The Violette Family Association has issued two books, in two versions each. These are available from Amazon using the following links. Proceeds from the sale of all these books go to the Association.
In The Descendants of François Violet, discover the remarkable story of the Violette family—one of the great pioneering families of the Upper St. John River Valley.
Originally published in 1984 after years of meticulous research, this landmark genealogical work by Rita Violette Lippé traces the origins, migrations, and descendants of the Violette family across France, Canada, and northern Maine. Drawing from historical records, cemetery listings, family documents, and first hand research trips to Acadian and French ancestral sites, Rita created what became the foundational reference for generations of Violette descendants.
This long-awaited reprint preserves the original text and genealogical structure that helped thousands of family members discover their roots and reconnect with relatives across North America. Included are detailed family lineages, offspring records, historical commentary, cemetery diagrams, surname indexes, and additional Violette branches gathered through Rita’s extensive investigations.
A Violette History 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. 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. When his parents were sent back to France after the British took over Louisbourg again, François stayed behind.
What happened to François Violet during the years he vanished from the historical record?
Set against the upheaval of the French and Indian War, François Violet’s Missing Years: 1758-1769 is a deeply researched and compelling account that uncovers the forgotten years of the founder of the Violette Family. After the fall of Siege of Louisbourg (1758) on Cape Breton Island, his family was deported to France—yet François and the other children seem to disappear entirely from the records. This book follows the trail of that mystery.
Written by the association’s historian and supported by photographs, maps, and original documents, it reconstructs a life nearly lost to time—revealing the resilience, uncertainty, and survival of one Acadian family caught in the chaos of war and displacement.
The Violette Family: Primary Source Record Collection brings together an extraordinary collection of original birth, marriage, and death records spanning multiple generations of the Violette family — many of which have never before been seen outside the archives where they were discovered. Alongside faithful transcriptions and careful translations of documents held in foreign repositories, church registries, and civil record offices, this volume offers something no family tree software or online database can replicate: the actual words, signatures, and marks left behind by your ancestors themselves.