Stanstead County, Quebec Genealogy

Guide to Stanstead county ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.



HISTORY
Stanstead is a town in the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, located on the Canada–United States border across from Derby Line, Vermont. The Town of Stanstead was created in 1995 by the merger of the former towns of Stanstead Plain, Rock Island and Beebe (formerly Beebe Plain). It is not to be confused with the township of Stanstead, which is nearby although not directly adjacent (the municipality of Ogden lies in between). Not only is Stanstead home to the Haskell Free Library and Opera House — the only heritage building deliberately constructed straddling the border between both countries — it also features Canusa Street, one of a number of streets in the world where the country border corresponds to the middle line marker, effectively making across the street neighbors residents of two different countries.

Online Gazetteers

 * 1871 Postal Gazetteer

How to Find Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
Usually vital records (birth, marriage, and death) are found in civil registration and church records. In Quebec until 1900, civil (government) registration was kept by the churches, with a duplicate provided to the government. There are three ways to access these records:
 * 1) church records in the Drouin collection, available online,
 * 2) civil register duplicates of church records in the Quebec Library and Archives system, and
 * 3) the records of the Family History Library (FamilySearch), online and microfilmed.

Church Records: The Drouin Collection
Among other records, this database includes all the church records for the province of Quebec, that is, for the 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, Romanian Orthodox, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Protestant, Russian Orthodox, Salvation Army, Unitarian, United Church, and Universalist denominations. The types of records include baptisms, marriages, and burials as well as confirmations, dispensations, censuses, statements of readmission to the church, and so on. They are written mainly in French, as well as English, Latin, and Italian.


 * The Drouin Collection is available by subscription ($13.00/month or $100.00/year as of December 2016) at Généalogie Québec.
 * The Drouin Collection is also available on Ancestry. The Drouin Collection 1621-1967 ($). Ancestry.com can be used without charge at Family History Centers throughout the world.

For more information, see The Drouin Collection: Six Databases.

Civil Registration in the Quebec Library and Archives
In Quebec, the civil registers of births (baptisms), marriages and deaths (burials), which date from 1621, were duplicate copies of the church registers. This third source all of the pre-1900 records can be consulted at each of the nine regional offices of Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec.

Writing for Birth, Marriage, and Death Records After 1900

 * Certificates of births, marriages, and deaths from 1900 may be applied for through the online Quebec government site, or by writing to:


 * Directeur de l'état civil
 * 2535, boulevard Laurier
 * Sainte-Foy, Quebec
 * Canada
 * G1V 5C5


 * For application forms, fee information, and identification requirements, click here.
 * Only the person named in the record or that person's legal representative may have access to civil registration and civil copies of church records after 1900. Direct descendants qualify as representatives.

See also Quebec Civil Registration, for information on published vital records.

The FamilySearch Collection
FamilySearch has microfilmed the entire collection of civil records in the Quebec Library and Archives.

Online Databases
Many of the parish (church) records have been digitized and posted online. They are only partially indexed, so browsing the original records is more effective:
 * 1621-1979 - at FamilySearch Historical Records Collection.  Partial index only.
 * 1621-1979 - at FamilySearch Historical Records Collection. Browseable images.
 * 1763-1967 - at FamilySearch Historical Records Collection. Browseable images.
 * 1642-1902 - at FamilySearch Historical Records Collection. Browseable images. Incomplete.

Microfilmed Church/Civil Records
All of the church/civil records have been microfilmed by FamilySearch.These microfilms may be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers around the world. To find a microfilm:
 * a. Click on records for Canada, Québec, Stanstead. You will see a list of available records for the county.
 * b. You will also see above the list the link Places within Canada, Québec, Stanstead . This will take you to a list of towns in the counties, which are links to records for the specific town.
 * c. Click on any topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * d. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm 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 microfilm. Clicking on the microfilm reel will lead to information on how to rent the film. Family history center staff will assist you in ordering the film.

Census
Census records can play an important role in identifying all members of a family. They then guide your search in the vital records because you have more clues as to who you are looking for.
 * Automated Genealogy census indices for 1851, 1901, 1906, 1911.
 * Canada, Lower Canada Census, 1825, index/images. Also at MyHeritage, ($), index
 * Canada, Lower Canada Census, 1831, index/images
 * Canada, Lower Canada Census, 1842, index/images
 * Canada Census, 1851, index. Also at Ancestry.com, ($), index/images
 * 1861 Census of Canada, ($), index/images
 * Canada Census, 1871, index . Also at Ancestry.com, ($), index/images.
 * Index and Images. Also at Library and Archives Canada Index and images, and at Ancestry.com ($) Index and Images.
 * Index only. Also at Ancestry.com ($) Index and Images.
 * Index only. Also at Library and Archives Canada Index and images, and at Ancestry.com ($) Index and Images.
 * Index only. Also at Library and Archives Canada Index and images, and at Ancestry.com ($) Index and Images.
 * Canada Census, 1916, index
 * 1921 Census of Canada ($) Index and Images.

Reading French Records

 * It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately.  Here are some resources for learning to read French records.
 * French Genealogical Word List
 * French Handwriting.


 * There is a three-lesson course in reading French Records:
 * Reading French Handwritten Records Lesson 1: The French Alphabet,
 * Reading French Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Key Words and Phrases
 * Reading French Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading French Records