Gabriel Drouin — a French Canadian notary and genealogist — microfilmed registers kept by the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish congregations, which include the basic repertoire of baptisms, marriages, and deaths.
The Drouin Collection has 12 million records (3.6 million images), and you can access each of the records by using the search box on the website.
This is a fee-based site, although it is quite inexpensive if you wish access to only Canadian records.
The majority of the records will appear in French, although some are written in English, Latin, or Italian.
Quebec Vital Records (1621-1967)
Church registers in Quebec served as both civil and vital records, and a second copy of the records were sent to the appropriate courthouse. These records include baptisms, marriages, and burials. Be sure to check for other records such as confirmations, dispensations, censuses, and statements of readmission to the church.
The Institut Genealogique Drouin microfilmed the records during the 1940s.
This database only contains church records from Quebec, but it does contain the following denominations -
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 Romanian, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Protestant, Russian Orthodox, Salvation Army, Unitarian, United Church, and Universalist.
Quebec Notarial Records (1647-1942)
Although this source of records does not contain actual notarial acts, it does contain the names, occupations, relationships, and place of birth of people on wills, deeds, inventories, agreements and settlements, transfers of property and money, donations, and legal documents.
The actual notarial acts are located in various archival facilities throughout Canada, and some are available in local Family History Centres, or online at Acadian Catholic Church Records (1670-1946) This database contains Roman Catholic parish records from Acadia (the present-day provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia). The records include baptisms, marriages and burials, although it can include extra information such as confirmations, dispensations, and censuses. Ontario French Catholic Church Records (1747-1967) This record contains French Roman Catholic Church Records in Ontario and includes baptisms, marriages, and burials. It may also include other records such as indexes, statements of readmission to the church, and confirmations. Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records (1695-1954) Early U.S. French Roman Catholic Church Records cover the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and Pennsylvania. Baptisms, marriages, and burials are covered in these states as well as confirmations, dispensations, and some censuses. Miscellaneous French Records (1651-1941) There are some miscellaneous records available in the Drouin Collection, and they are topographic dictionaries, family genealogies, journals, letters, manuscripts, registers of notaries, and some acts. Some of the records available are Registre des Notaries de Detroit, Genealogie des Families de l'Île-d'Orleans, and the Papiers (familles) de Placide Gaudet. The students of the Université de Montreal hopes to have the entire Drouin Collection indexed by the end of this year.
