Canada, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
Priests maintained parish registers from 1621, when the French settled Quebec, to the present.

FamilySearch.org contains parish records from 1621-1900 not indexed. For later years you need to use ancestry.com - the Drouin Collection (indexed).

Record Description
The great majority of registers have been well preserved by both Church and state institutions. A few have been destroyed by fire. Because the registers were made in duplicate, a copy may exist even if one was destroyed. Some of the information in the registers has been published.

The earliest, covering events through 1760 and including information from records that no longer exist, is Cyprien Tanguay's Dictionnaire généalogique des familles canadiennes (Genealogical Dictionary of French Canadian Families). A supplement volume is J. Arthur Leboeuf’s “Complément au Dictionnaire Tanguay” (“Supplement to Tanguay’s Dictionary”), which is still in print.

Record Content
Baptismal entries contain:


 * Names of child, parents, and godparents
 * Names of parents (women are listed by maiden name)
 * Relationship of the godparents to the parents
 * Date of birth and baptism (look for ne d'heir, jour precedent, avant veille or au jour d'hui)
 * Parish of baptism and residence
 * Later records include the parents’ marriage date and place

Marriage entries contain:


 * Names of the bride, groom, parents of each, and witnesses (women are listed by maiden name)
 * Relationship of the witnesses to the parents
 * Marriage date
 * Marriage place, usually in the brides parish (also lists where groom is from.)
 * List whether parents are living (French words: feu male, feue female, decede deceased)
 * Later records include the parents’ marriage place, if different from the marriage place of the couple

Burial entries contain: 


 * Names of the deceased and spouse (women are listed by maiden name)
 * Parents, usually listed if the deceased is an unmarried child
 * Date of death and burial
 * Parish of death and burial
 * The death is recorded in the parish where the funeral took place

Other records: Diocesan archives (File 67CD1) 


 * A little-known collection is available under Québec City/Québec/1659-1848 (520 images).
 * Register of confirmations by the bishops of Quebec, (images 6 - 179)
 * Register of abjurations (recantations) from December 8, 1662 through May 8, 1757 (images 181 - 259)
 * Register of baptisms, marriages, and burials for Beaubassin, in Acadia, February 2, 1680 through May 20, 1686 (images 262 - 274)
 * Register of baptisms, marriages, and burials performed by the missionaries serving to the north of Baie des Chaleurs (the Gaspé coast), from February 2, 1680 through January 23, 1757 (images 276 - 313)
 * Register of baptisms, marriages, and burials performed at Peticodiac and Chipoudy by fathers Le Guerne and Le Loutre, from June 7, 1753 through April 13, 1755 (images 316 - 325)
 * Register of baptisms, marriages, and burials performed by the Jesuit missionary, Jean-Baptiste de la Brosse, who served the needs of Acadian refugees and Indians hiding in the woods, November 16, 1755 through March 19, 1756 (images 327 - 329)
 * Various notes, Index, and Transcription of the above acts by Charles PANET, attorney, dated March 1867 (images 330 - 372)
 * Register of baptisms, marriages, and burials performed at Iles de la Madeleine by father A. A. Bélanger, from July 2, 1840 through September 21, 1845 (images 373 - 393)
 * Registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials performed in the Saguenay missions, from December 6, 1770 through June 7, 1796 (images 394 - 520)

How to Use the Records
Roman Catholic parish registers are the most accurate and helpful of all the French Canadian genealogical sources for identifying individuals, parents, and spouses and for tracing ancestry as well as descent.

These records are not indexed - the individual parish registers are organized by years. Most of the collections will have an index either as a seperate register with dates that span many years or in the beginning or end of each collection you need to look before you search page by page.

Record History
Between 1679 and 1993, priests were required to make two copies of all baptisms, marriages, and burials. The second copy was sent to civil authorities, and these are found in civil archives. In 1796, churches were required to index their registers. Prior to 1800, about 50 given names were used for 70 percent of the children. Further, most French Canadians descend from a small group of immigrants, so the population shares only a few thousand family names.

Why the Record Was Created
1960 church registration of baptisms, marriages, and burials served as a means to register civilly and thereby provide legal proof of the life events.

Record Reliability
While the form and content of the entries vary somewhat, the general quality of the records is excellent.

Known Issues with This Collection
The Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1900 has several reported instances where parishes were placed inside the wrong town, or where parishes appear in more than one place, which makes searching the collection somewhat difficult. These are being gathered with the intention of reviewing the collection for a possible rework in the future.

(example: Ste. Marie de Beauce, years of 1808-1844, are located with St. Joseph de Beauce records)

Related Websites

 * Liste des paroisses du Québec
 * Genealogical Data Base

Related Wiki Articles
Quebec Church Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection
Quebec,Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1900." index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch,org: accessed 1 April 2011). entry for Rose Creven, buried 31 July 1866; citing Church Records, FHL microfilm 1,031,681; Eglise catholique, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Sources of Information for This Collection:
Registres paroissiaux, index and images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org); from Montréal, Québec. Eglise catholique. Church Records. FHL microfilm, citing le presbytère de la paroisse de Notre-Dame, Montréal, Québec. Family History Library Salt Lake City, Utah.