I was looking for a digitized copy of the book “Franco-Americans of the State of Maine, USA” by R.J. Lawton, and my usual sources (Internet Archive, HathiTrust) didn’t have it. I decided to just do a google search, where I discovered a copy in the Bibliotheque et Archives nacionales Quebec (BAnQ). What a find!!! Doing a quick search for “Biddeford” brought up over 15k results!

You will find not only books, but genealogies, newsletters, and many newspapers – vintage and contemporary – which you can access freely. Materials are in Français or English.

One item I was particularly excited to see and wanted to share here is Bibliography of Franco-American life, language, and history in the northeastern United States by Patrick Lacroix, Ph.D. (Dr. Lacroix is the director of the Acadian Archives/Archives acadiennes at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.) From what I’ve seen, this is the most up-to-date resource for the modern student of Franco history – whether it’s a casual interest, a scholarly pursuit, or you’re a genealogist on the hunt for that next ancestor.