending the Bourgeois Reunion can meet with 20 to 25 Canadian cousins, and the circle will be complete.
Return To News Stories