April 2020 newsletter

Posted on April 30, 2020 by President

We have published a newsletter in April 2020 telling members about new Violette-related books available from Amazon and setting the state for a Triennial Meeting, probably in August. You can download the newsletter using this link or by clicking on the cover image at the right.

On the front page we announce publication of the historic The Descendants of Francois Violet. First published in 1984 by Rita Violette Lippe (VFA #1), this book went out of print in 2008 but there has been a demand for more copies. The newsletter tells the story of how this edition came into being and how to get it.

Other topics in the newsletter discuss the upcoming election of officers at the Triennial Meeting. We are asking for nominations for all of the four offices.

The newsletter is being distributed electronically via this newsletter, which will be sent to all members with an email address on file. A printed version will go in the mail within the next few days to the rest.

The Descendants of Francois Violet republished

Posted on March 6, 2020 by President

Rita’s book republished. Click on image to go to Amazon listing

Good news for Violettes – Rita Violette Lippe’s book, The Descendants of Francois Violet, has been republished in a softcover version, as the 2nd Edition. It is available for $18 from Amazon using this link. A Kindle version is also available, for $10, using this link.

The hardcover version of this book was published in 1984 and was out of print by 2008.

This book contains the genealogy of about 9,600 Violette descendants and was the result of years of hard work by Rita and others in doing family research. That work took her (and others) to northern Maine, to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and to France as they sought the roots of this Violette family. The book has become a cherished family heirloom, passed on from one generation to another. But after 2008 no more copies were available for an ever-expanding family.

Late in 2019 Violette Family Association President Dave Violette became aware of services whereby out-of-print books could be scanned to create images from which the book could be republished. He already had experience with print-on-demand publishing through Amazon, having published along with co-authors Guy Dubay and Rod Violette A Violette History, also available from Amazon in both softcover and electronic versions.

He then spent some time doing cleanup on the scanned files and generated a new cover for the book. While the original book was 6×9 inches in size, the new softcover version is 7×10 inches in size to better handle the scanned pages.

This 2nd edition of The Descendants of Francois Violet does not extend any of the genealogy of the original edition. However, a vastly expanded genealogy is available online at VioletteRegistry.com/FamilyTree, thanks to work by Rod Violette with support of many others.

Dave made a few changes in the 2nd edition to correct some information and has set up a process whereby more corrections can be made. As corrections are reported he will update the version at the publisher so that new orders will have those accumulated corrections. An errata page has been added at the rear of the 2nd edition and those corrections will be recorded there. Those corrections will also be reported to the Violette family via the irregular newsletter as well as at VioletteRegistry.com/books.

Violette books for Christmas

Posted on December 1, 2019 by Violette Family Association

First, I apologize for not getting the print version of Rita’s book out in time for Christmas. That had been my intent but I have been delayed in that. I will let you know soon about the updated schedule.

Descendants of François Violet, By Rita Violette Lippe (VFA #1)

Descendants of Francois Violet cover

However, the Kindle version of Rita’s book has been published and available from Amazon for $10.

A genealogy of the descendants of François Violet/Violette (1744-1824), created by Rita Violette Lippe and published in 1984. This is an approved copy of the original hardcover book, cherished by hundreds of Violettes, and out of print since 2008. For a greatly expanded and updated genealogy go to www.VioletteRegistry.com.

You can order this book from Amazon using this link, or click on the cover image.

Violette Family Book, by Peter R. Violette (VFA #1793)

Cover of Violette Family Book

Written by his family’s historian, and illustrated with hundreds of photos, maps and original documents. The Violette Family Book is the ultimate reference book of this family’s unique genealogical history, and provides intriguing details about the Acadians of Northern Maine. Although it only explains one family’s migration path from France, which ultimately led to the United States, this book would be of interest to other families with similar genealogical histories. The book contains numerous appendices that round out the readers understand; one provides an excellent short history about potato farming in Maine, another summarizes the history of logging in Northern Maine and one explains the ordeals the family faced crossing the Atlantic on a French Man-of-War in 1749.

Available from Amazon at this link, or click on the cover image. The print version costs $38.

A Violette History, by David A. Violette VFA #621), Guy Dubay (VFA #), and Rod Violette (VFA #12)

Cover of the A Violette History book

Published in 2014, this book tells the story of François Violet.

François Violet/Violette was the progenitor of a line of the Violette family in North America coming from what is now northern Maine and northwestern New Brunswick. Born in 1744 in Saintes, France, François Violet moved with his parents in 1749 to Île Royale (Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia) so his father could help the French rebuild Fortress Louisbourg. His mother died in 1751 and by 1759 he had come under a surrogate guardianship due to financial difficulties of his father. When his parents were sent back to France after the British took over Louisbourg again, François stayed behind. This is the history of Francois Violet (1744-1824) and how he and his family pioneered first on the Hammond River in lower New Brunswick then came to the Upper St John River Valley and pioneered again as the first settlers of what became Van Buren, Maine, and St Leonard, New Brunswick.

You can purchase this book in book print and Kindle versions from Amazon, using this link. Or click on the cover image above. The print version costs $38, the Kindle version $10.

Descendants of Francois Violet available in electronic version

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Violette Family Association

Descendants of Francois Violet cover

Descendants of Francois Violet (Rita’s book) is now available in electronic version. This version is readable on tablets and phones, but not on Kindles, due to limitations in formatting. To acquire the book click on the cover image at left or go to Amazon and do a search for the book title or author (Rita Lippe). The cost for this version is $10 and it is available for free download in your Kindle Unlimited subscription.

The content of this version is slightly rearranged in order to preserve the relationship between page numbers in the electronic version and in the book’s indexes (found starting on page 437 in both versions). To accomplish this the front matter (pages i through x in the original book) have been moved to the end of this version, and will be found starting at page 485. So, if you are looking for David Violette (me, on index page 442) the reference to page 273 found there will take you to my entry in the book.

I am working on a paper version of the book and it should be available in a few weeks. There is a lot of processing to do to get it ready for printing.

We got Rita’s permission to republish her book in all versions – thank you, Rita! I sacrificed one copy of the book I had inherited and had it scanned from cover to cover. This required totally disassembling the book in order to get the best scan quality, so that book is gone.

The paper version will also be available through Amazon on a “print on demand” basis, meaning that when you order a copy it will be printed at that time. This system avoids a huge upfront cost to print and stock books, plus the Association will not have to do the shipping. The price for the printed version is not available yet, but we expect it to be similar to the cost of the original book.

The price for both versions includes a royalty which will be paid to the Violette Family Association. No person will gain from publishing these books. The same is true for A Violette History, also available from Amazon.

A Violette History now in Kindle version

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Violette Family Association

Cover of the A Violette History book, available in print and Kindle versions

The authors of A Violette History have now issued a Kindle version of this important book on the Violette family. This 344-page book traces the history of François Violet/Violette from his grandparents in France, through his move to Fortress Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, then to pioneer along the Hammond River in southern New Brunswick, and finally to pioneer yet again on the Upper St John River in what would become Van Buren ME and St Leonard NB. The book covers the years 1715 through roughly 1831.

The print version, published in 2014, is still available from Amazon at $38.

The Kindle version is now also available from Amazon at $10.

In both cases, all royalties have been assigned to the Violette Family Association by the authors, David A. Violette (VFA #621), Guy Dubay (VFA #892), and Rod Violette (VFA #12).

The print version has received eleven reviews – all of them Five Star reviews – on Amazon. Here’s a sampling:

“This is an amazing piece of work. Not just a dry geneology with a bunch of “begats”. There are copies of letters, stories, maps, pictures of relevant locations. A true treasure for anyone with a Violette in their family tree or a student of history. Nice work!”

“I can’t recommend this book highly enough. If you are a member of the Violette family, you will want this book. The historical information alone is a treasure. I have not enjoyed a book this much in a long, long time.”

“GREAT HISTORICAL RESEARCH! VERY WELL COMPOSED! fantastic PHOTO’S!”

“A most welcome glimpse of the Francois Violette! Could not be more proud of the the family started and how it began… A must read!! I feel very lucky to be connected to a family that overcame so much….”

Have you read A Violette History book?

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Webmaster

A Violette History, published by the Violette Family Association

It has been over three years since A Violette History was published – have you ordered your copy yet? It is available on Amazon. Just search for the book title. Book sales proceeds go to the Association. This was a major work authored by David A. Violette (VFA #621), Rod Violette (VFA #12), and Guy Dubay (VFA #892). The book traces the history of François Violet/Violette (1744-1824), acknowledged as the progenitor of our Violette family in North America. It covers the period from his grandparents in France through his own life in France, Fortress Louisbourg, New Brunswick, and Maine. Continue reading →

Violette Registry

Descendants of François Violette, sponsored by the Violette Family Association.

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Category Archives: Books