Formation
This Association was formed in 1978 by descendants of François Violet, who settled in the St. John River valley near what is now Van Buren, Maine, in 1789. Rita Violette Lippé (#1) had done considerable genealogical research, and a group thought it would be fun to have a “family reunion”. This event was held in Methuen, Massachusetts, and was so well attended that those there decided to have another reunion the following year, in Augusta, Maine. From there, Reunions were held every three years, with the most recent in 2014.
JULY 16, 1978
First Reunion was organized by Rita Violette Lippé. After doing years of research on the Violette family, decided to hold a family reunion. She planned the Reunion to be held in the parish hall of the Catholic Church in Methuen MA, and originally planned for about 50 to attend. Well, 375 showed up and the Violette Family Association (VFA) was formed that very day.
AUGUST 1978
The first VFA newsletter was published and was mailed to about 46 families
AUGUST 1979
Second Reunion was held in Augusta ME, 489 attended the banquet.
AUGUST 1981
Third Reunion was held in Van Buren ME, the cradle of the Violette family. There were approximately 850 in attendance including two families of Violettes from France. The highlight of the reunion was the dedication of the large stone memorial to “Francois Violet”. It is located in the “Violette Brook Park’ on Main St, Van Buren ME. Cost was $1177. Membership stands at 1053.
SEPTEMBER 1982
47 Violettes undertook a sentimental voyage of discovery back to the Old Country of France. They were accompanied by the two people most responsible for discovering the origins of the Violette family – Rita Violette Lippe and Maurice Violette.
1984
Rita Violette Lippe published her long-awaited book on the history and genealogy of the Violette family. Rita was awarded the title of “Genealogist Emeritus” by the Federation des Societes d’Histoire de Quebec.
AUGUST 1984
Fourth Reunion held at Windsor CT. 600 were in attendance. Membership now at 1380.
AUGUST 1987
Fifth Reunion held in Portland ME. 300-400 people were in attendance.
JANUARY 1990
Violette Family mailing list now computerized thanks to MBR# 621, David Violette of Lewiston ME. It is a tremendous help in keeping the membership lists and preparing mailing labels.
1990
Maurice Violette of Augusta ME published a book entitled “The Violette Family-A History”. 300-400 people were in attendance.
AUGUST 1990
Sixth Reunion held in Grand Falls. Current active membership 1357
AUGUST 1993
Seventh Reunion held in Lewiston, ME. 500 people attended.
JULY 1996
Eighth Reunion held in Gorham, NH. 200 people attended.
JULY 1999
Ninth Reunion held in Westford, MA. 125 were in attendance.
JUN 18, 2000
We mourn the loss of Elmer Violette, one of our more illustrious and accomplished members. Elmer was the chairman of the Van Buren ME Reunion. He held many elected and appointed positions, including Van Buren Municipal Court judge, Maine State Representative, Maine State Senator, Maine Superior Court judge, and Maine Supreme Court Justice.
AUGUST 2002
Tenth Reunion held in Edmundston NB. There were 250 in attendance.
JULY 2005
Eleventh Reunion held at the Towne & Country Hotel in Gorham NH. 105 were in attendance.
OCTOBER 2005
Dedication of the Corriveau grist mill and wool carding machines at the Acadian Village in Van Buren ME. This is one of the oldest machines of its kind in the upper St. John River Valley. It has been installed in the Violette Industrial Building. This is an especially fitting memorial to the Violette family as our progenitor Francois Violet constructed one of the first grist mills in the area in 1791. This dedication was made possible by a very generous grant from Alderic (Dick) VFA#100 and Alice VFA#101 Violette of Warner NH. Alderic is the retired Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Merrimack County Telephone Company (MCT) in Contoocook NH. He is currently the Chairman of the New Hampshire Telephone Museum located at Warner NH.
AUGUST 2008
Twelfth Reunion was held at the Howard Johnson Inn & Conference Center at Windsor Locks CT. This was the celebration of our 30th anniversary of the founding the Violette Family Association by Rita Violette Lippe in 1978. There were about 200 in attendance.
AUGUST 2011
Thirteenth Reunion was held in Van Buren, Maine with 175 people in attendance.
AUGUST 2014
Fourteenth Reunion was held in Van Buren, Maine with 76 people in attendance.
FEBRUARY 2018
In early 2018 the Association changed its focus to genealogy and added the Violette Family Tree to the website.
Family information and copies of past newsletters are available on our Newsletters page.