Nicole Gerard

Ancestors

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I was born and raised in south Louisiana. My father and his parents were from the Lafayette/ St. Martin parish area. His father was a farmer and his mother did not work outside the home, as was typical of families in the area at that time. My father's generation was the first to be required to learn English in school. I remember that French was spoken with his family and friends...especially when the children (that would be my generation) or outsiders weren't supposed to know what was being discussed. My grandfather spoke minimal English and he never learned to write. My grandmother died when I was a toddler, so my communication with my grandfather was really only through my father. My mother's family was primarily from Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. She was raised in south Louisiana.

In my younger years Cajuns were considered backward and uneducated. It wasn't until I was older that my heritage became more fascinating than embarrassing. The advent of "blackened" everything in food seems to have made Cajun more fashionable, I suppose. I studied the culture more closely and wanted to know where I fit in it all.

I lived in Baton Rouge for grad school and started to assemble the first version of my family tree at that time. I started with a trial subscription to ancestry.com and moved to the public library closest to my apartment with a pen and paper when that ran out. There really wasn't much on the internet in those days, anyhow. It was at the library, in a census record on microfilm, that I found my longest standing and still present brick wall...Jean Francois Gerard (b. about 1815, m. Marie Clementine Badeau). I also realized that the name I was born to wasn't even Acadian. He claims to have been born in France on the census. I had no idea that such a thing was possible! Where I'm from you're either Cajun or American...but apparently I was not quite either. I was fascinated. I still am!

I've gone from there and added my mother's family (Bland and Grapes) and my father's maternal line, the Vallots. I have ancestors who came from France to Louisiana, ancestors who were Acadian, and ancestors who were from England, Spain and Germany. I hope to continue finding out where I'm from by collaborating with you.

Sources

• First-hand information. Entered by Nicole Gerard at registration.