“Art” is something intuitive, imprecise, and subjective, a skill cultivated through practice and imagination. “Science” is something researched, measured, and objective.
Join us for the largest genealogy conference in Quebec!
An “à la carte” program schedule designed for you to
pick and choose your sessions.
Interested in DNA's impact on genealogy? Check out the three lectures below.
L’intérêt des tests ADN-at en généalogie
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Title: L’intérêt des tests ADN-at en généalogie Presenter: Clément Drolet Language: French Description: Autosomal DNA tests are often misunderstood as being only fun. Used properly, they can be used to add evidence to a documentary genealogy or to break a genealogical deadlock.
This lecture will illustrate various ways in which they can be used for these purposes. This presentation will demonstrate how some of the tools available to genealogists work. The limitations and difficulties associated with the use of these tests as well as the offers of various companies will also be discussed.
Time: 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time Title: Historical human remains identification through maternal and paternal genetic signatures in a founder population with extensive genealogical record Presenter: Dr. Tommy Harding Language: English Description: Until the mid-19th century, graves remained anonymous in Québec. To give these historical individuals their names back, we developed a method that combines the population genealogy found within the BALSAC database with the genetic information of contemporary Quebecers. Specifically, we used mitochondrial DNA, a marker for maternal lineages that is transmitted from mothers to children, and the Y chromosome, a marker for paternal lineages transmitted from fathers to sons.
Holy chromosome! The intimate history of New France revealed by the genome.
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time Title: Holy chromosome! The intimate history of New France revealed by the genome. Presenter: Pierre Gendreau-Hétu Language: English
Description: Driven by a booming citizen science, the Quebec ADNy Project is working to establish ancestral DNA signatures inherited from the pioneers of New France. Genetic genealogy is growing fast thanks to the genomic revolution but owes much of its heuristic power to grassroots initiatives.
Date and Time: Monday, 14 December 2020 - 19:00 Eastern Time
Presenter: Johanne Gervais
Description:This webinar is scheduled for the second Monday of every month.
Join us to help familiarize yourself with all the features of our eSociety including
using the databases, Resource Links,
and the Members' Forum.
If you would like to share your genealogical interests or expertise in a webinar, please contact us. We are looking for speakers for our 2021 webinar series.
If you have already responded to our survey, thank you. If you have not done so yet, please take a moment to share your thoughts with us via the brief questionnaire that was sent to you at the end of November. The survey will close on 15 December 2020.
Your feedback will help us continue to develop the Québec Genealogical eSociety to ensure it meets your needs.
Databases
Let’s talk about BMS2000 / PRDH-IGD voucher availability, a subject raised by many members in the 2020 annual survey.
The Québec Genealogical eSociety provides members with free access to two subscription databases, BMS2000 and PRDH-IGD. At the beginning of 2020, a significant increase in voucher consumption by members required the purchase of 15,000 to 20,000 vouchers a month for each of the databases.
Our eSociety’s main expenses are the purchase of vouchers for these two databases. Even so, with a projected continued high usage we were looking at an overwhelming total of over $21,000 by the end of 2020 for purchasing vouchers. This level of voucher usage was unsustainable given that $21,000 exceeded our annual budget, which must also cover other essential society services such as website hosting and maintenance, and the webinar program. Consequently, effective 1 May 2020, we capped our monthly provision for vouchers at 10,000 for BMS2000 and 10,000 for PRDH-IGD.
With the BMS2000 vouchers replenished on the 1st of every month and the PRDH-IGD vouchers replenished on the 15th of every month, we offset the provisioning of vouchers to ensure you had at least one database with available vouchers for your research. In addition, we introduced on the Database page of our website two excellent tools to help you find birth, marriage, and burial records - a FamilySearch Finding Aid and a Library and Archives of Quebec (BAnQ) Finding Aid.
Some survey respondents suggested an increase in membership is the cause; however, this is not the case. We have tracked membership numbers versus voucher usage and there is no direct correlation. In fact, the BMS2000 usage in June 2020 increased even though membership for the month decreased. We can only assume members are more active than normal in their research. Although the PRDH-IGD usage has stabilized, the BMS2000 usage was excessively high in October and November, where the vouchers ran out mid-month. We noticed a BMS2000 usage of about 1,000 vouchers per day with only a handful of members on-line. We accommodated your needs by purchasing an extra 5,000 vouchers in each of those months.
Although we do not want to discourage your research efforts, your eSociety user name and password, and the BMS2000 user name and password are not to be shared with others.
We also want to encourage you to conduct your research for your personal use only and to look carefully at any baptismal, marriage, or burial record before clicking on it. Is the year listed on the record the approximate time frame your ancestor was baptized, married, or buried? If not, please hesitate from clicking on the record, since each click to view further details is one voucher.
We realize the BMS2000 database is a wonderful tool to help in your ancestral research and we apologize for any inconvenience voucher shortages may cause as we continue to pursue a resolution while maintaining the financial integrity of your eSociety. We welcome your suggestions to help us address this issue.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Based on our members' feedback, this new section has been added to answer some frequently asked questions.
Question
Where can I find early New France census records?
Answer
The 1666 census of New France was the first census conducted in Canada (and also North America). It was organized by Jean Talon, the first Intendant of New France, between 1665 and 1666. Jean-Talon conducted the census largely by himself, travelling door-to-door among the settlements of New France. He did not include Native American inhabitants of the colony, or the religious orders such as the Jesuits or Recollets. According to Talon's census there were 3,215 people in New France, with the most populated areas being Montreal, Quebec City area, and Trois-Rivières.
Below are some early census records you can find on our Resource Links page in addition to the 1851 to 1911 censuses for most regions:
Capitale-Nationale (Quebec City Region)
1666 - The first census of New France (transcriptions) – Beauport, Beaupré, Côte de Lauzon, Île d’Orleans, Notre Dame des Anges, La Rivière St. Charles, Charlesbourg, Quebec City, and Sillery
1744 - Quebec City Census (Index only)
1792, 1795, 1798, 1805, 1806, and 1818 - Notre-Dame-de-Québec parish censuses (Original documents with search index)
1842 - Bourg Louis (St. Raymond) census (transcription)
1831 and 1841 - Graves Settlement censuses (original documents)
1825, 1831, 1842 - Halesborough/Cap-Santé censuses (original and transcriptions)
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Time: 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Date and Time: Monday, 14 December 2020 - 19:00 Eastern Time
If you have already responded to our survey, thank you. If you have not done so yet, please take a moment to share your thoughts with us via the brief questionnaire that was sent to you at the end of November. The survey will close on 15 December 2020.
The Québec Genealogical eSociety provides members with free access to two subscription databases, BMS2000 and PRDH-IGD. At the beginning of 2020, a significant increase in voucher consumption by members required the purchase of 15,000 to 20,000 vouchers a month for each of the databases.
Our eSociety’s main expenses are the purchase of vouchers for these two databases. Even so, with a projected continued high usage we were looking at an overwhelming total of over $21,000 by the end of 2020 for purchasing vouchers. This level of voucher usage was unsustainable given that $21,000 exceeded our annual budget, which must also cover other essential society services such as website hosting and maintenance, and the webinar program. Consequently, effective 1 May 2020, we capped our monthly provision for vouchers at 10,000 for BMS2000 and 10,000 for PRDH-IGD.
Some survey respondents suggested an increase in membership is the cause; however, this is not the case. We have tracked membership numbers versus voucher usage and there is no direct correlation. In fact, the BMS2000 usage in June 2020 increased even though membership for the month decreased. We can only assume members are more active than normal in their research. Although the PRDH-IGD usage has stabilized, the BMS2000 usage was excessively high in October and November, where the vouchers ran out mid-month. We noticed a BMS2000 usage of about 1,000 vouchers per day with only a handful of members on-line. We accommodated your needs by purchasing an extra 5,000 vouchers in each of those months. 
Although we do not want to discourage your research efforts, your eSociety user name and password, and the BMS2000 user name and password are not to be shared with others. 
We also want to encourage you to conduct your research for your personal use only and to look carefully at any baptismal, marriage, or burial record before clicking on it. Is the year listed on the record the approximate time frame your ancestor was baptized, married, or buried? If not, please hesitate from clicking on the record, since each click to view further details is one voucher. 
