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Episode 088-November 1, 2019
Today we explore the Canadian colonial censuses from 1666 to 1762 and a bit beyond. (For other census years, see episode #37, Canadian National Censuses, 1871-1921 and episode #38, Canadian Provincial Censuses, 1763-1861.)
Canadian Colonial Censuses, 1666-1762
Geography
During the French Regime, today’s geographic locations were known by the following terms:
Province of Quebec – New France, Québec, Canada
Province of Ontario – Québec
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island (Île St. Jean) – Acadia
Three types of censuses
With sometimes illegible handwriting and difficulty with access, we sometimes avoid tracking down the original documents. But that should always be the ultimate goal. However, many of these censuses have been transcribed and published, and many have also been digitized. Some are available online.
With that in mind, there are basically three types of censuses:
Statistical: gives aggregate totals but does not name individual people
Nominal: names everyone in the household
HOH: names head of household only; other members are tallied.
Statistical censuses
1666
Benjamin Sulte, Histoire des Canadiens-Français, 1608 to 1880; vol. 4, beginning on p. 80. Here you’ll find statistics for the various settled areas in and around Quebec City, including Trois-Rivières and Montréal. Charts include Families, Population, Sexes, Conjugal Condition; Ages of the People; Ages in Relation to Conjugal Condition; and Professions and Trades.
Statistics for the 1666 Census at cangenealogy.com
Statistics for the 1666 Census at allcensusrecords.com
1667
Benjamin Sulte, Histoire des Canadiens-Français, 1608 to 1880; vol. 4, beginning on p. 82. Here you’ll again find statistics for the various settled areas in and around Quebec City, including Trois-Rivières and Montréal. Charts include the first three from the 1666 census; but Professions and Trades was replaced with Clearing and Livestock (how many arpents of land were cleared and cultivated and livestock head counts).
1681
Benjamin Sulte, Histoire des Canadiens-Français, 1608 to 1880; vol. 5, beginning on p. 88. Here you’ll see all five of the charts found in the previous two statistical censuses.
For statistics for all the censuses in Canada from 1665 to 1871, download Censuses of Canada 1665 to 1871, volume IV.
Larger regional censuses
1666 census 
The first census of New France (Quebec) 1666: transcribed lists on cangenealogy.com and allcensusrecords.com
1666 Montreal Census Page: includes several plot maps of Montreal
Benjamin Sulte, Histoire des Canadiens-Français, 1608 to 1880; vol. 4, beginning on p. 52: on Google Books or Ancestry.com (not indexed; click on Chapitre IV and then the correct page)
Marcel Trudel’s Population du Canada en 1666: you can read a portion of the Quebec census up through the surname Jamare. Includes the sex, state of matrimony, age, presence of a signature or not, profession, and place of origin for each person.
Le premier recensement de la Nouvelle-France: gives just name, age, and profession
An every name index to the 1666 census of Quebec Province: book located at the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City (SLC)
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) Recensement du Canada, 1666/Census of Canada, 1666: images of the originals
Glossary of Quebec census terms at cangenealogy.com or allcensusrecords.com
PRDH: If you have a subscription to PRDH, you can search specifically for people in the censuses of 1666, 1667, 1681, 1700, 1716, 1741, 1744, 1760, 1762, and 1765. After you log in, under Vital Events, type in the name. Then in the drop down box under Type, click on Census. You will have a list of all people of that name in every one of the included censuses (see below).
1667 census
Benjamin Sulte, Histoire des Canadiens Français [1608-1880], vol 4, beginning on p. 64
Recensements annotés de la Nouvelle-France, 1666 & 1667: book at FHL in SLC; check WorldCat for other locations
PRDH: [see notes for 1666 census]
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) Recensement du Canada, 1667
1681 census
Benjamin Sulte, Histoire des Canadiens Français [1608-1880], vol 5, beginning on p. 53
Recensement annoté de la Nouvelle-France, 1681: book at FHL in SLC; check WorldCat for other locations
PRDH: [see notes for 1666 census]
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) Recensement du Canada, 1681
Recensements: 1666-1681: original images for the censuses of 1666, 1667, and 1681
1762 Government of Quebec
Le Recensement du Gouvernement de Québec en 1762
1762 census of the government of Québec: website notes list towns included in this census
PRDH: [see notes for 1666 census]
1765 Governments of Montreal and Trois-Rivières
Le recensement des Gouvernements de Montréal et des Trois-Rivières 1765
Census of part of province of Quebec 1765: microfilm at New England Historic Genealogical Society
PRDH: [see notes for 1666 census]
Smaller regional or partial censuses
1698 Saint-Jean River
Recensement des habitans de la rivière Saint-Jean
1699 & 1700 census for Mont Louis
PRDH-in all formats: [see notes for 1666 census]
Names of the first inhabitants of Mont-Louis: transcription
Detroit censuses
Detroit censuses 1710, 1750, and 1762: for all things Detroit, go to the website of the French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan.
Recensement nominatif de Détroit
1716 Quebec City
PRDH: [see notes for 1666 census]
Recensement de la ville de Québec pour 1716
Recensements annotés de la ville de Québec, 1716 & 1744
L’Île Dauphine
Recensement de l’île Dauphine par Perry
1726 Louisiane and 1727 New Orleans
Recensement général de la Louisiane, 1726
Recensement général de la Nouvelle-Orléans, 1732
1741 Montreal
Proceedings and transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, vol XV, beginning on p. 9
PRDH-in all formats: [see notes for 1666 census]
1744 Quebec City
Index to the 1744 Quebec City Census
PRDH-in all formats: [see notes for 1666 census]
Recensements annotés de la ville de Québec, 1716 & 1744
Index to the 1744 Quebec City census: book at FHL in SLC; check WorldCat for other locations
1760-1762 Trois-Rivières
Report of the Public Archives for the year 1918: beginning on p. 158; head of household only
Recensements du Québec: book at FHL in SLC; check WorldCat for other locations
1762-1779 Acadian
Recensements, 1762-1779: five microfilms at the FHL in SLC of the census and lists of refugees for Québec, St-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Ile Royale (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia), and Ile St-Jean (Prince Edward Island)
1671-1891 Acadian and Mi’kmaq
Acadian census records: Lucy LeBlanc Constantino’s collection of transcriptions of available Acadian and Mi’kmaq censuses
1768-1773 Registries, Censuses and Other Documents
Registries, Censuses and Other Documents, volume 458, Refugees 1768-1773: includes lists of Acadian refugees as well as much earlier ships’ lists, many with soldiers and their families heading to Louisiane.
1785 Miquelon
Recensement nominatif des habitants de Miquelon dressé par Du Mesnilambert: nominal census for the inhabitants of the island of Miquelon
Finding Aids
Finding Aid 300: LAC’s guide to census records found at Library and Archives Canada. It includes:
Acadia from 1671 to 1763
Nova Scotia from 1767 to 1838
New Brunswick from 1773 to 1848
Prince Edward Island from 1787 to 1871
Newfoundland and Labrador from 1671 to 1945
Québec from 1640 to 1880
Ontario from 1719 to 1907
Free cheat sheet!
Get your free cheat sheet with live links to all websites mentioned in the show notes here.
French-Canadian News
The American-French Genealogical Society
November 3 at 1:30 PM: Renee Darling, a third generation funeral director of the Fournier & Fournier Funeral Home in Woonsocket, R.I., will present A Time for Mourning. Renee will discuss how the customs surrounding funerals have evolved over the past 105 years and give us an understanding of what life was like for our ancestors when dealing with this most significant life event. Classes are held at the AFGS Library, 78 Earle Street, Woonsocket, RI.
The Franco-American Centre
November 23, 6-10 PM, at the Stonebridge Country Club in Goffstown, New Hampshire: 10th Anniversary Beaujolais Nouveau Gala-There will be dinner, music, a silent auction, and special surprises.
The French Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan
November 9, 11 AM, at the Mount Clemens Public Library: John P. DuLong will present The Use of Heraldry in Genealogical Research.
The Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society
November 2: Powerful Research Tools at GenealogyQuebec.com with Jane Whitmore
November 9: Using DNA Networks to Solve Brick Walls with Ed McGuire
November 16: Getting Evernote Off The Ground with Patti and Dick Malone
November 23: Using MyHeritage.com with Marcie Crocker
Classes run from 10:30 AM until noon and are held at the Vermont Genealogy Library in Colchester, Vermont.
The Minnesota Genealogical Society’s Canadian Interest Group
November 14, 8 PM EST, MGS CIG will present a webinar, Finding Gabriel. Using genealogy and DNA analysis and the historical record to identify 1688 human remains from the first European settlement on the Gulf Coast, presenter David Trudeau will share his story of discovery. Participants will learn about applying “deep” genetics using mtDNA and Y-DNA as a tool for the study of family trees beyond the fifth generation, and particularly more about the Y and mtDNA databases developing for the 17th century pioneers of New France. Go here to register.
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Thank you, Sandra, for another valuable podcast. Just one comment: Marcel Trudel, La Population du Canada en 1666, Sillery, Québec: Les Éditions du Septentrion, 1995, reconstituted the population revising the total number and correcting the total of 3173 persons, raising it to 4219. All census documents are prone to error. Trudel also mentions the recently-arrived Carignan Regiment, whose members were not enumerated because they were not “settlers”. So researchers should not be overly concerned if they do not find members of a family listed on the census itself. This was a year when the Carignan Regiment was engaged in suppressing the Iroquois.
Thanks!