Researchers to Help You
There are several people in the ET's area who are available to do paid research for you.
Fees vary and may change for the kind of research you require, so please be sure to contact the individual for updated information, even if you have used them previously.Please remember to try to be as specific as possible. Try not to say "I'm looking for any information on the Tryon family in Quebec". Offer an outline of what you have and what you might specifically be looking for.
All these researchers are very reasonably priced and you shouldn't hesitate to contact them should you need "on-the-spot" assistance. They are all long-time subscribers to our QC-ETANGLO mailing list have many years experience.
Pennie Redmile -- Pennie has easy access to Notarial records which are held in Montreal, as well as church records covering the ET's. Records she has access to cover: Notary records- voting books (including early Missisquoi) - guardianship records- curatorship records - interdictions - civil court records - sheriff sales (many St Armand area) - coroner reports - prison records (150 year closure) - Lower Canada land grants and some marriage banns.The church registers for all of Quebec from the beginning up to 1940. The notary & court records are usually in the language of the family. We also have a death index & an marriage index for all of Quebec covering the years 1926-1996. All pre 1850 court documents for Brome- Missisquoi & Shefford. Pennie has helped me many times and I can attest to her professionalism. She has been steadily doing extracts of notarial indexes which cover our area and, from my own experience, can say that they can hold a wealth of information if you are lucky enough to find documents there. Several of my lines are only proven because there were notarial documents that stated relationships. Do not ignore this goldmine of a resource.
Note: If you are unfamiliar with what notarial records can offer, your ancestor may have left a Will, Donation (where property is left to a son/daughter and husband, etc where the donation is usually based on condition, perhaps that the recipient cares for the elderly parents), Gift, Deed, Sale, etc. You have to remember that most notaries in Quebec state a wife or mother by her maiden name which can fill in the blank for that all-too-often missing marriage record. Tutelles et Curatelles in Montreal cover the assignment of a tutor or sub-tutor for minor children left behind when a parent has passed away. These usually give relationships of those assigned.
I need to do a whole separate page on the documents that can be find within notarial files!Brenda Birch -- Many of you know Brenda from the wonderful cemetery transcriptions she has done (which are listed on the Missisquoi Resources page). Well, I hear Brenda also has access to land records in Brome Co. (Knowlton) & Missisquoi Co. (Bedford) and while these records are most often post-1850, they will add a great deal of information to your records. She is also available to do cemetery searches can take photos of headstones in most of the cemeteries (Protestant & Catholic) in Missisquoi & Brome County. This will include the towns of Stanbridge, St. Armand, Frelighsburg, Dunham, Cowansville, Bedford, Sweetsburg, Knowlton, Brome, Sutton, Glen Sutton, Dunkin & Mansonville, QC. If any one knows the local cemeteries in that area, it is Brenda!
Judy Antle -- Judy is the Archivist at the Missiquoi Historical Society and has all their holdings at her disposal, not to mention the years of experience she has had answering questions in helping others research their lines. I, personally, can add that Judy is a treasure and our correspondence goes back MANY years. A lot of you have used her services over the years so this tribute will come as no surprise. The society's holdings is immense and they have census, cemetery and church records (both Protestant and Catholic), as well as compiled family and Bible records, diaries, school records, all in one location. The fees for her assistance can be found on their website.
