Canada, Quebec, Notarial Records, 1800-1920

What is in This Collection?

This collection contains index & images of notarial records from the province of Québec. This collection contains vital records including births, marriages, deaths, and a card index. Notarial records (actes notariés or minutes de notaire) are records prepared by a notary (notaire or protonotaire, but sometimes tabellion or scrivener). Notaries are important officials in Quebec, Louisiana, France, and other countries where a civil code based on Roman law is in force. Among other matters, notarial records deal with estates and inheritances.

The Quebec notarial records in this collection are images of bound documents. Most of the records are handwritten in French. Generally, the records begin with a title page that gives the date and time the record was made, the name of the notary, and the parties involved. In Quebec, notaires (notaries) have registered contracts since 1626. The persons involved in the contracts received the originals. The notaries kept copies. The copies are called "minutes."

Each document in a notary's minutes gives at least the name of the notary, the date and place the document was prepared, the names and addresses of the persons involved, and the names and addresses of the witnesses. The ages and relationships of the witnesses and the persons involved are sometimes included. See John P. DeLong, The Notarial Acts of Quebec: Their Genealogical Value and Use, National Genealogical Society Quarterly 82 (March 1994): 5-16. FS Library 973 B2ng.

Notarial records contain a variety of legal acts. This collection may contain the following:

The following districts are included in the collection:

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

Reading These Records

These records are written in French. For help reading them see:

• France Languages
• French Genealogical Word List
• French Handwriting
• Brigham Young University: Script Tutorial for French

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for Canada, Quebec Notarial Records, 1800-1920.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  1815 Notarial Record