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Date of birth:
Province: Callings:
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Photo : reproduite avec la permission de Francis C. Blanchard
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Joseph-Henri Blanchard was
the son of Jérémie Blanchard and
Dominque Gallant. His primary schooling was in
Charlottetown and his secondary education at the
Prince of Wales College and Normal School in
Charlottetown. In May 1911, he obtained a B.A. from
St. Dunstan's College in Charlottetown, which at
the time was affiliated with the Université
Laval in Quebec. A little later, he completed his
Master of Arts at Mount Allison University in New
Brunswick. In 1912, he married Ursule Gallant, a
teacher, and from this union there resulted eight
children, three of whom are still alive. In 1915,
he competed a Certificate in Botany at the Guelph
Agricultural School in Ontario and, in 1928, he
received a Certificate for Studies in Language,
French History and Art from the Sorbonne, in
Paris.
Joseph-Henri Blanchard was a
peerless communicator; he spent more than fifty
years in teaching. He taught in the schools of
Prince County on P.E.I. and at the Normal School in
Charlottetown. From 1938 to 1948, he was assistant
principal at Prince of Wales College. He retired
from teaching on July 1, 1948. Joseph-Henri
Blanchard was a prolific author on the early
history of the Acadians of Prince Edward Island; he
wrote six studies on the subject, including Les
Acadiens de l'Île-Saint-Jean in 1921,
Histoire des Acadiens de
l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard in 1927 and
The Acadians of Prince Edward Island, 1720-1964 in
1964. In addition to being a full-time teacher and
occasional historian, Joseph-Henri Blanchard was
very active in his community. He was one of the
first leaders of the Association of Acadian
Teachers of Prince Edward Island and of the Acadian
Historical Society of P.E.I. He was also involved
in island community life and became Vice President
of the Société Nationale des
Acadiens, President of the Société
Saint-Thomas d'Aquin, a member of the Conseil de la
vie française en Amérique and a
representative of Prince Edward Island on the
National Capital Commission in Ottawa.
During his lifetime,
Joseph-Henri Blanchard received numerous prizes and
honorary distinctions, such as the medal and award
for the French language, and the Académie
Francaise Award in 1938; the Award of Merit of the
Alliance francaise in Paris in 1947; the Ordre du
mérite scolare acadien in 1948; an honorary
degree (letters) from the Université Laval
in 1949; an honorary doctorate (education) from the
Université Saint-Joseph de Memramcook in New
Brunswick in 1955; a citation from the Governor of
Louisiana in the United States in 1966; the
Champlain Prize of the Council on French Life in
America in 1967, and a plaque of recognition
presented by the Council on French Life in America
in 1967. Joseph-Henri Blanchard died on January 14,
1968 at the Catholic Hospital in Charlottetown.
Prince Edward Island and the Island's francophone
community lost a pioneer of history and Island
French culture. A large crowd attended his funeral
in the Basilica of St. Dunstan, honouring the work
of a lifetime.
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Place
of birth:
