Next Meeting:

May 22, 1999

North Branch Terrebonne Library

4130 W. Park Ave.

Gray, LA 70359

400 Years of Blanchard Genealogy Available

Many people have spent hours upon hours in graveyards, courthouses, and church records researching their family's roots. One of these people, Banks Edwards, Jr. of Pensacola, Florida, has compiled a database of 40,000 names connected to settlers of the Bayou Lafourche area. He calls this tremendous body of work the Bayou Lafourche Database. Included in the database are approximately 4,500 Blanchard entries. Edwards's specific interest in the Blanchard family stems from the fact that his wife is a Blanchard.

The Bayou Lafourche Database and particularly the number of Blanchard entries it contains grows daily. Edwards enters birth, death, and marriage records from Blanchard descendents who send him the information. His goal is to have the database as complete and up to date as possible for the Blanchard Reunion being held this summer. If a contributor can provide Edwards with data on their great grandparents and in some cases their grandparents, Edwards can connect the information to the line that travels back to the 1590s when the very first settlers arrived in Grand Pré, Nova Scotia. This is a wonderful opportunity for descendents living today to guarantee that their children's and grandchildren's names are recorded in what will surely be the most complete and up to date genealogical work documenting the history of the Blanchard family.

Edwards is currently working on plans for the genealogical exhibit for the Blanchard Reunion being held on August 7, 1999 at Assumption High School which is located on Highway 308 in Napoleonville, Louisiana. In addition to wall charts displayed for viewing, Edwards will have several computers loaded with the Bayou Lafourche Database for those who would like to search the database for specific information. He has also generously offered to make the database available to members of La Famille Blanchard, Inc. for the nominal cost of a floppy disk. The database will be made available to nonmembers, but at a slightly higher cost.

To have your family data included in the Bayou Lafourche database or to receive a four generation chart on which to record your family's data for inclusion in the database, contact:

H. Banks Edwards, Jr.

500 Woodbine Dr.

Pensacola, FL

Ph: 904-434-2158

For more information about the Blanchard Family Reunion, contact:

Ronnie Blanchard

608 Jung Blvd., Marrere, LA 70072

Ph.. 504-347-4261 (daytime) or 504-347-1691 (evening)

Sally Blanchard

103 Gary St., Pierre Part, LA 70339

Ph. 504-252-9655