USA > Maine > How the Acadians came to Maine > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
. - 73 -
CHAPTER XVI PERIOD OF PROGRESS
After the death of Father Langevin, Father Mc Guirk suc- ceeded him as postor of St. Basile. During his twelve years in the parish, he finished the church whose construction was begun by his predecessor, enlarged the convent, and invited a religious order of nuns to teach in the area, but they stayed just a short time.
Up to 1869 all the parishes of the Madawaska territory on both sides of the St. John River were a part of the diocese of Chatham. On his first visit to the area in 1860, Msgr. Rogers, Bishop of Chatham, found this part of his new diocese completely disorganized, not having enough priests for all the needs of the colonies. He made this report to the Propagation of the Faith from whom he was receiving substantial resources to help the territory. The young and hard-working bishop was especially in- terested in the parishes of the upper St. John. It was during his first years as bishop that the parishes of St. Leonard, St. Anne, Edmundston, St. Jacques, St. Hilaire, Clair and Baker Brook were founded and provided with missionaries.
Bishop Rogers was also interested in the children's educa- tion. He invited the Holy Cross Fathers to come to the new colony, hoping they would open a secondary school. The Fathers came, took charge of the parish and a few surrounding parishes in the region, studied the problems, but found that the Madawaska colonies were not developed enough and were financially in- capable of maintaining a classical college. They left four years later and accepted the invitation of Bishop Sweeney of St. John, N. B. to open a college in Memramcook near Moncton, There they were provided living quarters by the pastor, Father Lafrance. The college opened in the fall of 1864.
Father Lefebvre, often referred to as the "Apostle of the Acadions", visited the Madawaska county, encouraging the young
- 74 -
men to continue their education in Memramcook. After the inauguration of the Intercolonial railroad from St. Leonard, N. B. to Campbellton, N. B., quite a few boys from Madawaska attend- ed school in Memramcook.
Several unsuccessful attempts were made to interest dif- ferent religious orders to establish an academy in the region. Then, in October, 1873, four "Hospitalières de l'Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal" arrived in St. Basile at the request of Bishop Rogers. In November there were seven nuns with Rev. Mother Davignon as their superior. Four months later, Mother Davignon died and was succeeded by Mother Quesnal. Classes and the hospital opened that same year. In the original group, one of the nuns most remembered is Sister Maillet. In 1880 she became the superior. Under her leadership, marked by her faithful devotion, perseverance, and dedication for a quarter of a century, the St. Basile convent and hospital were a blessing for all the region.
In the meantime, Father Barry, pastor of St. Basile, left the Madawaska region to take charge of the parish of Caraquet. Father Louis-Napoleon Dugal, his assistant, succeeded him at St. Basile. He became the spiritual director of the little com- munity.
During this period, the Maine Acadians were making great strides in the field of education. At the request of the people of Fort Kent with their representative Major Dickey, the Madawaska Training School was established by the Legislature of 1878. The purpose of this school was to train persons to teach in the com- mon schools of the territory. For nineteen years the school was fortunate in having as the first principal Mr. Vital Cyr, a graduate of the University of Maine. Although he was born in Madawaska, he was considered a native of Fort Kent. Mr. Cyr died in Sep- tember, 1897 when he was only 50 years old. Miss Mary Now- land, assistant instructor, succeeded him as principal until her retirement in June, 1926.
Being a State School, the program was in English, with very little French being taught. Therefore, the project of establishing a classical college in the valley where both French and English would be taught was not abandoned. Msgr. Healey, Bishop of Portland, invited the Marist Fathers to build such a school in Van Buren. The following year, in 1884, the Marists were in charge of St. Bruno's parish with Father Artaud as the first pastor. Two years later, construction had begun and St. Mary's College opened in 1887 with 35 students.
In 1891, the Good Shepherd Sisters of Quebec came to Van Buren to teach in the public school. After living in temporary quarters, they moved into a convent of their own in 1902.
- 75 -
In Wallagrass, Father Marcoux founded a convent for the "Petites Soeurs Franciscaines de Marie" from Baie St. Paul, P. Q. This same religious order opened a hospital in Eagle Lake in 1905.
In 1898, the Holy Rosary Sisters of Rimouski, P. Q. came to St. Luce to live and teach in the convent-school provided for them by Father Sweron.
Three more convents were founded in the region by still another religious order, the Daughters of Wisdom. These were at St. Agatha, Grand Isle (Lille), and Edmundston, N. B. In St. Agatha, besides the academy, the Sisters maintained a hospital with the most modern equipment. The parish of St. Agatha, founded in 1889 was one of the most prosperous of the area.
Besides these convent schools, many public schools were built and districts were formed as the population increased. These one- and two-room rural schools dotted the countryside for many years. Those students who wanted to further their education could attend the Madawaska Training School in Fort Kent or St. Mary's College in Van Buren.
*
Due to the lack of communication and adequate transporta- tion, the Madawaska territory remained isolated and compara- tively unknown outside of the valley for over a century. With the advent of the railroads, the area began to emerge from obs- curity. Prior to the coming of the railroad, timber, the mainstay of the area's economy, was cut and had to be floated down the St. John River to Provincial seaports at St. John, Fredericton, and St. Andrews, where it was manufactured into finished products and shipped to American and world markets. In New Brunswick, the Canadian Pacific Railroad reached Edmundston in 1878. This railroad provided a direct route to Canadian markets and seaports. Linked to the Maine Central and Boston & Maine lines, it also provided an indirect route to American markets. In Maine, the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad reached Southern Aroostook and Fort Kent in 1895. The Van Buren extension to that line was built a few years later, largely through the efforts of the Honorable Peter Charles Keegan of Van Buren. The extension from Van Buren to Fort Kent and St. Francis was completed in 1909. This direct route to the Boston markets revolutionized the economy of the American side of the St. John River, resulting in the rapid expansion of the area's agriculture, the building of large pulp and lumber mills, and the founding of banks in Fort Kent and Van Buren to serve these new business needs.
A seperate economy was flourishing on each side of the border between Maine and New Brunswick. The St. John River,
.
- 76 -
which separated these people of common ancestry, was finally spanned by an international bridge between Van Buren and St. Leonard in 1911. Ten years later, another bridge was built be- tween Modawaska and Edmundston. A great deal of credit for the realization of this project must be given to Sen. Patrick The- riault who worked for the people of Maine, and to Mr. Pius Mi- chaud, deputy in Ottawa, in obtaining funds from their respective governments. Subsequently, a third bridge was built, which linked the towns of Fort Kent and Clair and strengthened the social and economic ties of these people.
By the turn of the twentieth century, the descendants of the poor but hardy Acadian refugees who had struggled to survive in the wildnerness, were taking their place in society as businessmen, doctors, lawyers, educators, and servants of the Church, as well as the industrious farmers and woodsmen. Proudly retaining their ancestors' religion, language, customs, and traditions, they were beginning to prosper and were well on their way to becoming an important part of the American and Canadian scene.
.- 77 -
11
-
٥ ٠٠
LAWRENCE A. VIOLETTE, FORMER SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS MADAWASKA, MAINE
Lawrence A. Violette was born in a little house on the bank of Violette Brook in Van Buren, Maine, on January 19, 1902, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Violette. His mother's maiden name was Catherine Cyr, daughter of Hilarion Cyr. The little house was demolished to make piace for a more pretentious dwelling. His genealogy on the Violette side beginning with his father is as follows: Joseph, Frederick, Bélonie, Francis, --- a genealogy which begins in 1755, the date of the expulsion of the Acodians from Nova Scotia. His parents were ushered by the English soldiers to the boats waiting for the Acadians to be de- ported and Francis was left behind. Legend has it that he could not speak French but spoke English only and since he was too young, he could not pronounce his name. It is the parish priest who found him afterwards who gave him the name of Violette. is this same Francis who established a grist mill on the north
- 78 -
:
٠٠١٠٠ ٢
٠٠١ ٥٫٦ ١٠٠
٠٩
٠١٠ ١:١٧٠ ١ ٦٠
بو ٠٫٠
٦
٢
٠ ٠٠
33٠٠
٠ ٠
٠٠
3'!
كد يا مـ
محسن
B
٦٠١
١٠
ايـ
٠ ٧١١
٠
١٠١٠٠٠٠
shore of the St. John River and a few years afterwards moved his mill on Violette Brook in Van Buren. His descendants have been millers up to the present generation.
Mr. Violette attended the Good Shepherd Convent and St. Mary's College in Van Buren up to 1918 at which time he asked admission to the little seminary of the Marist Fathers and attend- ed their schools in different localities as follows: Marist Seminary, Washington, D. C .; St. Mary's Manor, South Langhorne, Pennsyl- vania; Our Lady of the Elms, Prince Bay, Stalen Island, New York; Marist College, Washington, D. C. He graduated in 1925 from the School of Philosophy, Marist College, Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C. He traveled in France, Belgium, ond Luxemburg and while in Europe he attended the School of Theology at Differt par Messancy in Belgium for half a year then returned to Washington, D. C. to complete his first year of Theo- logy.
He returned to Van Buren in 1926 and in January, 1927, he was hired to teach Grade 5 at the newly constructed Evangeline School in Madawaska. The following year, a junior high depart- ment was inaugurated and Mr. Violette was elected teacher of Grades 8 and 9 and principal of the Junior High School. In 1929, the first two years of high school work were offered and he was elected to teach Grades 9 and 10. He was the first high school teacher in Madawaska.
During his twenty-five years in education, he taught in schools in Madawaska, Fort Kent and St. Francis. In 1946 he was elected Superintendent of School Union 127, which com- prised the towns of Madawaska, Frenchville, and St. Agatha. He held this position until his death in September, 1952.
12:00 CV
- 79 -
26
.
77 00459
5 4
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.