• Janet Woppumnaweskum, Metis woman
    Quebec History

    Quebec’s French speaking Native People (Metis)

    Original Source Article Names used to designate Natives, other than the name of their tribe or nation, include : Savage (a pejorative, rarely used today but common only a half-century ago), Indian, North American Indian, Native, and Amerindian (this one seems to be used only in French).  In French, the corresponding terms are: Sauvage, Indien, Indien nord-americain, Autochtone and Amerindien. Metis means mixed blood, that is initially one parent was White, and one was Native, while later one or both were Metis.  While a Metis can be any place where there are Natives and Whites, Metis Nation is defined as including the Metis living in the early Manitoba lands. Contrary…

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  • Rabideau,  Tips & Opinions

    Find your friends

    Find your friends.  If you run a family history/ genealogy website, building associations and affiliations can be a useful and valuable adjunct to your genealogical efforts. Some of the most interesting and potentially useful affiliations (links) are with are sites and organizations belonging to other family members or family associations.  These family members/ associations need not be particularly close, from a genealogical relationship perspective, but rather simply represent individuals or groups searching for, or providing, information on branches, limbs of your family tree.  It is additionally helpful if their family name obviously links or relates to those most frequently mentioned on your site.  Obvious name linkages make it easier for…

  • Our Families,  Rabideau

    The Raphael Robidoux Mystery

    The following reproduced web publication goes a long way in solving the mystery of Raphael Robidoux’s birth and his family linkages. I sincerely appreciate the wonderful work of Clyde Rabideau and his making this publication available on the web. I hope he is honored by our presentation of his material and analysis. If you get an opportunity, please visit Clyde Rabideau’s website to see what new publications are under development. Available Images: IN PURSUIT OF MY ANCESTORS By Clyde M. Rabideau I started trying to determine who my ancestors were in 1990 when I was living and working in Ottawa, Canada. It was not long before I was at a…

  • Tips & Opinions

    Winnie the Pooh on Genealogy #1

    It surprises me how much Winnie the Pooh knows about genealogy. I came across the following quotes and they just seemed to be very insightful. I hope you find them so as well. Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it. Winnie the Pooh Pooh’s Little Instruction Book It’s always useful to know where a friend-and-relation is, whether you want him or whether you don’t. Winnie the Pooh Rabbit, Pooh’s Little Instruction Book A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference. Winnie the Pooh Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh Some people care too much,…

  • Expulsion - Vertriebenen,  Kreis Elbing

    An Elbing Remembrance- Fred Rump

    We’ve had some interesting discussions […] lately but I feel that for most of us Elbing and it’s history is far, far away. The people who actually lived there before 1945 are fast becoming a dying breed. In addition, while there is much Information available in German sources, little information can be found in English. Let me store some of my thoughts and a brief historical background on these pages. I was born in Elbing in Dec 1937. My earliest memories are rather vague. See My Story Point is we left under duress with the full expectation to be back in at most 2 weeks. That was the propaganda line.…

  • Pioneers,  Rabideau

    Burgos, Spain- home of Andre Robidou

    Burgos is the area in Spain from which Andre Robidou, the founder of the Rabideau family in North America, came. from Wikipedia Early humans occupied sites around Burgos as early as 800,000 years ago. When the Romans took possession of what is now the province of Burgos the site had been a Celtiberian  city. In Roman times it belonged to Hispania Citerior (“Hither Spain”) and then to Hispania Tarraconensis. In the fifth century the Visigoths drove back the Suebi, then the Arabs occupied almost all of Castile in the eighth century, though only for a brief period, and left little if any trace of their occupation. Alfonso III the Great,…

  • Kreis Elbing,  ManyRoads,  Thoughts

    You can’t go back (an appreciation)

    A recent posting I placed on ManyRoads has provided me with some new insights into life, progress and accommodating the past. As an old adage notes, you can not control the problems life presents you with, but you can choose how you react to them. And, this is true. The following historical facts are true: World War 2 involved the senseless displacement and destruction of tens of millions of people Germany lost the second World War the German people of Kreis Elbing were expelled from their homeland the Russians and their allies destroyed much of what was West Prussia the Poles were given many former eastern German lands including those…

  • Tips & Opinions

    20-20 Hindsight

    Ah, the advantages of hindsight.  Looking back in time and regretting the decisions that were made, the options that were chosen, and the events that occurred is very easy trap to fall in.  Fruitless, but easy.  In fact, spending a lot of time trying to rewrite the past, excuse events or bemoaning their occurrence is, from a family history and genealogical perspective, often counter-productive. The past is gone and not likely to be wished away. The past impacts our current actions, options and choices.  If past actions are not well understood they risk being repeated, and often are. Rather, it is my opinion that the following is much more productive:…

  • Tips & Opinions

    Civility and history

    Unfortunately when people are expelled from areas, civility is not always, or perhaps even generally, the rule. Such was the case in Poland.  The Polish Communist government was eager to lay claim to its newly obtained German lands and expel all Germans not simply from the lands but also from memory and history. Over time however even this changes, as is noted in my earlier posting about the Zeyer Cemetery. However as the following story from Fred Rump relates, it was not always that way. “I actually found some cemeteries hidden in a forest and all overgrown out in the rural parts of East Prussia and there are some WW1…

  • Tips & Opinions

    It is not a contest

    It seems many people believe that genealogy, or family history, is some sort of competition or contest. Their ancestors were better, were more important, traveled further, worked harder, suffered more, were more regal… Genealogy and family history is conceptually straightforward, it simply involves accurately identifying our ancestors, family and history. Every family has had its successes, failures, highlights, lowlights. People have lived for long times or short times, in good places and bad. They have been ruled by good people and evil. There has been war and peace. Children have been healthy and sick. Such is the nature of life. As genealogists, we seek simply to understand their stories, their…

  • Expulsion - Vertriebenen,  Kreis Elbing

    Zeyer Friedhof- 2010

    Vergangenheit in aller Munde (the original source article has been removed) Die Kirche und der Friedhof in Zeyer (Gemeinde Elbing) haben den Kampf gegen die Naturgewalten verloren – den gegenmenschlichen Widerwillen und Vergessenheit aber gewonnen. Das war ein wichtiges Ereignis für das ganze Dorf. An der Stelle, wo sich einmal die evangelische Kirche und der dazu Friedhof befanden, wurde am 22. August nach sieben Jahren der Bemühungen ein Denkmal zu Ehren der dort Ruhenden errichtet. Das Denkmal entstand dank den Bemühungen des ehemaligen Einwohners von Zeyer Ewald Frost, der weitere, in Deutschland zerstreut lebende ehemalige Einwohner von Zeyer versammelte, das nötige Geld organisierte und mit Unterstützung der Gesellschaft der deutschen…

  • Kreis Elbing,  Prussia,  Senger

    Our Elbing Addressbooks

    Elbinger Adreßbücher Mark Rabideau hat auf seiner privaten Webseite zahlreiche Elbinger Addressbuecher (1847-1930) veröffentlicht. Auch ein Telefonbuch von 1937 ist dabei. Zahlreiche weitere Adreßbücher aus Westpreußen (Graudenz, Thorn, Konitz) sind auf der Webseite zu finden. Einwohnerbücher von Danzig, Graudenz und Zoppot stehen zum Download bereit. (GJ) see: http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Computergenealogie I truly appreciate this acknowledgement.  These books are here for all to use as well as to honor my Oma, Opa und Mutti.