One of the sources widely used by English speaking descendants of French-Canadians is Tanguay’s Dictionnaire généalogique des familles canadiennes or Genealogical Dictionary of Canadian Families. It’s a relatively simple research tool that can be use to identify the kinship between different French-Canadians prior to 1763

An interesting series of events occurred in Montreal during September of 1658 which historians have failed to adequately document. The men of the Grand Recrue who had signed 5 year commitments with Chomedey sieur de Maisonneuve now found themselves in Montreal and at the end of their contract term. Most…

This is the marriage record for Charles Martin and Mary Emery dite Codere of Highgate, Vermont, my 3rd great-grandparents As genealogists it is our responsibility to determine the kinship between our ancestors. While most can be straightforward, there are some which require a determination based on the evidence and analysis…

Three pages of Lewis Martin’s pension packet provide an intriguing look into the postmaster of Highgate Center opinion of the Martin family.

I learned a new word today: the word was gallimaufry, and it means “a confused jumble or medley of things.” That word will accurately describe my investigation into the parentage of Nora!

Here’s a story of a man named Vincent, and a maiden named Jeanne, and how they, on 22 Sep 1669, inside the home of Lady Bourdon in the city of Quebec, came together to sign a contract of marriage in front of the Notary Romain Bequet. This couple’s legacy is…

Grandma’s Grandma was an Indian. Or was it Grandma’s Great-Grandma? That is the legend that was passed down to me from my father, and to him by his mother. While the tribe and details changed depending on who I talked to in the family – some had grandma’s grandma as…

Louis Hébert monument. Photo by Jean Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 In Quebec City, the Louis Hébert Monument stands in the corner of the garden of the Hôtel-de-Ville. The work of Canadian sculptor, Alfred Laliberté, the statue represents Louis Hébert, the first European settler of Canada, standing on the plinth, offering…

Certified genealogist, Amy Johnson Crow, created a program by which she encourages genealogists to write about 52 ancestors each week over the whole year. Since I was making a renewed effort to actually put down on paper all the stories my 40 years + research has accumulated, I thought in…

On 3 November 1647, less than one month after Françoise Fafard arrived in Ville-Marie (Montreal) from France, she was married to Mathurin Meunier at the Basilique Notre Dame. To us, this probably sounds like a hurried marriage, and it was, but not for the reason you may think. In 1647,…