The Québec government doesn’t recognize the occupation of genealogist as a profession, so genealogy isn’t taught there. However, when you’re driven by true passion, you have only a single desire: to make it your profession. If there aren’t any genealogy studies in Québec, how do you become a professional genealogy researcher?
Courses at French universities
Most genealogists in France are trained as historians or lawyers, but recently, several programs dedicated to genealogy have been created in France, including:
The University degree Généalogie et histoire des familles, given at the University of Nîmes either in person or remotely. It consists in a complete training in genealogy.
The University degree Histoire et généalogie familiale, offered only remotely by the University of Le Mans. Similar to the University of Nîmes’ Généalogie et histoire des familles degree, it aims to teach general skills in family genealogy (as opposed to probate genealogy).
The University degree Approfondissement en généalogie, offered remotely by the University of Nîmes. This degree is open to graduates of the two above-named university diplomas and to individuals who can demonstrate a solid experience in genealogy.
The University degree Installation du généalogiste professionnel, offered in person at the University of Nîmes. This week-long course trains aspiring professional genealogists in the management of a genealogy business, in particular through law, accounting and marketing classes.
Workshops in Québec devoted to genealogy
Several Québec organizations, such as the Société de Généalogie de Québec (SGQ) and the Société Généalogique Canadienne-Française (SGCF), offer workshops and courses in genealogy, including:
Basic workshops: the different basic genealogy research tools are presented.
Intermediate workshops: in these courses, you learn about the sources of information and the various documents that make it possible to perform more in-depth research.
Specialized workshops: these workshops focus more specifically on the development of skills, especially paleography.
Recognition of acquired skills
Since there’s no genealogist training, properly speaking, in Québec, genealogy researchers in Québec don’t have a diploma, but can nevertheless validate their achievements. This skills recognition helps give the people looking for a specialist in lineage research or family history a guarantee of reliability. These accreditations can be obtained from the Federation of Genealogical Societies, which organizes an exam and, for several years, has issued certificates of competence. These are divided into three categories:
Certified filiation genealogist (généalogiste de filiation agréé [GFA]): The candidate must provide a portfolio describing their training and experience in genealogy as well as the reason for their application. They must demonstrate that they’re capable of processing genealogical data, finding deeds or marriage contracts, identifying and using research tools, and writing fluently in French or English.
Certified genealogy researcher (généalogiste recherchiste agréé [GRA]): The candidate must already hold the title of certified filiation genealogist (GFA) or submit both applications simultaneously and provide the portfolio. They are tested on their ability to create the work plan for a research project, to write a genealogical text for publication purposes, to organize their digital and paper archives, to organize the information collected in the form of a table, to identify and use their own research tools, to recognize the information in handwritten documents, and to solve complex problems.
Certified master genealogist (maître généalogiste agréé [MGA]): The candidate must hold the title of certified filiation genealogist (GFA) and certified genealogy researcher (GRA) or submit the two or three applications simultaneously and provide the portfolio. During the exam, the candidate is tested on their abilities to give and develop training activities; to write and deliver lectures on topics related to genealogy; to write, publish, and disseminate genealogical works and research instruments alone or in collaboration; and to transcribe word-for-word handwritten documents written in Old French.
While there’s no genealogical training in Québec, it’s possible to attend workshops there and practice to build your experience or take courses at universities. You can then enroll in a Federation-affiliated genealogical society and take exams to obtain a certificate of competence: this is issued for an unlimited duration and allows the genealogist to bear the title of certified filiation genealogist (GFA), certified genealogy researcher (GRA), or certified master genealogist (MGA).
Throughout History, idealizing the past has been a common theme. The life of our ancestors is often perceived as having been harsh, but also bucolic and charming, a more “natural” way of living.
But one must know that the French Canadian population of two centuries ago lived under a demographic profile characterized by high fertility as well as high mortality. In the absence of contraception, a couple’s fertility was expressed fully. Let’s look at the case of Joseph Landry and Josephe Coron Dauphinais, married on the 13th of February 1778 in Sorel.
Family File of Joseph Landry Penot and Marie Josephe Coron Dauphinais, from the PRDH database https://www.genealogie.umontreal.ca
Born in March 1761, Josephe Coron was 16 years old on the day of her marriage; she was already pregnant, as she gave birth in May 1778. Twenty four more births followed, the last one in April 1805, 27 years after the first. Josephe had just celebrated her 44th anniversary. This remarkable woman died in 1842 at the age of 81.
Twenty five children in 27 years, with only five making it to adulthood; the twenty others dying before the age of two. Who would exchange today’s living conditions for the ones provided by Nature?
You can learn more about your ancestor’s fertility with a subscription to the PRDH, where you will find all of the Catholic individuals who lived in Quebec between 1621 and 1849. These individuals are listed through their baptism, marriage and burial records, which are linked through individual and family files. These files, such as the one used in this article, give you a detailed overview of the fertility and living conditions of your ancestors.
The Connolly File is one of 15 tools available to Genealogy Quebec subscribers. It is an index of Catholic and Protestant baptisms, marriages and burials from Quebec and part of the United States covering a period extending from 1621 to today. In total, the tool contains 6,839,262 baptism, marriage and burial files.
Using the Connolly File
The Connolly File is equipped with a search engine specific to each type of record it contains, namely baptisms, marriages and burials. The search fields differ depending on the type of record searched, but the basic name, surname, date and location fields are always present.
Connolly File baptism search engine
To begin your search, fill one or multiple search fields and press on “Search”, which will prompt a list of results.
Result list produced by a search for “Pierre Loiselle”
The records are presented as files which contain all of the relevant information extracted from the original record.
Automatic search buttons
Every record in the Connolly File is equipped with one or several automatic search buttons. These buttons allow you to automatically trigger searches for various records related to the one you are viewing. In the baptism section, the automatic search button allows you to search for the parents’ marriage record.
In the marriage section, there are 6 different buttons per file. These buttons will trigger automatic searches for the parents, the baptism records or the burial records of the subjects.
Finally, the burial section will let you automatically search for the subject’s own marriage, or that of their parents.
Careful! If an automatic search does not yield any results, do not assume that the desired record does not exist in the Connolly File. For example, it is very possible that an individual’s name may be slightly different from one record to the next, or that the Priest committed a mistake when recording the original event. It is strongly recommended to do a manual search if the automatic search produces no results, and to try multiple combinations of first and last names if the initial searches are unsuccessful.
Tips and best practices
The Connolly File allows searching for many variables, which makes it tempting to fill as many fields as possible when using the tool. However, we recommend that you keep your initial search as vague as possible, and clarify it as needed by adding one piece of information at a time. When the name or surname searched is rare or unusual, it is rarely necessary to add more information to the search.
The more precise a search is, the more likely it is to omit the record you are looking for, as every single field must match. For example, an initial search could start with the surname and first name of the subject. If the number of results is too high, a variable such as the year of the event or the surname of another individual mentioned in the record can be added. Often, the simple fact of adding a third variable is enough to narrow the search down sufficiently.
As with many of Genealogy Quebec’s tools, you may use the “%” character as a joker to search for a partial name. For example, a search for “Lar%” will include any name beginning in “Lar”, such as Larrivière, Larramée, Larue, etc. This allows you to keep your search more generic and is particularly useful for surnames that tend to have many different spellings.
Finding the original record using the information provided by the Connolly File
You may have noticed that the Connolly File does not provide a link to the original document from which its files have been created. However, as a Genealogy Quebec subscriber, you have access to the entirety of Quebec’s Parish Registry up until 1940 through the Drouin Collection Records. You can find most of the original documents associated with the Connolly File records via the date and parish name given in each record.
As an example, here is the baptism file of Jean-Louis Girard.
It tells us that Jean-Louis was born in Bagotville on October 10, 1923, and was baptized in the St-Alphonse-de-Liguori parish. To find the original record, we must browse this parish’s register for the year 1923, which we will find in the Drouin Collection Records.
Once in the Drouin Collection Records, you will notice that the various registers are organized in a file tree structure. We will begin by opening the Quebec folder, as the baptism we are interested in was recorded in the province. Once inside the Quebec folder, we have to find the right parish folder. Some parishes are listed under the name of the city they are located in, while others will be listed under the name of the parish itself. In the case of St-Alphonse-de-Liguori parish, it is listed under Bagotville.
Once inside the correct folder, we must navigate to the right year, which will give us access to all the images associated with that register for that specific year. It is important to know that in general, the images are listed in chronological order. This means that the first image in the folder will contain the first events recorded in that year, which are usually the ones from January. Similarly, the last few images in the folder will be those from the end of the year. Since Jean-Louis’s baptism was celebrated in October, it’s likely that his baptism will be found among the last few images. You may have to sift through a few pages before finding the right one, but by starting towards the end, you will save yourself some time.
And with that, we were able to find the original document using the information given to us in the Connolly File record.
It is an index of Catholic and Protestant baptism, marriage and burial records, most of which are from the province of Quebec. The tool contains over 1.2 million records and is divided in 3 sections; baptisms, marriages, burials.
The regions covered by the tool are:
The Bas-St-Laurent region (1727 to 2011)
The Laurentides region (1727 to 2011)
The Outaouais region (1727 to 2011)
The Mauricie region, specifically the Shawinigan region (1846 to 1999)
The city of St-Hubert (1727 to 2011)
The marriage section also contains some 120 000 marriage records from the United States and Ontario, dated from between the 17th century and the end of the 20th century.
Using the NBMDS tool
The NBMDS tool is equipped with a search engine specific to each type of record it contains, namely baptisms, marriages and burials. The search fields differ depending on the type of record searched, but the basic name, surname, date and location fields are always present.
Baptism search engine
To begin your search, fill one or multiple search fields and press on “Search”, which will prompt a list of results.
Results for a search for “Joseph Tremblay”
The records are presented as files which contain all of the relevant information extracted from the original record.
Automatic search buttons
Every record in the NBMDS tool is equipped with one or several automatic search buttons. These buttons allow you to automatically trigger searches for various records related to the one you are viewing. In the baptism section, the automatic search button allows you to search for the parents’ marriage record.
NBMDS baptism file
In the marriage section, there are 6 different buttons per file. These buttons will trigger automatic searches for the parents, the baptism records or the burial records of the subjects.
NBMDS marriage file
Finally, the burial section will let you automatically search for the subject’s own marriage, or that of their parents.
NBMDS burial file
Careful! If an automatic search does not yield any results, do not assume that the desired record does not exist in the NBMDS tool. For example, it is very possible that an individual’s name may be slightly different from one record to the next, or that the Priest committed a mistake when recording the original event. It is strongly recommended to do a manual search if the automatic search produces no results, and to try multiple combinations of first and last names if the initial searches are unsuccessful.
Tips and best practices
The NBMDS tool allows searching for many variables, which makes it tempting to fill as many fields as possible when using the tool. However, we recommend that you keep your initial search as vague as possible, and clarify it as needed by adding one piece of information at a time. When the name or surname searched is rare or unusual, it is rarely necessary to add more information to the search.
The more precise a search is, the more likely it is to omit the record you are looking for, as every single field must match. For example, an initial search could start with the surname and first name of the subject. If the number of results is too high, a variable such as the year of the event or the surname of another individual mentioned in the record can be added. Often, the simple fact of adding a third variable is enough to narrow the search down sufficiently.
As with many of Genealogy Quebec’s tools, you may use the “%” character as a joker to search for a partial name. For example, a search for “Lar%” will include any name beginning in “Lar”, such as Larrivière, Larramée, Larue, etc. This allows you to keep your search more generic and is particularly useful for surnames that tend to have many different spellings.
Finding the original record using the information provided by the NBMDS tool
You may have noticed that the NBMDS does not provide a link to the original document from which its files have been created. However, as a Genealogy Quebec subscriber, you have access to the entirety of Quebec’s Civil Registration up to the 1940s through the Drouin Collection Records. You can find most of the original documents associated with the NBMDS records through the date and parish name or city name given in each record.
We will use Adelaide Boucher’s baptism file as an example.
Adelaide Boucher’s baptism file in the NBMDS tool
The file tells us that Adelaide was baptized on the 14th of October in the St-Eustache parish. To find the original record, we will have to browse the St-Eustache parish register in the Drouin Collection Record.
Quebec folder in the Drouin Collection Records
Once in the Drouin Collection Records, you will notice that the various registers are organized in a file tree structure. We will begin by opening the Quebec folder, as the baptism we are interested in was recorded in the province.
Inside the Quebec folder, we have to find the right parish folder. Some parishes are listed under the name of the city they are located in, while others will be listed under the name of the parish itself. In the case of St-Eustache’s parishes, they are listed under the city’s name.
St-Eustache parish register for 1818
Browsing the St-Eustache folder in the Drouin Collection Records, we notice that it contains several sub-folders associated with different parishes. Since we have no way of knowing which parish would contain the baptism record, we will have to browse one folder at a time.
Once inside the correct folder, we must navigate to the right year, which will give us access to all the images associated with that register for that specific year. It is important to know that in general, the images are listed in chronological order. This means that the first image in the folder will contain the first events recorded in that year, which are usually the ones from January. Similarly, the last few images in the folder will be those from the end of the year.
Since Adélaide’s baptism was celebrated in October, it’s likely that her baptism will be found among the last few images. You may have to sift through a few pages before finding the right one, but by starting towards the end, you will save yourself some time.
Original document associated with Adélaide Boucher’s baptism
And with that, we were able to find the original document using the information given to us in an NBMDS file.
Marriages and Deaths 1926-1997 is a collection of marriage and death forms recorded in Quebec between 1926 and 1997, all religious denominations included.
This collection can be browsed in the LAFRANCE tool at this address.
Marriage form from the Marriages and Deaths 1926-1997 collection
You can browse the Marriages and Deaths 1926-1997 collection as well as tens of millions of historical and genealogical documents by subscribing to Genealogy Quebec today!
Finding the original church record using the information provided in a Marriages and Deaths 1926-1997 document
Since the Marriages and Deaths 1926-1997 forms are based on vital events, there will often exist a parish record associated with the event. It can be interesting to seek out the church record associated with an event, particularly in the case of deaths, as the original form isn’t available in the 1926-1997 collection.
As a Genealogy Quebec subscriber, you have access to the entirety of Quebec’s Parish Registry up until 1940 through the Drouin Collection Records. As such, you should be able to find the original church records associated to the forms that predate 1941.
Marriages
In the case of the marriages, the parish in which the marriage was recorded is mentioned in the form, which allows us to trace the parish record rather easily.
As an example, we will use the marriage form of Florent Beaudoin and Madeleine Lafond, which we have found in the Marriages 1926-1997 collection on the LAFRANCE.
The first step is to make sure the marriage falls within the date range covered by the Drouin Collection Records. Since this marriage was celebrated on the 23rd of February 1935, and so before 1941, we should be able to find the church record associated to it. The form indicates that the parish is “Montréal – N-D-du-Rosaire”.
We will find the original church record by browsing the parish register of Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire for the year 1935 in the Drouin Collection Records.
Once in the Drouin Collection Records, you will notice that the various registers are organized in a file tree structure. We will begin by opening the Quebec folder, as the parish we are looking for is in Quebec. Inside the Quebec folder, we must find the right parish folder.
Some parishes will be listed under the name of the city or region they are located in, while others will be listed under the name of the parish itself.
In the case of Montreal-based parishes, they are first sorted under the “Mtl” folder, and then under their religious affiliation. Notre-Dame-du-St-Rosaire is listed as “Montréal (Notre-Dame-du-St-Rosaire)” under the “Catholique” folder.
Once inside the correct folder, we must navigate to the right year, which will give us access to all the images associated with that register for that specific year. It is important to know that in general, the images are listed in chronological order. This means that the first image in the folder will contain the first events recorded in the year, which are usually the ones from January. Similarly, the last few images in the folder will be those from the end of the year.
However, in the case of Notre-Dame-du-St-Rosaire, the baptisms and marriages were recorded in two different books. As such, the 1935 marriages begin in the middle of the image series. A bit of navigation will be necessary to find the record we are looking for.
And with that, we were able to find the church record associated to the marriage form found in the Marriages 1926-1997 collection.
Deaths
Finding the original church record associated with a death form is a little more complicated, as the form does not provide us with the parish information. Nonetheless, the form does give us the place of residence of the deceased. With that information, we can often find the correct parish. This may prove harder for larger cities, as they often have multiple parishes. Some detective work may be needed!
As an exemple, we will try to find the burial record associated to Louise Roy’s death form.
The form tells us that Louise Roy died on the 11th of November 1928, and that she lived in St-Hyacinthe. Although St-Hyacinthe is not identified as being the city where the death was recorded, it is likely that it is where we will find the burial since the deceased lived there.
Browsing the St-Hyacinthe folder in the Drouin Collection Records, we notice that it contains several sub-folders associated with different parishes. Since we have no way of knowing which parish would contain the burial record, we will have to browse one folder at a time. The first folder contains the Cathédrale de St-Hyacinthe parish register.
Since the death occurred in November, we begin our consultation among the last few images in the folder. It is very possible that the burial was not recorded the same day as the death, as it was common for a burial to be recorded one or two days after the death of the person. While browsing the register, we must keep in mind that the date of the burial could be the 12th or even the 13th of November, 1928.
And indeed, the burial was recorded on the 13th of November. With a little detective work, we were able to find the original church record associated to a Deaths 1926-1997 form, which provides us with some additional information regarding the event.
This section contains a majority of the obituaries, memorial cards and headstones available on the website. It is divided in 4 sub-sections:
Internet obituaries, which contains obituaries published online from 1999 to today.
Newspaper obituaries, which contains obituaries from newspapers published between 1860 and today.
Tombstones, which contains pictures of headstones from hundreds of cemeteries in Quebec and Ontario.
Memorial cards, which contains tens of thousands of memorial cards published between 1860 and today.
All of these subsections are indexed and can be browsed using a search engine.
Internet obituaries
This section contains obituaries published online by various Canadian newspapers and funeral homes between 1999 and today. The collection is updated weekly, with the addition of many thousands of obituaries every month. It contains, as of November 2019, around 2.7 million obituaries.
Ragnfrid Von Krogh’s obituary from Genealogy Quebec’s Internet Obituary collection
Using the Internet obituaries
The internet obituaries section is equipped with a search engine allowing you to search by first name, last name, date of death and content of the notice.
In addition, the obituaries are organized by province, city and publication.
This allows you to manually browse through every obituary from a specific province, city or publication.
Newspaper obituaries
This section contains close to 1,300,000 death notices published in newspapers from Quebec, Ontario and the United States between 1860 and today.
Using the newspaper obituaries
This section is equipped with a search engine that lets you search by first name, last name as well as date of death.
It is always advisable to keep your initial search more vague and to narrow it if the number of results is too high. For example, it may be better to omit the deceased’s first name in your search if you already include their last name and the year of their death. Making several variations of your search (last name + date, first name + last name, first name + date, etc.) can also increase your chances of finding the record, in the event that some of the information entered is incorrect.
To view the full-size version of the obituary, click on it.
You can use the “%” character to search for a partial name. A search for “%” will find all the obituaries where the subject has a name beginning with “Des” (Desjarlais, Desjardins, Deslauniers, etc.). This allows you to perform more generic searches and is particularly relevant for names with multiple spellings.
Memorial cards
This section contains close to 100,000 memorial cards published between 1860 and today. Most of these cards pertain to individuals who died in Quebec.
Using the memorial cards
The memorial cards collection is equipped with a search engine that allows you to search by first name, last name and date of death.
As with the newspaper obituaries, it is always advisable to keep your initial search vague and to narrow it if the number of results is too high. For example, it may be preferable to omit the date of death in your search if you already include the name and surname of the deceased.
To view the full-size image of a card, simply click on it in the list of results.
You may use the “%” character to search for part of a name in this collection. For example, a search for “Lar%” will give you all the memorial cards whose subject has a name starting with “Lar” (Larrivière, Larue, Larramée, etc.). This allows you to perform more generic searches and is particularly relevant for names with multiple spellings.
Tombstones
This section contains 740,000 indexed pictures of headstones from various cemeteries in Quebec and Ontario. Here is the list of cemeteries available in the collection.
Using the tombstone section
This section is equipped with a search engine allowing you to search by family name or text on the stone. You may limit your search to a specific cemetery, or search within every cemetery available in the collection.
The Text field can be used to search for the names of other individuals inscribed on the stone, often the spouse or children of the couple. It may also contain the date of birth and / or death of the deceased. If your initial search does not allow you to find the gravestone you are looking for, you may want to try searching using any other information you have about the deceased. For example, you could find an individual’s headstone by looking up their year of death and their spouse’s name rather than looking for their name directly.
When you perform a search, the results will be presented as files. The files contain the name of the deceased, the name of the cemetery where they are buried, the date on which the picture of the gravestone was taken, and the text inscribed on the stone. To view the photo of the stone itself, simply click inside the appropriate file.
As with the memorial cards and the newspaper obituaries, the “%” character may be used to search for a partial name.
The LAFRANCE will be your most powerful tool for tracing your ancestors on Genealogy Quebec, as it contains over 10,940,000 birth, marriage and death records from Quebec, Ontario, Acadia and the United States. The records are broken down as follows:
Every Catholic marriage from Quebec between 1621 and 1918
Every Protestant marriage from Quebec between 1760 and 1849
Every marriage recorded by the Quebec government between 1926 and 1997
Every Catholic baptism and burial from Quebec between 1621 and 1861
Every death recorded by the Quebec government between 1926 and 1997
1.7 million additional marriages from various sources in Quebec, Ontario, and the USA between 1919 and today
Tens of thousands of additional records from Quebec, Ontario and Acadia
You will find these parish records under two formats on the LAFRANCE:
Original documents – a digitized image of the original parish register, as it was originally drafted.
St-Philippe parish register, sourced from the Drouin Collection
Record certificate – Every record in the database is indexed under what we refer to as a certificate. The certificate contains all the relevant information extracted from the original record such as the names, dates, roles, occupations, relationships, marital status, etc.
Record certificate from the LAFRANCE
Using the LAFRANCE
The LAFRANCE is divided into 3 research sections: Individual, Couple and Parish. These sections allow you to search for an individual, a couple or for events recorded in a specific parish, respectively.
Individual
The Individual search engine allows you to search for all the mentions of an individual in the records available in the LAFRANCE.
Name and nickname – Last name(s) of the person sought
First name – First name of the person sought
Resemblance – Allows for more variability in names and as such a broader search, more in depth explanation later in this article
Period – Date range in which the search is performed. Leave blank to include all the years covered by the database.
Role – Role of the subject in the record (Subject of the record, spouse of the subject of the record, father of the subject of the record, mother of the subject of the record)
Type – Baptism, marriage or burial
Sex – Male, Female or indeterminate
Parish – Limit search to a specific parish
Couple
The Couple search engine allows you to search for all the mentions of a couple in the records of the LAFRANCE. A couple may be the subject of a marriage, or the parents of the subject(s) in a baptism, marriage or burial. A couple may also be the subject of a burial and their spouse.
Name and nickname of the husband – Last name(s) of the husband
First name of the husband – First name of the husband
Name and nickname of the wife – Last name(s) of the wife
First name of the wife – First name of the wife
Resemblance – Allows for more variability in names and as such a broader search, more in depth explanation later in this article
Period – Date range in which the search is performed. Leave blank to include all the years covered by the database.
Roles – Roles of the couple in the record: Subject-Subject (marriage), Father-Mother (marriage, baptism, burial) and Subject-Spouse (burial)
Parish – Limit search to a specific parish
Parish
The Parish search engine allows you to search for all the records of a specific parish. You can limit this search to a specific date range and type of record (baptism, marriage or burial).
Parish – Select the parish to search in
Period – Date range in which the search is performed. Leave blank to include all the years covered by the database.
Type – Baptism, marriage or burial
Search results
To begin a search, simply fill in the field(s) of your choice and press Search. You will then reach a list of results based on your search criteria.
LAFRANCE search results produced by a search for a Roy – Lavoie couple
Num.: Every record in the database is given a number that is used to identify it.
Date: Date on which the record was drafted
Type: The type of event described by the record: b (baptism), s (burial) or m (marriage)
Parish: Parish in which the event was recorded
Roles: The role carried by the searched individual(s) in the record: P-M (Father and Mother), S-C (Subject and Spouse), S-S (Subject and Subject, used to identify a marrying couple)
Age: Age of the subject(s), maj for major, min for minor
Names: Standardized version of the searched name(s), more about name standardization later in this guide
Clicking on the name of the parish will take you to the location of this parish on our interactive map of Quebec based Catholic parishes.
Click on this image to view the parish map
To view the record certificate, click on the date associated to that record in the list of results.
The record certificate contains all the relevant information extracted from the original document. You will find the names of the subject(s) and the parents, the role and the relationship between each individual mentioned in the record, the date on which the record was drafted as well as the date of the event, the marital status of the subject(s), the age of the subject(s), and more.
To view the original document itself, click on the image link found under the date of the event.
“Dit” names
If you’ve done genealogical research in Quebec in the past, it is likely that you’ve encountered “dit” names before. A “dit” name was used to differentiate individuals with similar family names in the same region. In the context of genealogical research, “dit” names can be viewed as a second surname given to an individual.
For example, a common “dit” name combination is Roy dit Desjardins. If you descend from the Roy dit Desjardins line, your ancestors will have gone under Desjardins, Roy, as well as Roy dit Desjardins over the generations. This can be a bit confusing if you’re not aware of it, as you may wonder why your ancestors would suddenly switch between two surnames.
This is why the LAFRANCE includes a Nickname tool, which gives you a list of “dit” surnames commonly associated with the last name you are researching.
When you enter a surname in the search field, a list of “dit” names commonly associated to that surname will appear in the box to the right, ordered by frequency.
This tool is very useful because it can allow you to trace a line that has gone under different family names over the generations. For example, if you are unable to find the marriage of the parents of your ancestor Pierre Desjardins, you will be aware of the possibility that the father of Pierre Desjardins bore the name Roy on his marriage, allowing you to find the record in question.
You can learn more about French-Canadian “dit names” and nicknames in this article on our blog.
Name standardization
The LAFRANCE search engine is equipped with a name dictionary, which associates a name with all of its variations. For example, a query for an individual with the surname Gauthier will prompt the search engine to look through the database for any mention of the name Gauthier as well as any of its variations, such as Gautier, Gaulthier, Gotier, etc. Thus, it isn’t necessary to manually search for multiple variations of a name.
All the variations of the Lavoie surname on the LAFRANCE
You may browse the LAFRANCE name dictionary at this address.
Please note that when searching on the LAFRANCE, the result list will always show the standard spelling of the name(s) you searched. However, the record certificate will give you the specific spelling used in the original record.
The resemblance/likeness function
The resemblance function, otherwise known as the likeness function, makes it possible to search for a name as well as any other name that resembles it. The resemblance function differs from name standardization because it not only includes all of the variations of a name, but also all of the names that are similar to it in terms of pronunciation or spelling. For example, a search for Gauthier, which will include all of the variations given earlier, will also include the names Gonthier, Vauthier, Gouthier, Authier as well as their numerous variations.
You can activate the resemblance function by checking the resemblance box on the LAFRANCE search page.
We recommend that you keep the resemblance function turned on at all times.
Search tips
The LAFRANCE’s search engine allows searching for many variables, which makes it tempting to fill as many fields as possible when using the tool. However, we recommend that you keep your initial search as vague as possible, and clarify it as needed by adding one piece of information at a time. When the name or surname searched is rare or unusual, it is rarely necessary to add more information to the search.
The more precise a search is, the more likely it is to omit the record you are looking for, as every single field must match.
For example, an initial search could start with the surname and first name of the subject. If the number of results is too high, a variable such as the year of the event or the surname of another individual mentioned in the record can be added. Often, simply adding a third variable is enough to narrow the search down sufficiently.
We also recommend, if necessary, to try several combinations of names when looking for a record. For example, imagine that we are looking for the marriage of Louis Lamontagne and Cécile Dubé. It is possible, for various reasons, for one of the spouse to have gone under a partially different name on their marriage record. If searching for “Lamontagne” as the name of the husband and “Dubé” as the name of the wife does not allow us to find this marriage, it may be interesting to try other combinations:
First name of the husband: Louis
Last name of the husband: empty
First name of the wife: empty
Last name of the wife: Dubé OR
First name of the husband: empty
Last name of the husband: Lamontagne
First name of the wife: Cécile
Last name of the wife: empty
And so on. As a result, if an error exists in one of the first or last names of the subjects, we will still be able to find the record.
Finally, note that you may use the “%” character in order to search for part of a name. For example, a search for “Rog%” will find all of the records where an individual bearing a name that starts with “Rog” is mentioned. This allows you to widen your search even further, if necessary.
Accessing a PRDH-IGD individual file from a LAFRANCE certificate
If you are subscribed to both PRDH-IGD.com and GenealogyQuebec.com, you can view the PRDH-IGD individual file of an individual mentioned in a LAFRANCE certificate with a single click.
To do so, make sure you are logged into both websites, and then click on the “prdh individual” mention found on the LAFRANCE certificate you are viewing.
Click on the mention circled in red to go from a GenealogyQuebec.com certificate (left) to an individual file on PRDH-IGD.com (right)
The individual file centralizes all of the mentions of an individual in the database, such as the person’s baptism, burial and marriage. The individual file also mentions the parents as well as the spouse(s). You can read this article for more information on individual files and the PRDH-IGD.
You can also learn more about the similarities and differences between PRDH-IGD.com and GenealogyQuebec.com on this page.
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 all of Quebec and French Acadia as well as parts of Ontario, New Brunswick and the Northeastern United States.
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.
The Drouin Collection Records are presented in a file tree structure.
It contains the following collections:
00_Inventaire des microfilms (Microfilm inventory)
Acadie (Acadia)
Lieux de A à W (Locations from A to W)
Registres paroissiaux du nord-ouest du Nouveau-Brunswick (North West New Brunswick parish registers)
Registres québécois, Série 4000 (1801-2008) (Série 4000 Quebec registers (1801-2008))
Recensements – Censuses
What is a parish register?
Parish registers contain three types of records, baptisms, marriages and burials, corresponding to three sacraments bestowed by the Catholic Church to attest to their members’ status as Christians as well as their marital status. Parish records usually contain the following information:
Name or first name of the subject(s)
Name and first name of the subject(s) parents
Event recording date
Event date
Parish in which the event was recorded
Place of origin and/or place of residence of the individuals mentioned in the record
List of witnesses to the event
Signatures of the subject(s), parents and witnesses
Age of the subject(s)
Complementary information such as matrimonial status, name of the previous spouse, whether an individual is deceased at the time of recording of the event, and more
Example of a parish record as presented on Genealogy Quebec’s LAFRANCE tool
In France, the earliest registers date back to the medieval era but only became mandatory in the 16th century, in time to be implanted at the very outset of the country’s North-American colonies. And as the civil authorities were interested in recording these events because of their legal value, they ordered that the registers be kept in two copies by the priests, one copy being turned over to them each year.
In Genealogy Quebec’s Drouin Collection Records, this civil copy can be found under the Fonds Drouin folder, while the religious copy is located under the Registres paroissiaux 1621-1876 (Parish registers 1621-1876) folder.
This procedure was maintained well into the XXth century, parish registers thus representing both for its size and coverage one of Quebec’s most important archival sources for the historical study of its population.
00_Inventaire des microfilms (Microfilm inventory)
This folder contains the inventory of microfilms from which all of the Drouin collection’s images have been digitized.
Acadie (Acadia)
Lieux de A à W
The Lieux de A à W (Locations from A to W) folder contains the registers of many parishes of French Acadia. Note that a majority of the Acadian registers were lost during the deportation of 1755, so most of the registers in this collection date from after this event.
The registers are organized in a file tree structure and the images are separated by parish name and then by year. Some parishes are sorted under the name of the city or region they serve, while others are listed according to the name of the parish itself.
It is important to know that in general, the images are listed in chronological order.
This means that the first image in the folder will contain the first events recorded in that year, which are usually the ones from January. Similarly, the last few images in the folder will be those from the end of the year.
As of January 2020, these parishes are in the process of being indexed and will be gradually added to the LAFRANCE, a detailed index of Quebec, Ontario and Acadia parish registers available to Genealogy Quebec subscribers.
Here are the parishes available in the Acadie (Acadia) folder:
Acadieville
Gagetown
Remous-Bridge
Ardouane voir Cocagne
Gédaic voir Cocagne
Restigouche, comté de
Argyle (Ste-Anne)
Gloucester, comté
Rexton
Arichat
Golding-Grove
Richibouctou
Baie-des-Winds voir Cocagne
Grande-Digue
Richmond
Baie-du-Vin
Grand-Sault
Riverside
Baie-Ste-Marie (Nouvelle-Écosse)
Haute-Aboujagane
Rivière-Jacquet
Baie-Verte voir Cocagne
Hillsborough
Robertville
Balmoral
Île-du-Prince-Édouard
Rogersville
Barachois
Île-Royale
Sackville
Barnaby-River
Île-St-Jean
Scoudouc
Bartibogue
Johnville
Shédiac
Bathurst
Kent, comté de
Shemogue
Beaubassin
Kouchibouguac
Shippagan
Belledune
Lac Baker
St-André
Blackville
Lamèque
St-Andrew
Bouctouche
Loch-Lomond
St-Anselme
Boujagane voir Cocagne
Louisbourg
St-Basile
Burnt
Lower-Caraquet
St-Charles-Borromée
Cam’s River
Madawaska
St-Charles-les-Mines
Cap-Pelé
Maliseet
Ste-Anne
Caraquet
Memramcook
Ste-Anne-de-Kent
Central Kingsclear
Milltown
Ste-Anne-de-Restigouche
Charlo
Moncton
St-François-Xavier
Chatham
Mont-Carmel
St-Georges
Chigibouachis voir Cocagne
Nash Creek
St-Ignace-de-Kent
Chigibougouet voir Cocagne
Néguac (Northumberland)
St-Isidore
Chimougouis voir Cocagne
Nelson
St-Jacques
Clair
Newcastle
St-Jean
Cocagne
Comté de Northumberland
St-Léonard
Dalhousie
Norton
St-Louis-des-Français
Dorchester
Notre-Dame-de-Kent
St-Paul-de-Kent
Drummond
Paquetville
St-Stephen
Ecouipahaq
Petersville
Sunbury
Edmunston
Petit-Rocher
Sussex
Eel-Ground
Plaisance
Tracadie
Escuminac
Pokemouche-en-Bas
Victoria
Fairville
Pokemouche-en-Haut
Wellington
Fort St-Jean
Port-Royal
Westmorland
Frédéricton
Red-Bank
Woodstock
Registres paroissiaux du nord-ouest du Nouveau-Brunswick (North West New Brunswick parish registers)
The Registres paroissiaux du nord-ouest du Nouveau-Brunswick (North West New Brunswick parish registers) contain the parish registers of numerous parishes from North West New Brunswick up to the 1990s.
The registers are organized in a file tree structure and the images are separated by parish name and then by year. Some parishes are sorted under the name of the city or region they serve, while others are listed according to the name of the parish itself.
It is important to know that in general, the images are listed in chronological order.
This means that the first image in the folder will contain the first events recorded in that year, which are usually the ones from January. Similarly, the last few images in the folder will be those from the end of the year.
Here are the parishes available in the Registres paroissiaux du nord-ouest du Nouveau-Brunswick (North West New Brunswick parish registers) collection:
Aroostook
Red Rapids
Baker-Brook
Rivière-Verte
Blue Bell
Saint-André
Clair
Saint-Basile
Connors
Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska
Drummond (Catholique)
Saint-François-Xavier
Edmunston (Immaculée-Conception)
Saint-Georges
Edmunston (Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs)
Saint-Hilaire
Edmunston (Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur)
Saint-Jacques
Fredericton (Ste-Anne)
Saint-Joseph
Grand-Sault
Saint-Léonard
Kedgwick
Saint-Léonard-Parent
Lac-Baker
Saint-Léonard-Ville
Limestone Siding
Saint-Martin
Maliseet
Saint-Quentin
Perth-Andover
St-Jean-Baptiste
Plaster Rock
Tilley
Divers – Miscellaneous
The Divers – Miscellaneous folder contains, as its name suggests, various documents of historical and genealogical interest such as registers, family archives and genealogies, legal archives, letters, various religious documents, censuses, maps and much more.
As with the rest of the Drouin collection, the folders are organized in a file tree structure and their contents are navigated with the mouse. The name of a folder briefly describes its content.
États-Unis – USA
The États-Unis – USA folder primarily contains American parish registers covering several regions and periods. Most of the parishes listed in this collection are from the North Eastern United States and were selected because of the strong French Canadian presence within the area.
The registers are organized in a file tree structure and the images are separated by state then parish name and year. Some parishes are sorted under the name of the city or region they serve, while others are listed according to the name of the parish itself.
It is important to know that in general, the images are listed in chronological order.
This means that the first image in the folder will contain the first events recorded in that year, which are usually the ones from January. Similarly, the last few images in the folder will be those from the end of the year.
Here are various documents and registers found in the États-Unis – USA folder:
Alabama:
Piercefield
Michigan :
Mobile
Pierrepont
Cadillac’s Village of Detroit under Cadillac
Pitcairn
Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine
Arkansas :
Port Henry
Détroit, L’Assomption de Sandwich de Windsor
Fort St-Philippe
Potsdam
Détroit, Ste-Anne
Rossie
Journal «Le Francais pour Tous»
État de New York (State of New York) :
Saranac Lake
L’Arbre Croche (Mission)
American Legion Births
Schroon Lake
Makinac, Ste-Anne
Brushton
Schuyler Falls
Palena
Burke
Shoen Family Bible
St-Joseph de Michigan
Canton (Military Records)
St. Lawrence County
Chasm Falls
St. Regis Falls
Missouri :
Chateaugay
The Kalb
Florissant
Civil War Veterans 1890
Ticonderoga
St-Louis
Dickinson
Trout River
Edward (Military Records)
Tupper Lake
New York :
Edwards
Waddington
Brasher Falls voir Hogansburg
Fine
Westport
Chazy voir Cooperville
Fine (Military Records)
Cooperville
Fort Covington
Illinois :
Fort Covington voir Hogansburg
Harrietstown
Caskakias
Fort Frédéric ou Fort Beauharnois
Hermon
Fort de Chartres
Hogansburg
Hogansburg
Prairie du Rocher
Malone voir Hogansburg
Hopkinton
Massena voir Hogansburg
Lisbon
Indiana :
Lisbon Centre
Fort Vincennes
Pennsylvanie :
Macomb
Fort Duquesne
Madrid
Louisiane :
Fort Presqu’Ile
Malone
Saint Gabriel
Massena
USA :
Mineville
Maine :
Births
Morristown
Frenchville
Massachusetts Births 1880
Norfolk
Van Buren
Massachusetts Births 1909
Norwood
Ogdensburg
Massachusetts :
Wisconsin :
Ogdensburgh
Archives of Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Green Bay, Baie-Verte
Parishville
Prairie-du-Chien
France
The France folder currently contains baptism, marriage and burial records from the city of Cannes.
We hope to be able to add more French registers and archives in the coming years.
Notaires – Notaries
The Notaires – Notaries folder contains an index of minutes from some 600 Quebec-based notaries.
The minutes are sorted under the names of the notaries in a file tree structure.
Ontario
The Ontario folder contains the parish registers of several Ontario parishes from their founding to the 1960s. Most of these parishes are located near the border between Quebec and Ontario and were selected because of the strong French Canadian presence within the area.
The registers are organized in a file tree structure and the images are separated by parish name and then by year. Some parishes are sorted under the name of the city or region they serve, while others are listed according to the name of the parish itself.
It is important to know that in general, the images are listed in chronological order.
This means that the first image in the folder will contain the first events recorded in that year, which are usually the ones from January. Similarly, the last few images in the folder will be those from the end of the year.
As of January 2020, these parishes are in the process of being indexed and will be gradually added to the LAFRANCE, a detailed index of Quebec, Ontario and Acadia parish registers available to Genealogy Quebec subscribers.
Here are the parishes available in the Ontario folder:
Alban
Fort Frontenac
Paincourt
Alexandria
Fort William
Pakenham
Alfred
Fournier
Pembroke
Almonte
Garden River
Plantagenet
Amherstburg
Garson
Pointe-aux-Roches
Apple-Hill
Gatchell
Port-Arthur
Arnprior
Glen-Nevis
Richmond
Azilda
Glen-Robertson
River Valley
Belle-Rivière
Glen-Walter
Rivière-aux-Canards
Bell’s Corners
Greenfield
Rockland
Billing’s Bridge
Hammond
Sarsfield
Blezard Valley
Hanmer
Sault-Ste-Marie
Blind River
Hawkesbury
Skead (Sudbury)
Bonfield
Îles Manitoulin
South Gloucester
Bourget
Killarney
South March
Brightside
Lafontaine
Spanish
Brudenell
Lancaster
Spragge
Burwash
LaPasse
St-Albert
Cache Bay
Larchwood
St-Andrew’s West
Callander
Lavigne
St-Bernadin
Capreol
Leamington
St-Charles
Carlsbad Spring
Lebel
Ste-Anne, Prescott
Cartier
Lefaivre
St-Eugène, Prescott
Casselman
Lemieux
St-Isidore, Prescott
Chatham
Levack
St-Joachim
Chelmsford
Limoges
St-Pascal-Baylon
Chrysler
Little Current
St-Pierre
Chute-à-Blondeau, Prescott
Lively
St-Raphaël
Clarence Creek
Lochiel
Sturgeon Falls
Coniston
Lockerby
Sudbury
Cooper Cliff
L’Orignal
Tecumseh
Corbeil
Maidstone
Temagami
Corkery
Manitouwadge
Thessalon
Cornwall
Manotick
Tilbury
Creighton Mines
Marionville
Treadwell
Cumberland
Markstay
Val Caron
Curran
Massey
Vankleek Hill
Cyrville
Matachewan
Vars
Dickenson’s Landing
Mattawa
Verner
Douglas
McGregor
Wahnapitei
Dwyer
Metcalfe
Warren
Eastview
Metcalfe et Osgoode
Wawa
Eganville
Minnow Lake
Wawa et Michipicoten
Elliot Lake
Mont-St-Patrick
Webbwood
Embrun
Moose Creek
Wendover
Espanola
Moose Factory Mission Church Records
White Fish
Essex
New Sudbury
White River
Estaire
Noëlville
Wikwemikong
Falconbridge
North Bay
Williamstown
Fallowfield
Orleans
Windsor
Field
Osgoode
Woodslee
Fitzroy Harbor
Ottawa
Québec
Fonds Drouin
The Fonds Drouin folder contains all of Quebec’s parish registers from their inception in 1621 all the way to the 1940s and even sometimes 1967 depending on the parish.
The registers are organized in a file tree structure and the images are separated by parish name and then by year. Some parishes are sorted under the name of the city or region they serve, while others are listed according to the name of the parish itself.
It is important to know that in general, the images are listed in chronological order.
This means that the first image in the folder will contain the first events recorded in that year, which are usually the ones from January. Similarly, the last few images in the folder will be those from the end of the year.
In many cases, an index of the year’s records is available within the last few images of a folder. The presence of this index depends on the practices of the priest who kept the register at the time.
It is on this collection that the LAFRANCE index, another one of the multiple tools available to Genealogy Quebec subscribers, is based. The LAFRANCE index contains all of Quebec’s Catholic baptisms and burials between 1621 and 1861, all of Quebec’s Catholic marriages between 1621 and 1919, and all of Quebec’s Protestant marriages between 1760 and 1849.
The Registres paroissiaux 1621-1876 (Parish registers 1621-1876) folder contains the parish registers of Quebec from 1621 to 1876. However, these are not the same images as those available under the Fonds Drouin folder.
Historically, a parish priest in charge of recording baptisms, marriages and burials had to produce two copies of his register. One copy was kept at the church, and the other was sent to the court office, the so-called civil copy. The copy in the Fonds Drouin folder of the Drouin Collection Records is this civil copy, while the one in the Registres paroissiaux 1621-1876 (Parish registers 1621-1876) folder is the religious copy kept in the church.
The registers are organized in a file tree structure and the images are separated by parish name and then by year. Some parishes are sorted under the name of the city or region they serve, while others are listed according to the name of the parish itself.
It is important to know that in general, the images are listed in chronological order.
This means that the first image in the folder will contain the first events recorded in that year, which are usually the ones from January. Similarly, the last few images in the folder will be those from the end of the year.
The Registres non-catholiques 1760-1885 folder contains the registers of various Quebec non-Catholic parishes from 1760 to 1885.
Most of these registers are also available in the Fonds Drouin folder, but the version available in Registres non-catholiques 1760-1885 was photographed more recently and may prove useful if the Fonds Drouin copy is of poor quality.
Here are the parishes available in this folder:
Abénakis (Anglican Church)
Baie Missisquoi (Anglican Church)
Berthier (Anglican Church)
Bolton (Methodist Church)
Bolton (Wesleyan and Methodist Church)
Bolton and Potton (Methodist Church)
Bolton, Stukely and Ely (Methodist Church)
Brome (Methodist Church)
Canada-East (Methodist Church)
Chambly (Methodist Church)
Chambly (Saint Stephen Anglican Church)
Clarenceville (Anglican Church)
Clarenceville (Methodist Church)
Clarenceville (Wesleyan Methodist Congregation)
Clarenceville Circuit (Wesleyan Methodist Church)
Cowansville (Methodist Church)
Dunham (Methodist Church)
Dunham (Wesleyan Methodist Church)
Dunham (Wesleyan Methodist New Connexion Church)
Dunham Circuit (Wesleyan Methodist Church)
Dunham Flat (Wesleyan Methodist Church)
Farnham, canton (Anglican Church)
Frelighsburg (Anglican Church)
Frelighsburg (Church of England)
Glen Sutton (Anglican Church)
Granby, canton (Anglican Church)
Grande-Ligne (Baptist Church))
Hemmingford-Sherrington (Episcopal Church)
Henrysburg (Methodist Church)
Henryville (Anglican Church)
Isle-aux-Noix (Episcopal Church)
La Prairie (Presbyterian Church)
La Prairie (Saint Luke Anglican Church)
L’Acadie (Anglican Church)
Lachine (Presbyterian St. Andrew’s Church)
Lacolle (Episcopal Church)
Longueuil (Saint Mark’s Anglican Church)
Mansonville (Church of England)
Milton et Roxton (Anglican Church)
Montréal (Advent Christian Church)
Montréal (Christ Church Anglican)
Montréal (Jewish German, Polish)
Montréal (Jewish, Spanish and Portuguese)
Montréal (Lutheran St. John German Evangelical Church)
Montréal (Methodist Centenary Church, Pointe St. Charles )
Montréal (Methodist Dominion Square Church)
Montréal (Presbyterian Erskine Church)
Montréal (Presbyterian Knox Church)
Montréal (Saint Jude Anglican Church)
Montréal (Saint Luke Anglican Church)
Montréal (Saint Martin’s Anglican Church)
Montréal (St John the Evangelist, Anglican Church)
The Registres québécois, Actes découpés folder contains cut-out records taken from various parish registers in Abitibi-Témiscamingue as well as the Gaspé Peninsula. What differentiates these records is that they are individually cut-out from the parish register, often making them easier to browse and read.
Registres québécois, Série 4000 (1801-2008) (Série 4000 Quebec registers (1801-2008))
The Série 4000 contains parish registers from various regions in Quebec, mainly the Gaspé Peninsula, Mauricie, the Laurentians, the Eastern Townships and Outaouais. These registers cover from the beginning of the 19th century up to 2008.
The registers are organized in a file tree structure and the images are separated by parish name and then by year. Some parishes are sorted under the name of the city or region they serve, while others are listed according to the name of the parish itself.
It is important to know that in general, the images are listed in chronological order.
This means that the first image in the folder will contain the first events recorded in that year, which are usually the ones from January. Similarly, the last few images in the folder will be those from the end of the year.
Recensements– Censuses
The Recensements – Censuses folder contains censuses held in Eastern Canada at various times. The 1861 census of Lower Canada, the censuses of New Brunswick from 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901, as well as numerous excerpts from the censuses of New France dating from between 1666 and 1765. Note that these censuses are not always exhaustive.
The censuses are presented in a file tree structure and are navigated with the help of your cursor.
Image redigitization
The Drouin Institute is currently in the process of redigitizing several parish registers from the Drouin collection to improve their readability. These redigitized images are exclusive to GenealogyQuebec.com.
Old imageRe-digitized image
The Drouin Collection Records can be browsed with a subscription to Genealogy Quebec here.
The bimonthly LAFRANCE update was applied earlier in the week. The additions pertain to the 1850-1861 period for Catholic baptisms and burials.
Update figures
Catholic baptisms 1850-1861 : 25917 records added Catholic burials 1850-1861 : 11084 records added In addition, the corrections sent by our users over the past 2 months have been applied. You will find more information about the parishes that have been updated on this document.
About the LAFRANCE
The LAFRANCE, one of 16 tools available to GenealogyQuebec.comsubscribers, is a detailed index with link to the original document of ALL Catholic marriages celebrated in Quebec between 1621 and 1916, ALL Catholic baptisms and burials celebrated in Quebec between 1621 and 1849 as well as ALL Protestant marriages celebrated in Quebec between 1760 and 1849. Baptisms and burials of the 1850-1861 period are added gradually through our bimonthly updates.
50% off on our “New Books” collection
Until September 30th, get 50% off any book from the “New Books” collection by using the promo code “50” on our online boutique.
This collection contains monographs and indexes, produced by various organisations and authors, that pertain to Quebec, Ontario and the United States.
Volunteering
The Drouin Institute and its partner “Groupe-Nécro” are looking for volunteers to help with death notice and tombstone indexing, as well as cemetery photography.
Death Notice indexing
Indexing death notices is as simple as extracting the deceased’s name and the date of death from the original obituary, and entering the information in a template.
Tombstone indexing
Tombstone indexing is done using Microsoft Excel. The names and the text on the stone are entered in an Excel file that has been designed for the task.
Cemetery photography
To this day, close to 1100 Quebec cemeteries have been photographed by Groupe-Nécro, for a total of over 600 000 tombstone pictures. This collection can be browsed with a subscription to GenealogyQuebec.com in the “Obituary” section.
We are looking for volunteers to photograph the remaining cemeteries in Quebec as well as cemeteries in the eastern part of Ontario.
For more information regarding cemetery photography and genealogical data indexing, please contact Sébastien Robert at srobert@institutdrouin.com.
Obituaries
Over 20 000 death notices have been added to our free obituary section since our last update. This section contains Canadian obituaries ranging from 1999 to this day. You can browse the collection free of charge here.
The bimonthly LAFRANCE update was applied earlier in the week.
The additions pertain to the 1850-1861 period for Catholic baptisms and burials.
Update figures
Catholic baptisms 1850-1861 : 6966 records added Catholic burials 1850-1861 : 4622 records added In addition, the corrections sent by our users over the past 2 months have been applied.
About the LAFRANCE
The LAFRANCE, one of 15 tools available to GenealogyQuebec.comsubscribers, is a detailed index with link to the original document of ALL Catholic marriages celebrated in Quebec between 1621 and 1916, ALL Catholic baptisms and burials celebrated in Quebec between 1621 and 1849 as well as ALL Protestant marriages celebrated in Quebec between 1760 and 1849. Baptisms and burials of the 1850-1861 period are added gradually through our bimonthly updates. We estimate to have completed about 70% of all Catholic Quebec parishes for this period.
Free obituaries – New subsections
In addition to the 20 000 death notices added over the past 2 months, our obituary section is now equipped with subsections such as the province, city or publication in which the notice was published. This section contains Canadian obituaries ranging from 1999 to this day. You can browse the collection free of charge at this address: http://necrologie.genealogiequebec.com/home
Additions to our digital collections
The development of our numerous collections is still underway! Here are some additions made over the past 2 months:
Archival fonds
Fonds Pepin-Lachance: 3427 images
Fonds Wilfrid-Meloche: digitized books relating to this individual’s family
Fonds SGCE: genealogical publications from members of the SGCE – over 11 000 pages
Fonds Yvan-Beaulieu: personal collection of genealogical archives – 467 641 images
Fonds Raymond-Aubry: 551 images from his personal collection
All of these archival fonds can be consulted in the 14 – Fonds d’archives category, which can be found in the Great Collections section under the tab of the same name
“Lignes de vie” series
Addition of 1000 individual genealogies produced by Michel Pepin, brother of Jean-Pierre Pepin, in the 17 – Lignes de vie category under the Great Collections tab
Newspaper obituaries
Over 20 000 death notices from the 1945-1980 period as well as tens of thousands of death notices from the 1980-2017 period have been added
Connolly file
Annual update on the Connolly file – new BMS records and corrections
Outaouais registers
Addition of numerous English parish registers from the Outaouais region: 1177 register pages can now be consulted under the Registres québécois, région de l’Outaouais category in the Drouin Collection Records section
Kardex
About 10 000 new BMS files from Ontario have been added to the Kardex collection
All of these collections – and much more – are available with a subscription to GenealogyQuebec.com.
OGS 2017
From June 16 to June 18 2017, the Drouin Institute team will be at the Ontario Genealogical Society conference in Ottawa. All the details surrounding the conference can be found here.
If you attend the conference, make sure not to miss Gail Dever’s presentation, “The Crème de la Crème of Online Resources for Quebec Research”, which will cover both GenealogyQuebec.com and the PRDH among other resources. Gail Dever is the author of the popular blog Genealogy à la Carte.
