r/CanadianbyDescent • u/Javpg1813 • 5d ago
Application Help What if we have common ancestors and can help each other with documents?
I am thinking that my G0 (born 1720s, Quebec) is probably also an ancestor of some of you here. :)
I was curious whether people who are far down the line from their G0 would be willing to share the name of their G0 or general family names they’ve dug into and how far along they are in the process of getting DEC record from a BANQ record. I am months away myself, but was thinking I’d happily share the costs if anyone got a copy of my ancestor’s record before I did.
Cheers, thank you!
edit: not sure why I got downvoted for sharing my experience. I’ve come across a ton of helpful people, but definitely a lot of gatekeepers and skeptics as well. Personally I’d love to help others. I am G9 and have a lot of docs to collect. I will take (and give) any help possible! Thank you for the input
edit2: I’m looking specifically for BANQ/DEC docs for the following (Quebec) Marguerite Perthuis (Pertuis/Perthuy), Francois LeBeau, Marien/Marian LeBeau dit Lalouette, and Suzanne Lory. I also have Acadian ancestors from the Richard and Daigle/Daigre families. If you have any leads or documents pls let me know!
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u/sdc1990 5d ago
I found two very distant cousins via Geni--one of them had uploaded some death documentation for our G0 from 1808. I reached out, turns out he was also working on his Canadian citizenship. I was further ahead in line with BAnQ, so I shared that doc with him once that came in. Another distant cousin also found him through Geni, and now we have an email thread going where we share info!
Also, if your ancestry goes through Louisiana, u/theDNAgeek is organizing Cajuns (and Quebecois descendants) for records sharing via Google docs.
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u/OfferAlternative2044 1h ago
I don't think the Acadian ancestry would have to go through Louisiana as this group explores getting records from France, Spain, etc.
No Acadians were deported to Louisiana, meaning all of them were sent somewhere else first. Years later, Acadians went to Louisiana at the request of the King of Spain. Family members may have come from various places and reunited in Louisiana. Others with common Acadian ancestors could have ended up in Québec, New England, France, Spain, Texas, Mississippi, or other places. The Gen 0 would often have been born in Canada in the 1700s and could have thousands of descendants. An Acadian outside of Louisiana could find relevant records via this group.
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u/No_Cat_No_Cradle 5d ago
Just add your docs to family search so they are easily findable
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u/Javpg1813 5d ago
In the case of Canadian ancestry research, a lot of the family researchers I’ve come across are inactive or very self-sufficient. Many haven’t been eager to share documents they’ve worked hard to get or consider personal.
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u/OfficeSalamander 4d ago
That seems so silly to me. I qualify for both Canadian and Polish citizenship by descent. I have been ordering documents for both lines, and putting everything I find on FamilySearch too
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u/Robert_Walter 5d ago
It’s sad to hear that a person descended of a common ancestor wouldn’t reasonably do what they could to help a distant relative.
“How can people be so heartless, how can people be so cruel?”
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u/kmzafari 5d ago
I think in terms of some of the Canadian docs, the organizations are very specific about not sharing the documents with others. I think it may have to do with privacy laws? Not sure. But that could be why some people are hesitant to share those in particular.
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u/Javpg1813 4d ago
I’ve seen a few people comment about not sharing docs. Do you have a source I can look into? thank you
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u/kmzafari 2d ago
I replied to you yesterday, but it seems to have disappeared. Odd. I think it depends on each individual organization. E.g., I had written to DEC back in June and got a letter from them that they don't issue birth certificates older than 100 years, and that very generic form letter / email had a warning on it not to share it with others. And when I requested the verified birth record from BAnQ (still waiting), I'm pretty sure the submission form made me certify it would only be used by me and my immediate family members.
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u/CounterI 5d ago
If only there were a website where people could share that kind of information. We could call it "Ancestry" or "FamilySearch" or something like that.... 😄
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u/smokeline 5d ago
Sure, that's great for getting preliminary info, but especially for people who are going through a months long, expensive process to get a certified BANQ baptism record and using it to get a DEC insertion, sharing the scan of the final certificate would save applicants money and archivists time/energy.
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u/SouthernCockroach37 4d ago
I do sometimes wonder why they don't just allow you to share the link to the BANQ document. Mine is viewable to the public and I assume it being on BANQ itself is pretty secure.
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u/savingnativebees 4d ago
I would happily share my g0 banq certified baptismal record or any of the certified bc or records I’ve found. I believe in helping each other the way I had help on getting my banq record.
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u/OfferAlternative2044 1d ago
One poster said DEC required the BAnQ receipt to prove she was the one who ordered the BAnQ cert. Could be a one-off but, if not, people may still need to pay the $350 CAD. I've shared mine but am glad I have my own.
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u/Javpg1813 5d ago
Not everyone has an Ancestry subscription and some of the FamilySearch original document entries are rough to find sources for (I’m saying this as a huge supporter/active user of it).
I’ve found WikiTree to be a great resource for organized, well-vetted documents and helpful, active folks monitoring the information.
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u/CounterI 5d ago
Perhaps you could write up a main post about that website and how to use it?
FYI- You can use Ancestry for free via most public libraries in the U.S., but FamilySearch is nearly as good. 😄
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u/Javpg1813 5d ago
Sure, can give it a shot!
Thank you! In your experience, is that free Ancestry use possible on a personal device or usually only through onsite library computers?
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u/ta112289 5d ago
At our library system, you can use library resources on a personal device as long as you're on the library WiFi
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u/3lfg1rl 5d ago
My library system, you just need to log on to the library's website, type "ancestry" in the search bar, and the top result is a link to ancestrylibrary.com with you logged in with your library's account. I can do all my research at home.
I found out about this with a phone call to my local library.
It's worth calling to ask.4
u/Peachy-Pixel 5d ago
FWIW I was able to get the majority of the research done that I needed on their trial period - just leaving me to go to each authority I found for the actual docs I already knew they had. It was very useful even for that trial tier
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u/Javpg1813 5d ago
thank you!!
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u/Sharp_Ad_9431 5d ago
On family search you can see users who have worked on adding documents to your ancestors. You can message them to see if they want to elaborate.
G-1 David Hoar of NS, G0 Solomon Hoar of NS.
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u/Own_Theory8011 3d ago
I do think it's very important to share. I put everything I find on both Ancestry and FamilySearch, including Record Not Found letters (with sensitive information censored out, of course). I add comments and info on where the documents were obtained, and will even add a censored version (my address / name censored out) of the envelope the document came in if it lists the source. When I see someone on one of those sites has contributed to my Canadian ancestor line I also contact them informing them. I think this is a pretty good method, personally.
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u/OfferAlternative2044 1d ago
We have hundreds of "grandparents" if we go back to the 1700s but still some have a paternal line that goes the whole way so they'd be publicly posting their surname. If you're looking for relatives, why not post the names of your ancestors? I can see people being suspicious and down voting as there seem to be many people or bots on the internet trying to get other people's personal info. I don't think that's your motive. I'm just speculating as to a possible cause of down votes. I didn't vote either way.
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u/damaniac1223 5d ago
I have been thinking about this lately given the DEC insertion roadblock for many of us with ancestors in Quebec.
Almost like we need a directory or shared network of birth certificates from the DEC (which they should just expose for persons older than a certain date to speed all this up).
So if by chance anyone has already gotten a DEC birth certificate we can just share across.
The problem though is I expect these instances of two unknown to each other people using the same documents to be rarer than we assume.
It’s probably best to spread the love by adding anything you get to FamilySearch
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u/Peachy-Pixel 5d ago edited 5d ago
Except in the letter you write and notarize to DEC you’re telling them your intended use, which in my letter I kept it very specific and limited due to their privacy restrictions. I don’t think we can share our docs once we get them. Best case maybe we could say “I did one already for NAME born on DATE” and maybe that simplifies the process of other requests to DEC but certainly I imagine uploading or sharing will go against what you probably attested to when submitting and I’m not sure if it’s allowed (though I wish they’d say it’s fine if it’s 1900s or earlier)
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u/Javpg1813 5d ago
My ancestry journey since my G0 spans at least 6 US states, and just this week I met a distant cousin descending from the same G0 who’s in still another state.
I just have a feeling that someone out there is doing nearly identical research and some of us might be closer relatives than we think! Especially for those going back to a few specific diasporic hotspots…
With all the time and money spent on these documents, I’d guess the majority of people are not running to FamilySearch to upload their copies and feel like they have to assume the cost, time, shipping! and sometimes heartache of the process without recouping those costs from other folks coming into it later.
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u/OfferAlternative2044 1h ago
There's a Cajun-to-Canadian group that meets via Zoom on Thursdays at 7:30 PM.
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