French Institute: Rev. Thomas M. Landry Collection

Rev. Thomas M. Landry Collection

Extent: 5 bankers boxes

Linear feet: 5.9 linear feet

Language: French and English. 

Provenance/Source of Acquisition: This collection was created by Rev. Thomas M. Landry, mostly during his years serving at the Parish of St. Anne in Fall River, MA. At an unknown date, Rev. Landry donated the collection to Armand Chartier of New Bedford, MA. Chartier added notes of his own, as well as some minimal organization. One box of the collection was donated by Chartier to the French Institute pre-2010, and the other three boxes were donated to the French Institute by Chartier in 2022. The 2022 donation occurred alongside Chartier’s work on Franco-American topics, as well as a few other historic collections that he had previously acquired.

Ownership and Literary Rights: The Rev. Thomas M. Landry Collection is the physical property of the French Institute, Assumption University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns.

Cite As: Rev. Thomas M. Landry Collection, French Institute, Assumption University

Restrictions on Access: The collection is available to researchers and other interested parties. Permission for use or reproduction can be obtained from the director of the French Institute, and is subject to the Institute’s user policies.

Scope & Content: 

This collection documents Rev. Thomas M. Landry (1909-1996)’s involvement in Franco-American life, culture, and the survivance movement. Landry was a Dominican priest and a Franco-American from New Bedford, Massachusetts. Except for the biographical information in this collection, there is nothing related to his personal life, or that of his family.

The collection further doesn’t dwell specifically on his pastoral work, especially his years in Canada. Instead, the collection is centered on Landry’s work as a leading Franco-American speaker, researcher, author, and supporter of the survivance movement. Landry was heavily involved in various Franco-American organizations beginning in the 1940s, and he regularly attended meetings, held positions on their boards, and even spoke at their functions. All these roles are reflected in this collection’s holdings through meeting records, speeches, and related writings. Interestingly, many of the speeches in the collection include the drafts, final versions, newspaper clippings about the speeches, and occasionally research related to the creation of said speeches. Most notably, the collection includes his unpublished manuscript “Quinze ans d’action franco-américaine.”

Leading Franco-Americans such as Adolphe Robert, Rev. Antonio Prince, Wilfrid Beaulieu, Rev. Richard Santerre, Claire Quintal, and Armand Chartier are represented in this collection through correspondence as well as the records of the Franco-American organizations.

The bulk of this collection is in French, with many of the speeches and meeting notes handwritten.  

Biographical Note: See Finding Aid

Series Outline: 

Series One: Franco-American Organizations

Series Two: Research

Series Three: Writings

Series Four: Records

Full Finding Aid: