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.
TBA– TBA
TBA – TBA
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