Drouin Records Posted on Ancestry

Citadelle Et Fortifications, Quebec, ca. 1915-30) from Ancestry Historical Postcards CollectionIn the 1940s the Institut Généalogique Drouin began microfilming records pertaining to French Canadians throughout French Canada and America. Consequently, this filmed set of records has become known as the Drouin Collection. The entire Drouin Collection contains vital, notarial, and other miscellaneous records from Quebec, as well as French Catholic parish records from Ontario, Acadia, and the U.S. The majority of the records are written in French, but some are written in English, Latin, or Italian.

With cooperation and support from experts at the University of Montreal, Ancestry is in the process of indexing the collection. Currently, all of the images are accessible by browsing through time periods and locations. Ancestry will post the index and provide a French interface for improved searching as soon as they become available.

Source Information: Ancestry.com. Quebec Notarial Records (Drouin Collection), 1647-1942 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

Click through for descriptions and links to individual databases in this collection.

Quebec Notarial Records (Drouin Collection), 1647-1942
Notaries were required to provide two guides for locating their acts – the repertoire and the index. The repertoire was a catalog organized by date, the number of the act, and a short description of it. The index was a table organized by year and the first letter of the surname. In the index one could find the act number, the parties involved, and the type of notarial act.*

There are many kinds of notarial records. Some notarial acts include:

  • Marriage contracts
  • Wills
  • Deeds
  • Inventories
  • Agreements and settlements
  • Transfers of property or money
  • Donations
  • Legal documents

This database does not contain the actual notarial acts. Instead, it contains the repertories and in some cases, the indexes, compiled by the various notaries as explained above. Therefore, the records in this database are organized according to notary name.

Besides providing genealogical information (name, occupations, relationships, places of birth), notarial records can provide many details about the lives of the ancestors and show them as an active part of the community. Notarial records can also provide a picture of the social and economic world in which these people lived and worked. In spite of the inherent difficulties, notarial records are one of the richest sources of information for French-Canadian researchers.

Although the information available in the repertories and indexes won’t provide you the details of an actual notarial record, it will help you in locating the original act. Millions of notarial records are located in several regional archives in Canada. Some records may also be available on microfilm through the Family History Library.

Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954
This database only contains the French Catholic parish records from U.S. Most of the records in this collection include baptisms, marriages, and burials. However, several other types of church records are also included. These records may be confirmations, dispensations, censuses, indexes, statements of readmission to the church, etc. The majority of the records are written in French, but some are written in English, Latin, or Italian. This includes areas of:

  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • New York
  • Pennsylvania

Acadia French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1670-1946
This database only contains the French Catholic parish records from Acadia. Acadia covers the modern provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Most of the records in this collection include baptisms, marriages, and burials. However, several other types of church records are also included. These records may be confirmations, dispensations, censuses, indexes, statements of readmission to the church, etc. The majority of the records are written in French, but some are written in English, Latin, or Italian.

Quebec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967
While the entire Drouin Collection also includes records from French Catholic parishes in Ontario, Acadia, and the U.S., this database only contains church records from Quebec. The majority of the records in this database come from Catholic parishes. However, since all denominations were to send copies of their records to the courthouses, other churches whose records are contained in this database include: Adventist, Anglican, Apostolic, Baptist, Christ Church, Christian Brethren, Christian Missionary Alliance, Church of Christ, Church of England, Church of Scotland, Congregational,  Episcopal,  Evangelical,  Free Church, Greek Orthodox, Holiness Movement, Jewish,  Lutheran, Methodist, Orthodox Roumanian, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Protestant, Russian Orthodox, Salvation Army, Unitarian, United Church, and Universalist.
  
Most of the records in this collection include baptisms, marriages, and burials. However, several other types of church records are also included. These records may be confirmations, dispensations, censuses, statements of readmission to the church, etc. The majority of the records are written in French, but some are written in English, Latin, or Italian.

Ontario French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1747-1967
Most of the records in this collection include baptisms, marriages, and burials. However, several other types of church records are also included. These records may be confirmations, dispensations, censuses, indexes, statements of readmission to the church, etc.

Miscellaneous French Records (Drouin Collection), 1651-1941
This database contains miscellaneous records, most of which are from Quebec, with some from other parts of French Canada and America. The majority of the records are written in French, but some are written in English, Latin, or Italian. Some of the types of records contained in this database include:

  • Topographic dictionaries
  • Family genealogies/histories
  • Journals
  • Letters
  • Manuscripts
  • Registers of notaries
  • Acts
     

3 thoughts on “Drouin Records Posted on Ancestry

  1. The Drouin Records are a great way for me to try and validate my French Canadian ancestry, but I tried and do not understand how to do a search. I seem to be missing something even though I have years and place names. Can anyone advise me?

  2. Probably want to click on the link:
    Quebec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967
    if you are looking for Baptismals. marriages and death records from the Quebec parishes.
    On the next page scroll down until you find the letters of the alphabet.
    Click on the letter for the Church you wish to search.
    Next page click on the church from the list.
    Next page click on the year you wish to search.
    Most of the entries have the surnames in the margins next to the event and the priest also usually included an index of all names for that year on the last couple of pages of each book.

  3. The initial problem is in knowing the correct parish, since that is the way the records are organized – not by county or city. Many of the CanadaGenWeb sites will help you locate the parish if you know the residence location.

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