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| Family News
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| Fontenot Reunion Background
Information
by Merrick "Sonny" Fontenot 18 November 1999 |
| To date, we have had three reunions of the descendants
of Sgt. Jean-Louis Fonteneau. The first was held in September of 1997 and
was inspired by my experiences during reenactment events at Fort Toulouse.
Since the Fonteneau family at Fort Toulouse was the largest at the garrison
from about 1730 until their departure in 1763, the Park Manager/Archeologist
(Ned Jenkins) and I felt that it would be truly unique and appropriate
for the Park to host a "gathering" of the descendants of this family at
the site which was the only home that the first generation (children
of Jean-Louis and Marie Louise) had ever known before resettling in what
is now the state of Louisiana. I dare say that, until that time, most of
the descendants had no knowledge of this connection to Alabama. Planning
for that first gathering was rather tenuous due to the uncertainties in
the interest and response. Further, we faced the task of getting the word
out. For the latter, we relied on Louisiana based media. I'm proud to tell
you that the response exceeded expectations; about 400+ attended this first
gathering and everyone had a magnificent time.
The next gathering occurred in October 1998. It was again held at Fort Toulouse, the ancestral home, and once again the response was great. The highlight at that gathering was the unveiling and dedication of the granite memorial that was erected at the park. This memorial was the result of a year long fund raising campaign which yielded almost $3000 from many descendants. The design of the memorial is based on inputs and suggestions from the Harold Fontenot family from Opelousas. I roughed out the basic structure and design using those inputs and Ms. Niki Ferrazano (niece of Harold Fontenot) performed the final art work and graphics. I composed the inscription and Mr. Keith Fontenot from Opelousas provided the French version. The memorial is now a permanent landmark at the park and provides a physical memento of our ancestry and connection to Fort Toulouse. In response to many requests, the third reunion (we can now call it a reunion instead of a gathering) was held in Louisiana to coincide with the many on-going festivities in commemoration of Franco Fete. This reunion occurred in October, 1999 in the city of Ville Platte. Thanks to the hard work of the planning committee led by Mr. Hottell Fontenot and Ms. Ruby Holmes, this was an extremely successful event. Estimates of the turnout to the two day event ranged from about 1700 to over 3500. The mayor of Ville Platte even named the city "Fontenotville" for that weekend! For the future, popular opinion seems to be to have bi-annual reunions and alternating venues. Thus, it appears that the next reunion will be at Fort Toulouse in the fall of 2001. However, please stay tuned to this web site since these plans are very tentative at this time. |
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