Tourist Information Wanted: I'll be in Quebec City July 17-22 and will want to make the most of limited time. 1. Can any Q-Listers point me toward what libraries, museums, etc. would be of benefit to an English-speaking descendant of French Canadians? 2. I can pick out genealogy-related French phrases and say "merci", so would I be able (and/or welcome) to view microfilm of early records? Any suggestions would be most welcome. Kelly Ward Schoolcraft, Michigan (Member #823 of Les Descendants de Pierre Miville Association)

I consider your message very much "on topic". Absolutely the best place to visit is the Archives nationales du Quebec at Pavillon Louis-Jacques-Casault Cité universitaire, C.P. 10450 Sainte-Foy (Québec) G1V 4N1 Tél. : (418) 643-8904 Téléc. : (418) 646-0868 Courriel : anq.quebec@mcc.gouv.qc.ca It's on the grounds of the Laval University located off the main route leading to the west from the city of Quebec. Visit their site at http://www.anq.gouv.qc.ca/ The Societe genealogique du Quebec (ANQ) is located in the same building as the ANQ. It's hours are: mardi mercredi jeudi samedi sauf le 1er du mois 10 h 30 à 21 h 15 18 h 30 -21 h 15 13 h - 16 h 10 h - 16 h You should go to their Web Site at http://www.genealogie.org/club/sgq/ but you have to click on "Bienvenue" to get meaningful information...in French. $5 Canadian per visit to SGQ. No cost except photocopying at ANQ Reading microfilm of the original church registers, etc. is an art gained after much experience. It's not tough because they are in French.The problem is that the entries are in longhand, sometimes not too carefully written. Further some of the original registers are in bad shape not enhanced by the microfilming process. One technique is to go to a portion of a film where the pastor had excellent handwriting to learn the format of each rite, which are fairly standard. Then go back to the dates you're interested in to tackle the hard-to-read scribbling there. You might want to spend more time with the typewritten dictionairies and repertoires prepared in relatively recent years. There is a marriage repertoire for every parish, and some parishes also have baptism and burial repetoires. Jette is an excellent dictionary for events prior to 1730. PRDH is good for events prior to 1800. The Blue Drouin books and the Loiselle Index are good for looking up the basic information on any marriage in Quebec including those in the 20th Century. There are other typewritten resources. BMS (Baptisms/Marriages/Burials) is a recent ongoing effort by a number of Quebec societies to put all BMS through the year 2000 into a data base. It's probably the best way to look for a baptism or a burial in Quebec if all you have is a name (no place where it occurred.) It's likely that ANQ has it. If you have time to drive through the Coast of Beaupre and Ile d'Orleans, contact me at jlesperance@hawaii.rr.com and I'll give you the details of excellent resources at both locales. This comes to you from a tiny dot in the middle of the Pacific. Jerry