Quebec Church Records

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For greater success, use all the Wiki Articles in this series:

Historical Background

Roman Catholic

The largest religious group in Québec is the Roman Catholic Church. The first Catholic parish register was for Notre-Dame de Québec, founded in 1621.
From 1679 to 1993, most vital records for Québec were copies of church records. The province required churches to send copies to government archives.
On 1 January 1994, the government began to keep separate vital records.
Vital records could be registered civilly without a church record as early as 1926. Beginning in the 1960s, many births and marriages were recorded only in civil registers.

Protestant

The earliest Protestant records are from 1766, when the Church of England (Anglican) parishes were founded in Montréal. Presbyterian records date from 1770 in the city of Québec and 1779 in Montréal. Other non-Catholic groups came later.
Protestant church records are not as extensive as the Catholic records. Clergy of legally recognized Protestant groups were required to send duplicate copies of their church records to the civil archives. They did not always do it.
Also, baptisms and marriages performed by some non-Catholic clergy were not recognized by civil authorities until 1825 or later. Beginning in 1825, the registers of various denominations were "authenticated" (given legal authority) by the legislative assembly.
Many Protestant registers contain less information than the Catholic records. For example, many marriage records do not list the parents of the bride or groom.

Information Found in the Records

To effectively use church records, become familiar with their content. Click on these links to learn about a specific record type:

Minutes or Historical Narrative

Finding the Records

Look for online records.

Ancestry.com, FindMyPast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local family history center or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Online databases are incomplete. This can lead to two common errors:

Near matches: Researchers might mistakenly accept an entry very similar to their ancestor, thinking it is the only one available. Only use information that matches your ancestor in date, place, relationships, and other details.
Stopping research: Researchers might assume the database proves church records do not exist. Actually the record is still out there, just not in this incomplete collection of records. Keep searching!

The Drouin Collection has six databases:

Quebec Vital and Church Records, 1621-1967
Ontario French Catholic Church Records, 1747-1967
Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records, 1695-1954
Acadia French Catholic Church Records, 1670-1946
Quebec Notarial Records, 1647-1942
Miscellaneous French Records, 1651-1941.

For details about this six databases, see The Drouin Collection: Six Databases.

Loiselle Card Index

Loiselle card index to many marriages of the province of Quebec and adjacent areas Loiselle, Antonin. This source usually lists the names of the bride and groom, their parents’ names, and the date and place of their marriage. The index is arranged roughly in alphabetical order. This index lists more than a million marriages. It covers about 70 percent of Québec Catholic marriages to 1900, with a few as late as the 1960s. It also includes a few parishes outside Québec where there were large settlements of French Canadians
Supplement to Loiselle card index to many marriages of the province of Quebec and adjacent areasLoiselle, Antonin. This supplement to the Loiselle index adds many more marriages and covers the Ottawa River valley area of Ontario and Quebec. This is a supplement to the original Loiselle Index. It extends the original geographical coverage to the Montréal region, the Ottawa River Valley in both Québec and Ontario, and to a few parishes in western Canada.
Instructions for using the Loiselle Marriage Index

Jacques-Henri Fabien Collection

1657-1974 - Jacques-Henri Fabien Collection This collection of microfilm consists of genealogical information over the period 1657 to 1974, distributed on more than 250,000 cards, mostly for marriages, that indicate date and place, names of spouses and their parents. The collection includes parishes in the Outaouais region of Québec and Ontario, some parishes in Eastern and Northern Ontario, counties of Pontiac, Vaudreuil, Châteauguay, Huntingdon, Beauharnois, l'Assomption, Laval, Deux-Montagnes and Argenteuil, in Quebec.

Other Marriage Indexes

1670-1964 - "Index to Marriages of Québec and Adjacent Areas 1670–1964". Rivest, Lucien. It lists 230,000 Catholic marriages in 13 counties northwest and northeast of Montréal, alphabetical by the bride's maiden surname.
"Mariages de Québec (Marriages of Québec)". It lists Catholic marriages to 1970 in the Eastern Townships region southeast of Montréal. It is alphabetical by the groom's name.

Canadiana Online

Canadiana Online Digital images of some Catholic parish registers.

Canadian Research Knowledge Network

In 2018, CRKN merged with Canadiana.org, an organization dedicated to the preservation and access of Canada’s documentary heritage since 1978.

Canadian Research Knowledge Network
411 - 11 Holland Avenue
Ottawa, ON
K1Y 4S1
Canada

Phone:(613)907.-7040

Look for digital copies of church records listed in the FamilySearch Catalog.

Family History Library
Salt Lake City, Utah

The Family History Library (FHL) has microfilmed and/or digitized records for churches in the Canada.
Online church records can be listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under Québec, the county, or a town.
Because the churches gave copies of their records to the government for civil registration, search under both thhe "Church records" and "Civil registration" topics.
If you find a record that has not yet been digitized, see How do I request that a microfilm be digitized?
Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a Family History Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations.
To find records:

a. Click on the records of Canada, Québec.

b. Click on the "Church records" and "Civil registration" topics. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.

c. Or, click on Places within Canada, Québec at the top of the page, and a list of provinces will appear.

d. Click on your province.

e. Click on the "Church records" and "Civil registration" topics. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.

f. Next, click on Places within Canada, Québec, [COUNTY] and a list of towns will appear.

g. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.

h. Click on the "Church records" and "Civil registration" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.

i. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record.

. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

Consult available finding aids.

These aids generally provide lists of records that are known to exist and information on their location.

Broadhurst, R. Neil. "A Checklist of Registers of Protestant and Jewish Congregations in Québec". Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Kintracers, 1994. See WorldCat to locate a copy.
"Guide des registres d'état civil du Québec = Guide to Quebec's Parishes and Civil Registers 1621–1993". Fortin, Francine. See WorldCat to locate a copy.
Parish town guide to the province of Quebec

Correspond with or visit the actual churches.

Some records are still held in the local churches. Contact the current minister to find out what records are still available.

Make an appointment to look at the records. Or ask the minister of the church to make a copy of the record for you.
To find church staff available, you might have to visit on Sunday.
Ask for small searches at a time, such as one birth record or a specific marriage. Never ask for "everything on a family or surname".
A donation ($25-$40) for their time and effort to help you would be appropriate.
If the church has a website, you may be able to e-mail a message.
See the French Letter Writing Guide for help with composing letters.

Addresses

Canadian Church Directory
The Catholic Directory Enter the province, town, or parish name to narrow down the results.

Check the church records collections in archives and libraries.

Some church records have been deposited for preservation in government archives or in libraries. Watch for links to digitized, online records offered by the archives. Some archives provide research services for a fee. For others, if you cannot visit in person, you might hire a researcher.

National Archives of Québec: Catholic and Protestant Records

National Archives of Québec (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec--BAnQ
535, avenue Viger Est
Montreal (Quebec) H2L 2P3
Canada
Telephone: 514 873-1100 or 1 800 363-9028 or 514 873-1101 extension 6260
Fax: 514 873-2980
E-mail:archives.montreal@banq.qc.ca
Branch Addresses

Genealogy at BAnQ
Genealogy Resources
Search Engine
Ask a Question
Civil Status Registers Remember these were created by copies of church records.
- Before 1900 can be requested. Application forms are available at any regional branch.
- Send the completed form to the branch holding the records: Branch Addresses.
  - 1695-1954 - Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records, 1695-1954 ($) (Ancestry).

University of Montreal: Catholic and Protestant Records

University of Montreal Archives

Quebec and French Canadian Genealogy Database is a paid subscription service that allows users to instantly search all registers. The university (for research into demography) has each person numbered and all appearances of each individual (subject, witness, parent, child, etc.) are linked together. This is a database only. While it is based on parish and other original records, it does not have links to those original records. A number of burials for individuals dying after 1799 have been added to this database. Generally these are individuals born before about 1750.

Protestant Church Records

The civil copies of many Protestant records were microfilmed by the Institut généalogique Drouin through about 1940.

Anglican Diocese of Montreal
1444 Union Avenue
Montréal QC
CANADA H3A 2B8
514-843-6577

Diocese of Québec
31 rue des Jardins
Québec QC
CANADA G1R 4L5
418-692-3858

The Anglican Diocese of Québec has its archives at Bishop's University.

Canadian Baptist Archives
McMaster Divinity College
Hamilton ON CANADA L8S 4K1
416-525-9140 ext 3511

Lutheran Council in Canada
1512 St. James Street
Winnipeg MB CANADA R3H 0L2
204-786-6707

Archives of the Presbyterian Church of Canada
11 Soho Street, Suite 104
Toronto ON CANADA M5T 1Z6
416-595-1277

The Eastern Townships Research Centre at Bishop's University has some original Presbyterian church registers for parishes near Sherbrooke. The Québec-Sherbrooke Presbytery of the Montréal-Ottawa Conference of the United Church of Canada also has its archives at Bishop's University.

United Church of Canada Archives
Montréal/Ottawa Conference
c/o Centre d'archives de Montréal, de Laval, de Lanaudiere, des Laurentides et de la Montérégie
1945 rue Mullins
Montréal QC CANADA H3K 1N9

Correspond with genealogical or historical societies.

Some church records have been given to historical societies. Also, historical societies may be able to tell you where the records are being held. To find a society near you, consult these lists:

Society Hill List of Canada Societies

Next, go to the Wiki article for your ancestors' denomination.

There are frequently additional, nationwide or regional archives and online collections for each denomination. Find the article for your ancestors' denomination and follow the instructions there to access these sources.

Wiki Articles for Records of Major Churches in Canada
Adventist Brethren in Christ Amish Anglican Armenian Churches Baptist Church of England	Congregationalists Evangelical Christian Hutterites The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Lutheran Methodist Mennonite	Presbyterian Reformed Roman Catholic Society of Friends (Quakers) Orthodox Churches Ukrainian Orthodox United Church of Canada

Carefully compare any record you find to known facts about the ancestor

You will possibly find many different people with the same name as your ancestor, especially when a family stayed in a locality for several generations, and several children were named after the grandparents or aunts and uncles. Be prepared to find the correct church records by organizing in advance as many of these exact details about the ancestor as possible:

name, including middle name and maiden name
names of all spouses, including middle and maiden name
exact or closely estimated dates of birth, marriage, and death
names and approximate birthdates of children
all known places of residence
occupations
military service details

Carefully evaluate the church records you find to make sure you have really found records for your ancestor and not just a "near match". If one or more of the details do not line up, be careful about accepting the entry as your ancestor. There are guiding principles for deciding how to resolve discrepancies between records that are seemingly close. For more instruction in evaluating evidence, read the Wiki article, Evaluate the Evidence.