LAPLACE — A presentation, “The Talon Family of France, Canada, Texas & Mobile: They Sailed with LaSalle,” will be featured at this month’s German-Acadian Coast Historical and Genealogical Society meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at St. John Library, 2920 Highway 51 in LaPlace.

The program is free and open to the public.

Paul “Skip” Newfield III of Metairie is a descendant of Robert Talon and will share vignettes of the Talon family’s dramatic journeys.

“It’s a story of adventure, a story of survival,” he said. “These people were like flies on the wall of history. They were there when LaSalle colonized Texas, when the Spanish reacted to the French colonization efforts; they were with the viceroy in Mexico City, at the settling of early Mobile and with Iberville in the settling of Louisiana. It’s a story that is not terribly well known.”

The notary for LaSalle’s expedition in 1684 recorded the trials of the early colonists. In 1698, Talon’s brothers were rescued from the Spanish and debriefed, the manuscript became known as “The Talon Interrogations.”

These and other documents create a chilling story of the Talon children’s survival.

The GACGHS was organized in 1979 to preserve, compile and publish records of genealogical or historical nature. Emphasis is given to the records of St. James, St. Charles and St. John Parishes.

Annual membership dues include a subscription to the Society’s quarterly publication, Les Voyageurs. For more information visit gachgs.com.