DIY Genealogy: Free Resource for French-Canadian Ancestor Research

Researching French-Canadian roots?

In this post I share one of my favourite free online resources for researching and establishing my French-Canadian lineage. If your research is in the "collecting ancestors" phase (i.e., you are building out lineages in your family tree), this resource is especially well-documented and, in my view, foundational for budget-conscious DIY genealogists:

• Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française

Fig. 1: Snip of the Home Page (French version) of
Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française

Don't read French? The website offers an English version called Genealogy of Canada although the original source records they refer to (e.g., BMD or notarial records) are in French.

What is it?

Also known as NosOrigines ("Our origins"), the website hosts a crowd-sourced database of French-Canadian family lineages and individual records. It is free to search or to add your own family tree. If I'm stumped and looking for inspiration to help make a breakthrough, or for unique research hints or clues uploaded by other researchers, this website is a favourite go-to resource.

How does it work?

To search the database of individuals, from the home page, to research one individual simply input the person's given name and surname in the search fields and click the Search button. 

Fig. 2: Snip of the Home Page (English version) and Individual search fields

If you wish to research a couple, first click on the Advanced Search link and input the given name and surname of the Husband and then of the Spouse. For broader search results, select the "Soundex" (sounds like) option; for narrower results, select Exact Spelling or Starts With. Optionally, you may input a year of interest. Click the Search button.

Fig. 3: Advanced Search fields allow you to search for a couple,
in this case my 10th great-grandparents Louis HEBERT and Marie ROLLET

A list of search results will be returned; select the name that most likely represents your ancestor, in this case ID 4005; Hebert Louis.

Fig. 4: Search results for Louis HEBERT and Marie ROLLET

This will take you to the linked records for that ancestor and their spouse. Two records are displayed, one for the Husband and one for the Spouse, with the marriage information displayed in the yellow box between the two records, and available details for each ancestor displayed in their respective coloured boxes. 

Figs. 5 & 6: The couple's individual records and a list of other known family members

Additionally, links to extra research items attached to the records will be displayed (see red arrows above). In some cases this includes an image of the marriage record or unique tidbits like an uploaded biography, or anecdotes uploaded by a researcher (e.g., click on ...<plus>... to view additional information pertaining to the individual).

If known, parents' names are also displayed as well as links to other spouses' records, and a list of known children and (if they were married) their spouses.

Why do I like this database?

I have used this database for nearly two decades. Long before I knew about the subscription service offered by PRDH-IGD.com, this free website was my go-to resource and guide; it helped me sort through all of the, for example, ancestors who (for a newbie) were frustratingly similarly-named, and provided source citations or links so that I could verify and follow up in my main tree on Ancestry.

This database is easy to use, comprehensive (e.g., I have found Acadians and Huguenots identified here, as well as parents - or other information pointing to parents - on the other side of the Atlantic in France). Key for me is that it cites source information so I can do my own due diligence. Often other individuals also researching that ancestor will have posted additional information about that ancestor, sometimes unique research that you won't find anywhere else.

Drawbacks to this database? 

Because it's free, one does get bombarded with ads. While annoying, it's a minor inconvenience given the breadth and depth of the database and, in my opinion, the quality of research being provided. 

As stated previously, it is a crowd-sourced database so you do have to do your own follow-up research to confirm the relationships and data. But as researchers it is best practice to be doing that anyway. The fact that the website identifies its sources, in my view, makes it easier to verify than AI-generated trees I have found elsewhere, ones that have the potential to amplify incorrect information from trees with incorrect relationships or data. 

With this website, you are provided with the sources with which you can then independently do follow-up research to verify the individuals, and sometimes discover the bonus of unique bits of additional information or fun facts uploaded by a researcher.

More to explore.

While I have used this database mainly for its information on French-Canadian individuals and to help sort through familial relationships, there is so much more to this website to explore. So if you're looking for a free and comprehensive database for your French-Canadian research, why not check it out.

                                        

Sources:

Search results for Louis HEBERT and Marie ROLLET on Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française | Genealogy of Canada : www.nosorigines.qc.ca : accessed on 12 Feb 2026.