French Canadian History Resources

Exploring the Midwest's French Roots from Illinois Periodicals Online.

Evangeline, 1847, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Loosely based on the 1755 expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia (known as Le Grand Derangement).

Feast of the Hunter's Moon. Tippecanoe County Historical Association offers information about this annual fall eighteenth-century re-enactment at Fort Ouiatenon, West Lafayette, Indiana.

French Canadian Emigration to the United States, 1840-1930 by Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College.

French Catholics in the United States .J.L.K. LaFlamme, David E. LaVigne, and J. Arthur Favreau. Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter (Pâté)

French Entrepreneurship in the Post Colonial Fur Trade by B. Pierre Lebeau (North Central College, Naperville, IL).

French province of Bourbonnais. Information on the province's history and flag

Genealogy.com surname index. Here you can find out the genealogy of your family or community. There is also a message board where you can leave posts and read other peoples' posts.

Le Petit Canada Project. Information about the early pioneer settlement known as Le Petit Canada, located near Davis Creek in Bourbonnais and Rockville Townships, Kankakee County, Illinois.

Letter from Rev. Charles Chiniquy as published on September 22, 1851 in Le Canadien. Rev. Chiniquy persuasively describes the "happiness and prosperity I have found amongst the Canadians of Bourbonnais" as he encourages readers to"go there to partake in their share of riches that the divine Providence gives with such ease and profusion to those who settle there."

The Lincoln Writings of Charles Chiniquy a PDF copy of a publication written by Joseph George Jr. at Villanova University, part of the NIU collection of digitized publications

Perry Farm Living History has information about the historic Perry Farm, located in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

Significance of the Canadian Migration, by Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College. In PDF format

Virtual tour of the George R. Letourneau house explores the home of the Bourbonnais Grove Historical Society.

Visit Kankakee County. Kankakee County is located 60 miles south of Chicago. This web site illustrates the appeal of the area.