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How to Conduct your French Canadian Genealogy Research (Part 2)

17
Apr

With plenty of resources for French Canadian genealogy research, you should have a great start in tracing your roots. (Read part one.) Relax and take your time sorting through the various sites. Learn about the history of Québec. How exciting it will be to get a glimpse of the life of those who came before you.

Research the area where your ancestors lived. You will find that the more research you do, the better you become at it. Eventually you will be able to recognize the different types of records, locate and recognize phrases and words, and really examine a record to get the necessary vital information you are seeking. You will have the gratification of knowing you can do this!

ARCHIVES & LIBRARIES TO HELP YOUR FRENCH CANADIAN GENEALOGY RESEARCH:
BOOKS, DICTIONNAIRES, GENEALOGIES, & CHURCH RECORDS (see also MARRIAGES)
  • Les grandes familles du Québec by Louis-Guy Lemieux (Septentrion): This is thirty chronicles published by the journalist Louis-Guy Lemieux in Le Soleil between 2003 and 2005. The text addresses the most common surnames in the regions of Québec, Chaudière-Appalaches, Côte-Nord, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Charlevoix, and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. Several aspects are studied, including the evolution of the names and the history of the families and their descendants.
  • Retracez vos ancêtres: guide pratique de généalogie by Marcel Fournier: This is a book that’s intended as a guide to accompany people in their genealogical searches for their ancestors, more specifically in Québec, North America, and Europe. The book presents working methods, tools, and sources to consult to make the search successful.
  • Votre nom et son histoire: les noms de famille au Québec by Roland Jacob: In Québec, family names are quite varied, as are their respective etymologies. Some are evolved forms of the names of ancestors, while others come from the names of the cities and villages of origin (most often located in France). It is a very interesting tool for better understanding the origin of names and the different possible interpretations that make it possible to trace their evolution. FHL US/CAN Book 971.4 D4jr.
  • Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec: des origines à 1730 by René Jetté: This is an extremely detailed book that identifies the 16,400 families who lived in Québec between the early days of colonization and 1730. The book totals over 1200 pages and is presented in the form of a dictionary. FHL US/CAN Reference, 971.4 D2jr.
  • Généalogie du Québec et d’Amérique française (https://tinyurl.com/t2t7ydd): The site is free, with sources, and is easy to find maternal and paternal lines of an individual. Before 1800 it is very complete, but less so afterward.
  • PRDH-IDH. (https://www.prdh-igd.com/en/): The PRDH database includes certificates of various types, dated from 1621 to 1849. The vast majority correspond to the systematic extracting of information from records of baptisms, marriages, and burials from the parishes, missions, and Catholic institutions in Quebec that kept registers before 1850. They are also part of the data the 26,000 Protestant marriages recorded before 1850.
  • PROTESTANT CHURCH RECORDS
    • Québec Non-Catholic Parish Registers. (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1929561): Registers of baptisms, marriages, deaths, and other records from various non-Catholic denominations and parishes.
    • A checklist of Registers of Protestant and Jewish Congregations in Québec by R. Neil Broadhurst: FHL US/CAN Book 971.4 K23br.
FRENCH CANADIAN CENSUS
FRENCH CANADIAN CIVIL REGISTRATION

Prior to 1994, the province required the churches to send copies to the government archives. They are open to anyone. For records after 1900, only the person named in the record or that person’s legal representative can gain access to them.

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (https://www.banq.qc.ca/accueil/): This is where you can find the contact information for each of the nine regional offices.

FRENCH CANADIAN COMMUNITY HELP

FamilySearch & Facebook Groups—FamilySearch.org>Search>Research Wiki>Quebec, Canada Genealogy>Click on the tab Ask the Community>Click C for Canada. Here are three different groups that you can join where you can share resources, offer training and tips, and get answers from others:

  • Quebec (a FamilySearch Community)
  • Canada Genealogy Research (a Facebook Group)
  • Quebec family History Society (Misc. Group/Page)
LAND
  • Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. (https://tinyurl.com/s7hrm3m): Here are a few available online databases:
  • Land Grants of Western Canada, (1870-1930)
  • Land Petitions of Lower Canada, (1764-1841)
  • Land Petitions of Upper Canada, (1763-1865)
FRENCH CANADIAN LANGUAGE HELPS
MARRIAGE (see also BOOKS, DICTIONNAIRES, GENEALOGIES, & CHURCH RECORDS)
  • The Loiselle Québec Marriage (https://tinyurl.com/szyxj4o): Lists more than a million marriages. It includes most of the marriages in all of Québec, from its founding into the 1900s. It can be accessed at the Family History Library and its network Family History Centers.
  • The Rivest Marriage Index. (https://tinyurl.com/s56gjyj): The index includes over 230,000 marriages. It covers Catholic marriages from 1670 to 1972. It can be accessed at the Family History Library and its network Family History Centers.
  • Marriages and Deaths, 1926-1997. (https://tinyurl.com/wwowpjq): This is a detailed index of marriage and death from recorded in Québec, based on the original certificates produced by the Church and contain all religious denominations. The index is accessible with a subscription through Généalogy Québec and available in the Drouin Collection (previously listed).
MISCELLANEOUS WEBSITES THAT WILL HELP YOUR FRENCH CANADIAN GENEALOGY RESEARCH:
  • (https://www.mesaieux.com/defaultAN.asp): This site has a variety of genealogy resources.
  • FRANCOGENE. (http://francogene.com/genealogy/): This site has a variety of genealogy resources.
  • (https://originis.ca/): This site has a lot of genealogical information: histories of parishes, baptisms, marriages, and burials, censuses, and biography of the clergy. 
  • Généalogie Québec. (https://www.genealogiequebec.com/): Généalogie Québec requires a subscription. Here are some of the databases it houses:
  • It has BMD, all the Catholic marriages from Quebec, 1621-1916.
  • Obituaries (includes death cards and tombstones)
  • Marriages and deaths 1926-1997
  • It is an index of Catholic and Protestant baptism, marriage and burial records, most of which are from the province of Quebec.
NOTARIAL RECORDS
PARISHES 
  • PRDH-IGD. (https://tinyurl.com/t29gb6l): This lists the parishes: Parish registers in Québec, the names of the parishes, annual number of certificates per parish and map.
QUÉBEC RESEARCH & LANGUAGE HELPS
  • FamilySearch Learning Center. (familysearch.org>Help>Learning Center>France>Lessons) Here you will find lessons/videos for Québec research.
  • FamilySearch Wiki. (familysearch.org): This site is excellent. It covers record types, Québec background, immigration, guides to reading French and Latin, research tutorials, as well as online resources. It also has a clickable map of Québec.
TRANSLATION
  • Google Translate. (translate.google.com)
  • (wordreference.com)
  • (glosbe.com)

 

Our professional genealogy researchers at Price Genealogy are available to assist you with your French Canadian genealogy research. Please visit our website at www.pricegen.com. We would love to verify or extend your Quebecois lines.

Stacy

Image: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mountain_and_tundra_landscape_in_Ivvavik_National_Park,_YT.jpg