Vacherie - Regional Area of St. James Parish, Louisiana

Vacherie by Elton Oubre [Feb. 20, 1938 - Dec. 12, 2012] - an updated publication of the 1987 book by the same name.  Mr. Oubre was a noted genealogist and historian and a member of both the Lafourche and Terrebonne Genealogical Societies.

Vacherie means "cattle ranch" and the place is a regional area of St. James Parish settled by the Germans and early Acadians. Below [indented text] is the information released to the libraries and the genealogy community by Mr. Oubre. The last paragraph contains the price and ordering information.

Vacherie, St. James Parish, Louisiana: History And Genealogy, the book by Elton J. Oubre, researched and written over a thirty year period, is back in print as of April 1, 2003, as a revised, reorganized, and greatly expanded second edition. As the title describes, this is first a history of a community, then a history of a region.

The book starts with comprehensive chapters on the geology, geography, native peoples, and the earliest explorations and colonization of Louisiana. The book then focuses on the history and genealogy of the river parishes, the German Coast, and the Acadian Coast, and then the Bayou Country of South Louisiana, the birth places of the pioneers of Vacherie. These included people from various nationalities, Germans, Canadian voyageurs, French soldiers, Canary Islanders, and Africans, ancestors of many Louisianians and Mississippi Valley residents.

Many ancestors were Acadians, and consequently, the book includes a substantial history on early Acadia, on the exile of the Acadians, and on the first settlement of Acadians in St. James Parish, and on the later Acadian Expeditions into the Bayou Country and Southwest Louisiana.

For persons new to research, the book is actually a genealogical and cultural reference for researchers with interest in South Louisiana. Additionally, the book is an innovative example of how to research and write a small town history, and how to do genealogical research and organize genealogical data.

Numerous surnames unique to the river parishes are covered in the book, and this contains the most comprehensive history and genealogy ever published on the Hubers, Hoovers, and Oubres of St. Charles, St. John, St. James, Jefferson, Orleans, Ascension, Livingston, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Pointe Coupee parishes.

The book (second edition of Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 86-62380; ISBN 0-9617559-0-3) is a silver colored, hard cover, 776 pages, 8 ½ by 11 inches, with complete name index and bibliography.  It is out of print.

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