Choosing the Right DNA Test: A Comprehensive Guide

Let’s face it: DNA testing has redefined genealogy!

For more than two decades, DNA tests have demonstrated their importance in the realm of family history and genealogy. From FamilyTreeDNA (2000), a pioneer in the field, to subsequent companies such as 23andMe (2006), AncestryDNA (2012) and MyHeritage (2016), over 40 million DNA test kits have been sold to date. But are all these tests equivalent and interchangeable?

DNA tests are all the rage in modern genealogy

In this article, we’ll answer that question and explore in more detail the different types of DNA tests available on the market.

Types of DNA tests available on the market

There are two types of commercial DNA tests on the market: those for Autosomal DNA, and those for “deep” DNA (Y-DNA and mtDNA).

Autosomal DNA

Autosomal DNA reaches up to 7 generations, accounting for 128 potential ancestors. However, with each successive generation, some of this ancestral DNA is inevitably lost. Therefore, starting from the 8th generation onward, the last traces of certain ancestors are completely lost, making it impossible to establish a genetic connection with them.

Tests in this category (autosomal) account for the largest share of the genetic genealogy market. This category includes FamilyTreeDNA‘s “FamilyFinder” test, as well as all DNA tests from 23andMeAncestry and MyHeritage. These DNA tests focus on close relatives, recognizing degrees of relationship with great precision.

Difference between Y-DNA, mtDNA and autosomal DNA

Y-DNA and mtDNA (Deep DNA)

Y-DNA and mtDNA is DNA which is transmitted only through the father’s and mother’s lineages; Y-chromosome DNA transmitted from father to son, and mitochondrial DNA transmitted by the mother.
It is with this DNA that we are able to identify the pioneers of New France.
For example, all male descendants of the patriarch Jean Côté should, in principle, carry the same DNA – that of the Y chromosome passed down from father to son. This deep DNA identifies lineages, not individuals, unlike autosome tests. A man bearing the name Côté can therefore verify, with the help of FamilyTreeDNA‘s Y-37 test, that he does indeed possess the ancestral DNA signature of the Côté family patriarch, Jean Côté. Among the major DNA testing companies, only FamilyTreeDNA offers specific Y chromosome analyses.

Female pioneers are not to be outdone, as matrilineages also carry DNA signatures that go back centuries. FamilyTreeDNA‘s mtFullSequence test (also known as FMS) analyzes the DNA signature transmitted from mother to children via mitochondria. If your matrilineal matriarch is, for example, Marie Rollet, the courageous wife of Louis Hébert, you should carry her genetic signature, and the mtFullSequence test can confirm this. Your test results will take you back to the origins of New France.

Deep DNA, Autosomal DNA, or both?

Autosome tests such as those offered by 23andMeMyHeritage and Ancestry serve many purposes, whether it’s to verify close relatives, reveal unsuspected filiations, or enable adoptees to trace their parentage.

However, these objectives are not the same as those of genealogy enthusiasts interested in older times. Deep DNA reaches the patriarchs and matriarchs of the first generations who founded the country and from whom our surnames originate. The DNA signatures of New France’s ancestors live on through the lineages that link us to them: deep DNA testing aims to discover the heritage they passed on to us.

Y-DNA signatures established by the Genealogy Quebec DNA project
An overview of the Y-DNA signatures of pioneers established by the Genealogy Quebec DNA project. These are compared with your Y-DNA test results to confirm that you are indeed descended from the pioneer in question.

Among the major companies, only the tests offered by FamilyTreeDNA lead to the discovery of historical DNA signatures invaluable to the study of early Canada. If you’re interested in the origins of New France, and in confirming your genealogical research over several generations, Y-DNA and mtDNA tests are the ones to go for.

The right DNA test for YOU!

Autosome tests are very accurate for determining relationships spanning several generations. They are not, however, accurate for ethnic percentages, which are not genealogical in nature. As accurate as the kinship calculations of autosome tests are, their ethnic estimates are uncertain. These two aspects of the results must be contrasted. These tests are therefore very different from deep DNA patrilineage and matrilineage tests, which aim to identify distant ancestors.

Ancestry, Myheritage and 23andMe's DNA test boxes

Patrilineage and matrilineage deep DNA tests enable individuals to discover or verify that they are descended from one genetic lineage and not another. In genealogy, these tests are often used to establish, beyond any doubt, the validity of documentary research, and thus confirm that the individual tested is indeed descended from the lineages identified by the archives.

What’s more, the genetic identity of the test subject cannot be deduced from the results, only the origin of his or her lineage. As a result, privacy can be protected, and the use of a pseudonym is commonplace. Those who wish to remain anonymous can limit themselves to deep DNA testing.

Getting your DNA test

Deep DNA (Y-DNA and mtDNA)
If you’d like to learn more about your origins and confirm your parentage to a pioneer.

With the help of our team, you can verify that your DNA signature matches that of the ancestors at the origins of your lineage. This match provides scientific proof of your documentary research and genetic assurance that you are indeed descended from the ancestor in question. To find out more, visit our DNA section!

Autosomal DNA
If you’re more interested in discovering close relatives, from more recent times, FamilyTreeDNA‘s FamilyFinder test and tests from AncestryMyheritage and 23andMe will put you in touch with hundreds of people who share DNA segments inherited from common ancestors.

If you have any questions about DNA and its use in genealogy, don’t hesitate to contact the Genealogy Quebec DNA project team at adn@institutdrouin.com.

What’s more, if you already have DNA results from Ancestry23andMe or MyHeritage, you can transfer them free of charge to FamilyTreeDNA and combine them with deep DNA tests, which will be consolidated in a single account. You’ll then be able to attach all your results to the Genealogy Quebec DNA project, where our team will be happy to answer any questions you may have about your DNA.

54,000 new obituaries on Genealogy Quebec

Over 54,000 obituaries have been added to the Obituary Section, one of the 15 tools available to Genealogy Quebec subscribers.

These obituaries were published in various newspapers across Quebec and date from the 20th and 21st centuries.

You can browse these new obituaries with a subscription to Genealogy Quebec at this address.

Subscribe to Genealogy Quebec and start tracing your ancestors today with tens of millions of historical images and documents!

The Obituary section

This section contains most of the obituaries, memorial cards and headstones available on Genealogy Quebec. It is divided in 4 sub-sections:

  • Internet obituaries, which contains over 2.85 million obituaries published online from 1999 to today.
  • Newspaper obituaries, which now contains over 1,400,000 newspaper obituaries published between 1860 and today
  • Headstones, which contains more than 740,000 pictures of headstones from hundreds of cemeteries in Quebec and Ontario.
  • Memorial cards, which contains near 100,000 memorial cards published between 1860 and today.

These collections are indexed and can be explored using a search engine. You will find more information about this section on the Drouin Institute’s blog.

Genealogically yours,

The Drouin team

Acadia – Families collection update on Genealogy Quebec

An update has been applied to the Acadia – Families tool, one of the 15 collections available to Genealogy Quebec subscribers.

12,414 family files and 27,689 baptism, marriage and burial records have been added to the collection. The Acadia – Families tool can be browsed with a subscription to Genealogy Quebec at this address.

Subscribe to Genealogy Quebec and trace your ancestors with over 100 million images and documents starting today!

What is the Acadia – Families tool?

The Acadia – Families tool contains family files based on original Acadian church records.

In total, this tool contains 171,246 family files. Currently, these cover a period that spans from the beginning of the Acadian colony to the end of 1849. In addition, 38 locations covering from 1850 to the end of the available registers are included. A list of these locations as well as a more detailed overview of the collection can be found on the Drouin Institute’s blog.

The files usually contain the names and first names of the parents, the first name of the child, the dates of birth and/or baptism, of death and/or burial, and of marriage (a total of 328,623 records). Links to the original church documents pertaining to the baptisms, marriages and burials mentioned in the file are also usually available.

Genealogically yours,

The Drouin team

135,000 obituaries added on Genealogy Quebec

Over 135,000 Canadian obituaries have been added to the Obituary Section, one of the 15 tools available to Genealogy Quebec subscribers.

These obituaries were published online or in newspapers and date from the 20th and 21st centuries.

You can browse these new obituaries with a subscription to Genealogy Quebec at this address.

Subscribe to Genealogy Quebec and start tracing your ancestors today with tens of millions of historical images and documents!

The Obituary section

This section contains most of the obituaries, memorial cards and headstones available on Genealogy Quebec. It is divided in 4 sub-sections:

  • Internet obituaries, which contains over 2.85 million obituaries published online from 1999 to today.
  • Newspaper obituaries, which now contains close to 1,400,000 newspaper obituaries published between 1860 and today
  • Headstones, which contains more than 740,000 pictures of headstones from hundreds of cemeteries in Quebec and Ontario.
  • Memorial cards, which contains near 100,000 memorial cards published between 1860 and today.



These collections are indexed and can be explored using a search engine. You will find more information about this section on the Drouin Institute’s blog.

Genealogically yours,

The Drouin team

Over 100,000 new historical documents on Genealogy Quebec

Over 100,000 historical images have been added to the Drouin Miscellaneous Collections, one of 15 tools available to Genealogy Quebec subscribers.

The Drouin Miscellaneous Collections contain an assortment of images, documents, books, photos and directories of historical and genealogical interest. You can consult this tool at this address.

Here are the documents added via this update:

Journal Écho Abitibien

  • 50,000 new images from 1950 to 1980
  • Can be consulted in the Miscellaneous Collections under the 23 – Journaux anciens/L’Écho Abitibien/ folder

Fonds André Hurtubise

  • 32,000 new images have been added to this collection, which contains BMD cards, newspaper clippings, historical photos, and many other documents.
  • Can be consulted in the Miscellaneous Collections under the 14 – Fonds d’archives/Fonds André-Hurtubise/ folder

Fonds Philippe Beaudry

  • 22,000 images have been added to the Fonds Philippe Beaudry. This collection contains postcards and historical documents related to maritime transportation.
  • Can be consulted in the Miscellaneous Collections under the 14 – Fonds d’archives/Fonds Philippe BEAUDRY/ folder

Trace your ancestors and discover your family history with tens of millions of historical on Genealogy Quebec today!

Genealogically yours,

The Drouin team

Growing your Family Tree: Key Documents for Genealogy

The family tree is an essential tool for any genealogy enthusiast, as it allows you to trace and visualize your family history over several generations. If you want to grow your family tree with accurate and complete information, you will inevitably have to refer to various types of historical documents.

basic family tree structure
Basic family tree structure, with the number of individuals doubling every generation

In this article, we will explore the most common types of historical records used in genealogy, explaining how they can help you build a complete and detailed family tree.

Civil and religious records

If you had to limit yourself to one type of document for your genealogical research, it would undoubtedly be church and civil records. These records contain the vital events of a population, namely births (or baptisms), marriages, and deaths (or burials).

church record used for building a family tree
Example of a church record. Source: LAFRANCE, GenealogyQuebec.com

How church and civil records help you grow your family tree

Church and civil records contain a lot of interesting information pertaining to their subject; their name, date of birth, marriage or death, place of birth, residence or death, and often the names of their parents and/or spouse.

Not only can you plug this information in your family tree, you can also use it to go back one generation in the line you are researching.

More specifically, the marriage record is the key to your genealogical research, as in most cases, it will contain the names of the parents of the spouses.

marriage from genealogy quebec used to make a family tree
Marriage from the LAFRANCE on Genealogy Quebec

The names of the parents of the spouses are indicated in the marriage on the left. Searching for them allows you to find their marriages, in which you will find the names of their respective parents. By repeating this process, you can go back through the generations and easily complete your family tree.

The best sources of Quebec church and civil records

Quebec birth records and baptisms – The best free and paid sources

Quebec marriage records – The best free and paid sources

Quebec death records and burials – The best online sources

Obituaries and Headstones

Obituary notices and tombstones are among the most commonly used documents in genealogy, as they contain a wealth of information about the individuals and cover periods that are not available through other types of documents.

How obituaries and headstones help you grow your family tree

Although civil and religious records are essential to your research, they are rarely available for the modern period. Indeed, for privacy reasons, it can be very difficult or even impossible to find recent records, which complicates the task of filling in the contemporary part of your family tree.

This problem does not exist for headstones and obituaries. In the case of headstones, they can be visited and catalogued in local cemeteries. As for obituaries, they are published daily in newspapers and on the Internet. Therefore, many collections covering the contemporary period are available to genealogists.

It should also be noted that obituaries and headstones often mention family members of the deceased, which is crucial to allow you to bridge the generations in your family tree.

The best sources of obituaries and headstones in Quebec

The Obituary section on Généalogie Québec contains nearly 5 million obituaries, memorial cards and headstones from Quebec and Ontario.

There are also many sites dedicated to the publication of obituaries online. These sites are indexed by search engines such as Google and Bing, which makes finding an obituary on the Internet very simple.

Generally, all you have to do is enter the name of the deceased into your favorite search engine and browse the first few results. However, if the name is very common, it may be necessary to add terms such as “obituary” or “death notice” to your search. If an obituary is present on one of these sites, you will find it among the first results of your search.

Censuses

Censuses are important sources for genealogy because they provide information about a family’s members and where they lived at a specific time.

How censuses help you grow your family tree

Censuses can help you identify a person’s family members, including children, spouses and parents. By comparing censuses from different years, you can also track changes in family composition.

In addition, they allow you to confirm information found in other sources, such as religious or civil records. For example, you can confirm dates of birth, places of residence, occupations and names of family members.

Finally, census records can provide you with details about the daily lives of the family members you are researching, such as their occupations or education levels. This information can help to reconstruct the lives of your ancestors beyond names and dates and to flesh out your family tree.

The best sources of censuses in Quebec

On Genealogy Quebec, you will find the Quebec censuses for the years 1881 and 1901, and the Ontario census for the year 1881. These contain more than 5 million individuals.

The Library and Archives Canada site allows you to browse through many censuses of Quebec and Canada.

Quebec Women Farmers’ Circles and their relationship with feminism

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A couple of weeks ago, as I was going through Genealogy Quebec’s databases, I found a folder in the Raymond-Gingras fund named ”Cercle de Fermières” (Women Farmers’ Circle).

The little story of Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, written by the Women Farmers’ Circle of the town. Source : Genealogy Quebec, Raymond-Gingras Fund.

Inside, I found a series of photographs of a short text produced by a Women Farmers’ Circle, which tells the story of Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, a small municipality located in Chaudière-Appalaches. I was curious. Women Farmers’ Circles… I remembered seeing this name somewhere. I knew it was a women’s association who did crafts. Not much more. Intrigued, I did more research.

What are Quebec Women Farmers’ Circles ?

In fact, Women Farmers’ Circles are not only a women’s association, but the first women’s association in Quebec ! They were founded in 1915 (a bit ironically) by a man, Alphonse Désilets, an agronomist who defended “the principle of rural associations to resolve the crisis of the modern world”1 (Cohen, 1990 : 28). The members of the association were, as its name indicates, farmers, and they came together in the Circles mainly to help each other in their various tasks and to better meet the needs of their families. They ran cooperative gardens, helped each other make clothes for the family, all sorts of things which helped improve their quality of life. The groups were then under the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture, in concert with the Church.

From 1940, the Circles progressively gained autonomy, until they no longer depended on the Church or the State. As Quebec urbanized, there were fewer and fewer farmers among the members, but the group chose to keep its name. Despite the evolution of society, we can observe a certain continuity in the activities of the Circles : members are still doing crafts, knitting, weaving and cooking. They consider themselves guardians of the craft and culinary heritage (Beaudoin et Joncas, 2021 : 46) and transmit their knowledge to younger members or the larger community. The Circles are also an important space of sociability for the women who participate and they help break isolation, among retired women for example. Women Farmers’ Circles finally have a political function, helping their members stay informed as citizens, trying to influence government policies, but also by maintaining links with various organizations (such as the Associated Country Women of the World, the Coalition for Gun Control, Canadian Breast Cancer Network, etc.) (Lagarde, 2015 : 5).

The Women Farmers’ Circles greatly contribute to the transmission of artisanal knowledge within Quebec society. Here, a child learns to use a loom during a workshop given by Alma’s Women Farmers’ Circle. Source : Wikimedia Commons.

Women Farmers’ Circles and feminism

Even though they are a women’s association, now run by and for women, Quebec Women Farmers’ Circles do not impose themselves, at first glance, as feminist groups. Indeed, the Circles have spoken out against women’s right to vote and against the right to abortion. Their positions evolved over time, but the Circles are still promoting the roles traditionally attributed to women, such as caring for the family and domestic work. This posture further distances them from feminist demands, which often link emancipation and the possibility for women to break out of stereotypes and gender roles if they wish to do so.

Nevertheless, in my opinion, it would be disproportionate to completely exclude them from the history of feminism in Quebec. Indeed, the Circles worked hard to improve the living conditions of women and have been a driving force for promoting the activities typically practiced by women, in particular by promoting the culinary and artisanal achievements of their members. They are also a space in which the ethics of care2 can be lived and practiced. Indeed, the Women Farmers’ Circles were created at first to to promote mutual aid between members, but beyond this mission, the Circles also take care of their wider communities, for example through the organization of community meals, volunteering and partnerships with charities or their influence on public policy3. Above all, although the Circles promote the traditional roles that women occupy in the private sphere, they were, and in some respects may still be today, a public space that women can fully inhabit, where they can express themselves, do organizational work, and even do politics4, in short, where they can learn typical male work but do it in their own way.

Women Farmers’ Circles therefore occupy a very particular position in our history and are victims of a double erasing : we don’t talk about them much when we do the history of Quebec, because we don’t talk much about women in general; but we also speak little about them when we construct a history of women from a feminist perspective, since their positions deviated (and still deviate, in certain respects) from those taken by the feminist movement. It’s nevertheless impossible to deny the role the Circles played, both globally in the history of Quebec society and more specifically in the history of women in Quebec. They were one of the first drivers of women’s empowerment and affirmation, encouraging them to leave the private and family sphere (Cohen, 1990: 263). The Circles also participated fully in the development of the national project. Indeed, through their requests made to the State and their rejection of the influence of the clergy on their organization, they participated in the establishment of two central pillars to the development of Quebec: the development of a modern and protective State and the deconfessionalization of society (Cohen, 1990: 263).

Like any organization, it is of course best not to idealize the Women Farmers’ Circles and to underline their limits, particularly in terms of feminist positioning. However, it also seems essential to make their contribution to the history of women and Quebec society visible.

To learn more about Quebec Women Farmers’ Circles, I invite you to read Yolande Cohen’s book Femmes de Parole : l’histoire des Cercles de Fermières du Québec (1990) (although as far as I know, it’s only available in French) or to watch the documentary All That We Make, directed by Annie Saint-Pierre (2013).


1  This quote was translated from French by the author of this article.

2  Ethics of care are based in the maintenance of human relationships as well as in the interdependence of individuals. Care aims to ‘’maintain, continue, and repair our ‘world’ so that we can live in it as well as possible. That world includes our bodies, our selves, and our environment, all of which we seek to interweave in a complex, life-sustaining web’’ (Fisher and Tronto, 1990 : 40). For more details, you can read my article about genealogy and care here. It’s also important to note that these ethics can be linked to the christian values of the organization. 

3  They are notably at the origin of programs for the distribution of milk cartons in schools (Radio-Canada, 2015).

4 I’m thinking in particular of the women who are involved in the organization of the Circles and who are democratically elected as presidents, whether at regional or national level.

Bibliography

Beaudoin, Christiane and Joncas, Gisèle. « Le Cercle de Fermières de Gaspé : 50 ans par et pour les femmes ». Magazine Gaspésie, vol.57, no.3 (199), p.46-48.

Cohen, Yolande (1990). Femmes de parole : l’histoire des Cercles de Fermières du Québec 1915-1990. Montréal : Le Jour Éditeur, 315 pages.

Lagarde, Louise (2015). « Les Cercles de Fermières du Québec : 100 ans de savoir à partager ». Histoire Québec, vol.20, no.3, p.5-9.

Radio-Canada (2015). « Les Cercles de Fermières », segment of the show L’épicerie, 13:37 – 18:10. Consulted February 13th 2023 : https://curio.ca/fr/catalog/533431a2-2c93-4945-b476-f87009fc0158

Saint-Pierre, Annie (2013). All That We Make, documentary.

Fisher, Berenice and Tronto, Joan. (1990). ”Towards a Feminist Theory of Care”. In Circles of care, Abel, E. and Nelson, M. (ed.). New York : State University of New York Press, p.36-54.

Drouin Collection rescanning on Genealogy Quebec

135,000 images from the registers of 158 Catholic and Protestant parishes in Quebec have been rescanned on Genealogy Quebec, to improve their quality and clarity.

Over a million images from the Drouin collection have been rescanned and made available on the website over the past few years.

The resolution of these new images is two to three times higher than that of the previous copy, which ensures superior clarity.

Browse all of Quebec’s parish registers as well as millions of historical documents by subscribing to Genealogy Quebec today!

The Drouin Collection Records

The Drouin Collection Records are a collection 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, from the parish’s foundation up to the 1940s and sometimes 1960s.

You can browse the Drouin collection with a subscription to Genealogy Quebec at this address.

The LAFRANCE, also available to Genealogy Quebec subscribers, is a search engine allowing you to explore these parish registers by searching for the individual(s) mentioned in them.

You can browse the LAFRANCE at this address.

List of rescanned parishes

Here is the list of the parishes that have been rescanned in this update.

Arthabaska (Missions)Caughnawaga (United Church)Delson (United Church)
DorionDrummondville (St-Frédéric)Durham-Sud (St-Fulgence)
East BroughtonFrampton (St-Édouard)Greenfield Park (United Church)
Hampstead (United Church)Hudson (United Church)Lac-Etchemin
Lachine (Sœurs Ste-Anne)Lachine (United Church Grace)Lachine (United Church Saint Andrew)
Lac-Mégantic (Ste-Agnès)Lambton (St-Vital)Longueuil (United Church Gardenville)
McMasterville (United Church)Montréal (Aide à la Femme)Montréal (Anglican, Christ Church)
Montréal (Assistance Maternelle)Montréal (Basilique Notre-Dame)Montréal (Cimetière de l’Est)
Montréal (Congrégation Notre-Dame)Montréal (Couvent des Franciscains)Montréal (Crèche de la Miséricorde & Hospice de la Maternité)
Montréal (Holy Cross)Montréal (Hôpital Notre-Dame)Montréal (Hôpital Ste-Justine)
Montréal (Hôpital Ste-Justine)Montréal (Hôpital St-Luc)Montréal (Longue-Pointe, St-François-d’Assise)
Montréal (Monastère des Carmélites)Montréal (Monastère du Bon-Pasteur)Montréal (Saint Anthony of Padua)
Montréal (St-Bernard)Montréal (St-Charles)Montréal (Ste-Jeanne-d’Arc)
Montréal (Ste-Marguerite-Marie)Montréal (Ste-Thérèse-de-l’Enfant-Jésus)Montréal (St-Jean-Baptiste-Vianney)
Montréal (St-Louis-de-Gonzague)Montréal (St-Sauveur)Montréal (Très-Ste-Trinité)
Montréal (United Church All Nation)Montréal (United Church Calvary)Montréal (United Church Calvin Westminster)
Montréal (United Church Centenary)Montréal (United Church Central)Montréal (United Church Chalmers)
Montréal (United Church Chinese Montreal)Montréal (United Church City Mission)Montréal (United Church Côte-des-Neiges)
Montréal (United Church Crystal Springs)Montréal (United Church Dominion Douglas)Montréal (United Church Emmanuel)
Montréal (United Church Erskine & American)Montréal (United Church French Saint John)Montréal (United Church French Sauveur)
Montréal (United Church French Summerlea)Montréal (United Church Hospital Mission)Montréal (United Church Hungarian)
Montréal (United Church Inspector Mission)Montréal (United Church Italian of the Redeemer)Montréal (United Church La Croix)
Montréal (United Church Livingstone)Montréal (United Church Main Memorial)Montréal (United Church Mount Royal)
Montréal (United Church Mountain Street)Montréal (United Church North End)Montréal (United Church Norwood)
Montréal (United Church Port de Montréal)Montréal (United Church Private Chapel)Montréal (United Church Rockfield)
Montréal (United Church Rosedale)Montréal (United Church Saint Columba House)Montréal (United Church Saint Cuthbert)
Montréal (United Church Saint Georges)Montréal (United Church Saint Giles)Montréal (United Church Saint Giles)
Montréal (United Church Saint James)Montréal (United Church Saint Luke)Montréal (United Church Saint Mark)
Montréal (United Church Shaw Memorial)Montréal (United Church Westminster Central)Montréal, Rosemont (United Church Central)
Montréal, Rosemont (United Church First)Montréal-Est (St-Octave)Montréal-Est (United Church)
Montréal-Nord (Ste-Gertrude)Montréal-Nord (St-Vital)Montréal-Sud (United Church)
Montréal-West (United Church)Mont-Royal (United Church First)Pointe-aux-Trembles (Crèche St-François-d’Assise)
Pointe-aux-Trembles (Filles Consolatrices du Divin Cœur)Pointe-aux-Trembles (Pères Capucins)Pointe-aux-Trembles (United Church, Française Évangélique)
Pointe-Claire (Ste-Jeanne-de-Chantal)Pointe-Claire (United Church, Lilly Memorial)Pointe-Fortune (United Church)
Princeville (St-Eusèbe-de-Stanfold)RichardvilleRigaud (Jardin de l’Enfance)
St-Albert-de-WarwickSt-AlfredStandon (St-Léon)
St-AnselmeSt-BenjaminSt-Benoit-Labre
St-Cœur-de-Marie (Mégantic)St-Côme-KennebecSt-Cyprien (Dorchester)
St-Cyrille-de-WendoverSte-Anne-de-Bellevue (United Church Union)Ste-Claire (Dorchester)
Ste-Clotilde (Dorchester)Ste-Clotilde-de-HortonSt-Edmond-de-Grantham
Ste-Élisabeth-de-WarwickSte-Hélène-de-ChesterSte-Jeanne-d’Arc (Drummond)
St-Elzéar-de-LinièreSt-Éphrem-de-TringSte-Séraphine
Ste-Sophie (Ste-Sophie-d’Halifax)St-Eugène-de-GranthamSt-Évariste-de-Forsyth
St-Ferdinand (St-Ferdinand-d’Halifax)St-Frédéric (Beauce)St-Germain-de-Grantham
St-Hubert (St-Jean-Eudes)St-Jean-Baptiste-Marie-VianneySt-Lambert (Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur)
St-Lambert (United Church)St-Laurent (United Church Saint Andrew)St-Léonard (St-Léonard-de-Port-Maurice)
St-LucienSt-Majorique-de-GranthamSt-Nicéphore
St-Norbert-d’ArthabaskaSt-Paul-de-ChesterSt-Pierre-Baptiste
St-Rémi-de-TingwickSt-RosaireSts-Anges
St-ValèreThetford Mines (St-Alphonse)Thetford Mines (St-Maurice)
Tingwick (St-Patrice)Vallée-JonctionVictoriaville (Ste-Victoire)
Ville-Émard (St-Jean-de-Matha)Warwick (St-Médard)Westmount (Ascension of Our Lord)
Westmount (United Church Saint Andrew)Wickham 

Genealogically yours,

The Drouin team

Over 2.8 million deaths added to the LAFRANCE on Genealogy Quebec

2,802,719 deaths from the Deaths 1926-1997 collection have been imported into the LAFRANCE, one of 15 tools available to Genealogy Quebec subscribers.

These deaths cover all of Quebec from 1926 to 1997.

Death of James Gordon Canning on March 18, 1943. As the source documents for the records of this collection do not contain information regarding the place of death of the individual, it is their place of residence that is displayed at the top of the certificate.

Prior to being imported into the LAFRANCE, these records were subjected to a verification process, and hundreds of thousands of corrections were applied to the name and location fields.

Trace your ancestors with the millions of historical documents available on Genealogy Quebec starting today!

Name standardisation and the resemblance function

Our main motivation for importing these records into the LAFRANCE is its superior search engine, which is equipped with name standardisation and the resemblance function.

When searching in the LAFRANCE, name standardisation ensures that a name is associated with all of its variants. 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 all of its variations, such as Gautier, Gaulthier, Gotier, etc. Thus, it is not necessary to search for each variant of a name individually when using the LAFRANCE, as was the case when using the Deaths 1926-1997 tool.

In addition to name standardisation, the LAFRANCE is equipped with the resemblance function, which allows searching for a name and any other name that resembles it with a single query. The resemblance function differs from name standardisation as it not only includes all of the variants of a name, but also all of the names that are similar to it in terms of pronunciation and spelling. For example, with the resemblance function activated, a search for Gauthier, which will include all of the variants listed earlier, will also include the names Gonthier, Vauthier, Gouthier, Authier as well as their numerous variations.

Centralization

An obvious benefit of adding these records to the LAFRANCE is the centralization of the website’s documents within a single database. This allows our subscribers to carry out more efficient and rapid searches on the site, without having to jump around between collections.

In addition to the records added today, the LAFRANCE contains:

  • ALL of Quebec’s Catholic marriages from 1621 to 1918
  • ALL of Quebec’s Catholic baptisms from 1621 to 1861
  • ALL of Quebec’s Catholic burials from 1621 to 1861
  • ALL of Quebec’s Protestant marriages from 1760 to 1849
  • 2,580,000 Quebec civil marriages from 1926 to today
  • 1,450,000 Quebec Catholic marriages from 1919 to today
  • 80,000 Quebec civil marriages from 1969 to today
  • 140,000 Ontario marriages from 1850 to today
  • 38,000 marriages from the United States
  • 3,000 Quebec Protestant marriages from 1850 to 1941
  • 68,000 miscellaneous baptisms and burials from 1862 to 2019

Genealogically yours,

The Drouin team

Connolly File update: 29,549 new BMD records on Genealogy Quebec

An update has been applied to the Connolly File, one of the 15 tools available to Genealogy Quebec subscribers.

17,095 births, 4514 marriages and 7978 deaths from Quebec and the United States were added through this update.

What is the Connolly File?

The Connolly File is an index of births, marriages and deaths from Quebec and French-speaking parts of the United States and Canada covering a period spanning from 1621 to today. It is developed and maintained by the Société de généalogie des Cantons-de-l’Est.
The tool contains over 6,868,849 birth, marriage and death records.

You may browse the Connolly File with a subscription to Genealogy Quebec at this address.

You can trace your ancestors with the Connolly File as well as tens of millions of other documents by subscribing to Genealogy Quebec today!

Update details

Here is a more detailed overview of the update.

Granby Notre-Dame 
M: 1844-1940: 3261 records

Ste-Cécile de Frontenac
B: 1889-1940: 2561 records
M: 1889-1940: 402 records
D: 1889-1940: 1022 records

St-Germain-de-Grantham
B: 1857-1940: 7496 records
M: 1857-1940: 1268 records
D: 1857-1940: 3387 records

St-Luc, Grosse-Ile, Montmagny
B: 1834-1936: 403 records
M: 1834-1936: 42 records
D: 1834-1936: 835 records

Church of England, Grosse-Ile, Montmagny
B: 1840-1922: 127 records
M: 1840-1922: 16 records
D: 1840-1922: 487 records

As well as over 12,500 records from the United-States.

Genealogically yours,

The Drouin team