Cajun Pioneers of the Vermilion Prairie and Marsh Land

Introduction

This website is dedicated to the Acadian Pioneers who settled the Vermilion Prairie and Marsh Land in southwest Louisiana from the mid-18th century to the mid 20th century. It will discuss Cajun pioneer families from all walks of life – petit habitats, vacheries, town merchants, plantation owners, trappers, fishermen, and politicians. The general area covered will include the marsh and prairie lands of the Prairie Gregg area in the south, the Bayou Tigre Community on the east, the LeBlanc Community area to the north, and the Grosse Isle area on the west, or, what could be termed as the "Greater Erath, Louisiana" area in Vermilion Parish.

The general scope of the website will be to serve as a complement or unofficial “Digital Sequel” to the previously published definitive reference book on Erath history by General Curney J. Dronet in 2000 entitled A Century of Acadian Culture: The Development of a Cajun Community: Erath (1899-1999).

The host of the website is Rufus LeBlanc, Jr. He and his brother, Paul, are dedicated to documenting the stories of the men and women pioneers of this part of northeast Vermilion Parish. In addition, the LeBlanc brothers have recently announced annual contributions to be made in support of the Acadian Museum in Erath, Louisiana. These annual gifts are being made in honor of the memory of their parents Alva Mae “Bede” Broussard LeBlanc and Rufus LeBlanc, Sr. both natives of Erath.

The LeBlanc family has ancestry including Spanish, French, Acadian, and French Canadian bloodlines – a true Cajun family. Their ancestors have been traced back to the families of Daniel LeBlanc (1626-1700) and Francois Broussard (1653-1716) as has been recently documented by the quintessential genealogist of Cajun ancestry, Stanley LeBlanc, host of www.thecajuns.com

Permission to use the print below was given by the artist Daniel LeBlanc, of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada