In
April 2023, I was blessed to take a deep dive into the history, geography,
geology and culture of the far northeast corner of America, the Canadian Maritimes and the St. Lawrence
River and Seaway. Con su permisio, as
they say in Spanish, I would like to share with you some of what I learned in
these blog posts over the next couple of months. Hope you benefit and enjoy!
In this photo I'm standing on top of Cadillac Mountain overlooking Bar Harbor, Maine. That teeny white oval is my ship and if you look close you can see the sand bar between the mainland and the island which gave Bar Harbor its name.
Here's the story of how Cadillac Mountain got its name: In 1674 a young Frenchman, named Antoine, aged 16, was to be released from prison because he agreed to join the military. He came to New Spain and served under Gen. Frontenac. Eventually he wanted to stay in New Spain and petitioned for a land grant. But not being nobility, his petition was denied.
He went back to his hometown in France, changed his name and altered the town crest to suit him. He became Antoine de la Mothe sieur de Cadillac. With this change he again petitioned for land in New Spain and his petition was granted........ the entire island of Acadia!
He lived with his family only a short time on Acadia and, according to the tour guide, became bored with the limited opportunities that the island afforded and moved on. But the mountain bears his name: Cadillac Mountain.
Think about this story in terms of your own genealogy. How many times have you come upon a seeming brick wall because of these ancient undocumented (or nearly impossible to find) name changes???
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