Dr. Michael Guignard was born in Boston
and adopted as an infant by a Biddeford couple.
He enjoyed the life of the typical Franco-
American families of his time and went
on to capture its roots through research
for his doctoral dissertation.

He then converted this research to a book,
published in 1984, called La Foi-La
Langue-La Culture The Franco-
Americans of Biddeford, Maine. The
dedication reads “To my parents, Rella
and Wilfrid Guignard, who toiled at the
Pepperell to ensure that I would not
become a millworker.”

In his interview, Dr. Guignard shares his
personal story of finding out, later in life,
that his birth mother was actually his
mother’s younger sister.

Dr. Guignard is now retired from a career
with the US State Department where he
served in numerous locations around the
world, focusing on immigration issues.
He is married, has three children and
currently resides in Virginia.