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Lynne C. Levesque

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Acknowledgements

First, for the French edition of Jeanne’s story, I must thank the book’s « team of translators and editor/readers ».  When I arrived in France in January of this year, I began to realize the enormity of the task of translating a book from English into French.  I have been incredibly lucky to find a group of translators and readers who together spent an amazing number of hours helping me with my desire to translate Jeanne’s story into her native language.  This team has included Clyde and Alexandra Dlugy-Belmont, Brigitte Bernaudat, Monique Caplet–Elmosnino, Martine Diamante, Nadine Lefebvre, Florence Levasseur, Arnaud Léonard, Yann L’Hostis, and Nelly Mare-Godet.  Each person added a great deal, at each step along the way, to produce the French version.  In the process, they have given me numerous lessons in the French language.  Both Jeanne and I are extremely grateful to them all — translators, readers, and now friends.  They made this book, for sure, but I assume all responsibility for any errors.

Next, over the course of the many years of my research, my good friends and network of colleagues have all generously supported my efforts for searching out the details of Jeanne’s life.

To date, these sometimes overlapping circles of friends, family and colleagues include the following deserve special mention: Kathi Barry Albertini, Ann Auburn, Edith Bédard, Susanne Dennings, Jacques Deschamps de Boishébert, Carol Lundquist, Theodora Noble, Helaine Simmonds, Arthur Strout, and Seta Wehbe, my sister Carla Levesque and brother Dana Cole-Levesque, and my cousins Rév. Mgr C. Peter Dumont, Vivian Dumont (now sadly deceased), Sister Marie-Christilla (whom we also know as Muriel Pelletier) and Peter’s cousin Michel Moisan. I owe very special thanks to Peter and Michel for helping with early translations and with brainstorming possible explanations to some of the mysteries around Jeanne and her family. In addition, although only a distant cousin, historian Ulric Lévesque not only has been willing to answer questions and provide promising hypotheses despite my halting French. He also took the time to give me a special tour of Rivière-Ouelle when I visited the village where Jeanne and Robert Lévesque lived centuries ago.

Several historians have been most responsive with emails and conversations, including Leslie Choquette, Cole Harris, Paul-Henri Hudon, Alain Laberge, Yves Landry, Rénald Lessard, Renaud Levesque, Eric Mardoc, Peter Moogk, and Jan Noel, several of whom have had to reach back many decades into research done so long ago.

In Quebec and France, archivists at the following institutions have been amazingly helpful, and I am most appreciative of their aid in tracking down documents and information:

I also want to acknowledge the teachers and students in my writing seminars at Grub Street, Boston MA, and in my French classes with the Brookline Adult Education Department.

Of course, there are others whom I have fortuitously met along the way and who have encouraged me and provided contacts and incredible support. These include:

In Quebec: Edith Bédard and Patricia Thomas in Quebec City; Nancy Fortin and Richard Dubé in Rivière-Ouelle; Micheline Parent, Hermance Lévesque Molnar, Fernand Lévesque, and other members of the Lévesque Association.

In France:  Michel and Marie Bourdin, Brigitte Bernaudat, Arlette and Hervé Coutinho, Jacques Deschamps de Boishébert and his family, Monique Caplet–Elmosnino, Béatrice and Alain-Paul Jolly, and Nadine Lefebvre in Dieppe; Jean-Pierre and Béatrice Levêque in Cliponville and Jean-François Lemesle, Mayor of Cliponville; Jean-Pierre and Dominique Eudier and Raymond Taconet in Le Havre;  Jean Paul Monville, Mayor of Hautot-le-Vatois; and Nicole Gilbert, genealogist, and Yann l’Hostis in Granville. Much appreciation also to Ghislaine Cahard, President, and Nelly Mare-Godet, Secretary, of Les Cousins du Nouveau Monde, for our delightful visits in Hautot-Saint-Sulpice, and then the wonderful opportunity to speak in 2016.

In the United States, Sandra Goodwin for the interesting interviews she conducted for “Maple Stars and Stripes: Your French-Canadian Genealogy Podcast.”

I am fortunate to be living in the great city of Boston, with its incredibly rich resources for research. The New England Historic Genealogical Society and the staff there provided support, direction and access to innumerable resources in hard print and on microfilm. The Boston Public Library’s Interlibrary Loan Department and particularly Kathy Kire in my local library have been diligent in following up on my many requests. Through them, I was also able to get access to Harvard University’s unbelievable collection of historical resources.

I also must acknowledge the extraordinary work of Sylvia Tooker at Bear Data Services who created this website for me and who has been friend and colleague for ever so many years!

I hope I have been able to remember the names of everyone who has helped me along the way, but if I have forgotten anyone, I apologize!