Manuscript Resources on Acadian History
In 1755, a group of French-speaking people were exiled from their homeland by British military tactics in a part of Nova Scotia then known as "French Acadia". Those Acadian immigrants who relocated to Southern Louisiana adapted to the unique challenges the region provided, to become known as the "Cajuns," an ethnic and cultural group much celebrated, and sometimes misunderstood.
The collection of manuscripts pertaining to the Cajuns that may be found in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC) of the LSU Libraries is varied in nature, ranging from the large group of records compiled by the Acadian Handicraft Project to a single French Acadian Music Festival program. Oral history interviews, personal papers, cartoons, photographs, scripts, and other artifacts are present in the manuscripts groups. A range of dates from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth centuries are present (see chronological listing).
Liddell, Moses and St. John Richardson. Family Papers, 1813-1919 (bulk 1838-1870). 6.5 linear ft., 39 vols., 11 mf reels. Location: U:200-209, G:21, 98:, Mss.Mf:L, microfiche 2729. Planters of Woodville, Mississippi and Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, Confederate officers. St. John Richardson Liddell was Moses Liddell's son. Bulk of the material is that of St. John Richardson Liddell, Confederate officer and son of Moses Liddell. Papers consist of plantation records, personal correspondence, slave lists, business and legal papers, account books, notebooks, plantation diaries, and persecution of Jews. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 531. Referenced in Guides: Plantations, Civil War, Acadiana, African Americans, Natchez, Mississippi, Jewish Community
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Long, Russell B. Papers, 1774-2004 (bulk 1938-1986). 772 linear ft., 9 microfilm reels. Location: 21:-27:, MAP CAGE, MSS.MF:L, VAULT:47, AA:. Shreveport, Louisiana attorney and U.S. senator. Papers include correspondence; legislative, committee, federal agency, special project, and political campaign files; press releases; speeches; audio tapes; motion picture film; videotapes; and photographs, relating chiefly to Long's senatorial career. Topics include tax reform, petroleum issues, and employee stock options. Materials on the personal and political activities of other Long family members, among them Huey Long, are included. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3700. Referenced in Guides: Politics, Women, New Orleans 1866-, Baton Rouge, Acadiana, African Americans, LSU, Long Family, 20th Century Wars
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Louisiana Folklife Program project files, 1973-2013 (1979-2007). 44 linear ft. (manuscript materials), 30 linear ft. (sound recordings), 3 linear ft. (video tapes). Location: 63:1-35, 33:9-13, 109:26-31, OS:L, L:45-50, 115:24-30, L:2a-4a, AA:. The Louisiana Folklife Program is one of the programs of the Division of the Arts. The mandate of the Folklife Program is to identify, document, preserve, and present Louisiana's traditional cultures. Collection includes correspondence, financial documents and papers, grant drafts. Also included are Folklife Program publications data, printed materials, newspaper clippings, posters, photographs, oral history recordings, videos, and contracts with musicians and craftspeople and completed applications, different commissions' minutes and materials, and correspondence and documentation on different folklife projects and folklife festivals. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 4730. |
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Louisiana Folklore Society. Records, 1956-2014. 2 linear ft. Location: UU:262. Organization of folklorists, academics, teachers, and others interested in the study, preservation, and promotion of Louisiana folk culture. The records include correspondence, programs, minutes, financial records, and subject files relating to organization projects, publications, and meetings. Mss. 4168. |
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Louisiana Geological Survey. Louisiana earthquakes questionnaires and letters, 1983, 1991. 0.3 linear ft. Location: 107:18. Completed questionnaires that were submitted by Louisiana residents in response to a survey studying earthquakes that hit the state. Some questionnaires are in response to the October 16, 1983 tremor that was recorded in the area south of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Others are requests for information from residents who felt a tremor in southeast Louisiana on December 3, 1991. The 1983 study was conducted by Donald Stevenson of the Baton Rouge office of the Louisiana Geological Survey. The questionnaires were printed in newspapers and respondents provided information by indicating "yes" or "no" responses or by circling a level of activity as provided on the form. Many respondents included their addresses and attached letters to their forms. Also included are geological maps of Louisiana indicating sites of quakes and a seismogram. Mss. 4940. Referenced in Guides: Acadiana
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