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Good day to all!

 

I am wondering if anyone knows how to get Canadian records translated from French to English??  I have quite a stash but can only figure out dates and names and would really like to know what was actually written!!?  I have tried to do the 'google tranlate' but I am unable to comprehend/decifer the letters that are written in the documents.  They are all BMD records.

 

Thanking you in advance for any help or advice.

 

LeLani

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Replies to This Discussion

Hi LeLani;
If you send me a couple I will give it a try for you. Most of the records are fairly generic, much like the English ones. So and so of such and such village etc.
Al.
Duncan, British Columbia, Canada
Le Lani,
I will be pleased to attempt to translate probono old français documents to English. Being a 11th generation French descendent, I have been successful to do many but some of the hands written documents are somewhat difficult. Just send them to me at raymarentette@gmail.com and I will give it a try.
Ray Marentette
Thank you to both Al and Ray for such a quick reply! I will forward a couple ASAP to each of you but I would need your email addy Al!!

Thanx again!
LeLani
As Al said they are generally a generic format, you might check the various publications of the French-Canadian genealogy societies here in the states as several have done articles on the various records & how to read them. You might also want to check out marriage contracts as they sometimes have more info then the marriage record. Also invest in a French-English dictionary. Good luck.
Hello James,

Thank you for the info. "You might also want to check out marriage contracts as they sometimes have more info then the marriage record. Also invest in a French-English dictionary" I do have a French/English dictionary that does help some. Could you please elaborate on the 'marriage contracts' vs the marriage record? Where would I find them? I am from Wisconsin and only know of the 'Drouin collection'.

thank you,
LeLani
Here are some books worth reading to do research:
FRENCH-CANADIAN GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH by John DuLong
SEARCHING IN FRENCH-CANADIAN RECORDS by Anita & John Coderre
FINDING YOUR FRENCH-CANADIAN ANCESTORS by Louise St-Denis
BEGINNING FRANCO-AMERICAN GENEALOGY by Rev. Dennis M. Boudreau
MILLER'S MANUAL by Douglas Miller
SEARCHING THROUGH THE OLD RECORDS OF NEW FRANCE, trans. by Armand H. Demers, Jr.
FRENCH & FRENCH-CANADIAN RESEARCH by J. Konrad
FRENCH-CANADIAN SOURCES: A GUIDE FOR GENEALOGISTS by Patricia Keeney Geyh, Joyce Soltis Banachowski, Linda K. Boyea, et al.

The following article shows how the marriage contracts can provide different info or variations from a marriage record:

“Marriage Contracts: A Comparison” by Carol Hamp & James P. LaLone, in MICHIGAN’S HABITANT HERITAGE, v.8 #2, Apr. 1987, p.27. (includes a list of notaries in the INVENTAIRE DES GREFFES DES NOTAIRES DU REGIME FRANCAIS series).Sorry for lack of accents, I cannot write in French.

Marriage contracts are civil contracts drawn up by a notary (lawyer) whereas the marriage record usually refers to the church produced record. The data can vary.

Some of the contracts have been published, some have been filmed by the Mormons, it all requires research. Good luck. By the way, besides the Drouin collection there is also the Loiselle Marriage Index (filmed by the Mormons) and the Rivest Marriage Index (again filmed by the Mormons), the Fabian Marriage Index is available at the National Archives in Ottawa and possibly some other places in Quebec, but do not know off hand.
Hello James,
Thank you so very much for the wealth of information that you have provided! This will no doubt keep me busy for some time.

Regards,
LeLani

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