My Favorite Finds From 2025

I thought I’d write a post about the favorite things I came across in my family history ramblings last year.  I found two really good stories about my ancestors doing commendable things.  And the other thing was an old record that was found from hundreds of years ago.  I’m always on the lookout for things like that and like to share what I find with everyone.  That way family members can see some information about their ancestors, and I’ll have a way of recording it so I don’t forget about it!  The downside is that I don’t give resources for the things I find.  I figure if people what to verify it is true or not, they can do an online search and find it, too.  At least they know what to search for.

The first image I’m using in this post is of a painting by a cousin.  The painting is called “French Peasant” and it was painted around 2020 by Kevin Leveque, a third cousin from my Landry great grandmother.  He posted a photo of the painting on Facebook, and I commented on how much I liked it.  It always makes me think of my French and Acadian ancestresses who lived and worked on farms through the years.  Kevin and I have many common ancestors, including two of the maternal ones I’m talking about here.

The first discovery I’m talking about is the discovery of Michelle Aucoin’s birth record.  She was born in LaRochelle, France, on January 29, 1620.  Her parents were Martin Aucoin and Barbe Minguette.  The family made the crossing to the New World in 1642 and were some of the founders of Acadie.  Many of those early founders’ birth records are a mystery.  There have been people looking for them for years with no luck.  So when one is discovered, it’s kind of a big thing.  At least for those of us who are looking.

Daddy had her in his tree with the correct birthplace and a close estimated birth year.  He also had the father’s name correct.  He didn’t have the correct mother and hadn’t made all of the connections to her, but I’m always amazed at all of the information he discovered.  He put in most of the branches on the tree, while I’m just fine tuning and pruning a bit.  My work is based on the groundwork provided by him and Mee Maw.  I know they would be excited with the new information being discovered.

The second discovery had something to do with a witchcraft trial in Quebec in 1684.  Though the trial was in Quebec, the events that were being questioned occurred in Acadie and involved our ancestors Francois Pellerin and Andree Martin.  The witchcraft part of the story was intriguing, but my favorite part was about the actions of my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother Andree Martin.  That’s right, she was my 8X great grandmother.  It was a long time ago.  By the way, Michelle Aucoin was also my 8X great grandmother. 

Anyway, Andree was visiting her sister one year.  As they were walking along, they witnessed a man harassing a young girl.  Instead of ignoring the situation, she asked the man to stop, then made him stop.  I love that she did the right thing.  It was not the last of their unpleasant interactions, though.  That may have led to her accusing him of using witchcraft to kill her husband.  She might have believed it, but she may have said what she needed to so the man would be stopped.  It worked.

The last of my favorite discoveries has to do with the Hine line in my mom’s tree.  This event occurred over a hundred years later than the first two stories, and it has to do with my 4X great grandfather John Hein.  He was born in 1747 in Dillenberg, Germany, to Johannes Jacob Hein and Ann Schober.  He immigrated with his father and stepmother in October 1753 to Broad Bay, Maine.  They later moved to Wachovia, North Carolina, which is where our ancestor John performed his heroic act.  He and two friends were attempting to cross a flooded creek to respond to some request for help.  All they had was a shabby canoe, and they decided to make the attempt anyway.  The canoe sank and Brother Hein was the only one that knew how to swim.  Despite the strong currents, our John was able to save his two friends.  Commendable indeed!

So now we’re on to another year.  I’m hoping for new discoveries, new photos…new everything.  We’re living in the future.  Happy New Year to everyone.