The same way DNA test results are the gifts that keep on giving to genealogists, so is Ancestry with the Quebec notary records they continue to digitize.
Yesterday, Ancestry updated and added more images to its collection, Quebec, Canada, Notarial Records, 1637-1935, and there before me was another genealogy distraction. The last update was in August 2017.
Ancestry said, “In this update we’ve added new images of Notarial Acts. These have been linked to existing data, where possible, and are otherwise available via the browse.”
Total Records: 16,529,462
Total New Records: 0
Primary Record Count: 16,522,692
Rotated Record Count: 6,770
Total Images: 8,687,208
New Images: 324,062
I did my usual search of family names and was pleased to find several new-to-me répertoires — pages from the notary’s index — and in a couple of cases, I found the actual acte — the record.
When you search Ancestry’s collection, you will often find only the répertoire. In that case, you can order a digital copy of the full record from the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec for only 25 cents a page. (Click on English in the top right to change from French.) When placing your order, take note of the notary’s name and city, record number, names of the parties involved, date, and type of record, i.e., will, marriage contract, estate inventory, lease.
Read How to order a notary record from the Quebec Archives after finding it in an index on Ancestry to learn step by step how to request a record.
Quebec notary records are a goldmine for genealogists researching their ancestors whether they spoke French or English. Notaries were not just for the wealthy. If your ancestor rented a shop, married, opened a business, sold property, needed a mortgage, borrowed money, drew up a will, worked as an apprentice, or loaned a cow, he or she likely went to a notary to draw up the agreement.
Remember to search for married women by their maiden name.
These two blog posts will help you search the collection:
How to find your ancestors in Ancestry’s new Quebec notary collection
Ancestry’s new Quebec notary collection even better than realized
I’d love to share more with you, but I have some research to do.
Hi, Gail — I so appreciate your Genealogy A La Carte blog. I’m wondering if there has been any update since your February 1, 2017, post on Ancestry’s progress in digitizing the notarial records of Quebec? Last I checked, about 20% had been made available online.
I have not seen any update to the Quebec notarial record collection since August 2017, which seems like a long time to wait for more records.