Mélançon / Melanson: New Y DNA results in the Acadian Amerindian Ancestry Project, and a match, add to a growing Y DNA signature for legacy Acadian surname Mélançon / Melanson.

Those who travel to the Melanson Settlement National Historic Site ("pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/ns/melanson/index") in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, will experience the family history of Charles Melanson and his wife, Marie Dugas, in Acadia. Research of Mélançon / Melanson history will show much debate about the possible origins of the surname progenitor, Pierre dit Laverdure Melancon, and his wife, Priscilla. A visitor to the "AcadiansWereHere.org" website may find the names of Mélançon / Melanson descendants who were exiled to Snow Hill and Annapolis, Maryland in 1755, recorded on the 1763 Acadian Census taken at these locations.

Mélançon / Melanson men who have Y DNA tests discover that throughout history, passed down from fathers to their sons, is a consistent set of markers, encoded in their Y DNA, that prevails among Mélançon / Melanson male descendants today. Y DNA tests reveal historic Acadian lineages among living male descendants. Find out how: https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/acadian-amerindian/about/background

When I first posted the new image for our Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA project there were all manner of discussions of the sabots that were part of the cover design - which then prompted discussion of the dykelands among project members. Those lands spoke to me when I last visited Grand Pre this summer -- I felt our family there. I like the specific mention of how the building of the dykes to create the fertile lands in Grand Pre distinguished Acadians from other peoples -- setting our families apart from the New England settlers and those whose settled New France.
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Isn't it funny how just about a month ago, this image spoke to me -- and I had to include it in our project. It seems that I had one of my "inklings" (that come out of nowhere) that this image would be important:

​https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/acadian-amerindian/

The following slide shows, videos and shares offer a personal insight into the events and meetings that took place throughout all the days of celebration and learning that comprised the Grand-Pré 2017 Celebration of Peace and Reconciliation:

During this first-ever, four-day reunion of the Acadian and Mi'kmaq people, held at the Grand-Pré World UNESCO site in Nova Scotia, festival participants had an opportunity to take part in an historic renewal of friendship, exchanging of gifts, song, dance, and culture among Mi'kmaq and Acadian peoples, and the acknowledgement of a 400 year-old shared history, tradition and legacy in Nova Scotia.

The historical timeline of Nova Scotia, and specifically, "Acadia," reflects two cataclysms: first, the coming together of two distinct peoples from two separate continents, Europe and North America, that occurred in the early 1600s, when Europeans (largely from France) first settled lands held by the Mi'kmaq and intermarriage took place, and second, the involuntary  expulsion of the Acadian peoples out of Nova Scotia in 1755 who then carried Native and European blood lines borne of these first historic unions to their new homes and settlements. Now, in 2017, we may add to this same timeline a third milestone: the Celebration of Peace and Reconciliation that took place at Grand Pré.

New Maryland Historical Trust Sign Unveiled Recognition Given to Acadian Heritage

Nearly 260 years ago a small group of refugees landed on the shores of Maryland against their will. The year was 1755, during the outset of the French and Indian War, but a different war was being waged against the French Catholics - known as Acadians - as they were expelled from their lands in Nova Scotia, Canada. Four shiploads, carrying about 900 Acadians, were unloaded on the shores of Maryland in November 1755 and by 1770 the majority of these displaced Acadians left by ship to Louisiana.

Rarely discussed in history books, these Acadian people were the early settlers of Oxford, Newtown (today Chestertown), Georgetown, Fredericktown, Baltimore, Annapolis, Upper Marlboro, Lower Marlboro and Port Tobacco and many of their names are found in the Maryland 1763 Acadian census.

At the Manokin River Park on July 28, 2013 at 3:00 pm, a Maryland Historical Trust Sign will be unveiled, recognizing the Acadians' contribution to Maryland's mainstream history and experience on the Eastern Shore.

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