Editor's note: Al Hamel, Chair of the New Hampshire Governor's American-Canadian French Cultural Exchange Commission, graciously provided an impromptu and brief overview of the Expulsion of the Acadians in relation to the Boston States Migrations. He spoke in front of a large annotated map that he and his wife Constance used as a prop on the National Mall at the Smithsonian last summer. They spent two weeks there talking about genealogy and representing New Hampshire Genealogists. Al has been seriously involved with genealogy for over 15 years. He has been on the Board of Directors of the American Society (ACGS) and recently completed 2 terms as President of ACGS. This is a summary of Al's talk. The map of the Acadian expulsion in the video provides additional explanations and illustrations of the drama and trauma of these events. All material by Al Hamel is copyright 1999 andmay not be redistributed without the express permission of the author.

Families somehow managed to keep track of each other and know where the others were.

The expulsion, dispersion, separation of families via the high seas is a drama of tearing people away from their families and land.

It was the work of Colonel Lawrence and the Governor of Massachusetts. Even though Acadians had traded by sea with Boston more than Montreal. They had an affinity for the New England settlements, but didn't want to support the English king. They agreed to be neutral and not fight for or against either Britain or France, but Colonel Lawrence didn't trust them, so he took them away from the land and put them on the boats to be dispersed.

Scotch, Irish, Planters from New England and Loyalists took over the land that the Acadians developed.

The Acadians had developed dykes and levees, so the Brits needed some Acadians to come back to reinforce and reclaim the farmland. They were excellent craftsmen and good people.

Communities in Quebec and New Brunswick were later resettled with displaced Acadians.

Some populations are almost totally descendants of former displaced Acadians. Newer immigrants from Italy, Spain, Portugal or Ireland couldn't go back home as easily, as Acadians could.

Some Acadians later took New England mill jobs in the winter and returned to Quebec in the summer.

There is a story of one Acadian woman who hired a railroad box car to move her family to New England. Historic, bad economic years and the emerging Industrial Revolution attracted Canadians to New England. The Industrial Revolution had not yet started in Canada. The need for employment was the genesis of the movement from Canada to New England.