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Primary Source Analysis: Letters between an Acadian Mother and Son, 1849–1852
The following is a series of letters between Cécile Melanson (née Murat) of Pointe-de-l’Église, Nova Scotia, and her son, Stephen (or Étienne) Melanson of Boston, Massachusetts. As I’ve written for the Acadiensis blog , Cécile Murat was not Acadian by birth. Born in 1780, she was a child of French parents living in Boston and was later adopted by an Acadian couple in rural Clare. In 1800, Cécile married an Acadian, Jean-Baptiste Melanson (brother of Samuel Melanson in my prev
Colby Gaudet
Oct 15, 20258 min read
Primary Source Analysis: 'Black Samuel' and the Doucet Family's Farm, 1796
I’ve studied the papers of the eighteenth-century Acadian merchant captain, Pierre Doucet, for over five years, and every time I revisit and review the archival collection, I turn up new evidence that I overlooked previously. The documents left by Captain Doucet and his son, Colonel Anselm (or Samuel) Doucet, constitute the Fonds Famille Dousett (or Doucet) at the Centre Acadien, Université Sainte-Anne . While a microfilm of this fonds is held at the Nova Scotia Archives in
Colby Gaudet
Oct 15, 20253 min read
“Those Dominions of Violence”: The Rev. Jacob Bailey’s Experience of the American Revolution
I was recently examining the North American records of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) – the missionary arm of the Church of England, established in the early eighteenth century. I had begun my reading of these reports to learn more about the history of SPG missionaries stationed in Nova Scotia in the 1760s when the society was trying hard to establish Anglicanism in the province’s largest settlements. [1] I was especially interested in the reports of th
Colby Gaudet
'The Testament of Ann Lee' and Eighteenth-Century Enthusiastic Religion
The prospect of the new film, The Testament of Ann Lee (about to be released), is exciting for a historian, such as myself, with a passion for studying eighteenth-century religion.
Colby Gaudet
Primary Source Analysis: Quaker Philanthropy and Indigenous People in the Maritimes
My interest in the history of religion often gravitates to the topic of Christianity and Indigenous people. I’m particularly compelled to study the ways that Christian groups interacted with Indigenous people in the contexts of settler colonialism.
Colby Gaudet
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