Quebec Archives and Libraries

The following archives and libraries have collections or services helpful to genealogical researchers:

National Archives of Canada 395 Wellington Street Ottawa ON CANADA K1A 0N3 Telephone: 613-996-7458

When the Dominion of Canada was created in 1867, the old Province of Canada was split into two parts—the provinces of Québec and Ontario. The National Archives of Canada has many records for the Province of Canada (1841–1867) and its parent provinces—Lower Canada and Upper Canada. These include censuses and land records.

The National Library of Canada is located in the same building as the headquarters of the National Archives of Canada. Many useful books for researching Québec families are located in the National Library.

Some records at the National Archives of Canada are not available at the Family History Library. Microfilm copies of those records can be borrowed from the public and college libraries in Canada and the United States that participate in interlibrary loan.

Salle Gagnon Bibliothèque de la Ville de Montréal Street Address: 1210 rue Sherbrooke est Mail Address: Bureau 400, rue d'Iberville Montréal QC CANADA H2G 3E4 Telephone: 514-872-5579

The Salle Gagnon is the genealogical room at the City Library of Montréal. It has one of the largest collections in North America of French Canadian genealogical material, both books and microfilm. A brief overview of the collection is:

Schroder, Gary. The Montreal Municipal Library `Salle Gagnon.'Connections 18, number 4 (June 1966): 5–7.

A major collection of records dealing with the Anglo-Protestant settlement of the Eastern Townships is at:

Eastern Townships Research Centre Bishop's University Lennoxville QC CANADA J1M 1Z7 Telephone: 819-822-9606 Fax: 819-822-9644

Quebec National Archives Branches
Most original records for the Province of Québec before 1900 are at the nine branches of the Archives Nationales du Québec listed below. Although microfilm copies of some records are held by all branches, there is no one central repository. Each specializes in a region. Only some of the counties included in each branch are listed below.

Regional boundaries do not match county boundaries exactly. Contact the branch nearest the place where your ancestor lived. If you write, ask them to forward your letter if necessary. General questions about the Archives nationales du Québec should be addressed to the branch in Sainte-Foy.

Centre d'archives de Québec et de Chaudière-Appalaches 1210 Avenue du Séminaire C.P. 10450 Sainte-Foy QC CANADA G1V 4N1 Telephone: 418-643-8904 Fax: 418-646-0868

Includes the east central counties of Beauce, Bellechasse, Charlevoix, Kamouraska, Lévis, L'Islet, Lotbinière, Montmagny, Montmorency, Portneuf, Québec, Rivière-du-Loup, and parts of others.

Centre d'archives de Montréal, de Laval, de Lanaudière, des Laurentides et de la Montérégie 1945 rue Mullins Montréal QC CANADA H3K 1N9 Telephone: 514-873-3065 Fax: 514-873-2980

Includes the island of Montréal and the west central counties of Argenteuil, Bagot, Beauharnois, Berthier, Chambly, Chateauguay, Deux-Montagnes, Huntingdon, Iberville, Joliette, Labelle, Laprairie, L'Assomption, Napierville, Richelieu, Rouville, Saint-Hyacinthe, Soulanges, Terrebonne, Vaudreuil, Verchères, Yamaska, and parts of others.

Centre d'archives du Bas St-Laurent et de la Gaspésie-Iles-de-la-Madeleine 337 rue Moreault Rimouski QC CANADA G5L 1P4 Telephone: 418-727-3500 Fax: 418-727-3824

Includes Rimouski County and eastward.

Centre d'archives du Saguenay-Lac St-Jean 930 rue Jacques-Cartier est, local C-103 Chicoutimi QC CANADA G7H 2A9 Telephone: 418-698-3516 Fax: 418-698-3522

Includes the counties of Chicoutimi and Lac St-Jean.

Centre d'archives de la Mauricie-Bois-Francs 225 rue des Forges, bureau 208 Trois-Rivières QC CANADA G9A 2G7 Telephone: 819-371-6015 Fax: 819-371-6999

Includes the counties of Arthabaska, Champlain, Drummond, Nicolet, Saint-Maurice, and Trois-Rivières.

Centre d'archives de l'Estrie 740 rue Galt ouest Sherbrooke QC CANADA J1H 1Z3 Telephone: 819-820-3010 Fax: 819-820-3930

Includes the Eastern Townships area around Sherbrooke and Granby, and the counties of Brome, Compton, Frontenac, Missisquoi, Richmond, Shefford, Sherbrooke, Stanstead.

Centre d'archives de l'Outaouais 170 rue de l'Hôtel-de-Ville Hull QC CANADA J8X 4C2 Telephone: 819-772-3010 Fax: 819-772-3950

Includes the counties of Gatineau, Hull, Papineau, Pontiac, and more.

Centre d'archives de l'Abitibi- Témiscamingue et du Nord-du-Québec 27 rue du Terminus ouest Rouyn-Noranda QC CANADA J9X 2P3 Telephone: 819-762-4484 Fax: 819-764-6480

Includes the counties of Abitibi and Témiscamingue and the area northward.

Centre d'archives de la Côte-Nord 700 boulevard Laure, bureau 190 Sept-Iles QC CANADA G4R 1Y1 Telephone: 418-962-3434 Fax: 418-962-6500

Includes Saguenay County.

Organizations listed in the "Societies" section of this outline have their own libraries. Major church archives are discussed in the "Church Records" section. Some of the sources you will want to use are also available in other major archives and libraries in Canada and in the United States.

Computer Networks and Bulletin Boards
Computers with modems are important tools for obtaining information from selected archives and libraries. In a way, computer networks themselves serve as a library. The Internet, certain computer bulletin boards, and commercial on-line services help family history researchers:


 * Locate other researchers.
 * Post queries.
 * Send and receive E-mail.
 * Search large databases.
 * Search computer libraries.
 * Join in computer chat and lecture sessions.

You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from Québec in a variety of sources at local, provincial, national, and international levels. The list of sources is growing rapidly. Most of the information is available at no cost. Addresses on the Internet change frequently. As of September 1997, the following sites are important gateways linking you to many more network and bulletin board sites:

Québec GenWeb Project

 * http://www.rootsweb.com/~canqc/index.htm

A cooperative effort by many volunteers to list genealogical databases, libraries, bulletin boards, and other resources available on the Internet for each county, province, and country.

Roots-L

 * http://www.rootsweb.com/roots-l/canada.html

A useful list of sites and resources. Includes a large, regularly updated research coordination list.

To get started with computer network research regarding Québec, contact the following:

Eastern Townships of Québec Research

 * http://simmons.b2b2c.ca/

Historical and genealogical society addresses and county-by-county list of censuses, church records, and other publications.

Francêtres: Québec

 * http://www.atnetsend.net/~skye/genealogylinks.html

Genealogy of French-speaking people. Includes repository addresses, links to other sites, regional helps, and discussion groups.

Canadian Genealogy Resources: Québec

 * http://genealogy.about.com/sitesearch.htm?terms=canada&amp;SUName=genealogy&amp;TopNode=3285&amp;type=1

Links to over 20 Internet sites.

For further details about using computer networks, bulletin boards, and news groups for family history research, see the United States Research Outline (30972), Second Edition, "Archives and Libraries" section.

FamilySearch™
The Family History Library and some Family History Centers have computers with FamilySearch™. FamilySearch is a collection of computer files containing several million names. FamilySearch is a good place to begin your research. Some of the records come from compiled sources; some have been automated from original sources.