Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Episode 097-March ?, 2021
In episode 96, we looked at some lesser known French-Canadian databases at Ancestry.com. Today we’ll look at a portion of their collection of English-language books. These include directories and gazetteers. In the next episode, we’ll cover historical and biographical accounts.
Lesser-Used French-Canadian Resources at Ancestry.com-Part 2
Note: When page numbers are given, I’ll tell you whether it’s actually the page number of the book or the digital page number for the image on Ancestry.
Geographical
Guide to Québec Catholic Parishes and Published Parish Marriage Records by Jeanne Sauve White
Published in 1993
A page for each county in Quebec province
Tells which parishes are in the county and when its records began
Helps you to locate the county and its archives
History of the Quebec Directory since its first issue in 1844 up to the present day
Published in 1879
The first directory for Quebec was called Hawkins’ Quebec Directory and Strangers’ Guide to the City & Environs for 1844-45. Includes city population and lists of those holding public office
Book of Reference of the City of Quebec and Village of Saint Sauveur Accompanying the Cadastral Plan by Paul Cousin
Published in 1875
Divided by wards (page numbers are from the book itself)
St. Rôch’s Ward (p. 3)
Jacques-Cartier’s Ward (p. 23)
St. Peter’s Ward (p. 41)
Champlain’s Ward (p. 48)
St. Lewis Ward (p. 54)
Palace Ward (p. 51)
St. John Ward (p. 66)
Montcalm Ward (p. 80)
Villages of the suburbs
Mountplaisant (p. 93)
L. I. Boivin Property (p. 94)
Birds Villa (p. 96)
St. Sauveur (p. 97)
Gives head of household, business, or municipal office along with street name
Quebec City Pocket Directory-1890-91
Quebec City Pocket Directory, 1890-91
Does not include the names of the deceased, absentees, and “those removed to parts unknown”
St-Sauveur and St. Valier were separate from the other wards.
Begins with Quebec City and lists people alphabetically by surname, giving their occupation and address
The St Sauveur portion of the directory begins on digital page 107. The actual pages begin renumbering in this section at page 1.
Guide to the City of Quebec: Descriptive and Illustrated with Map
Published in 1899
Includes a 2-page map of the city of Quebec, showing street names, public buildings, and the electric railway circuit
Historical sketch (book p. 13)
Geophysical description (book p. 23)
Railway description (book p. 25)
Followed by descriptions of many Quebec City landmarks
A tour of the suburbs (book p. 96)
More in-depth description of the railway system (book p. 131; digital p. 81)
Tariffs for hackney carriages (book p. 144; digital p. 88)
Places and times of worship (book p. 145; digital p. 88)
Telegraph rates (book p. 149; digital p. 90)
Cable rates to Europe (book p. 150; digital p. 91)
Summer resorts (book p. 151; digital p. 91)
Municipalities and Parishes in the Province of Quebec, compiled by C.-E. Deschamps
Published in 1896
Includes geopolitical breakdowns for the province, including boundaries for each county, town, city, village, and parish Organization: This book is divided into sections, each paginated differently.
Section 1: General index of municipalities, civil parishes and also of localities where the cadastre is in force in the Province of Quebec (digital p. 5-28; book p. A-TT)
Section 2: Synoptical Table of the Municipalities in the Province of Quebec (digital p. 30-41, book p. ii-xxv)
Section 3: Descriptions of Municipalities in the Province of Quebec (digital p. 43-503; book p. 3-883)
Section 4: Special Municipalities, Incorporated Town Municipalities, and Incorporated City Municipalities (digital p. 504-505; book p. 884-886)
Section 5: Cadastre: Divisions and Parts of the Registration Divisions in Which the Cadastre is in Force (digital p. 506-534; book p. 888-944)
Section 6: Townships Civilly Erected but not Organized into Municipality (digital p. 534-571; book p. 945-1015)
Section 7: Civil Parishes: Archdiocese of Quebec (digital p. 572-710; book p. 1017-1281)
Section 8: Appendix Shewing within which civil parishes is comprised the territory of the several townships of the Province of Quebec (digital p. 711-718; book p. 1283-1296)
For a list of regions of Quebec including historical and traditional names, go here.
The Quebec & Levis directory for 1871-72: containing a full list of the inhabitants of both places including Mount Pleasant, Stadacona, St. Charles Village and La Canardiere, on the North Shore, and the town of Levis, Bienville Village, St. Joseph de Levis and South Quebec, on the South Shore also General and Carefully Compiled Information the Whole accompanied with a descriptive Plan of the City of Quebec and Environs
The lengthy title tells you all you need to know about what’s in this book.
Table of contents (digital p. 5)
Advertisement index (digital p. 6)
General information (digital p. 7; index, digital p. 5))
Guide to the Streets of Quebec and St. Sauveur (digital p. 41)
Directories (digital pages)
Quebec (p. 44)
Mount Pleasant (p. 190)
Stadacona (p. 190)
St. Charles (p. 192)
La Canardière (p. 194)
Levis (p. 194)
Bienville (p. 210)
St. Joseph de Levis (p. 212)
Lists names alphabetically followed by occupation, address, and ward
Origin of the festival of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: Quebec, Its Gates and Environs, with Illustrations, etc.: Something about the Streets, Lanes and Early History of the Ancient Capital
Published in 1880
Origin of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Festival (digital p. 6)
History of the gates of the city (digital p. 11)
Old and Modern Quebec (digital p. 18): information about the streets, buildings, monuments and antiquities of Quebec City
A tribute to Spencer Wood, a lodge located in Sillery (digital p. 48)
Published in 1888
Images, but very poor quality
Historical review of Quebec (digital p.11)
Quebec, Picturesque and Descriptive (digital p. 27)
French-Canadian Life and Character (digital p. 42): describes life along the St. Lawrence
The city of Montreal (digital p. 65): a geographic description followed by a short history of the city, its people, and its institutions
Quebec And Vicinity: Quebec City and Its Historical and Scenic Surroundings including Montmorenci, the Famous Shrine of Ste. Anne de Beaupré, and Typical Scenes Down the St. Lawrence and Up the Saguenay River
Images, but very poor quality
List Of County And Local Municipalities In Lower Canada, 1860 and List Of Counties, Cities, Towns, Parishes, Townships, &c., in Lower Canada : Up To 1st January, 1861
Same book a year apart 
Quick reference when you need to look up a county, city, or town and know which parishes or townships are included as well as the county seat
Lifelines
Just a reminder that if you need help researching your Franco roots and you don’t speak French, if you are trying to locate your ancestors in America but the name changes find you stumbling around not knowing where to look, if you find records for your ancestors and struggle to understand what they’re telling you, then check out my book French Language Lifelines for the Anglo Genealogist at Amazon.
Podcast support
Another big thank you goes out to Doris from Florida for her continued support of the podcast.
Journal Rundown
Michigan’s Habitant Heritage from the French Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan
Volume 42 Number 1
- Catherine de Baillon’s Ancestry by John DuLong: Catherine has links to French nobility
- The origins of Philippe Amiot or Hameau and his wife Anne Couvent, or their nephew Toussaint Ledran
- Part 3 of Establishing a Trade Network in the 18th Century-Lessons Learned from the Chevalier Family
- Part 2 of Jean Baptiste Cadotte’s First family
- List of Lenders to Voyageurs to le Détroit du Lac Érié from 1711-1730, part 1
- Part 2 of 16 and 17 May 1701 Confirmed in the Chapel of the Seminary by Monseigneur L’Ancien
American French Genealogical Society’s Je Me Souviens for 2020
Volume 43 Number 1
- Noël Bissonette and the Great Peshtigo Fire which took around 2000 lives in Wisconsin in 1871
- Migrations of North American Buteau Families-Part 1
- Jan Burkhart’s article on Marie-Josèphe Angélique and the Montréal Fire of 1734
Volume 43 Number 2
- The Buteau migration
–1653: the Great Recruitment of Montréal - Jeanne Baillargeon’s Captivity Revisted
- Peter Gagné’s article on Mission: Motherhood, which discusses having children in New France
- Franco-Americans Fight World War I- Abroad and at Home by Mark Paul Richard
Volume 43 Number 3
- Epidemics in Canada by Annette Mimeault Smith
- Did the 1918 Flu Hit Your Family Too? Understanding the 1918 Flu Pandemic by Lori Lyn Price
- The Great Salem Fire
- James Myall’s Fear, Prejudice, and Vaccinations
Volume 43 Number 4
- Robert Foxcurran’s Les Canadiens in the American West: Regional Historiography and a Sampling of Several Primary Sources from the 19th Century
- Abenaki folk tales
- Rejean Beaulieu’s Pacific Northwest Seminal Groups: the Canadiens
- An article on Louis Riel
- Annette Mimeault Smith’s article My Visit to a Traditional Huron Site, a recounting of the visit to Wendake that she made as part of Maple Stars and Stripes’s 2018 Nouvelle France tour to Quebec City
Scattered throughout these issues, Jan Burkhart always includes some delicious French-Canadian recipes, like Mémère’s Blueberry Muffins in issue 3 or Crêpes in issue 2.
French-Canadian News
The following are all Zoom meetings. Check each society’s website for more information.
French Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan
April 10: Guillaume Teasdale on a topic to be determined
May 8: Judy Nimer Muhn on No Dead Ends: Finding Your Way Through Family Road Blocks
Quebec Family History Society
Genealogy Question & Answer Sessions on Tuesday, April 20, at 7 PM and Tuesday, May 18, at 7 PM
Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society
March 20: The Accidental Genealogist
March 27: Next Steps With Your Family History
April 10: Organizing Your Genealogy Research
April 17: Solving More Mysteries with Documents & DNA
April 24: Our Ile d’Orleans Ancestors
May 1: Using Timelines to Find Holes in Research
Podcast Support
If you wish to support the podcast, you can send your donation to Sandra Goodwin, PO Box 124, Leicester, Massachusetts 01524. You can send a check or set up a small monthly payment through your online banking. You can also donate through Pay Pal (maplestarsandstripes [at] gmail [dot] com). Thank you for your support. It means the world!
[DISCLOSURE: This website may contain affiliate links. Maple Stars and Stripes will be compensated if you make a purchase through these links. There will be NO additional cost to you. Thanks for your support.]
Get Maple Stars and Stripes
Subscribe to the MSS Newsletter
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (iTunes)
Subscribe on Stitcher
Join our private Facebook group
How to Contact Maple Stars and Stripes
Post comments on Show Notes page (MapleStarsandStripes.com/#-of-episode) or at end of blog post
Go to https://MapleStarsandStripes.com/contact
Email me at feedback [at] maplestarsandstripes [dot] com
Send a voicemail by clicking on the ‘Send Voicemail’ link from any page at MapleStarsandStripes.com