Thirteen Generations of Charbonnet History Available On-line! Posted by Sloane M. Signal

St. Ann St. Productions is thrilled to announce the launch of The Charbonnet Pages, a Web site that chronicles 13 generations of the Charbonnet history!  The site, created and managed by Dorson Charbonnet’s daughter, Betty Charbonnet Reid Soskin, is the product of her many years of research into our family’s history. I had the absolute pleasure of visiting with Betty during a recent trip to the Bay area (which you can read about in the following story), and meeting cousins I had no idea I had.  Gee, it seems as if we need to put that on a T-shirt somewhere.  At any rate, you can trace the Charbonnet history all the way back to Thiers, France, by visiting http://www.safero.org/family/charbonnet.html.    Every Charbonnet owes Betty a huge debt of gratitude. Her generosity and desire to tell our family's story have saved us all so much time and have provided us with information that would have taken us years to compile (as it did for Betty). From all of us at St. Ann St. Productions, thank you!

St. Ann St. Productions Travels West to Begin Digital Archiving Posted by Sloane M. Signal

Phase I of our project is in full swing. We have begun reliving our family history by making a trip to the Bay area to begin digitally archiving family treasures.  I spent the week organizing, scanning and editing photos from Enola, Gerry, and Emelda.  In essence, we were able to capture 50 years of Charbonnet history in pictures. The family then got together at Emelda's for a typical Charbonnet gathering, complete with red beans and rice, hot sausage, music, and laughter. It was a blast, and I about wore my scanner out.  The highlight of the trip was an unexpected meeting with Betty Reid Soskin, who has been diligently researching the Charbonnet family history for more years than I have been alive.  She was kind enough to host Erica (Darin's sister) and I at her place, and provided us with a wealth of information.  She has single-handedly prepared us to document the 14th generations and beyond by providing us with the research she has collected on generations 1-13. Walking into her home and actually getting to hold living Charbonnet history is something I will never forget for the rest of my days. Betty, of course, tells this story much better than I do, and you can read about it on her blog, http://cbreaux.blogspot.com. The thing that I find most amazing about this journey of self-discovery is the willingness on the part of everyone to share information, and how much closer this project is bringing us. I can only hope that we will be as well received as the process continues, but if this first trip was any indication of how things are going to progress, we're in great shape. Our family is truly amazing, and I look forward to sharing what I have learned with all of you.