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THE DROUIN COLLECTION

One man's passion created the world's
largest French-Canadian resource.

Joseph Drouin founded the Drouin Genealogical Institute in 1899 and began publishing family books based on the vital records he gathered over centuries. Eventually his son Gabriel took over for him.

The Drouin Collection represents the largest and most valuable French-Canadian family history resources available, including an impressive collection of Quebec vital records. The collection includes neary 15 million records, marking the history of Quebec families over three centuries.

Learn more about
the collection.

DROUIN COLLECTION

Quebec
Vital & Church
Records 		Quebec
Notarial
Records 		Acadian
Catholic Church
Records 		Ontario
French Catholic
Church Records 		Early U.S.
French Catholic
Church Records 		Miscellaneous
French
Records
Search the newly indexed Drouin Collection

With cooperation and
support from experts at
the University of Montreal,
Ancestry.com is in the
process of indexing the
rest of this collection.

French Records Ahead

A majority of the Drouin collection is in the French language. For best results, try searching using both French and English words and location spellings.

*Collection indexed from 1850-1967. Records dated between 1621 and 1849 will be indexed soon.

SEARCH TIPS

Roll over for details.

Gather what you
know about your
Quebecois
ancestor.

Gather what you know about your Quebecois ancestor. Consider whether he or she was known by more than one given name or more than one surname in records or family traditions. Many Quebec families had “dit” names such as “Audet dit Lapointe,” so sometimes they were listed under “Audet,” other times under “Lapointe,” or even under “Audet dit Lapointe”.

See if you can
uncover dates
and places
of events.

See if you can uncover the date and place of the event (baptism, marriage or death) you are searching for. If you are looking for a baptism record, try to determine when the child was baptized. if you are looking for a marriage record, gather what you know about the event – date it occurred, the location, or the name of the spouse.

Keep in mind
your ancestor’s
religion.

Keep in mind what you know about your ancestor’s religion, since the records are usually separated by religion (Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Jewish, etc.). This piece of information can also help you research back in time. For instance, a child was often baptized in the same church in which his or her parents married. Or a child married in the same church as his or her parents married.

Search for the
event in the
Drouin
Collection.

Search for the event in the Drouin Collection index using the name, date, and place information as best you know. Remember to try different spellings of names and places, or even a wildcard search. In a wildcard search, you can enter just the first three or more letters of the name followed by an asterisk (*). This will open the search to a broader number of possible matches.
SUCCESS STORIES

Prev

Next

Rebecca Cardinal's
Christmas Gift

Rebecca Cardinal started with a name. Using the Drouin Collection, she was able to trace her family's history back 350 years and create a very special gift for her family. more...

Lori English's
Settler Grandparents

Lori English had no idea she descended from one of Quebec's original settlers. Thanks to the Drouin Collection she's found likenesses of her ancestors on statues and postage stamps. more...

The End of a Dead End
for Frances LaChance

Frances LaChance found a record of a suit filed by the wife of his great great grandfather. Unbeknownst to Frances, this was his ancestor's third wife and the cause of a dead end for years. more...

Kimberly Rose makes
"Amazing" Discoveries

Kimberly Rose not only found records about her ancestors, but records created by one of them. Kimberly is glad to have searched the Drouin Collection for records she describes as "amazing." more...
Is Madonna your cousin?

In 1634, Zacharie Cloutier, a French carpenter, left his home country to settle New France and became one of the most influential pioneers of French-Canada. By 1800, Cloutier's descendants numbered nearly 11,000! Madonna, Celine Dion and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are all descendants of the Cloutier line. Discovering a tie between one of your French-Canadian ancestors and one of Cloutier's descendants will not only expand your family tree, but it will also fill it with a few celebrity cousins.

Camilla Parker Bowles

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

Madonna

Madonna

Celine Dion

Celine Dion

Click on a celebrity photo to see how they’re
related to Zacharie Cloutier.

Start your tree, we'll start searching.

The best way to uncover your famous ties is to start your own online family tree, beginning with yourself and immediate family.

  • Your First Name
  • Your Last Name
  • Your Gender

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