Seminars
Each year the Lafourche Heritage Society presents a one-day seminar on topics relating to genealogy and history. Past presenters have included historians, genealogists, archivists, prominent community members, and researchers, who have spoken on a wide range of topics relating to Louisiana history. The event also features booksellers as well as exhibits created by Society members to highlight their history or genealogy. Participants and members are invited to bring their family history charts to share information.
47th Annual LHS Seminar will be held Saturday, August 2, 2025
The Seminar will be held at the Thibodaux Regional Wellness Center at
726 N. Acadia Road (5th Floor), Thibodaux, LA 70301.
Speakers will be:
Dr. Robin A. White – Aristocracy in the Alluvial: Nobles on the Bayou
Louis Charles Marie Armand Saint-Germain de Gaalon de Barzay (1790-
1850) may sound like the name of a character from a 19th-century
romance novel about New Orleans. However, this was not the
case. The Count de Gaâlon was a real person, one who could be
described as perhaps French, perhaps Guadeloupean, or perhaps a
French Creole from the Caribbean who lived in Louisiana. He and
his family immigrated to Louisiana sometime around the late 1830s
or 1840s after relocating from Guadeloupe. The de Gaâlon family
lived primarily in New Orleans but also owned land and enslaved
people in Assumption Parish. This presentation will explore his
wife and daughter’s journey up Bayou Lafourche, the land and
people he acquired in Assumption Parish, and the location of the
plantation. It will also investigate whether the presence of a French
count was merely a historical anomaly along the bayou or part of a
broader pattern of “entitled” individuals settling on its banks.
Marguerite Scully – Irish Genealogy: Finding the Pot of Gold in U.S. and Irish Records
Research into Irish ancestry is difficult and challenging, largely due to the scarcity
of historic records in Ireland. The lack of U.S. records pertaining to Irish
immigrants who arrived in the United States during the 19th century further
complicates the search for ancestral information for this ethnic group.
Using her experience researching Irish-American families, Marguerite Scully
highlights information that may be obtained in U.S. records about your Irish
immigrant ancestor, information often required in order to find your ancestor in
Irish records. Ms. Scully describes the civil land divisions and ecclesiastical
divisions in Ireland and how these divisions impact Irish genealogical research.
She introduces participants to many important Irish records of genealogical
significance, focusing on those which may be accessed online.
Robert Brantley – Henry Romain Thiberge: In the Shadow of Henry Howard
Thiberge was an architect and partner with noted architect Henry Howard and designed several structures along Bayou Lafourche including the Dansereau House
Chad LeBlanc – The Families of Pierre Part and Belle River
The presentation covers the history and genealogy of 52 different families from the Pierre Part and Belle River community. It also includes historical photographs and maps showing the origins of the families
PRICE: $40 per person (deadline July 26th).
The 2024 seminar was a huge success with 107 attendees! Please plan to attend in 2025!
Some photos of the 2024 Seminar are below
Photos of Annual Genealogy and History Seminar – 2024
PREVIOUS LAFOURCHE HERITAGE SOCIETY
Dates & Seminar Topics with Speakers
Saturday, November 12, 1977 (1st)
Ambroise H. Landry, Lafourche Parish Clerk of Court
Rev. Donald J. Hébert, Pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Cecilia, Louisiana
Winston De Ville, Genealogist
Saturday, September 16, 1978 (2nd)
“The Germans”
Jack Belsom
“Acadians of South Louisiana”
Glenn R. Conrad
“Remarks for Beginners”
Mercedes Ray Pertuit
“Remarks for Advanced”
Albert J. Robichaux, Jr.
Saturday, October 13, 1979 (3rd)
“Spanish Genealogy and History”
Charles R. Maduell
“The Acadian Story”
Bona Arsenault
“Genealogy in the Schools”
Sylvia Rochester Drummond
“Intermediate Workshop”
Albert J. Robichaux, Jr.
“Beginner’s Workshop”
Mercedes Ray Pertuit & Audrey Westerman
Saturday, October 11, 1980 (4th)
“Migration Patterns”
Eileen Buckway
“Genealogical Sources in the New Orleans Public Library”
Collin B. Hamer, Jr.
“Panel Discussion”
Ambroise Landry, Elton Oubre, Audrey Westerman
Saturday, October 24, 1981 (5th)
“Tracing Your Immigrant Ancestors”
Elizabeth Shown Mills
“Records Available in Louisiana Bureau of Vital Statistics”
Sarah M. Braud, M.D.
“Civil War Participants from Lafourche Parish and Surroundings”
Dr. Arthur Bergeron
“Louisiana vs. the U.S. — Civil War Damage Suits as a Genealogical Source”
Dr. Gary B. Mills
Saturday, October 2, 1982 (6th)
“Colonial and ante-bellum records of the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans”
Dr. Charles E. Nolan
“Pot-pourri francaise or French Settlers of Louisiana”
Mr. Glen Conrad
“The Latin Frontier: Haven for Early Anglo-Saxons in the Deep South”
Mr. Winston DeVille
Saturday, October 8, 1983 (7th)
“History of Kraemer, LA and Vicinity”
Mr. Albert Robichaux, Jr.
“Spanish Immigration to Louisiana”
Dr. Jack D. L. Holmes
“Genealogical Research in Mobile, Ala. And Surrounding Areas”
Mr. Robert Zeitz
“Workshop (Oral History)”
Dr. Thomas Becnel
Saturday, October 20, 1984 (8th)
“Some 18th & 19th Century Families of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and their Migrations”
Sally K. E. Reeves
“Louisiana’s First Church and its Records, Parish of Mobile”
Jacqueline O. Vidrine
“Origins of Thibodaux Family Street Names”
Ambroise Landry
“Beginner’s Workshop”
Audrey Westerman
“Computer Workshop”
Panel Discussion
Saturday, September 14, 1985 (9th)
“The Acadians of the Seven Expeditions: Our Early Acadian Ancestors”
Stephen White
“The Acadian Migration and the Re-establishment of Acadian Life in Louisiana”
Carl A. Brasseaux
“Raconteuse”
Bonnie Bourg
“The Help Guide to the Acadians in France during the French Revolution and their interest for Genealogical Research, supplemented by Origins of the first Acadian Families”
Maurice Caillebeau
Saturday, November 8, 1986 (10th)
“Lineage Research – NSDAR”
Mrs. Gloria Marcotte
“An American Heritage”
Mrs. J. Wilson Lepine
“The LeBlancs”
Mr. Gus Leblanc
“The Martins: Trip to France”
Mr. Lee Martin
Saturday, September 19, 1987 (11th)
“Valcour Aime”
Mr. Martin Cortez
“Louisiana State Library, Louisiana State Archives, and Centroplex”
Ms. Gloria Kerns
“Vacherie – St. James”
Mr. Elton Oubre
“Folklore & Legends”
Mr. Gary Thibodaux
Saturday, September 17, 1988 (12th)
“Cemeteries”
Martin Cortez
“State Archives”
Sandra Hotard
“Books in Progress”
Barbara Allen, Elton Oubre, & Dale Rogers
“U.S.L. Center for Louisiana Studies”
Linda Knecht
“L.W. Anderson Library”
Miss Ann Anderson
“Stansbury Line”
Roland Stansbury
Saturday, September 23, 1989 (13th)
“Land Grants, Land Claims, and Confirmation”
Dr. Glenn Conrad
“Researching in the New Orleans Area”
Mr. Albert Robichaux, Jr.
“Projects of the German-Acadian Coast Historical & Genealogical Society”
Mr. Norman Marmillion
“The Rhythm & Blues of New Orleans”
Mr. Martin Cortez
Saturday, August 18, 1990 (14th)
“Laurel Valley Plantation: History & Genealogy”
Dr. J. Paul Leslie, Jr.
“Acadian Immigrants”
Rev. Donald J. Hébert
“German Immigrants”
Mr. Norman Marmillion
“Historical Archeology”
Mr. Thurston Hahn
Saturday, August 24, 1991 (15th)
“The Historic New Orleans Collection”
Dr. Alfred E. Lemmon
“Researching Germany”
Mr. Albert J. Robichaux, Jr.
“Research Opportunities in the New Orleans Notarial Archives on the Lafourche Region”
Mrs. Sally Kittredge Evans Reeves
“All History is Truth: Problems in Writing and Gathering Local and Ethnic History”
Dr. Thomas A. Becnel
Saturday, August 29, 1992 (16th)
Catherine Sydney Lee Ringold White
substituting for Mrs. Lillie Petit Gallagher
“The Civil War Diary of Sarah Morgan”
Mr. Charles East
“Architectural History”
Dr. Eugene Cizek
“The Surprise of the Melting Pot in South Louisiana”
Dr. Joseph Logsdon
Saturday, August 21, 1993 (17th)
“A Tongue of Land near Lafourche, the History of Golden Ranch”
Dr. Charles E. Pearson
“Grand Isle, its Settlement and Development, its People”
Dr. Frederick J. Stielow
“Chênière Caminada, the Forgotten Community”
Dr. Donald Davis
“Storm Lore of the Barataria Basin”
Mr. Glen Pitre
Saturday, August 20, 1994 (18th)
“What’s New, What’s Old in German-Acadian Research”
Mr. Norman Marmillion
“The History of Communications” with demonstration of cellular telephones
Mr. Buddy Stall
“The Holdings in the Ellender Library at Nicholls State University”
Ms. Carol Mathias
“The History of the Ursulines and the Academy in New Orleans”
Mr. Robert Olmstead
Saturday, August 19, 1995 (19th)
“20th Century Research, Social Security Resources” & American State Papers
Desmond Walls Allen
“The Ouachita Valley of Northern Louisiana”
Ernest Russ Williams, Jr.
“An Overview of the use of Computers by Genealogists”
Judith Lanoux Hamner
Saturday, August 24, 1996 (20th)
“Creole Lenten and Easter Religious Customs”
Gayle K. Nolan
“Creole Advent and Christmas Religious Customs”
Dr. Charles E. Nolan
“The Canary Islands and their Contribution to Louisiana”
Paul Newfield III
“The Relationship of French/European History and the South Louisiana Colonial Period”
Thomas P. Schlunz
Saturday, August 9, 1997 (21st)
“German Coast Families”
Albert J. Robichaux, Jr.
“Along the River Road”
Mary Ann Sternberg
“Congrès Mondial Acadien”
Brian Gabriel Comeaux
“Preserving Your Family Records”
Carol Mathias
Saturday, August 1, 1998 (22nd)
“Acadie to Bayou Lafourche, en passant par l’Europe; Acadians Exiled to England and France who ultimately made their way to Bayou Lafourche”
Claire Mire Bettag
“Valenzuela, Canary Islanders on Bayou Lafourche; a look at the settlement’s origins and it’s inhabitants”
Claire Mire Bettag
“Dessus le Bayou Boeuf; history and genealogy of the North Lafourche ridges”
Martin Cortez
“Canadian Voyagers on the Lower River and Bayous”
Elton J. Oubre
Saturday, August 5, 1999 (23rd)
“Congrès Mondial Acadien”
Mr. Stephen White
Dr. Carl Brasseaux
Dr. John Doucet
Fr. Donald Hébert
Mr. Gerald Braud
Saturday, August 5, 2000 (24th)
“The History ad Archeology of an Alabama fort, which provided discharged French Soldiers and their Families as Settlers to Colonial Louisiana”
Ned Jenkins
“German Coast History and Genealogy and Internet Research”
Barbara Allen
“Researching Collections in the Louisiana State Archives”
Judy Riffel
“Acadian-Cajun History and Genealogy and Internet Research”
Tim Hébert
Saturday, August 4, 2001 (25th)
“Indians of Terrebonne and Lafourche”
Audrey Westerman
“The Civil War Battles in Lafourche; Researching the Conflict”
Christopher G. Peña
“Civil Registration of New Orleans”
Albert J. Robichaux, Jr.
“Genealogical Resources on Lafourche at the National Archives”
Claire Mire Bettag
Saturday, August 17, 2002 (26th)
“The Colonial Settlement of the Bayou Country”
Elton J. Oubre
“No Disunionists, The Life if Miles Taylor: Louisiana Students in the 19th Century”
Emory C. Webre
“Congrès Mondial Acadien 2004”
CAFA Speakers
Saturday, August 2, 2003 (27th)
“Folktales in the Region’s History, Language, and Culture”
Elton J. Oubre
“A How To on Genealogical Research”
Audrey Westerman
“Highlights of the New Orleans Public Library Collections”
Irene Wainwright
“Thibodaux and the Surrounding Area in the time of the Louisiana Purchase, and 100 years Later”
Janis Meyer Lasseigne
Saturday, August 21, 2004 (28th)
“Local Historical Architecture”
Marjorie V. Barker
“The Life and Times of Francis T. Nicholls”
Andrew Capone
“The Culture of Périque Tobacco”
Charlie Duhé
“Guerilla Warfare In Lafourche, 1864-1865: Union-Medical Organization in Southeast Louisiana”
Christopher Peña
Saturday, August 6, 2005 (29th)
“Organizing Family Records”
Patricia Whitney
“A Family Montage”
Dr. Thomas F. Kramer, M.D.
“Acadian Church Records”
Albert J. Robichaux, Jr.
“Paths to Distinction”
Dr. William Reeves
Saturday, August 19, 2006 (30th)
“Lafourche Parish Courthouse Records Project”
Clifton Theriot
“The History of Lafourche Parish Schools”
Marjorie V. Barker
“Genealogical Resources for Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes at the Louisiana State Archives”
Judy Riffel
“Las Islas Canarias-The Canary Islands”
Paul Newfield III
Saturday, August 11, 2007 (31st)
“Cajun Mariners”
Woody Falgoust
“Genealogical Research in France”
Albert J. Robichaux, Jr.
“Forensic Genealogy”
Colleen Fitzpatrick
“Canary Islanders of Louisiana”
Chad Leblanc, Catherine Prokop, Sergio Ramos
Saturday, August 9, 2008 (32nd)
“Historic Cemeteries of the River Parishes”
Jay Schexnaydre
“Historical Land Title Records”
Bobby Freyou
“Cypress Logging Industry and Donner Sawmill Community”
Jo Anne Plessala & Hugh Brown
“French Colony of Saint Domingue, Migrations and Sources”
Augusta Elmwood
Saturday, August 8, 2009 (33rd)
“Revisiting the Lafourche Country, an Overview of upcoming Volume III”
Dr. John Doucet
“French Colloquialisms of Bayou Lafourche”
Billy Pitre
“History of Little Zion/St. Luke Baptist Church in Chackbay”
Tina Granger
“Preserving History and Culture As Poetry; A Reading with Commentary“
Dr. John Doucet
“Basques and Louisiana: Genealogy and History”
Michel-Antoine Goitia-Nicolas
Saturday, August 14, 2010 (34th)
“Civil Law and Concepts and Genealogy”
Claire Mire Bettag
“Notarial Records in the Civil Law Tradition”
Claire Mire Bettag
“Bison on the Beach, Parakeets in the Cypress: Louisianas Historical Ecology”
Richard Condrey
“The French Language of the Lafourche Basin”
Dr. Nathalie Dajko
Saturday, August 6, 2011 (35th)
“U.S. Veterans of Southeast Louisiana: An Oral History”
Neil Guilbeau
“Old Creole Families of River Road”
Jay Schexnaydre
“Catholicism and French in Louisiana”
Dr. Emilie Leumas
“History of the Cenac Family and the Early Oyster Industry in Terrebonne Parish”
Dr. Christopher E. Cenac, Sr.
Saturday, August 4, 2012 (36th)
“Hollywood on the Bayou Presents-LA Film History: The First 100 years”
Ed & Susan Poole
“Starting from Scratch: Inventing a Food Museum”
Liz Williams
“Diocese of Baton Rouge: Treasures in the Archives”
Lisa Lewis & Katie Oubre
“The Bringier Family and Research into Antebellum Plantation Life in Louisiana”
Craig Bauer
Saturday, August 3, 2013 (37th)
“Researching Slave Ancestry”
Patty Whitney
“The Development of the Cultural Landscape along the Mississippi River and Bayous of Southern Louisiana”
Sand Warren Marmillion
“Let’s Go to the Fair: the 1884/85 Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans”
Dr. Miki Pfeffer
“Lost Louisiana History-Louisiana Cattle Trails”
Stella Carline Tanoos
Saturday, August 2, 2014 (38th)
“Fading History and Memories in Song”
Mel Baudoin
“Genealogy Storytelling”
Leonard Smith III
“Assumption Parish Plantations and Families”
Renée Bergeron Richard
“Livestock Brands & Marks of Terrebonne Parish 1822-1946”
Dr. Christopher E. Cenac, Sr.
Saturday, August 1, 2015 (39th)
“A Pictorial History of Lafourche Parish”
Clifton Theriot
“Murder on the Lake, Trial on the Teche: The Ada LeBouef-Thomas Dreher Murder Trial”
Francine Middleton
“Beausoleil Broussard and the first Louisiana Acadians”
Warren Perrin
“The Search for the Lost Colony of New Acadia”
Mark A. Rees
Saturday, August 6, 2016 (40th)
“Louisiana’s contribution to the American Revolution-Weapons, Strategy and Tactics”
Stephen Estopinal
“The Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point”
Diana Greenlee
“Bioarchaelogy of Historic Cemeteries in South Louisiana”
Mary Manheim
“Mapping Louisiana’s Endangered Cemeteries”
Jessica Schexnayder
Saturday, August 5, 2017 (41st)
“Quercus Quest: The Live Oaks of Lafourche Parish”
William Guion
“The Point-au-Chien Indian Tribe Community: Then and Now”
Theresa Dardar
“Common Medicinal Herbs & Treatments du Vieux Temps”
Marlene Breaux Toups
“Cemeteries, Genealogy, and the Law: What you can, cannot and should not do in Louisiana’s Cemeteries and What to do if Someone does these things”
Ryan Seidemann
Saturday, August 11, 2018 (42nd)
“Mourning Practices of Nineteenth Century Families”
Maureen Gilley & Connie Donadieu
“Why do you “want it dressed” and what if it wasn’t the “Louisiana Purchase” after all?”
Joseph B Dunn
“Information as Artifact: The Role of Archives in Cultural Preservation”
Leon Miller
“History Lost? Saving Louisiana’s Archival Heritage: A Project of the Louisiana Historical Association”
Faye Phillips
Saturday, August 3, 2019 (43rd)
“The mechanisms of State Sanctioned Executions during the Early Twentieth Century in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Thibodaux”
Christopher Peña
“Along Bayou Lafourche: An Inside Story of Rienzi Plantation”
Dr. Dolores Franklin
“How to Have your House added to the National Historic Register”
Emily Ardoin
“What’s Your Story? (creating a mini documentary)”
Leonard Smith III
No Seminars in 2020-2021 due to global COVID-19 Pandemic
Saturday, August 6, 2022 (44th)
“Mysteries of the Bayou (Genealogical and Historical Mysteries)”
Albert Robichaux, Jr.
“The Disease, One Man’s Journey Through a Life with Leprosy”
Anne Harmon Brett
“Acadian Women in Louisiana”
Mary and Warren Perrin
“Magnificent Obsessions (Jim’s Artwork of the Bayou Region)”
Jim Blanchard
Saturday, August 5, 2023 (45th)
“Genealogical Research in the Canary Islands”
Al Robichaux, Jr.
“German Coast Progenitors and Villages visited during the GACHGS Tour”
Jay Schexnaydre
“Footsteps in Time: Genealogy of the Breaux family and Acadian History”
Gayle Breaux Smith
“The Stories Behind the Tales: Louisiana Legends and Folklore”
Dr. Nathan Rabalais
Saturday, August 3, 2024 (46th)
“Houma Regional Military Museum”
Major Hunt Downer
“Italian Americans of New Orleans”
Alan Gautreaux
“Enslaved People, Free People of Color, Sugar Planters and a Mayflower Yankee”
Jari C. Honora, CG®
“Pointe Coupée Parish: Creole Mosaic”
Brian Costello
“Louisiana Orphan Trains”
Martha Aubert