Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society

P.O. Box 65128

Burlington, Vermont 05406-5128

Using Our Resources at the VT-FCGS Library

Our library at the Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society has many resources; lets look at how they can be used to successfully research your family tree in Vermont and across the border into Quebec, and eventually back to France.

Where Do I Start?

After you have spoken to your family members; searched at the city clerks office, and at the VT Vital Statistics in Middlesex, VT; and found all available obituaries; lets hope that you have found the names of a HUSBAND AND WIFE IN YOUR ANCESTRY WHO WERE MARRIED IN QUEBEC. You will need their names in order to cross the border successfully. This is sometimes the most difficult part of French-Canadian research. Marriage records are the key to successful research in Quebec. Each marriage record usually contains details about the couples parents, which enables you to find their marriages easily.

IF YOU HAVE NOT FOUND THEM, check these resources at our library:

We have many Family Histories on our shelves, maybe its already been done.
Check our Surname Files, 6 file drawers listed by family name.
Book of 5 generation charts from the NH American Canadian Genealogical Society
Book of 5 generation charts from the RI American French Genealogical Society
Quebec Record Extracts for Americans; Virginia Demarce, Roger Lawrence
Missions des Cantons de L’est BMD by Marthe Faribault-Beauregard
Vermont Parish Marriage Repertoires (Marriage Books)

St Joseph, Burlington 1834 - 1930
St Francis Xavier, Winooski 1868 - 1994
St Anthony, Burlington 1903 - 1988
St Thomas, Underhill 1869 - 1991
Holy Family, Essex Jct 1893 - 1999
Mission of Norton Mills 1888 – 1955
St James, Island pond 1872 – 1948

St Francis Xavier, Winooski Burial Records 1868 - 1994

Burlington Marriage Index from 1789 to 1881
Burlington City Directories, both as books and microfiche from 1865
Meunier Funeral Home Burials from 1934 to 1990
S. Burlington Births and Marriages from 1865 to 1955
Colchester town and Winooski Marriages (2 volumes) (1857 – 1998)
Grand Isle marriages up to 1880 - Demarce
On CD we have the 1900 New England Census Index

All the 1900 VT Census CD’s (Immigration yr and no. of yrs wed)

On 50 CD’s we have the complete 1880 US Federal Census
On CD we have the 1870 Census Index for VT, NH and ME

All the 1870 VT Census CD’s

1860, 1850 and 1830 US Census Indexes (Heads of families)
VT Vitals for the period 1870 to 1908 (BMD)
VT Vitals for the period 1760 to 1869 (BMD) 1^st 20 reels of 288
Vermonters in the Revolutionary, 1812, Spanish Am., Civil, WWI, WW2, Korean Wars
LDS IGI microfiche for Vermont and most New England States
Many New England, and NY Parish Marriage Repertoires
Cemetery Inscriptions from many VT and NY towns

Hopefully, these resources will help you find the names of the first ancestors from Quebec. If not, then you may have to broaden your research to reconstruct all the family information, versus your direct line, in hopes of finding these names to help you cross the border.

If you have found the names of a HUSBAND AND WIFE IN YOUR ANCESTRY WHO WERE MARRIED IN QUEBEC, use these resources at our library to trace your family through Quebec and into France:

NOTE: Before using the following Reference Sources, please review these French-Canadian Research Guides which will help you understand how to use them:

Doug MILLER – “Miller’s Manual” (Printed 1997)

John P. DuLong – “French-Canadian Genealogical Research” (Printed 1995)

Fr Dennis Boudreau – “Beginning Franco-American Genealogy” (Printed 1986)

The Blue DROUIN microfiche is the best resource to find your first Quebec marriage. It is indexed by males and is in 2 sections, generally pre and post 1880. It contains over 1.1 million marriages from 1760 to 1936.
Our LOISELLE microfiche contains about the same 1.1 million marriages but it has both a male and a female index, which is useful if you believe the male surname may have changed when crossing the border.
Once you have found that 1^st marriage record in Quebec, you can continue using DROUIN or LOISELLE, or you may choose to use the hundreds of Quebec Parish Marriage Repertoires on microfiche and in printed book form. Sometimes you can find as many as 6 generations who lived in a single parish. It is easier to reconstruct families using the repertoires.(One Parish vs All of Quebec)
On CD we have the 1881 Quebec Census
We have several 1851 Census Books of St-Jean, Chambly, St Hyacinthe, St Mathias, etc
ARE YOU STUCK??? See these books on Surname Changes, its very common!
1. TANGUAY Volume 7 , pages 495 to 601 for Name Changes in Quebec
2. Vermont Variants by Veronique Gassette
3. Susan Whitebooks Name Changes
4. Robert Quintins Name Changes

Once you get back to 1799, you may want to use our PRDH CD which contains all Births, Marriages and Deaths back to beginning of Quebec in 1608.
The JETTE Reference book uses the PRDH data and has reconstructd all the families from the beginning of Quebec until 1730. It also contains references to marriage contracts and other notarial contracts. The Jette CD covers up to 1765.
The 7 Volume Tanguay Reference book is also a reconstruction of families from the beginning of Quebec until 1765 and the Leboeuf Complement has corrections and additions.
The Red DROUIN Reference Volume is indexed by male names. 1608 – 1760

MANY OF YOUR ANCESTORS MAY HAVE BEEN ACADIAN, IF SO:

Stephen Whites 2 Volumes on the Acadians reconstruct all families from the beginning, about 1632, until 1714.
Adrien Bergeron’s 7 volumes of reconstructd Acadian Families
Janet Jehn’s 13 Volumes of Acadian Descendents
Janet Jehn’s yearly journals – Acadian Genealogy Exchange

OK, YOU HAVE TRACED YOUR FAMILY TO FRANCE; NOW LETS FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THEIR LIVES:

The 30 volumes of “Our French Canadian Ancestors” published by Thomas Laforest describes hundreds of the 1^st family pioneers. If you traced only your patriarchal line, you may be rewarded with a 5 to 8 page write-up on your family. If you have created a fan chart of all your ancestors, then you will find many, many descriptions of your ancestors. This is wonderful…We have an INDEX to the 30 volumes.
PREVOST – Like Laforest, 3 volumes on hand.
Many male pioneers came to Quebec as soldiers of the Carignan Regiment. Our book lists these soldiers names and their companies.
The Meuron Regiment – List of soldiers
The French Marines and 1755 French Soldiers are noted in the Reference Books
Many female pioneers came to Quebec as “Filles de Roi” or “Daughters of the King”. See our 2 Volumes of “Kings Daughters and Founding Mothers”
French Canadians of the West – 3 volumes by Peter Gagne
CD of Quebec Notaries – 25 volumes - Send for the documents, its very inexpensive.
Our Parish Histories contain names of many who participated of their history. (VT & Quebec)

On CD we have the “French Canadian and Acadian Revue” journals by Roland Auger. They contain much research on many Quebec lineage and families.

English Captives by Roger Lawrence (Deerfield, etc)
Many VT town histories. Grand Isle, S. Hero, Alburgh, Isle La Motte, Winooski, Swanton,

Putney, Underhill, etc

JOURNALS OF OTHER GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES

We have many shelves containing the journals of many French and English genealogical societies from as early as 1944. We exchange our journal LINKS for their journals. These journals contain many genealogies and much family history. Some have been indexed over the past years. Our LINKS Journal is indexed on our website.
Our Website is: http://www.vt-fcgs.org

MAYBE YOU ARE READY TO LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF QUEBEC AND OF FRANCO AMERICANS?

Our Lending Library contains many books on the history of Quebec; its Leaders, and its Explorers, Military Leaders, the Seigneurial System of land ownership, etc. You may find that your ancestors are in these books!
Read also about the “Quiet Presence” of Franco Americans and books on successful Franco Americans, and the Woolen and Cotton Mills, etc.

NOW, COMPILE YOUR GENEALOGY, AND WRITE YOUR FAMILY HISTORY !!!

GIVE COPIES TO YOUR FAMILY, AND OUR LIBRARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DONATE ARTICLES TO BE PUBLISHED IN OUR JOURNAL, “LINKS”

WHAT DON’T WE HAVE IN OUR LIBRARY?

Birth and Death information for all the Quebec Parishes, which covers the years 1800 until your ancestors crossed into the USA, are available on microfilm at the Quebec Archives and major genealogical libraries such as “La Salle de Gagnon” in the Montreal Municipal Library on Sherbrooke Street. You can also order and view these films at the Berlin, VT. LDS (Latter Day Saints, or Mormons) Family History Center, and soon at the new Family History Center in Essex Jct, VT.
The complete DROUIN microfilms are available in the American French Genealogical Society at Woonsocket, RI.
The DROUIN microfiche indexed by females.
The Birth, Marriage and Death records of the early Church of St Marys in Burlington exists only in a hand written ledger at the Bishop Brady Center in Burlington. They also have some records from Fr Daley, an early missionary, and several other churches. You can write to them.

CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING AT OUR SOCIETY AT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

Assist the Library Committee in cataloging, and repairing books

Assist on computer data entry and proofing efforts

Get elected as an Officer or Director at October Business Meeting

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Source: vtfcgs/doc/Resources at the VTFCGS Library.doc

Created by John R. Fisher 26 April 2003

Updated by John R. Fisher 16 May 2003