All Catholic marriages celebrated in Quebec from 1862 through 1871 are now online at PRDH-IGD.com, adding more than 75,000 records to the database.
Of the 150,000 spouses mentioned in these marriages, over 85% have been integrated into the PRDH family reconstructions. They now each have their own family file, in addition to appearing in their parents’ file.
Explore this new data by subscribing to PRDH today!
PRDH-IGD is a database of all Catholic baptisms, marriages and burials recorded in Quebec between 1621 and 1861 – and now up to 1871 for marriages – as well as a genealogical dictionary of families commonly known as “Family reconstructions”.
Every individual mentioned in these records receives their own “individual file” which centralizes the information available on the individual, along with links to the records in which they are mentioned.
In addition, every married couple receives their own “family file”, which fulfills a similar role as the individual file, but for a family unit.
It contains a list of the couple’s children with links to their respective individual files and vital events, as well as additional information about the married couple.
As a result, PRDH-IGD can be described as a detailed family tree of the entire French-Canadian population from the colony’s beginnings to the 1860s.
If you have genealogy experience but are new to Genealogy Quebec, click here.
The Basics of Genealogy
Genealogy is the science dedicated to researching family lineages. But more specifically, what does this research involve?
It all depends on your goal. In fact, there are several types of genealogy, and the scope of your research will depend on the type of ancestry you wish to build.
Linear ancestry
All the direct-line ancestors of the individual of your choice (generally your father) — their parents, then paternal grandparents, and so on. This is the simplest and quickest type of ancestry to complete, and it connects you directly to the most distant direct ancestor bearing your family name.
Complete Ancestry
All the ancestors from whom you descend. This type of ancestry includes every known ancestor in your lineage, with the number doubling each generation: two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, and so on.
Your Genealogical Research in 3 Steps
Whether you’re working on linear or complete ancestry, the key to your research is the marriage record.
Indeed, officiants were generally required to record the names of the spouses’ parents. By finding the marriage records for these individuals, you can trace back to the previous generation, and then repeat the process to go back through the generations.
The marriage record on the left includes the names of the groom’s parents. Using this information, we can locate their marriage record. By repeating this process across generations, it becomes possible to trace the family line back to the very first ancestor who arrived in Quebec.
Step One – Gather Information
To trace your ancestors, the first step is to establish the information you already know — such as names, dates, and places — by speaking with relatives if necessary.
It is strongly recommended to record as much information as possible so you can refer to it during your research.
Step Two – Use This Information to Find a Marriage in the Lineage
It’s now time to use the information gathered in the first step to locate a marriage record in the lineage, which will serve as your starting point.
A search for François Eugène Desjardins’s marriage.
Step Three – Trace Back Generation by Generation
With a marriage record in hand, you are now in a position to trace the ancestors in your lineage. You can go back one generation by finding the marriage of the groom’s or bride’s parents, whose names are listed in your starting marriage record.
To do this, simply search for the names of the groom’s or bride’s parents, as applicable.
Search for Charles Eugène Desjardins’s marriage, father of François Eugène Desjardins.
This process is repeated until you reach the first generation of your lineage to set foot in Quebec, often in the 18th or even 17th century. Depending on the family, you may have to go back more than ten generations before reaching the first immigrant.
Marriage of Antoine Roy Desjardins, the first Desjardins in New France.
Additional Documents – The Little History of Your Ancestors
Tracing the individuals in your lineage is the foundation of genealogy. But once these people are identified, is your research over? Once again, it all depends on your goals.
Some researchers set out to find the children of the couples they’ve traced or to supplement the lineage(s) with birth and death dates and locations for each individual. These additional searches are generally done using birth and death records. However, Genealogy Quebec also offers a wide variety of documents that can add color and depth to your family tree.
On the search engine, you will find the following types of documents:
Obituaries and memorial cards: May contain additional information about the deceased and their family.
Headstones: Provide a place of memory and reflection for your ancestors.
Censuses: Offer a variety of information about the family unit.
Notarial contracts: Give fascinating insight into various aspects of our ancestors’ daily lives.
Postcards: Offer a unique glimpse into the everyday life of our ancestors.
Other miscellaneous documents
You now have all the tools you need to start your genealogical research!
Want to go further? Check out our complete 7-part genealogy guide, which explores each step of the process in detail and supports you throughout your discoveries:
Whether you’re searching for a specific document, an individual, a lineage, or a complete genealogy, Genealogy Quebec’s search engine has got you covered.
The search engine is divided into two sections that operate independently, each with its own features: Basic Search and Advanced Search.
By default, Basic Search is enabled. You can activate Advanced Search by clicking the Advanced Search button.
Basic Search
Basic Search, with its 4 fields, works on a simple principle: you are searching for a specific individual, and the search engine provides you with every document on the site that mentions the individual. The results are ordered according to the probability that the document in question relates to the individual you’re looking for.
The more the information contained in a document matches your search parameters, the earlier it will appear in the results list.
First name(s) and last name(s)
This is where you enter the name of the person you’re looking for. This person can have any role in the document (subject, parent, spouse, godparent, or simply being mentioned anywhere within the document), but documents where the person is the subject are prioritized.
Accents, capital letters and hyphens may or may not be used in your search without affecting the results.
Adjusting the search broadness
Under the first name and last name, you have the option of adjusting the broadness of your search, i.e. the level of difference between the name you entered, and the name found in the corresponding document.
In the year of birth box, it is important to enter the exact or approximate year of birth, not the year of marriage or death.
The engine performs a calculation based on the year of birth to show you results relevant to your search. If you enter a date other than the approximate year of birth, many relevant records will be excluded from the search results.
You can adjust the range of years searched by clicking on +/-.
Location where your ancestor may have resided
The location is used to order and prioritize search results. For example, if two documents contain the name entered, but only one contains the location searched for, the document also containing the matched location will appear first in the results.
You can use the location search box freely, by entering a district, town, region, parish or even a country.
Please note that a match between the searched location and the location listed in the document is not necessary for the document to appear in the search results. The location is only used to prioritize results, not to exclude them.
Advanced Search
Advanced Search allows you to refine your search using additional parameters. It consists of two parts: adding events and adding individuals (coming soon).
Add an Event to the Search
This feature allows you to specify the date and/or location of events related to the individual or document you are searching for.
Available Events
Birth: Add the year and place of birth or baptism for the person you are searching for.
Marriage: Add the year and place of marriage for the person you are searching for.
Death: Add the year and place of death or burial for the person you are searching for.
Residence: Add the year and place of residence for the person you are searching for.
Publication: Add the year and place of publication, prioritizing documents published at that date and/or in that place.
Any Event: Search for a year and/or place appearing in a document, regardless of the event to which that date or place is associated. The year and place entered do not need to belong to the same event.
When you add an event year or location to your search parameters, the search engine uses it to rank the results by relevance. The more closely a document matches your search criteria, the higher it will appear in the results list.
However, you can require a parameter to be present by using the “Must Match” checkbox. When this box is checked, only documents in which this information is explicitly mentioned will appear in your search results.
Search filters
The search engine offers filters that allow you to refine your search results.
Three filters are available: filter by document type and source collection, filter by location, and filter by date.
When you apply a filter, any documents that do not match it are removed from the results list.
For more information about the search engine and usage tips, please refer to our Search Engine User Guide.
Other Tools and Collections
Finally, Genealogy Quebec offers directories of parish registers and various documents, accessible through structured folder trees:
Drouin Collection Records: All parish registers from Quebec and French Acadia, as well as some from Ontario and the Northeastern United States, dating from 1621 to the 1940s.
Drouin Miscellaneous Collections: An assortment of archival fonds, images, documents, books, photos, and directories of historical and genealogical interest.
City Directories: Various city directories and phone books from across Quebec and Ontario, often dating back to the 19th century.
Although these sources are less accessible than the collections integrated into the search engine, they remain extremely valuable and can greatly assist your research.
Finally, feel free to contact us at contact@institutdrouin.com with any questions about the site or genealogy.
44,000images from the registers of 75 Quebec parishes have been re-digitized in high definition on Genealogy Quebec, offering greatly improved readability.
Re-digitization of the Registers
In total, over 1.4 million images from the Drouin Collection have been re-digitized and enhanced for significantly improved readability — exclusively on Genealogy Quebec.
25% Off Your Subscription
Enjoy 25% off a yearly subscription to Genealogy Quebec when you subscribe before June 28!
There’s no better time to dive into your family history.
The Drouin Collection Records, also known simply as the “Drouin Collection,” consist of digitized images of parish registers (baptisms, marriages, and burials) covering all of Quebec and French Acadia, as well as parts of Ontario, New Brunswick, and the Northeastern United States. The collection spans from the opening of parish registers up to the 1940s, and in some cases, the 1960s.
You can access them with a Genealogy Quebec subscriptionat this address.
Searching in the Drouin Collection
You can search in the Drouin Collection using our search engine, which now offers advanced search features!
We have some exciting news to share! Advanced Search is now available on Genealogy Quebec, allowing you to add the following events to your search queries: birth, marriage, death, residence, and publication.
Explore our collection of over 60 million records like never before with Advanced Search — try it free for 7 days!
You can also try a limited version of the search without a subscription at this address.
How to use Advanced search
To activate Advanced Search, go to the search engine and click on Advanced Search, located to the right of the Search button.
You can then select the event(s) you’d like to include in your search. To learn more and make the most of all the features offered by Advanced Search, we invite you to consult our user guide.
Advanced search feedback
To share your suggestions or report any issues with Advanced Search, please use the feedback form available at this address.
Thousands of families have been added to the Acadia – Families collection on Genealogy Quebec! It’s the perfect time to explore your Acadian roots with this exclusive collection.
Try Genealogy Quebec FREE for 7 days and discover your family history with over 100 million archives.
A credit card is required. The subscription automatically renews to a monthly plan after the trial, unless cancelled. Can be cancelled at any time during and after the trial period.
About the Acadia – Families collection
The Acadia – Families collection contains 190,000 family files reconstructed from Acadian parish records from the 17th to the 20th century.
Each file usually lists a couple and one of their children, with dates of birth, marriage and death for one or more of the individuals listed. Complementary information is also included.
A link to the original source document(s) is often available within the file.
Join the Genealogy Quebec community on Facebook!
Are you passionate about genealogy and want to connect with other researchers? Join the Généalogie Québec Communauté group on Facebook today!
This bilingual community has been created as a place for genealogy enthusiasts to help each other. Come ask questions and share your findings! What’s more, you’ll be able to interact directly with the Drouin Institute team.
48,408 baptism, marriage and burial records have been added to the LaFrance database on Genealogy Quebec. These mid-19th century records are from francophone parishes in Ontario and the United Stats, as well as Protestant parishes in Quebec.
Dive into your family’s history with over 100 million historical archives by becoming a Genealogy Quebec member today!
Get 25% off the yearly subscription until March 28th!
The LaFrance is a collection of birth, marriage and death records from Quebec, Ontario, Acadia and the United States, spanning from the arrival of the first settlers in North America to the present day.
This database includes an index of the Drouin Collection (all Quebec parish registers from 1621 to the 1940s) and the Marriages and Deaths 1926-1997 collection (all marriages and deaths registered by the Quebec government between 1926 and 1997).
Trace your ancestors with these documents and more right now!
More than 60,000 obituaries have been added on Genealogy Quebec!
Explore these documents alongside 60 million historical archives on the website’s new search engine.
And for a limited time, get 25% off the yearly subscription to Genealogy Quebec! There’s never been a better time to dive into your family history.
Newspaper obituaries from Quebec
22,000 obituaries have been added to the Newspaper Obituaries collection. These notices are from all over Quebec and date from 1850 to 2024.
The Newspaper Obituaries collection, available exclusively on Genealogy Quebec, now contains 1,475,000 death notices.These are mainly from Quebec and Ontario, but also from the rest of Canada and the United States.
A fruitful collaboration with the Société d’histoire de La Prairie-de-la-Magdeleine has enabled us to add all of La Nativité de la Sainte-Vierge de Laprairie de la Magdelaine (Notre-Dame) parish’s baptisms and burials from 1862 to 2000, as well as all marriages from 1919 to 2000.
In all, nearly 30,000 records have been added.
Jewish births, marriages and deaths
We have also added over 56,000 records from various Jewish synagogues in Montreal, Quebec and Sherbrooke, as well as 2,300 headstones from the Jewish section of Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Laval. A digitized picture of the register or stone is available with each record.
Canadian obituaries
Finally, we are pleased to share with you some 2,316 obituaries from various Canadian provinces, covering the years 1950 to 1990. These obituaries relate to French-Canadian families, and are courtesy of the Société généalogique du Nord-Ouest.
Dive into your family history with over 100 million historical archives, become a Genealogy Quebec member today!
This database contains files based on couples. The files list various pieces of information relating to the couple, such as dates and places of birth, marriage and death, and the names of the individuals’ parents and previous spouses.
This information comes from the research of numerous genealogists who have shared their data with the Drouin Institute. It is important to verify the content of these files by referring to the primary sources associated with the events and individuals listed.
Number of documents 4,189,539 couple files
Period covered Late 16th century to present day
Regions covered Mainly Quebec, but also a small part of Ontario, the United States, and France
Source quality – ★★★ Information gathered from various sources, source documents not available
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
ABCD Miscellaneous
ABCD Miscellaneous is a database based on individuals and couples, containing information of all kinds. This information comes from source documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates, censuses, city directories, as well as Jean-Pierre Pepin’s personal research.
Number of documents 35,244 files
Period covered From the 17th century to the present day
Regions covered Mainly Quebec
Source quality – ★★★★ Information gathered from various sources, but generally taken from primary documents, source documents sometimes available
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
ABCD Individuals
This database contains files based on individuals. The files in this collection list various pieces of information relating to the individual, such as dates and places of birth and death, and the names of the individual’s parents.
This information comes from the research of numerous genealogists who have shared their data with the Drouin Institute. It is important to verify the content of these records by referring to the primary sources associated with the events and individuals listed.
Number of documents 1,582,418 files
Period covered Late 16th century to present day
Regions covered Mainly Quebec, but also a small part of Ontario, the United States, and France
Source quality – ★★★ Information gathered from various sources, source documents not available
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
ABCD Births, ABCD Marriages et ABCD Deaths
The ABCD Births, Marriages and Deaths databases contain transcriptions of Quebec church and civil records. These are direct transcriptions from the original documents.
Number of documents Births – 1,538,509 files Marriages – 2,618,611 files Deaths – 681,737 files
Period covered Early 17th century to present day
Regions covered Mainly Quebec
Source quality – ★★★★ Direct transcriptions of original documents, source documents not available
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
Acadia – Families
The Acadia – Families database contains files reconstructing Acadian families using parish records. The files generally contain the parents and one of their children, dates of birth, marriage and death for one or more of the individuals listed, as well as other complementary information. A link to the original source document(s) is often available.
Number of documents 180,690 files
Period covered 17th to 20th century
Regions covered Acadia
Source quality – ★★★★★ Direct transcriptions of original documents with additional information, source documents often available
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
Drouin Great Collections
The Drouin Great Collections database contains a digitized version of the Great Collections published and edited by the Drouin Institute over the course of its existence. They include the following:
La Masculine (Men Series): Alphabetical index of marriages of French-Canadian families from 1760 to 1935, classified by the man’s surname.
La Féminine (Woman Series): Alphabetical list of French-Canadian family marriages from 1760 to 1935, sorted by the woman’s surname.
Le Fichier Histor: A collection of marriage records, including the origin of the individuals and a marriage contract. This collection includes all Catholic and Protestant marriages celebrated in Quebec from 1730 to 1825, as well as marriages celebrated in western French forts such as Detroit, and Acadian marriages.
Les Fiches Acadiennes: This series contains over 50,000 files of Acadian births, marriages and deaths.
Dossiers généalogiques Drouin: Contains first-hand data collected before 1960 by Joseph and Gabriel Drouin to constitute the sum of family genealogies.
Petit Drouin: Directory of Catholic marriages in Quebec from 1760 to 1825.
As well as the following collections: Dossiers généalogiques Drouin, Affinités généalogiques Drouin, and Petit Drouin.
Number of documents 293,402 files and images
Period covered 17th to 20th century
Regions covered Quebec and Acadia
Source quality – ★★★★ Direct and indirect transcriptions of original documents and additional information
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
The LaFrance is a database of birth, marriage and death records from Quebec, Ontario, Acadia and the United States, covering from the arrival of the first settlers in North America to the present day.
The collection includes an index to the Drouin Collection (parish registers for Quebec and Ontario) and the Marriages and Deaths 1926-1997 collection (marriage and death forms registered by the Quebec government during the 20th century). The original document is often available for consultation.
Regions covered Quebec, Eastern Ontario, Northeastern U.S. and Acadia
Source quality – ★★★★★ Direct transcriptions of original documents, source documents often available
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
NBMDS Births, NBMDS Marriages, NBMDS Deaths
The NBMDS collection contains millions of births, marriages and deaths from a variety of sources, mainly parish and civil registers. These documents cover mainly Quebec, but also parts of the rest of Canada and the United States. The source document is sometimes available.
Regions covered Quebec, Northeastern U.S. and Ontario
Source quality – ★★★★ Direct transcriptions of original documents, source documents sometimes available
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
Drouin Collection Records
The Drouin Collection Records is a collection of images of parish registers (baptisms, burials and marriages) as well as of other documents of historical and genealogical significance. It covers multiple North American regions.
This massive collection contains the entirety of Quebec’s civil registry from 1621 to the 1940s, which encompasses the vast majority of individuals who lived in the province during that period, making it an invaluable tool for genealogical research in the province.
Number of documents 5,370,628 parish registre images
Period covered 17th to 21st century
Regions covered Quebec, Northeastern U.S., Acadia, New Brunswick, France and Ontario
Source quality – ★★★★★ High quality digitization of original documents
Accessing the collection The collection can be consulted via a folder tree at this address. Registers are sorted by collection, location and year.
BMD Cards (Baptisms, Marriages, Burials)
The BMD Cards collection is a repository of baptism, marriage and burial cards from Quebec, Ontario and the United States.
This tool contains the Antonin Loiselle, Kardex and Fabien fonds, as well as Ontario BMD cards, BMD cards sorted by cities and families, adoption cards, and death cards sorted by family name, provided by the Quebec Family History Society.
Regions covered Quebec, Northeastern U.S. and Ontario
Source quality – ★★★★ Digitized cards made using the original church registers
Accessing the collection The collection can be consulted via a folder tree at this address. Cards are sorted by collection and alphabetical order.
Internet Obituaries
This collection contains obituaries published online by various Canadian funeral homes and newspapers. These notices come from across Canada and date from 1999 to the present. The index contains the name of the deceased, the date of death and the date of publication, as well as the full text of the obituary. A photo of the deceased is also often available. The collection is updated once or twice a year, to include obituaries from recent months.
Number of documents 3,000,000 obituaries, 1,980,000 images
Period covered 1999 to today
Regions covered All of Canada
Source quality – ★★★★★ Information and complete original text, plus photo of deceased when available
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
Newspaper Obituaries
This collection contains obituaries published in Quebec and Ontario newspapers. An image of the original obituary is available in all cases.
Number of documents 1,670,000 obituaries and images
Period covered From the 18th century to the present day, but mainly from the 20th century
Regions covered Mainly Quebec and Ontario, but also the rest of Canada and the US
Source quality – ★★★★★ Index and original document available in all cases
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
Memorial Cards
This collection contains memorial cards. An index and an image of the card are available.
Number of documents 99,699 cards and images
Period covered Mid-19th century to present day
Regions covered Mainly Quebec
Source quality – ★★★★★ Index and original document available in all cases
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
Groupe-Nécro – Headstones
This collection contains indexed tombstone photos from over 830 cemeteries in Quebec and Ontario. A photo of the tombstone is available in all cases.
Number of documents 739,343 headstones and images
Period covered Mid-19th century to present day
Regions covered Quebec and Ontario
Source quality – ★★★★★ Transcription and photo of the stone available in all cases
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
Ontario 1881, Québec 1881 and 1901 censuses
The Ontario 1881, Québec 1881 and 1901 censuses collections contain a detailed index to these censuses. It contains the following information:
Last name
First name
Sex
Marital status
District
Subdistrict
Age
Place of birth
Occupation
Religion
Language
The original document is not available for consultation.
Number of documents Quebec 1881 – 1,358,566 records Quebec 1901 – 1,730,150 records Ontario 1881 – 1,924,191 records
Period covered Quebec – 1881 and 1901 Ontario – 1881
Regions covered Quebec and Ontario
Source quality – ★★★★ Census transcriptions. Original document not available.
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
Notarized documents
The Notarized documents collection contains tens of thousands of notarial contracts indexed by type of document, names cited, name of notary, as well as dates and places mentioned in the contract. These documents come mainly from Quebec and Ontario. The original digitized documents can also be consulted.
Number of documents 82,795 contracts, 255,490 images
Period covered 1800 to 1980
Regions covered Quebec and Ontario
Source quality – ★★★★★ Index of relevant information and full contract scan available.
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
Postcards
This collection contains postcards sent or received in Quebec and surrounding areas. They are indexed by name of sender and/or recipient. An image of the front and back of the card is available.
Number of documents 256,574 cards and images
Period covered 20th century, mainly from 1960 to 1990
Regions covered Québec and surrounding areas
Source quality – ★★★★★ Sender and/or recipient index, photos of front and back of card available
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
ABCD Directories
ABCD Directories is an individual-based database containing information of all kinds. This information comes from source documents such as birth certificates, censuses, city directories, as well as Jean-Pierre Pepin’s personal research.
Number of documents 17,000,000 files
Period covered 21st century
Regions covered Quebec
Source quality – ★★★★★ High-quality and accurate data. Source documents not available.
Accessing the collection This collection is available through the website’s search engine.
City Directories
The City directories tool contains a digitized copy of the directories of Montreal (Lovell), Laval (Lovell) and Quebec (Marcotte) as well as other municipalities. The directories have been digitized and indexed by year and category.
Number of documents 250,000 digitized pages, 40,000,000 individuals listed
Period covered 19th to 21st century
Regions covered Laval, Montreal, Quebec, Cornwall, St-Jean, Rimouski, Gatineau and Hull (coming soon)
Source quality – ★★★★★ High quality digitization of original city directories
Accessing the collection The collection can be consulted via a folder tree at this address. Directories are sorted by city and year.
Drouin Miscellaneous Collections
The Drouin Miscellaneous Collections contain a mix of images, documents, books, newspapers, pictures and directories of historical and genealogical significance.
