Today, most of the people who live along the north and south shores of the St. Lawrence River east of Quebec City and in the Gaspé Peninsula are French-speaking. But in the late 1700s and early 1800s, after the British took New France and began to govern it as Lower Canada, they encouraged English-speaking colonists to come to these regions of Quebec. The settlers included British, Scottish and Irish Protestant immigrants, as well as Loyalists from the United States. Many of these people were Presbyterians, and the records of their births, marriages and deaths can be found in Presbyterian church archives and various other repositories.

This compilation lists the towns and villages where these people lived and identifies the churches or missions that served their spiritual needs. These communities were located in the territories of Cornwallis, Devon, Dorchester, Hertford and Northumberland. Today, these counties are known as Bellechasse, Bonaventure, Charlevoix, Gaspé, Kamouraska, L’Islet, Matane, Montmagny, Rimouski, Rivière du Loup and Témiscouata. Most of these areas were, and still are, rural, but they include towns such as La Malbaie (formerly Murray Bay), Métis, Gaspé and Tadoussac.

Eventually, many of these people left their farms and villages and moved to Montreal, to Upper Canada (Ontario), western Canada or the United States. This compilation is designed to help their descendants track these family roots in Quebec. Thanks to Jacques Gagne for preparing it, and to Claire Lindell for editing.

Presbyterian Churches of Lower Canada North Shore and Gaspe Peninsula