Governor General Mary Simon announced yesterday that Stephen Adrian White, the author of the Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes, is one of 83 new appointments to the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour, for his contribution to Acadian genealogy.
Mr. White is an authority on Acadian genealogy and has trained and inspired many generations in the Maritimes.
Photo: Acadian and French-Canadian Ancestral Homes.
In the Governor General’s announcement, Mr. White was described as a Canadian authority on Acadian genealogy. “Stephen White has trained and inspired several generations of archivists and technicians in the Maritimes. As the author of the Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes, he has left Acadians an outstanding genealogical work honouring them. More importantly, he has helped millions around the world discover their Acadian roots and heritage.”
Most family historians who have devoted time to researching their Acadian roots know Mr. White’s name and have benefitted from his decades of work.
Born in Massachusetts, Mr. White is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He practiced law in Boston, Massachusetts when offered the position as Genealogist at Moncton University’s Centre d’Études Acadiennes [Centre for Acadian Studies] where he worked for 48 years.
After working on the Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes for almost 30 years, Mr. White published the first two volumes in 1999.
He is an Acadian LeBlanc descendant. His great-grandfather, Simon-Pierre LeBlanc, was a captain without his own ship when he moved his family from Cape Breton to Massachusetts and changed his name to Simon Peter White.
Lucy LeBlanc Consentino wrote on the Facebook group, Acadian and French-Canadian Genealogy, “His work has been one that has helped to correct long-standing errors but it is especially his willingness to share all and any of his research that has been a benefit and enriched our family histories.”
Ms. LeBlanc Consentino also wrote, “Stephen was the very best when all we could find were genealogy publications containing errors. He brought a breath of fresh air as he combed through original records and shared them. The work of others has often been built on the foundation he created.”
Mr. White has left Acadians an outstanding genealogical work honouring them.
The appointment to the Order of Canada will be an honorary appointment for Mr. White.
