Many French-Canadians can also claim Acadian ancestry. Today Lucie LeBlanc Consentino begins her first of several lessons about the tumultuous history of our beleaguered ancestors. In Language Tip #29, we look at surnames ending in ERT and how best to locate them in online indexes. And last, be sure to listen through to the end […]

Most French-Canadians have a family story or two about Indians in the family tree. Are you still looking for yours? Today’s guest, Paul Bunnell, Koasek Tribal Chief & Genealogist, will give you a few hints on what to look for as well as ideas for further research. Then in Language Tip #28 we expand on the […]

Today we conclude our French-Canadian parish record triad with the burial record. Perhaps the easiest of all three record types to abstract, even without knowledge of French, we discuss words and terms as well as the structure of these records. Remember to sign up for the Maple Stars and Stripes newsletter at www.maplestarsandstripes.com/newsletter. And stick […]

Most French-Canadian genealogists are familiar with the PRDH, but are you familiar with all three versions? Today we’ll describe each while discussing the pros and cons. To help you out, you can download a PDF copy of the Key to the Repertory, the English translation of the instructions for the printed PRDH, by signing up for the […]

‘Tis the season for family, friends, and food. The one food above all else associated with traditional Christmas festivities in any French-Canadian household is the tourtière. Join me and our guest Juliana L’Heureux for an in-depth look at this tasty treat! Keeping with our festive theme, in Language Tip #25 we’ll go over words and phrases […]

Are you planning a trip to France? If so, take along your ancestors’ hometown information so you can visit and make it a truly memorable experience. A listener wrote in asking about the reliability of the Fichier Origine database. She had found some intriguing information on her ancestors’ origins and was hoping she could rely on […]

Did one of your teachers ever assign a family history class project? Many genealogists claim to have gotten the ‘genealogy bug’ from a classroom assignment when they were youngsters. Well, today’s guest is helping to create interest in the next generation of budding genealogists by helping her students learn about and appreciate their Franco heritage. […]

In episode #13, we delved into the components of a French-Canadian baptism record. Today, we dissect a marriage record, the backbone of our reconstructed ancestral families. Lengthier than either a baptism or burial record, the marriage record contains more variation and complexity. So in this episode you’ll learn common, as well as not so common, […]

Wikipedia describes a taphophile as “an individual who has a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries. This involves epitaphs, gravestone rubbing, photography, art, and history of deaths. …” That certainly describes today’s guest, Bill Fleming. Bill is a frequent contributor to Rootsweb’s Quebec-Research list, perhaps best known for his cemetery reports. Join us as we […]

Have you ever thought of taking your research and writing the stories of your ancestors? If you haven’t yet, what’s stopping you? Time? Don’t know where to start? Can’t read French? Author Susan McNelley will take us on her journey, one that resulted in the publication of Hélène’s World: Hélène Desportes of Seventeenth-Century Quebec. Hélène […]