Canada, Quebec, Quebec Judicial District, Guardianships - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada Quebec

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes guardianship records from 1639 to 1930.

This collection contains images and indexes of guardianship records. Québec notarial records are written in French. In Québec, notaires or notaries have registered contracts since 1626, including guardianships and other probate records. Guardianship papers or tutelle et curatelle, are records about orphans and the conservation of their property.

Each document in a notary's minutes gives at least the name of the notary, the date and place the document was prepared, the names and addresses of the persons involved, and the names and addresses of the witnesses. The ages and relationships of the witnesses and the persons involved are sometimes included.

The persons involved in the contracts received the originals, the notaries kept copies. Notarial records are usually listed by the name of the notary and the dates he functioned. They are not normally indexed by the names of the persons involved in the contract. Notarial records are first sent to the judicial archives, but they are eventually deposited in the branches of the National Archive of Québec.

Notarial records (actes notariés or minutes de notaire) are records prepared by a notary (notaire or protonotaire, but sometimes tabellion or scrivener). Notaries are important officials in Quebec, Louisiana, France, and other countries where a civil code based on Roman law is in force. Among other matters, notarial records deal with estates and inheritances. They are somewhat equivalent to probate records of North American states and provinces outside Louisiana and Quebec, but they include more document types.

More information about this collection is in the Quebec Notarial Records or Canada Notarial Records article.

For a list of records published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Guardianship records may contain the following information:


 * Name of the deceased
 * Names of children of the deceased
 * Names of other relatives of the deceased
 * Information about the guardian(s) of the children
 * Ages and relationships of witnesses

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate age of your ancestor.
 * The names of family members and their relationships.

View Images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search this collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse Images" on the initial search page ⇒Select the appropriate “Record Type” ⇒Select the appropriate “Year Range and File Number Range,” which will take you to the images.

Important: You may want to begin your search in the Index which is an alphabetical listing by last name and then year of the record. Then locate the document in the File by date range.

Search the collection by image, comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s guardianship record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Make sure you've read the record correctly and that you have extracted all names and relations from the record. Use these resources to help:
 * French Wordlist, France Language and Languages, Quebec Genealogy, Quebec Names, Personal
 * Use the ages to calculate the year of birth.
 * The children listed on the guardianship record will help you locate the family in the Canadian Census collection.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Try looking in the Catholic Parish Registers. This collection may give you a death date for you ancestor, the death date will aid you in finding your ancestor in this collection.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation: Image Citation: