Genealogist and historian Randall Ladnier examines early Louisiana colonists in 'The Brides of La Baleine'

In 1720, 88 young French women ages 12 to 30 volunteered to travel to the Louisiana colony to become brides for the soldiers, sailors and settlers in Biloxi. In August, they left the Salpetriere General Hospital in Paris on board the ship La Baleine and arrived in what is now the Mississippi Gulf Coast in January 1721. The women were labeled “casket girls” because of the small wooden chests they carried containing clothes for their voyage. In the year of their arrival, 60 of the women were married in Biloxi.

Historian and genealogist Randall Ladnier has researched these pioneering women and written their history in a new book, “The Brides of La Baleine.” From these marriages are many of today’s families living in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast.

“The great majority of descendants from these girls possess surnames found mostly in South Louisiana,” Ladnier wrote me by email. “For example, Pierre Prudhomme married one of the brides and, although the couple only had four children, his tree of descendants now contains more than 700 different surnames. I think it would be difficult to come up with a South Louisiana surname which is not included in my book.”

In addition to information about the women raised at the Salpetriere General Hospital, which Ladnier calls “a combination of a convent and a concentration camp,” he details their backgrounds, their journey and their offsprings, including a handy genealogical index in the back.

Ladnier and I met when he was passing through Lafayette and he is passionate about both his book and the subject matter, insisting that these women who helped populate the Louisiana colony are grossly overlooked and misrepresented. He hopes proceeds from the book, plus grants and donations, will help start either a museum or a monument in their honor.

History lovers and genealogists alike may enjoy this book. Learn more at Ladnier’s website, www.labaleinebrides.org. To purchase the book for $25 or download the PDF for $15, visit http://www.labaleinebrides.org/shop/

Pinckley Prizes

Louise Penny and Trudy Nan Boyce are the recipients of the 2017 Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction, sponsored by the Women’s National Book Association of New Orleans. The prizes honoring two women writers will be presented Sept. 8 at The Academy of the Sacred Heart/Nims Fine Arts Center, 4301 St. Charles Ave. in New Orleans. The ticketed event is open to the public. Winners receive both $2,500 and a trip to New Orleans to accept their prize. The Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction was created in 2012 to honor the memory of Diana Pinckley, a crime fiction columnist for The New Orleans Times-Picayune and her passion for mysteries.

Mystery festival

Five local authors or criminal activity experts will make presentations at the third annual Jefferson Parish Library Mystery Readers/Writers Literary Festival on  Saturday at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave. in Metairie. The keynote speaker will be New York Times bestselling author Erica Spindler, who will open the event at 9:30 a.m. Spindler’s novel “Bone Cold” won the Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence and she received a Kiss of Death Award for her novels “Forbidden Fruit” and “Dead Run.” Spindler is a three-time RITA Award finalist and Publishers Weekly awarded the audio version of her novel “Shocking Pink” a Listen Up Award, naming it one of the best audio mystery books of 1998. The event geared toward readers and writers of mysteries is free and open to the public, no registration necessary.

Other presentations include:

10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m., “The Wheels of Justice” with Sal Perricone, a member of law enforcement for nearly 40 years and author of the Crescent Criminality series.

Noon to 1:15 p.m., “High Speed Car Chases” with Jeff Blue, a former police officer and now an attorney, who will discuss the reality of police pursuits based on his personal experiences.

2 p.m.-3:15 p.m., “Hard Roll, A Paramedic’s Perspective of Life and Death in New Orleans” with Jon McCarty, an emergency medic and co-creator of the New Orleans EMS Field Training Officer program.

3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m., “Master Class for Authors – Pacing for the Thriller or Mystery” with Bill Loehfelm, author of the critically acclaimed Devil series about New Orleans Police Department rookie Maureen Coughlin. He is also the author of the stand-alone novels, “Fresh Kills” and “Bloodroot,” set in his hometown of Staten Island.

The JPL Mystery Writers/Readers Festival is supported by the New Orleans chapter of Sisters in Crime and the Southern Louisiana Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. For more information, contact Chris Smith, manager of Adult Programming for the library, at (504) 889-8143 or write wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country.” She writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

LSU professor examines history of 'South Baton Rouge'

LSU associate professor of African and African American studies and sociology Lori Latrice Martin, along with the Rev. Raymond A. Jetson have co-authored a book that explores the history of an African American community in Baton Rouge. “South Baton Rouge” covers the time from antebellum America to the historic visit by Pres. Barack Obama and includes more than 100 images. The book contains information on political figures, churches, McKinley High School, the 1953 Baton Rouge bus boycott and McKinley High School, the first high school for African American in the parish, among so much more. The authors will discuss their book as part of the Lecture and Lunch series at the West Baton Rouge Museum at noon Thursday.  All proceeds from the book benefit McKinley High School Alumni Center of Baton Rouge.

Sisters in Crime

Attention women writers. Interested in penning a mystery? Sisters in Crime, a national organization that promotes the advancement, recognition and professional development of women crime writers, will hold its inaugural meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie. This event is free and open to the public and registration is not required.

But don’t worry men. You can join too. The purpose of the initial meeting is to gather interest from local writers about the possibility of creating a new chapter of Sisters in Crime. Additional programs that feature speakers will occur at the following times and dates: 1 p.m. Saturday, March 4; 7 p.m. Thursday, April 6 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 3. Speakers for those meetings will be announced later and all meetings will occur at the East Bank Regional Library. Colleen Mooney, author of two cozies set in New Orleans, “Rescued by a Kiss” and “Dead and Breakfast,” is the organizer. For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, adult programming manager for the library, at (504) 889-8143 or email wcsmith@jplibrary.net.

Book news

Two faculty members in the School of Humanities in ULM's College of Arts, Education, and Sciences were awarded grants from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH). English instructor Vanelis Rivera was awarded the 2016 LEH Rebirth Grant for her project titled, “The Write to Word: ULM Storytelling Initiative.” The project strives to host creative writing workshops for women in local shelters. English instructor Lesli Rambin received a grant for her project “Byway Blues: A Guide to Northeast Louisiana’s Blues History.” The funds will be used to continue field research trips for production of the radio segment, “Byway Blues,” which airs on 90.3 KEDM, Public Radio.

UL-Lafayette history professor Dr. Thomas Cauvin was recently named the new director of the public history program at UL Lafayette and has published the first single-authored textbook in North America about public history and the new digital technology practices that are shaping the field. Cauvin’s book, “Public History: A Textbook of Practice,” is a compilation of resources needed to teach public history at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The American Library Association announced its 2017 youth media award winners and among them was Louisiana author/illustrator Mo Willems, who won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book for his “We Are Growing: A Mo Willems’ Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! Book,” written by Laurie Keller. “Freedom in Congo Square,” a picture book set in New Orleans that’s illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and written by Carole Boston Weatherford, took a Caldecott Honor Book award and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book award.

Looking to write a book? I’m offering my Writing the Mass Market Novel class from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for four Wednesday nights in February through UL-Lafayette’s Continuing Education. Then on Feb. 11 I’ll teach an afternoon workshop titled “So You Want to Get Published” detailing the many opportunities available to writers these days. UL Continuing Education offers lots more leisure classes; visit keeplearning.louisiana.edu or call 482-6386.

New releases

Christine Word of Lafayette uses two angels to “reveal the truth about who we are and what we're doing in this life” in “Sparks of Light: A Teaching Story About the Circle of Life.” The children’s book is intended as a teaching story to help children of all ages deal with loss. Word was moved to write the book after watching her granddaughter experience sadness and wished to find a way through story to explain one of the greatest of mysteries, the Circle of life. Word is author of “Ghosts Along the Bayou.”

LSU professor Dana Berkowitz examines why Botox is so popular and how aging is feared in America with her new book, “Botox Nation: Changing the Face of America.” The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery estimates there are about two-and-a-half million Botox procedures performed annually. Berkowitz will sign copies of her book at 6 p.m. Thursday at Octavia Books of New Orleans.

Book events

“The Beatles: Band of the Sixties,” a 60-minute part-history, part-analysis multimedia presentation, will be from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. today at the South Regional Library of Lafayette. The program will be supplemented with audio clips of music and excerpts from interviews with the band members.

Loud in the Library: Poetry Slam begins at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Ollie Burns Library in Richwood. To be a presenter, call Kattina at (318) 680-3291.

Lafayette Reads Together is a community-wide reading and learning experience where the community is encouraged to read the same book, this year being graphic novel “Ms. Marvel: No Normal” by G. Willow Wilson. The Lafayette Reads Together Fest, featuring Pakistani performer Mehnaz Hoosein, henna artists, Indian dance and more, will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Main Library in downtown Lafayette.

Dr. Thomas J. Durant, Jr., emeritus professor in the LSU Department of Geography and Anthropology, will provide a detailed account of his personal journey from a racially segregated town in north Louisiana at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Carver-McDonald branch library of Monroe. Durant’s 36-year tenure at the predominately white university includes his participation in the racial desegregation movement and the cultural transformation of the university.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country.” She writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.