On August 25, 1572, on the feast day of St Bartholomew, thousands of Huguenots were massacred by government forces in Paris and in other regions of France.

From the same year of 1572 a large-scale emigration from France by Protestant familiies began.

Over the next few weeks, I will post web site addresses which are known to many family researchers but perhaps some of you who might be beginners in the field of family searches, some of these web sites might open doors to your research endeavours.

As part of these overviews I will concentrate on web sites which are linked indirectly to Canada and especially to Québec.

Michel Barbeau in his precise and well researched web site Huguenots in Canada has identified 321 Huguenots who settled into Nouvelle France from about 1634 to 1763. You can find this important database online at http://pages.infinit.net/barbeaum/fichier/index.htm

Unfortunately, Protestants were not welcomed to Nouvelle France. The majority of Protestant families during the period under the French Regime were forced to abjure (renounce) their Protestant faith, see: http://www.guyperron.com/ptdaniel_perron_abjuration.html.

On the subject of abjuration in Nouvelle France, I will address this issue at a later date and indicate where one can obtain copies of acts of abjuration in Québec during the period under the French authorities.

Following the British conquest at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Québec on September 13th 1759 by the Imperial Army under the command of General James Wolfe, French language Protestants were welcomed into the new British Colony of Québec.

And in future postings I will try to identify some of the families who were considered to be Huguenots in Québec.

A limited number of United Empire Loyalists who settled into Québec and Lower Canada were Huguenots, I will also address these immigrants to Québec and Lower Canada.

Subsequent postings to this blog will include shortly research guides dealing with the Huguenot emigration routes through France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the Walloon region of modern-day Belgium from about 1596 onward.

For the time being I have selected a few web addresses which might shed lights on your research process of the Huguenot families who might have settled into Québec (British North America) and Lower Canada from 1759 onward.

> Huguenots of France and Elsewhere –http://huguenots-france.org/english.htm
> Huguenot & Walloon Genealogy  – http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/hug/index.shtml
> Huguenot Surname Index  – http://www.aftc.com.au/Huguenot/Hug.html#A
> Huguenots in the Channel Islands– http://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Huguenot_refugees
> The Huguenots in France and the Atlantic Diaspora – http://www.huguenot.netnation.com/books/Diaspora.html

Much more to follow over the next few weeks.

Jacques Gagné