POINTE NOIRE BITS AND PIECES

(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.