Cajun Research: Theaux

My Mother Margaret Audrey Theaux

Aunt Lena

My mother's maiden name was Theaux. There is some argument in my family as to just how the name is pronounced. My aunt Lena and my aunt Lil both informed me that the name was pronounced THAY-O with the TH pronounced. This puzzled me and my sister as we pronounced it TAY-O without the H sound. My sister and I decided that it had to be because we were from the west coast and not native Louisianians. Since I had been adopted out of the family I had not been raised hearing the family name pronounced, so I was willing to bow to my aunts' version. (after all it had been their name since birth) Then my aunt Lena said, "Of course, you don't pronounced the H in French." Vicki (my sister) and I looked at each other and said ..."so we're saying it right? And you're saying it wrong?"

Aunt Lil

This year when I visited my cousins (children of Lena and Lil's brother RL who also have the last name of Theaux) the same discussion came up because I, of course, still pronounce the name without the H sound. They informed me I was saying it wrong. I then told them what our late great matriarch, my aunt Lena, had said. They told me she was full of crap.

My very bright nephew, Dustin, being the child of the internet that he is, found a tape of the skier Adrian Theaux during a competition in France. The French announcer was speaking about Mr. Theaux and he was pronouncing the name with the H sound. We are now bowing to the French announcer.

However you pronounce the name it is a fairly easy name in the United States to research as there seems to have been only two or three families with this name to immigrate to the US. (I am using the term United States instead of America because there is a Theaux or two in South America.)

I have not "jumped the pond" yet. That doesn't mean that it hasn't been jumped...just that I haven't jumped it yet. My cousin Eric, researcher extraordinaire, has taken the Theaux's to France. I trust Eric's research. I do. I just want to take the journey myself. I know...I'm reinventing the wheel, but a great deal of the records he uncovered were lost in Katrina. So I have no source notes. Consequently, what I do have is names and dates but no sources. I have some wonderful copies of original records and no idea of where they came from. So...I'm off to re-invent the wheel.

Here is what I know. (If you want the sources just let me know.)

Jacques Jean Marie Theaux was born in December of 1856 in France. He came to the United States sometime before 1880 and settled in St. Martinville, St. Martin Parish, Louisiana. He worked as a carpenter on the plantation owned by Eugene Auguste Duchamp De Chastaigne. (Family stories  say that Jacques  was the manager of the plantation and that he was very good with horses.) Jacques married Eugene's third child, Marie Mathilde Elisa Duchamp De Chastaigne when she was just 15 in St. Martinville on 3 May 1881.

Laurent Felix Theaux and Flavie Marguerite Landry Theaux

Jacques and Marie Mathilde were my great grandparents. Their first child, Eugene, was born in 1883. Other children born to this union include Arthur, Elizabeth, Marbe, Leona, Laurent, and Leo. Marie Mathilde died 10 July 1906 in St. Martinville and Jacques followed her on 24 September 1918  in Delcambre, Iberia Parish, Louisiana.  Their son Laurent Felix Theaux was my grand father.

Laurent was born on 11 April 1893.

Conferences

This week a fellow Blogger (actually I would call him the King of Blogs) Thomas McEntee asked the blogging world to answer the following questions concerning genealogy conferences:

"...from the attendees of genealogy conferences:  How do you decide which ones to attend? How far in advance do you start making plans? What do you look for when you take in a conference? Again, not only can you post about what you’d love to see at a genealogy conference, but let us know your frustrations and what needs to change."

RootsTech 2011

I have been attending conferences for a long time. I find them to be a great means of networking with fellow genealogists (hobbyists and professionals) and a fabulous way of learning. My first conference was in Utah held by the Utah Genealogical Association in April of 2004. What a wonderful experience. I immediately became addicted. I met wonderful people, learned vast amounts of information, improved my research methods and came away with knowledge that I had found my path. Since then I have attended every conference I can afford, which is getting harder as the costs of hotels and airfares rise.

I have attended the National Genealogical Society's annual conference, the Federation of Genealogical Society's annual conference, and the annual conference held by the Southern California Genealogical Society. I try to hit those three every year. This year I also added the RootsTech conference and it will definitely become a must do every year.

I also try to attend the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (held in Salt Lake City, Utah) and the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University in Alabama. (Held in January and February respectively.) These are not the typical variety of classes offered by the conferences but instead a more concentrated week long focus of study on one subject such as American Research or Advanced Methodology. 

How do I decide which ones to attend? Well, obviously, I try not to have to make a choice. I really like to attend all of them. Each one provides its own special je ne sais quoi, flair, attributes, flavor and opportunities to learn from some of the best genealogy teachers in the world. Something one should take advantage of any time they can. 

Instead of having to cancel going to one of my beloved conferences I instead have gotten a little more creative in saving money. I combine research trips with conferences instead of having to travel to the same area twice (for example I will leave the NGS conference and continue on to Louisiana to do research this coming week.) Or I will room with someone; sharing the cost of hotel room and maybe rental car. 

How far in advance do I start making my plans? At least a year in advance for my calender. I don't want to find I have booked an anniversary trip or a class I am teaching on top of a conference. But often I don't actually register for the conference until the last minute (the last minute of early bird registration that is) because I want to be sure I can really afford it and often I have to be sure of roommates attendance. (Whether or not I have a roommate often determines which hotel I stay at; cheaper hotel if no roommate.) 

Louise St. Denis at vendor area RootsTech

I am an information/knowledge junkie, so what I look for in a conference is NEW information. I recognize that there are always new genealogists joining us and classes that I took two years ago still need to be offered for those who didn't attend. However, I am very glad that the conferences I attend seem to always find new information to convey...not just the same old stuff re-vamped in a new title. (Although I do happen upon some of those every now and again.) 

I love the energy conferences (and the institutes) have. Attending one can really get you fired up. You go home jazzed about genealogy again...just like when you first started. Sometimes a class will provide you with the piece to the puzzle you needed to break through that brick wall. Sometimes, like with RootsTech, a conference can put you into information overload...but in a good way. I'm still working on applying all that I learned there. And the shopping....oh my.

My only frustrations come from cost. I would love to attend as many luncheons and banquets as I can, once a day would be fabulous. The speakers are always so entertaining and/or enlightening. But with the high cost of the hotels, gas, airfare and the cost of the conferences themselves...something had to give...so I have chosen class time over food. I know...for those of you who know me, this is huge. But sometimes the cost of one dinner is the same as one night in my hotel. Guess which way my money is going to go. 

I would also like to see it be a little easier for outstanding speakers (like Lisa Louise Cook, Thomas McEntee, and other newcomers) to break into the national circuit. Let's face it...the majority of us who do genealogy are getting a little long in the tooth. Having younger, hip, tech savvy speakers at the conferences will likely attract younger genealogists. They are out there. They just don't want to sit and listen to some old geezer talk about land records all day. They will eventually understand the worth of the information the old geezer has...but we got to get them involved first. Some of these "new" outstanding speakers may not have CG or AG after their names...but do devalue them because of it. Let them speak. You might learn something. (And they may decide that having that CG or AG is a worth while thing.)

Since we're talking about speakers...sometimes it is very hard to pick between two or three great speakers. I think Jamboree has the right idea in that it is going to offer some of the classes to be viewed after the fact from an archive. I would love to see more of this. 

Oh, and one more thought...

I would also like to see a lot more coffee.