October 13, 2000
NR00149

Researchers in the St. John Valley and throughout northern Maine, seeking information on ancestors of the French-Canadian and Acadian settlers of the region, now have an important new resource as the result of a generous donation from a southern Maine library.

The University of Maine at Fort Kent Acadian Archives/Archives acadiennes was recently gifted with a volume set of Ruben Gold Thwaites edition of The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents from the Dyer Library in Saco, Maine.

The collection documents the 40-year period of French settlement in the New World from 1632 through 1673.

Initially written by Jesuit Priests as a private report on French settlements in what is present-day Canada, the early accounts were meant only for the eyes of a superior Provincial in Paris. So impressed with the writings was the Provincial that he had them published and the non-fiction work became an overnight best seller.

Jesuit Relations, written mostly in simple unedited prose, was composed mainly in French and occasionally in Latin. The Thwaites edition, donated to the Archives, was published in Cleveland between 1896 and 1901. It contains 72 of 73 volumes and includes an English language translation and highly useful index.

The value of the gift is estimated at a value of over $2,000.

"I never really dreamed we would get a donation of this kind. A resource of this caliber is usually only available at large, well-endowed university libraries. This is the single, most important document for understanding life in 17th century New France where many St. John Valley residents trace their ancestry," said Lisa Ornstein, director of the Acadian Archives.

Contained between the pages of the books are records of missionaries' travels, methods of organization, studies of people and of the language, actual instruction and spiritual support.

Jesuit Relations also provides geographic and other details which include references to lakes, rivers, streams, weather, trips, forecasts, earthquakes and storms.

According to Ornstein, the collection provides invaluable information about the flora and fauna of the northeast and a wealth of information about Natives and their beliefs, customs, tribal divisions, government and dealings with settlers.

"Genealogy is names, dates and places. These documents bring to life what people were actually living from day to day," said Ornstein.

The set of Jesuit Relations had been in circulation at the Dyer Library in the early 1920s. Shortly after the disappearance of one of the volumes in 1922, the remaining 72 books were pulled from the public shelves and moved into a private office.

Just over a month ago the library's collection committee agreed to discontinue housing the books. Although the incomplete set could have been sold for a substantial amount of money, the library decided instead to donate the volumes to the Archives.

An instrumental influence on that decision was Dyer Librarian Jerry Morin, a St. John Valley native, who in the past has directed other such gifts to the Acadian Archives and to the University.

"Jerry looks out for the Valley. Whenever the library has materials they are no longer using and that we could potentially benefit from, he is always advocating for us," said Ornstein.

In addition to Jerry Morin's generosity, the Morin Family has established a UMFK Foundation scholarship that is awarded annually to a deserving university student.

The most recent donation to the Archives from the Dyer Library also includes the Francis C. Harper 1900 edition of Dr. Gilmary Shea's translation of History and General Description of New France by Reverend P.F.X. de Charlevoix, S.J.