Author John McCusker appears next on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at the German-Acadian Coast Historical and Genealogical Society.
The program, which is free and open to the public, starts at 7 p.m. at the St. John Library, 2920 U.S. 51, in LaPlace.
The author of Creole Trombone: Kid Ory and the Early Years of Jazz is a great fit for the society, which was organized in July 1979 to preserve, compile, and publish genealogical and historical records. John McCusker used historical records from the Catholic Church in St. John the Baptist Parish to document Edward “Kid” Ory’s date and place of birth.
As the society says on its website, “By understanding the history of the Catholic Church in St. John the Baptist Parish, tracing your genealogy can be rather easy.”
The society focuses on the records of St. James, St. Charles and St. John Parishes, and Ory was born in 1886 on Woodland Plantation in LaPlace. Early chapters of Creole Trombone showcase not only Ory’s youth growing up on a plantation but also the history and culture of the River Parishes at the time.
This area of southeast Louisiana was not always known as the “River Parishes.” The German-Acadian Coast Historical and Genealogical Society is named for earlier references that date to the 1700s. The region’s first European settlers called them the German and Acadian Coasts – coast as a synonym for bank of the Mississippi River.
Even before Ory’s time, St. John Parish was known as the “Second German Coast.” Visit the German-Acadian Coast Historical and Genealogical Society for more information about the organization.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: St. John Library, 2920 U.S. 51, LaPlace
Photo courtesy of the German-Acadian Coast Historical & Genealogical Society.
