Author Event! "Louisiana Cantrelles: 1720-2024," a Genealogy, by Kenneth Cantrelle

Kenneth Louis Cantrelle will sign and discuss copies of his new book Louisiana Cantrelles: 1720-2024, a Genealogy, at 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Westwego Library, 635 Fourth Street, Westwego.

This event is free of charge and open to the public.

Cantrelle present a family tree chart that is 71/2 feet long and includes more than 500 Cantrelle names in Louisiana over a period of 304 years, 1720-2024.  Some Cantrelles were omitted because Ken could not find information to connect them to Jacques I.  

Cantrelle says he started researching his genealogy in 1975. After retirement in 1997, he began writing, designing, and typing Louisiana Cantrelles. There was no genealogy information on the computer then, so he designed his own method of recording. His wife Barbara helped with proofreading.  When he thought the book was almost complete, he put it on a closet shelf, where it stayed for several years.  

Born Kenneth Louis Cantrelle in Des Allemands, Louisiana, on Sept. 21, 1934, Centrelle became a resident of Westwego when he married Barbara Ann Galiano on Nov. 23, 1955. Three girls were born of this marriage. Barbara is deceased for 5 years.  Other members of our family include four grandchildren and one step-grandchild, eight great-grandchildren and eight step-great-grandchildren.

The day before Barbara died, she encouraged Ken to have his book published. A few years later he picked up the book and finished it.  It went for sale on-line only, at Amazon and Barnes & Noble on Sept. 15, 2025, six days before Ken's 91st birthday.