History of the Cancienne Canal and Hard Times Plantation

The following article was found at my PawPaw's house and details a brief history of the Cancienne Canal and Hard Times Plantation in south Louisiana.

Leo Seprien Cancienne started working on a plantation for laborer's wage, inherited some money, and later when the plantation was offered for sale, he bought it. It is said that when his oldest son, John, asked him what he would name his new plantation, he is said to have answered, "I've seen so much hard times working here that I should call it 'Hardtimes'."

To this day it is still called "Hardtimes Plantation," however according to maps and papers of the Southern Pacific Railroad which crosses the plantation it is called "Cancienne Plantation."

Cancienne Plantation had its own sugar mill. In 1900 sugar farmers were badly in need of some means of drainage in order to be successful with sugarcane harvest. Leo Seprien, as President of the Assumption Parish Drainage District #1, undertook to solve the drainage problem. His eldest son John supervised the work. A year in the making, the project employed 280 men using shovels, wheelbarrows, and other hand tools. They dug a canal six miles long and 50 feet wide from Bayou Lafourche to Lake Verret. It was completed in 1909 and the Government, in recognition of Leo Seprien's work, named it "Cancienne Canal." It was used by pleasure boats between Bayou Lafourche and Lake Verret.

On Cancienne Plantation, Leo Seprien built a one-room school house and asked the school board to supply the teacher to accommodate the students who were the children of "Hardtimes Plantation" and surrounding areas. This request was granted and one teacher taught five grades having a total of about 25 pupils in the one-room schoolhouse.

Map of the Cancienne Canal using Google Maps as guide:

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Get Perpendicular

"Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!"
- 1 Samuel 12:16

Hard drive size is constantly on the move... up! And that's exactly what's going on with PMR technology. (Perpendicular Magnetic Recording) I thought this was a creative and innovative approach by Hitachi to educate consumers on this fairly new technology that explains why hard drives have dramatically increased in capacity.

Enjoy!

Cancienne Heritage

The following is a brief history of my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather which we found at my grandfather's house.

< Alias: Giorgio Quinciay Cansiani >
George was born in Venetia (Venice) when it was an independent nation. Napoleon Bonaparte acquired Venetia and put it under the French rule. It wasn't until 1866 that Napoleon Bonaparte transferred Venice to the jurisdiction of Italy. George's son, Pierre was born in 1752 in Venetia.

George's son, Pierre, came to Louisiana along with the immigration of the Canary Islanders. He married Margarite Landry of Cherbourg France on Feb. 15, 1786 in Donaldsonville, LA. Pierre settled in an area of Ascension Parish which was at the time was called Valenzuela. This area is now known as the Bunn-Hood Subdivision on Bayou Lafourche just south of Donaldsonville.


View Larger Map:
http://snipurl.com/cansiani

Thanks for Everything Y'all

"He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor."
- Proverbs 21:21

Well, I've been home for a few days now and I wanted to post an update to my blog...

First off, thank you for all the cards and emails expressing sympathy and prayers for my family in this time of loss. Your commitments have made a difference in our lives by bringing the Lord's peace and comfort at much needed times during these weeks. I truly appreciate everything and thank GOD for the wonderful people he has put in my family's lives. Praise GOD!

Also, I would like to post the link to a genealogy chart that was put together by my mom for the Cancienne family tree. Hopefully I will be able to post some further information tomorrow on the Cancienne / Louisiana history and heritage.

Cancienne Family Tree - 8 x 10 [PDF]