Enjoying the Drouin Collection on Ancestry.com

I've been on vacation this week. It's been filled with cleaning and all those other mundane things that need to get done while I have the time. I took yesterday, however, to do more research in the Drouin Collection on ancestry.com which is part of the World Deluxe subscription.

I admit, I'm not a fan of all of Ancestry's policies. I've had a couple of instances when I've bickered with them over theft of my data (both times, although it took persistance, they removed the information). I have to say though that I love that they have these records online.

The churches in Québec, Canada used to record the vital statistics of its people until around the 1960s. The Institut Généalogique Drouin went through and microfilmed the records to preserve them. Most churches are filmed through 1940, although a few are through the 1960s. As technology changed, the microfilms were scanned. Most institutes that have a copy of the microfilms or scanned records charge for access to them, either a by the hour charge or by the record charge. So, having them accessible at home (so I can browse in my PJs) is awesome.

If you don't have the World Deluxe subscription, you should check to see if your local library has access to that subscription.

If you just need a couple of records and don't have other access to the Ancestry site, the American-Canadian Genealogical Society in Manchester, New Hampshire also has the digital versions of the records. They will provide copies of the record or by the hour access to the collections for a fee. See their website under Drouin.

I believe there are also copies at the American-French Genealogical Society in Woonsocket, RI, the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston, MA and the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN. I don't know their access policies, so you'd need to research that yourself. Your efforts will be well worth it if you have Québec ancestors!