Noted Acadian Genealogist and Historian, Paul Lewis LeBlanc of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Passed Away on August 24, 2022

The Flag of Acadia

Past President of the Acadian Memorial, Marty Guidry, related some sad news about our late, Acadian cousin Paul Lewis LeBlanc whose last home was in Ascension Parish, Louisiana:

"Unfortunately, today I learned that Paul LeBlanc passed away on August 24, 2022.  He had been in a full-care nursing home for over a year and died from complications of several health issues that he had during the past year."

Paul Lewis LeBlanc, as many may recall, was keenly interested in the use of DNA to verify genealogical lines and, ever since I've known him (which was from about 2006 on), Paul was always happy to share his knowledge and research.

Paul participated in and led a number of popular mail-lists and groups about genealogical subjects as well and I had the opportunity to meet him, face-to-face, when he attended one of my presentations in Louisiana.

With Paul's permission, I had published an article about his surname line, which he had traced, and documented, from himself, to his father, and then to his father, and his father -- all the way back to Daniel LeBlanc of Acadia (b. ca 1626). He did this in conjunction with his Big Y DNA test results he had received in October of 2020.  

He was pleased to discover that he could prove his line genealogically and also through his Y DNA test results, which matched those of other men who shared his same patrilineal ancestor, Daniel LeBlanc, b. ca1626.

Needless to say, I was very delighted (and somewhat relieved) to report that Paul LeBlanc's Y chromosome DNA matched with the Y chromosome DNA results, and the Y DNA haplogroup, established for other LeBlanc men who descended from Daniel LeBlanc.  When you are dealing with a genealogist whose Y chromosome DNA is so tightly intertwined with his esteemed Acadian surname lineage, and so, his very soul, as was Paul's, waiting for a Y DNA test result to come in can be an anxious affair!

Sometimes, we have a brief opportunity to hear a story and we have to take it down, and publish it, while it's there in front of us. This is precisely what happened with Paul.  

Paul gave me one shot to send his Y chromosome DNA sample off to Family Tree DNA for the Advanced Big Y 700 DNA test (done!) and then one more, very brief opportunity to publish some notes about his family history (and we did that too!).

As we called for contributions from the Acadian genealogy community so that we could fund Paul's Big Y 700 DNA test, and later worked together to document his line, I felt like I was led by a guiding hand -- and Paul's insistent urging.  Looking back, I believe Paul knew that time was of the essence.

And so, we have the following article that resulted from these efforts (You are welcome to share the article as I had permission from Paul to do the same):

https://dna-genealogy-history.com/travel-by-ancestry/travel-by-ancestry-to-the-big-y-dna-signature-r-ft55255-for-the-lineage-of-acadian-ancestor-daniel-leblanc-b-ca-1626

Since the article was published, we have gained over 2050 members in the Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA project (the image in the article is old), and we have extensive updates to the Y DNA "tree." While the work continues with more Big Y 700 DNA kits ordered for our project members just this week, the genealogy that comprises Paul LeBlanc's story, as written, remains constant, and this post is going to be one of the places where Paul Lewis LeBlanc is honored and remembered, and I do so tonight.

May you rest in peace, Paul Lewis LeBlanc, b. 1946, d. 2022.

From your cousin in Acadian Genealogy,

--Marie Asse'lia Rundquist