The Drouin Collection: Six Databases

THE DROUIN COLLECTION:

Drouin Collection 1621-1967 at Ancestry.ca (please note that the cutoff date is 1941; only a small percentage of entries go to 1967). This collection has over 15 million entries for French Canadian genealogical and vital records. Be sure to search for spelling variations of the ancestor's name.

This collection is divided into six databases: 1. Quebec Vital and Church Records, 1621-1967  2. Ontario French Catholic Church Records, 1747-1967, 3. Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records, 1695-1954, 4. Acadia French Catholic Church Records, 1670-1946, 5. Quebec Notarial Records, 1647-1942, and 6. Miscellaneous French Records, 1651-1941.

Following is the geographic coverage of these six databases:

1. Quebec Vital and Church Records, 1621-1967: This database includes all the church records for the province of Quebec, that is, for the Adventist, Anglican, Apostolic, Baptist, Christ Church, Christian Brethren, Christian Missionary Alliance, Church of Christ, Church of England, Church of Scotland, Congregartional, Episcopal, Evangelical, Free Church, Greek Orthodox, Holiness Movement, Jewish, Lutheran, Methodist, Romanian Orthodox, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Protestant, Russian Orthodox, Salvation Army, Unitarian, United Church, and Universalist denominations. The types of records include baptisms, marriages, and burials as well as confirmations, dispensations, censuses, statements of readmission to the church, and so on. They are written mainly in French, as well as English, Latin, and Italian.

2. Ontario French Catholic Church Records, 1747-1967: This database only contains the French-Canadian Catholic parish records in the province of Ontario. The types of records are the same as mentioned in #1, as well as the languages used.

3. Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records, 1695-1954: This database only contains the French Catholic parish records from the United States; including the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and Pennsylvania. The types of records and languages used are the same as mentioned in #1 above.

4. Acadia French Catholic Church Records, 1670-1946: This database only contains the French Catholic parish records from the old Acadia. In the 1600s and early 1700s, Acadia covered today's provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, as well as Prince Edward Island and part of Quebec (i.e. the Gaspé Peninsula). The types of records and languages used are the same as mentioned in #1 above. 5. Quebec Notarial Records, 1647-1942: This database does not contain the notarial records for the province of Quebec; it contains the repertories and some indexes, compiled by various notaries. So, this database is organized by the name of the notary. Please note that there are many types of notarial records (over 50 types); some types are marriage contracts, wills, deeds, inventories, Agreements and settlements, transfers of property or money, donations, legal documents (such as, pre-wills), and so on. Again, the language is written mainly in French, with some English (especially in the Eastern Townships and Montreal), Latin, or Italian.

6. Miscellaneous French Records, 1651-1941: This database only contains miscellaneous records, mainly from the province of Quebec (there are some in other parts of French Canada and the United States). The types of records include Topographic dictionaries, family genealogies/histories, journals, letters, manuscripts, registers of notaries, acts, and so on. Again, the language is written mainly in French, with some English (especially in the Eastern Townships and Montreal), Latin, or Italian.