Nouvelle France (New France) Genealogy ⚜️🇨🇦
Genealogical research in New France (Quebec and early French settlements, 1608–1763) benefits from some of the best-preserved and most comprehensive record collections in North America. Research is heavily reliant on Catholic parish registers, notarial records, and official census data. The resources below are categorized to focus on the essential governmental, academic, and specialized databases unique to Francophone and Acadian ancestry.
Academic & Specialized Databases 📜
These are the most authoritative and academic portals for French-Canadian and Acadian genealogy.
- PRDH (Programme de Recherche en Démographie Historique) - Canada (The definitive academic database of vital events for Quebec, 1621-1849)
- Fichier Origine (Official database of original ancestors who settled Quebec, linking back to France)
- Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Canadiennes (DGFC) - Online resource for the work of Cyprien Tanguay
- Généalogie Québec (The Drouin Institute's digital repository, including vital records)
- Genealogy of the French in North America (Francogene - Excellent resource and guides)
- Le Centre de généalogie francophone d’Amérique (CFGA)
Archives, Censuses & Government Records 🏛️
- Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BANQ) (The central provincial archive for Quebec records, including digitized church books)
- Inventory clerks of notaries of the French Regime - BANQ (Index to notarial records, crucial for land/wills)
- Canada Censuses (1666 to current) (Guide to Federal Census records)
- Library & Archives Canada (LAC) - Lower Canada Land Petitions (1764-1841)
- LAC - Land Records: New France and Quebec (Official guide to early land grants)
- Automated Genealogy of Canada (Automated indexing of early Federal Censuses)
- 1666 Census (Quebec) (via Cangenealogy)
Specialized Colonization Projects & Guides 🧑🤝🧑
- Carignan-Salières Regiment (Database and history of the soldiers sent to New France)
- Filles a Marier (Database and history of "Marriageable Girls")
- Société Généalogique Canadienne-Française (SGCF) (Major genealogical society for French Canadians)
- Société historique acadienne (Historical and genealogical society for Acadia/Acadians)
- Hélène Desportes (Wikiwand article on the first European child born in New France)
Maps & Cultural Resources 🗺️
- Early Canadian Maps – Cartes Anciennes du Canada (McGill Library)
- Artefacts Canada (Canadian Heritage Database)
- Genealogy of Canada (NosOrigines - Collaborative database)
Credits
Compiled by Mark Rabideau, Opa & Professional Genealogist.