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Québec Research Outline |
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Table of Contents
Québec Search Strategies
Records At The Family History Library
The Family History Library Catalog
Archives And Libraries
Biography
Business Records And Commerce
Cemeteries
Census
Church Records
Court Records
Directories
Emigration And Immigration
Gazetteers
Genealogy
Historical Geography
History
Land And Property
Language And Languages
Military Records
Names, Personal
Native Races
Naturalization And Citizenship
Newspapers
Notarial Records
Periodicals
Probate Records
Societies
Vital Records
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions
Loiselle Marriage Index
Appendix A
The Rivest Marriage Index
Organization Of The Index
How To Use The Index
Names And Film Numbers
Tanguay's Genealogical Dictionary
Information In The Dictionary
Organization Of The Dictionary
Common Terms And Abbreviations
Names And Film Numbers
How To Read An Entry
Finding An Immigrant Ancestor
Miscellaneous Situations
Other Information In The Dictionary
COURT RECORDS Court records are seldom used in Québec genealogical research. However, there are other legal records that are useful. Notarial records include wills Since the 1760s, criminal law
Directories are alphabetical lists of heads of households and addresses. Some directories also give the wife's name and the family's address. Directories can help you locate a family, especially when the family does not appear in the censuses. Many city and county directories from the 1840s to the present are available. For example, the Family History Library has directories for:
Montréal
City of Québec
The Family History Library also has:
Pre-1900 Canadian Directories = La Collection de répertoires d'avant 1900. Ottawa, Ont.: Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions, 1988. (On 4,214 FHL fiche; computer number 758652. Not available at Family History Centers.) The set includes directories for a number of cities and counties in the province of Québec.
In 1760, Québec had 65,000 inhabitants. Most were of French origin. By 1791, the population had increased to 160,000 because of a high birthrate and the arrival of about 20,000 English-speaking people. American Loyalists In the early twentieth century, the largest groups of immigrants were the British, eastern Europeans and Italians. Recently immigrants have arrived from Portugal, Haiti, Greece, and various southeast Asian countries. Many have settled in Montréal.
French Immigrants. For information about early French immigrants to Québec, see the sources listed in the “Biography," “Genealogy,” and “Church Records” sections of this outline.
There are only scattered immigration records for other groups before 1865.
American Loyalists The Loyalists of the Eastern Townships of Québec. Stanbridge East, Qué.: Sir John Johnson Centennial Branch U.E.L., 1984. (FHL book 971.4 H2Le; computer number 334890.) May show place of origin, arrival date, military unit, residences, land purchases, and sources. This is indexed in:
Reisinger, Joy. Index to Loyalists of the Eastern Townships. [Sparta, Wis.]: Joy Reisinger, 198-?. (FHL book 971.4 H2Le index; computer number 402171.)
Scottish Immigrants. Beginning in 1815, immigration from the British Isles was encouraged. One source for Scottish immigrants who settled in the Eastern Townships Lawson, Bill. A Register of Emigrant Families from the Western Isles of Scotland to the Eastern Townships of Québec, Canada. Eaton Corner, Qué.: Compton County Historical Museum Society, 1988. (FHL book 971.4 D2L; computer number 516762.)
Passenger lists Mitchell, Brian, ed. Irish Passenger Lists 1847–1871: Lists of Passengers from Londonderry to America on Ships of the J. & J. Cooke Line and the McCorkell Line. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1988. (FHL book 973 W3mi; computer number 476706.)
Names of early Québec immigrants from other published lists have been indexed in:
Filby, P. William. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 3 vols. plus annual supplements Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research, 1981–. (FHL book 973 W32p; some volumes on FHL film beginning with film 1597960 items 4–6; computer number 75625.)
More than 40,000 Québec residents moved to the United States between 1840 and 1850. Another 500,000 moved to the United States between 1850 and 1900. The U.S. naturalization records include valuable information on many of them. If your ancestor left before 1900 and settled in the northeastern United States, look in:
United States, Immigration and Naturalization Service. Index to New England Naturalization Petitions, 1791–1906. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1983. (FHL film 1429671–787; computer number 305194.)
Other U.S. naturalization records are discussed in the United States Research Outline (30972).
The United States kept records of people crossing the border from Canada to the United States. These records are called border crossing lists, passenger lists, or manifests. There are two kinds of manifests:
In 1895, Canadian shipping companies agreed to make manifests of passengers traveling to the United States. The Canadian government allowed U.S. immigration officials to inspect those passengers while they were still in Canada. The U.S. immigration officials also inspected train passengers traveling from Canada to the United States. The U.S. officials worked at Canadian seaports and major cities like Québec and Winnipeg. Many passengers from Québec went to New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, or Maine. The manifests from every seaport and emigration station in Canada were sent to St. Albans, Vermont.
The Family History Library has copies of both kinds of manifests. Because the manifests were sent to St. Albans, Vermont, they are called, St. Albans District Manifest Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory. Despite the name, the manifests are actually from seaports and railroad stations all over Canada and the northern United States, not just Vermont.
Border Crossing Manifests
Border Crossing Indexes
Manifests for ships coming to the city of Québec and other major Canadian ports after 1865 are described in the “Emigration and Immigration” section of the the Canada Research Outline (34545). The "Emigration and Immigration" section of the France Research Outline (34715) and the United States Research Outline (30972)) list important sources of information about migrating people. These sources include many reference to people who either left or settled in Québec. The Tracing Immigrant Origins Research Outline (34111) introduces the principles of research, search strategies, and additional record types you can use to identify an immigrant ancestor's original hometown.
Records of ethnic groups in Québec are listed in the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under QUEBEC - MINORITIES. Information about ethnic emigrants from Québec is available in many books written about other nations, provinces, or states. These books are listed in the Subject Search under headings such as FRENCH-CANADIANS - MAINE.
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, deeds, and marriage contracts that often give family information. They are filed in the judicial archives. See the “Notarial Records” section of this outline and the “Court Records” and “Notarial Records” sections of the Canada Research Outline (34545).
in Québec has been based on the English common law. The civil law is based on French law. Many revisions have been made to the old coûtume de Paris (Custom of Paris), the code of laws in effect during years of French government. Some transcriptions of notable cases during the French régime are useful. They have been published in some genealogical periodicals (see the “Periodicals” section of this outline).
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DIRECTORIES
1866–1867
FHL film 928171 item 1; computer number 225216
1888–1889
FHL film 934815; computer number 225216
1915–1916
FHL film 928172 items 1–2; computer number 225216
1877
FHL film 928003 item 2; computer number 114298. Includes surrounding cities and counties.
1885
FHL film 1698149 item 10; computer number 471882
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EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION
were soon joined by Scottish, English, and Irish immigrants. By the mid-1800s, about 25% of the population was of British origin. This has decreased to about 10% today. In 1994, French was the native language of about 81% of Québec's seven million inhabitants.
Immigrants
. Because of the American Revolution, many Loyalists settled in Canada. An example of a source for American Loyalists who arrived before 1800 is:
between 1838 and 1890 is:
before 1865 for the province of Québec are extremely scarce. A few passenger lists of families from the counties of Donegal, Derry, and Tyrone in Ireland who sailed from Derry to Québec are included in:
Emigrant Naturalizations
Canadian Border Crossing Records
. Manifests may include information about each person's name, port or station of entry, date of entry, literacy, last residence, previous visits to the United States, and birthplace. The manifests are reproduced in two series:
Traditional passenger lists on U.S. immigration forms.
Monthly lists of passengers crossing the border on trains. These lists are divided by month. In each month, the records are grouped by railroad station. (The stations are listed in alphabetical order.) Under the station, the passengers are grouped by railroad company.
. In many cases, index cards were the only records kept of the crossings. These cards are indexed in four publications:
The Soundex is a surname index based on the way a name sounds rather than how it is spelled. Names like Smith and Smyth are filed together.
Other Emigration and Immigration Guides
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Version of Data: 6/9/2001]