French-Canadian Heritage Society
of Michigan

Researching Your French-Canadian Ancestors in Michigan

As with any genealogical research, the fundamentals of researching must be followed in pursuing your French-Canadian ancestors. If you are a beginner read Greenwood's Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy (1990) to learn the fundamentals, terminology, and basic references common to all researchers. Once you have gotten your ancestry traced back to Canada or Québec, read DuLong's French-Canadian Genealogical Research (1995), Jonasson's The Canadian Genealogical Handbook (1978), Baxter's Tracing Your Canadian Roots (1989), or Konrad's French and French Canadian Research (1993). Of particular value are Miller's Manual (1997) and Geyh et al.'s French-Canadian Sources: A Guide for Genealogists (2002). These will point you in the directions you need to take in order to do French-Canadian research.

If you are fortunate enough to trace your ancestry back to French Canadians living in Michigan during the colonial period, then you might want to consider visiting Fort Michilimackinac and Mackinac Island. These sites are located on the straits between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. These sites preserve the history of the fur trade and the involvement of French Canadians in this exciting business. The Mackinac Island State Park Commission publishes many interesting books and pamphlets about this historic area.

Those researchers who find their French-Canadian ancestors were among the early pioneers of Michigan should consult Denissen's Genealogy of the French Families of the Detroit River Region, 1701-1911 (1987). For a collection of vignettes on colonial French-Canadian ancestors you should see Laforest's Our French Canadian Ancestors (1983-ongoing). For historical background concerning the French colonial period you can do no better than Eccles's France in America (1990).

In addition to the many French Canadians who came to Michigan during the colonial period, a large number also came to the state in the nineteenth century. They worked as lumberjacks in the Saginaw Bay area or as surface workers in the copper or iron mining regions of the Upper Peninsula. Tracing these nineteenth century immigrants is both challenging and rewarding. There are many vital and census records that can be used for this period. French Canadians often formed their own Catholic parishes and your ancestors will undoubtedly be found in parish registers.

The most important genealogical research site for French Canadians in Michigan is the Burton Historical Collection in Detroit. Oldenburg's A Genealogical Guide to the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library (1988) is an excellent introduction to this crucial collection. The Burton Historical Collection has originals or transcriptions of the earliest colonial records for Detroit. The State Archives of Michigan and the Library of Michigan in Lansing are also valuable research sites. In particular, the Library of Michigan has Michigan newspapers on microfilm. In addition, the Allen County Public Library, in nearby Fort Wayne, Indiana, has many Québec records, including censuses, on microfilm. The Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and its many regional centers, are very important. The Family History Library has many Michigan vital, land, and probate records--as well as records from Québec--available on microfilm. Lastly, the Société franco-ontarienne d'histoire et de généalogie at Belle Rivière, Ontario, is extremely valuable because of their thorough collection of marriage repertories for Québec and Ontario.

If you visit our fair state to use either the Library of Michigan or the State Archives of Michigan in Lansing, then you will be pleased to learn that both of these fine institutions are housed in an impressive modern structure. The Michigan Library and Historical Center also houses the Michigan Historical Museum.

Once you trace your French-Canadian ancestry through Michigan back to Québec you will be surprised and amazed at the variety and number of resources you can use to extend your pedigree. Québec has some of the best organized, preserved, and accessible genealogical records in the world. Many of its most important vital and notarial records have been computer abstracted and indexed. See DuLong's French-Canadian Genealogical Research (1995) for a recent description of the original records, publications, and computer data bases available in Québec.

An important example of a major Québec reference source, which is used extensively in French-Canadian research, is the Loiselle Marriage Card Index. This is a master index of approximately seventy percent of the Catholic parishes of Québec and some surrounding areas. It is cross indexed by both bride and groom. This index is available in Michigan at the Burton Historical Collection. The Allen County Public Library also has this valuable index. Lastly, the Loiselle Index, as well as many parish registers and notarial records, are available through your local Family History Center.

Lastly, French Canadians are fortunate indeed that all the surviving baptism, marriage, and burial records, along with several other records like censuses, from 1621 to 1799 have been abstracted and computerized by Le Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH). The PRDH database is available online for a reasonable fee. Please visit the PRDH website for more information.

We hope that this brief introduction to French-Canadian research in Michigan will help you launch your research project.

References

Baxter, Angus. In Search of Your Canadian Roots. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1989

Denissen, Christian. Genealogy of the French Families of the Detroit River Region, 1701-1911. 2 vols. Rev. ed. Ed. by Robert L. Pilon and Stephen F. Keller. Detroit: Detroit Society for Genealogical Research, 1987.

DuLong, John P. French-Canadian Genealogical Research. Palm Harbor, FL: The LISI Press, 1995.

Eccles, W. J. France in America. Rev. ed., Markham, ON: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1990.

Geyh, Patricia Keeney, et al. French-Canadian Sources: A Guide for Genealogists. Orem, UT: Ancestry, Inc., 2002.

Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1990.

Jonasson, Eric. The Canadian Genealogical Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Finding Your Ancestors in Canada. 2nd ed. Winnipeg: Wheatfield Press, 1978.

Konrad, J. French and French-Canadian Family Research. Rev. ed. Munroe Falls, OH: Summit Publications, 1993.

Laforest, Thomas J., ed., trans., and comp. Our French Canadian Ancestors. 20 vols. to date. Palm Harbor, FL: The LISI Press, 1983-ongoing.

Miller, Douglas J. Miller's Manual: A Research Guide to the Major French-Canadian Genealogical Resources What They are and How to Use Them. Pawtucket, RI: Quintin Publications, Inc., 1997.

Oldenburg, Joseph. A Genealogical Guide to the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Publishing, 1988.

Addresses

Allen County Public Library
Genealogy Department
900 Webster St.
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
(219) 424-7241

Burton Historical Collection
Detroit Public Library
5201 Woodward Detroit, MI 48202
(313) 833-1480

Family History Library
35 North West Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84150
(801) 240-2331

Note: There are Family History Centers across the United States and Canada.

French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan
P. O. Box 1900
Royal Oak, MI 48067-1900

Library of Michigan
Michigan Department of History, Arts, and Libraries
Genealogy and Local History Collection
702 W. Kalamazoo St.
P.O. Box 30007
Lansing, MI 48909-7507
(517) 373-1580

Mackinac State Historic Parks
207 W. Sinclair
Mackinaw City, MI 49701-0207

Le Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH)
[The Research Program in Historical Demography]
Bertrand Desjardins
Département de démographie
Université de Montréal
C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville
Montréal, QC H3C 3J7
CANADA
http://www.genealogie.umontreal.ca/en/

Société franco-ontarienne d'histoire et de généalogie
Mailing address:
Pionnière du Sud-Ouest
C.P. 1021 Belle-Rivière ON N0R 1A0
Location address: 962 Highway 22 Puce ON N0R 1A0
(519) 727-4273
lapionniere@francogenealogie.com
Note: Their library is situated in the Puce Sports and Leisure Center in Puce, Ontario. You should contact them to verify their hours of operation before visiting. They have a small volunteer staff and are only open a few hours during the week.

State Archives of Michigan
Michigan Department of History, Arts, and Libraries
Michigan Historical Center
702 W. Kalamazoo St.
P.O. Box 30740
Lansing, MI 48909-8240
(517) 373-1408