An American, who didn’t know he was an Arsenault until his late 30s, produced a 4,000-page, five-volume history of his family that has Acadian roots in Prince Edward Island, and he received a heritage award for his genealogical work.
Scott Arsenault Shane of Seattle, Washington, grew up thinking his grandfather’s last name was Arnold. His grandparents had changed their name when they moved from Vancouver to the US in the early 1900s. His grandfather was originally from Egmont Bay, PEI.
In a CBC News report, Mr. Shane said tracing the Arsenault line of his family tree took him four years to research and brought him to France several times, as well as New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the Magdelen Islands and PEI.
Last year, Mr. Shane donated the five volumes of his family history to the Acadian Museum of Prince Edward Island, stemming from his Acadian connection in Emmanuel Hubert Arsenault, his grandfather.
Lieutenant-Governor Antoinette Perry, who is the first Acadian woman to serve in this position in PEI, presented Mr. Shane with the Mary Cornfoot Brehaut Award on Tuesday during the Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation Awards.
A distant relative, Claude Arsenault, said last year to the Journal Pioneer in Summerside, PEI, “It’s incredible what Scott has done. This is a huge day for Acadians on PEI.”
Mr. Arsenault added, “If you go back six generations in this book, it connects most of the Acadian families on PEI.”
In addition to the news reports mentioned above, a CBC radio interview with Mr. Shane is available on the broadcaster’s website. A French version of the CBC News report is available on Radio-Canada’s website.
