by Ryan U. Bernard, 2025
You might think you learned about the Louisiana Purchase in school, and know something about the migration of French-Canadian (Acadian) citizens in the mid-1700s to our southern state. You might be mistaken. Even though I was always a good student, and lived 35 years in southeast Texas, a few hours from the Louisiana border, I did not know this story.
In this historical record, The Bernards of Louisiana, author Ryan Bernard retraces a remarkable history of his direct ancestors who were peaceably homesteading on the eastern Canadian seaboard (at the intersection of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence). They were summarily rounded up and forcibly deported by the British, who were fully in charge of Canada at that time. The term “ethnic cleansing,” which we don’t like to associate with this side of the Atlantic, was in full swing. These Acadians (the name later became Cajuns) resettled into Louisiana territory, and were integral not only to the Louisiana Purchase but also the American Revolution. For the benefit of his extended family, the author traces his genealogy to the present day and gives instructions to relations who might want to trace theirs.
Anyone who has read my memoir, Art and Artifice, might recognize Ryan’s name—he was in my acknowledgments as an important editor and beta reader. We’ve been technical writing colleagues for at least 30 years; he splits his time between Houston and Santa Fe. It was my pleasure to read his book and marvel at the level of research he’s put into it, and the resilience and forbearance of his ancestors throughout the centuries. You don’t have to be a Cajun to enjoy this book or to learn something from it, as it is an integral part of every American’s history.
