RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 8, 2006
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
On Saturday, January 21, 2006, the Texas Czech Genealogical Society will hold its annual membership meeting and luncheon. The activities will take place at the Caldwell Civic/Visitor Center, 103 Hwy. 21 West, Caldwell, TX. The public is invited to attend.
Guest speaker will be Dale Fulencheck, who will discuss methods and resources for family research in the U. S. and the Czech Republic. Texas recording artist Chris Rybak will provide music for listening and dancing. In addition, hundreds of Czech research books will be available for use by individuals.
Registration fees postmarked by January 9 will be $12; those postmarked after that date will cost $15. Reservations should be sent to Sallie Wendt, 361 North Post Oak Lane, no. 145, Houston, TX 77024-5902. For additional information call her at 713-682-6262 or e-mail her at [email protected].
Although censuses are often available online, many genealogical researchers still see the value in having a printed copy handy for quick, easy reference. They also find a published copy useful for obtaining at a glance a broader view of a family's neighbors. Since neighbors were often relatives, friends, or other people who migrated and settled down together, they often provide clues for additional research. As a result, genealogists will welcome the reprint of Robert Bruce L. Ardoin's compilations LOUISIANA CENSUS RECORDS, VOLUME I, AVOYELLES AND ST. LANDRY PARISHES, 1810 & 1820 and LOUISIANA CENSUS RECORDS, VOLUME II, IBERVILLE, NATCHITOCHES, POINTE COUPEE, AND RAPIDES PARISHES, 1810 & 1820.
Ardoin's first volume of the 1810 and 1820 censuses pertains to two early areas of colonization in what became the Pelican State. Generally enveloping the jurisdiction of the old Opelousas Post, St. Landry Parish encompassed most of southwestern Louisiana, where people began settling prior to 1750. Before a century had passed, the area's ethnic mix included inhabitants of French, Spanish, British, American, German, Swiss, Russian, and African descent.
Although geographically smaller than many of the other early settlements, Avoyelles Parish (created from Avoyelles Post) became important as a crossroads of movement between such places as Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Natchez as well as Texas. Statistics from Avoyelles Parish, which had a large number of residents of Anglo-Saxon descent, are also valuable because many records of neighboring Rapides Parish have been lost.
Also concerning early areas of settlements in Louisiana, Ardoin's second volume of the 1810 and 1820 censuses pertains to the parishes of Iberville, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, and Rapides. Although some Acadians established a church in Iberville Parish in 1760, the region did not really start to grow in population and wealth until after the Louisiana Purchase. Founded in 1714, Natchitoches became a thriving and populous economic center; today it is the oldest surviving settlement in Louisiana. Pointe Coupee's small farms evolved into large plantations and its population became a mixture of French and Anglo-Saxon descents. Originally established because of a barrier to navigation on the Red River, Rapides Parish is now home to the city of Alexandria.
Reproducing the censuses as they appear on the original schedules, both paperbacks also include maps of the parishes in the early nineteenth century, forewords and introductions which explain briefly the parishes' historical background and the censuses, keys to understanding what the numbers mean in the 1810 and 1820 censuses, and full name indexes. In addition, the first volume contains reproductions of the congressional acts and amendments that provided for the U. S. federal censuses.
LOUISIANA CENSUS RECORDS, VOLUME I, AVOYELLES AND ST. LANDRY PARISHES, 1810 & 1820 (order item #CFC 151) contains 114 pages and is priced at $15.95 while LOUISIANA CENSUS RECORDS, VOLUME II, IBERVILLE, NATCHITOCHES, POINTE COUPEE, AND RAPIDES PARISHES, 1810 & 1820 (order item #CFC 152) has 216 pages and is priced at $25.00. To the prices of the books, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. (For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $4 for one book and $1.50 for each additional copy; for UPS, the cost is $6 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional book). The volumes may be purchased by check, MasterCard, or Visa from Clearfield Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211 (toll free phone 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website www.genealogical.com).