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Take note regarding burials in Quebec:

• Photos of Grave

Grave plots in Quebec are generally leased on a 50y basis (with some occasional instances of 'in perpetuity'). Once a lease is up, cemeteries will generally remove the markers and release the plot.

For that reason, amongst other cultural traits and historical aspects, there are no French colonial era grave marker remaining other than contemporary commemorative monuments be descendants of settlers. The oldest grave marker in Quebec is from a protestant cemetery from the time Britain took over.

Even in recent years, it is rare to find grave markers from the 1800s and sometimes markers even early 1900s won't exist.

For example, 1970s death are now within that 50y lease renewal, and I have seen graves removed from that time with stone thrown in the disposal pile adjunct the cemetery. This will happen where the cemetery cannot get in touch with descendants to verify if they wish to renew the plot.

• Parish Register

The parish registers are extremely exhaustive and indicate all burials that happened within a parish cemetery. These are public domain.

Burial parish records will indicate the burial date, death date, age at death, and relation of the person (married to/child of) with the mention that it was buried in the cemetery of the parish (or sometimes in the Church). This is important to determine where they are buried as big city are likely to have multiple parishes (and cemeteries).

• Maiden Names

As a cultural tradition, women keep their birth name in Quebec. This means on records; women will be legally registered by their birth name and not a 'married name'. This means local will be searching for their relatives based on their birth name and this should be respected.

There will always be exceptions (e.g. Anglican cemeteries), and with the nature of Find a Grave, it is preferrable for the name to reflect as written on the grave. In the majority of cases, this will be the birth name.

Additionally, Quebec Government enshrined this tradition into law in the 1970s to counter the influence of the English 'Maiden/nee' tradition. This means it is prohibited for women (including new immigrants) to take a married name unless a governmental approval is given (aka, from 1970s onwards no women were allowed to have official records that were not reflecting their birth name).

Useful note to add in bio: Note: maiden name used to reflect the grave

• dit/dite

A 'dit' name simply means the person was also known under different names or pseudonyms. 'dite' is the women gendered version of the word.

'Dit/Dite' simply translates as "also known as".

• Historical Cemeteries

In reference to the first point, it is common that cemeteries closed down and were relocated throughout history. Sometimes the original burial ground remains despite that no maintenance was done to it, but often land were desacralized and resold for development with all former burials exhumed and relocated into an unmarked potter's field in the new cemetery. Grave markers were rarely moved with and simply destroyed in the process. So, if a cemetery has relocated over time in a village, it is unlikely that original burial markers exist.

Useful note to add in Gravesite details:

[Likely] [Originally] buried in the Cimetière [previous cemetery], which closed down in [closure year] and no longer exists. By [exhumation period year], all graves and remains were relocated into the new [new cemetery] including numerous reburials into common graves.

• Bio template

This is my bio template if it helps anyone:

[Short example title as relevant: "Lawyer", "Municipal Councillor/Mayor"/"Soldier in..."]

[Son/Daughter] of [father] and [mother]. [He/She] was baptised [full baptismal name if different] in the parish of [name of parish] [on -date-/if different than birth date]. [His/Her] godparents were [godfather] and [godmother].

[optional: He/She was the twin of -link name-]

[optional: details of studies or particularities pre-marriage if relevant]

[He/She] married [partner] at [location] on [day-month-year].

[On husband page only] Their children:

• [first name] ([year birth-year death]) md [name of partner] (md-1 - md-2)

[He/She] remarried ...

[Optional: profession/occupation]

[Other life information - military service, battles, achievements, particularities]

[He/She] died aged [age] and was buried on [-date-].

Synopsis version (can be added to the above or used in lieu of):

Bapt: [date and location]

Parents: [Father full name] and [Mother full name at birth]

Marriage: [if married - Partner name on -date- at -location-

Occupation: [if applicable]

• Dates

Find a Grave's guideline follows the DAY - MONTH - YEAR format