Genealogy Dashboard - Jewish Montreal

The JGS-Montreal genealogical dashboard enables you to search many genealogical resources from one screen. Keep in mind that each resource has its own conventions (e.g., search syntax), so this dashboard should be thought of as a starting point. Look for these help notes: ?.

Most of these resources have been regularly utilized at the monthly Sunday Morning Family Tree Workshops of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Montreal, moderated by its president, Stanley Diamond.

Location: https://jowbr.org/gen/dev/dash.cgi

About the JGS-Montreal Genealogy Dashboard

Provide information to fill search forms:

  1. Fill some or all of the fields, click 'Go' and many search forms will be filled with those values.
  2. Then, click the 'Search ...' buttons and results will appear in a results window.
  3. Keep that results window around because all results will be sent to that same window.
  4. Edit the fields with the 'Search ...' buttons to try variations.
: :
: :
 Bookmark

Genealogy Resources

Genealogical Services at Library and Archives Canada Canada
https://www.BAC-LAC.gc.ca/eng/discover/genealogy
General resources on doing Canadian genealogy. Under Ethnic Groups, there is a useful page on Jews.
Jewish Genealogy and Family History Canada
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/history-ethnic-cultural/Pages/jewish.aspx
Quebec Genealogy and Family History Quebec
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/genealogy/places/Pages/quebec.aspx

Census of Canada

1911 Census of Canada 1911 Quebec free AutomatedGenealogy ?
http://AutomatedGenealogy.com/census11/index.jsp
1901 Census of Canada 1901 Quebec free Library & Archives Canada
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1901/Pages/1901.aspx
1911 Census of Canada 1911 Quebec free Library & Archives Canada
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1911/Pages/1911.aspx
1921 Census of Canada 1921 Quebec free Library & Archives Canada
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1921/Pages/1921.aspx
1931 Census of Canada 1931 Quebec free Library & Archives Canada ?
https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Census/Index
1901 Census of Canada 1901 Quebec $subscription Ancestry.ca
https://search.Ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=8826
1911 Census of Canada 1911 Quebec $subscription Ancestry.ca
https://search.Ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=8947
1921 Census of Canada 1921 Quebec free Ancestry.ca
https://search.Ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=8991
Free, but requires registration.
1931 Census of Canada 1931 Quebec $subscription Ancestry.ca ?
https://www.ancestry.ca/search/collections/62640/
1940 National Registration 1940-1946 Canada $45 for successful request ?
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/93C0006
Compulsory registration of all persons, 16 and over, 1940-1946. Can be disclosed when a person has been dead for more than 20 years.

Canadian Naturalization Searches (guide)

Montreal Circuit Court 1900-1915 Montreal free ?
https://www.BAC-LAC.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/citizenship-naturalization-records/citizenship-montreal-1851-1945/
Naturalization Records from the Montreal Circuit Court. Local naturalization granted British citizenship within Canada. A family would share one certificate of naturalization. A key feature of this resource is that good resolution colour images are immediately available. Tip: right-click on the thumbnail images and save to file; the "thumbnails" are actually the best resolution image.
Canadian Naturalization 1915-1951 Canada $5 ?
https://www.BAC-LAC.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/citizenship-naturalization-records/naturalized-records-1915-1951/
Canadian Naturalization Records available from Ottawa. These applications for an Imperial Certificate of Naturalization granted the successful petitioner British Citizenship. Applications contain many details, and the files can contain an RCMP report, letters of recommendation, correspondence, and subsequent applications (e.g., for a replacements for a lost certificate or for a miniature certificate, which might include a photo).
Russian Empire Immigrants 1898-1922 Canada free ?
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/immigrants-russian-empire/
Russian Consular records in Canada.
Ukrainian Immigrants 1891-1930 Canada free ?
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/immigrants-ukraine-1891-1930/

Quebec and Montreal

Drouin Collection 1621-1968 Quebec $subscription Ancestry.ca ?
https://search.Ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=1091
Handwritten records of Quebec births, marriages, and deaths. Scanned in the 1940s. The collection in Ancestry has many corrections.
Quebec Records Quebec $subscription
https://www.GenealogieQuebec.com/en/
Quebec-specific databases including: Drouin Collection (5M images) Obituaries (death cards and cemeteries, 4.1M images)) Marriages and deaths (1926-1997, 7.8M images and files) Notarized documents (250K images) Obituaries
Genealogy Quebec Marriages 1926-1997 Quebec $subscription ?
https://www.genealogiequebec.com/membership/en/marriages
Search for records of Quebec marriages by husband or wife. Records include details about the parties, sometimes their parents, and information about the wedding.
Genealogy Quebec Deaths 1926-1997 Quebec $subscription ?
https://www.genealogiequebec.com/membership/en/deaths
Search for records of deaths marriages by information about a person, their parents, or their spouse. Records include details about the person (marital status, dates of birth and death, age, residence), spouse, and parents.
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec Quebec free
https://www.BANQ.qc.ca/accueil/index.html?language_id=1
Lovell's Montreal Directories 1842-2010 Montreal English / français free ?
https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/3652178
Alphabetical name and street directories, organized by year. This is a very useful resource even though it is tedious to use because of the small print.
Lovell's Montreal Directories via Steve Morse's One Step Pages 1842-1978 Montreal English free ?
http://more.stevemorse.org/montreal_en.html
Searching by name and year gets you close, after which you can navigate to the next or specific page.
City Directories Canada free
https://genealogyalacarte.ca/?page_id=10651
Collection of links to city directories from Genealogy à la carte.
Montreal Images 1870-1920 Montreal français free
https://www.BANQ.qc.ca/collections/collection_numerique/massicotte/
Quebec Civil Registry 1841-1918 Montreal français free
https://Perlman.ca/gen/civil.htm
Civil records in the 'Montreal region', 'District of Montreal'. Records are hand-written, in colour, not searchable, but organized by date. Suitable for framing!
Montreal Business Records 1849-1967 Montreal free
https://Perlman.ca/gen/mobus
Letters of Incorporation, Dissolution, Intent to do Business. These documents are in an archive in Old Montreal. They can be requested and photographed onsite.
La généalogie à BAnQ Quebec français free
https://www.BANQ.qc.ca/archives/genealogie_histoire_familiale/
Includes information on notarial records.
Archives de Montréal Montreal français free
http://ArchivesDeMontreal.com/
Archives de Montréal Montreal français free
https://ArchivesDeMontreal.ica-atom.org/
Montreal Newspapers Gazettte (1857-) + Star (1869-1979) Montreal English $subscription Newspapers.com ?
https://www.newspapers.com/browse/canada/quebec/montreal/
Newspapers.com, limited to Montreal (e.g., Gazette and Star)
Wagar High School 1965-2005 Montreal free ?
https://Wagar.ca
Search for Wagar High School graduates. Matches link to scanned yearbook pages.

Death/Burial Searches

Paperman & Sons Funerals Montreal free
https://www.paperman.com/
Frequently updated funeral listings. Call for help with their extensive records (514-733-7101).
Paperman & Sons Archive Montreal free
https://web.archive.org/web/*/www.paperman.com
Frequently updated funeral listings. Call for help with their extensive records (514-733-7101).
Archive Paperman & Sons
https://web.archive.org/save/https://www.paperman.com/
Archive 30-day Paperman & Sons
https://web.archive.org/save/https://www.paperman.com/en/funerals/
Paperman Obituaries free Google
https://www.paperman.com
Paperman Identifier 2019-
https://web.archive.org/web/https://www.paperman.com/en/funerals/
JGS-Montreal Burials Montreal
https://jowbr.org/dev/search.cgi
Baron de Hirsch 1890- Montreal ?
https://barondehirsch.com/
Search service for the Baron de Hirsch cemetery on rue de la Savane and the Back River Memorial Gardens in Montreal. At it's release in late 2020, data had not been corrected, so there are thousands of error that might hinder retrieval. Photos from the service were provided by JGS-Montreal.org, although in over 1000 cases, the one photo displayed is not the best photo available. Except for burials after 2016-2018, which might be missing from JOWBR, it's better to search the corrected data in JOWBR and follow the link to more information.
Gazette Obituaries 2000-present Montreal free ?
https://montrealgazette.remembering.ca
Obituaries published online in the Montreal Gazette. This resource is worth searching for older obituaries because you might find information in an "In Memoriam". Some Gazette obituaries can be found in the Genealogie Quebec archive. Google newspapers has many issues of the Montreal Gazette, but it is not well-indexed for search.
Genealogie Quebec Obituaries Quebec $subscription ?
https://obituary.genealogiequebec.com/
Free access to Quebec and other obituaries.
Legacy.com Obituaries free Google
https://www.legacy.com
CanadianObits.com free ?
https://canadianobits.com
LaPress.ca free ?
https://necrologie.lapresse.ca/
FCFQ Death Notices free ?
https://www.fcfq.coop/en/death-notices/
Necrologue Death Notices free ?
https://www.lenecrologue.com/en/
Necrologie Canada Death Notices free
https://necrocanada.com/
Keneder Adler Obituaries 1908-1935 Canada free ?
https://www.cjhn.ca/en/genealogy
The entire text of the obituaries from this Montreal-based daily newspaper have been translated and indexed here.
Canadian Virtual War Memorial Canada free ?
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial
The Canadian Virtual War Memorial (CVWM) is a registry to honour and remember the sacrifices of the more than 118,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who, since Confederation, have given their lives serving in uniform.
Find a Grave Canada free ?
https://www.FindaGrave.com/
Find a Grave Database of Burials, owned by Ancestry.com. For no charge, details on a burial and related burials can be saved and shared online. This is a good place to request that someone photograph a gravestone for you. A phone app is available.
Billion Graves Canada free
https://BillionGraves.com
Billion Graves Database of Burials, owned by MyHeritage.com. BillionGraves offers many opportunities to pay for their subscriptions services. A phone app is available.
JewishData Members Canada $subscription ?
https://JewishData.com
JewishData charges $18 for 90 days access, which is well worth it during Montreal winters. Their indexing data is limited, but their photos are good quality. Only one photo per burial, so if there is a headstone and footstone, you will probably only see one. You can use the photos for personal use, as long as the JewishData.com watermark is retained. Check with free services like Find-a-Grave, BillionGraves, and JOWBR for images.
Ottawa Jewish Cemeteries Ottawa, Canada free ?
https://www.JewishMemorialGardens.org/
Jewish Memorial Gardens manages two Jewish cemeteries (Bank Street and Osgoode) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Ottawa burial records are submitted to JOWBR but their photographs are not.
JOWBR Burial Database Canada free ?
https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Cemetery/
JOWBR, the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry, contains over three million burial records worldwide, and over 175,000 in Canada, with over 60,000 in Quebec. Note that many Montrealers are buried in Ontario and other provinces, and in the USA and Israel. JOWBR has exceptional search capabilities, and increasingly, photographs of gravestones are being added to Montreal burial records.

It is important to know which cemeteries are in JOWBR, and which of those have been photographed. Most of the large Baron de Hirsch cemetery (over 100 sections) is in JOWBR, but has not been photographed, except for the Veteran Section (Map C19). The following is not in JOWBR, but you might find/request photographs in services like Find-a-Grave. - Temple Emanu-El/Beth Sholom (Outremont, Mount Royal)

Jewish Resources

JewishGen
https://www.JewishGen.org
JewishGen is THE place to start Jewish Genealogical research. - DATABASES: -- JGFF Family Finder -- Town Finder -- Holocaust Database -- JOWBR Burial Registry - RESOURCES: -- Yizkor books and KehilaLinks -- Family Pages -- ViewMate translation service -- SIGs Special Interest Groups -- Discussion groups
JewishGen Communities Database
https://www.jewishgen.org/Communities/Search.asp
The JewishGen Communities Database contains information about 6,000 Jewish communities in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Uses knowledge about name/country changes/variations.
ViewMate Document Translation
https://www.jewishgen.org/ViewMate/
ViewMate allows JewishGen participants to post photographs and documents online, and request help in translating or identifying information.
Canadian Jewish Genealogical Research
https://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/Canada
Guide compiled and Edited by Bruce Brown for JewishGen Education, November 2016
JGFF Family Finder ?
https://www.jewishgen.org/jgff/
The JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF) is a database of ancestral towns and surnames currently being researched by Jewish genealogists worldwide.
JRI Poland Poland free ?
https://jri-poland.org
Jewish Records Indexing - Poland. Launched in early 1995, JRI-Poland is the largest fully searchable database of indexes to Jewish vital records accessible online. 5 million records from more than 550 Polish towns are now indexed or fully extracted.
Canadian Jewish Newspapers 1921- Canada free ?
https://newspapers.lib.sfu.ca
The Canadian Jewish Review (CJR, 1921-1966), the Canadian Jewish News (CJN, 1960-1993), and the Jewish Western Bulletin (JWB, 1925-2004) are available through Simon Fraser University's SFU Digital Newspapers.
Canadian Jewish Newspapers 1921- Canada free Google ?
https://newspapers.lib.sfu.ca
The Canadian Jewish Review (CJR, 1921-1966), the Canadian Jewish News (CJN, 1960-1993), and the Jewish Western Bulletin (JWB, 1925-2004) are available through Simon Fraser University's SFU Digital Newspapers. While there are problems with the site at SFU, this option of searching through Google will be provided.
Jewish Newspapers and their Archives free
https://jgsbc.ca/newspapers/
This page provides links to archives of community and regular newspapers from all over the world. Most are historical. Languages include English, French, German, Hebrew, Ladino, Polish and Yiddish. The page is in three parts: Canadian, American and international papers. The links were provided by Cheryl Rimer, a member, who gave a talk on this subject.
Who's Who in Canadian Jewry 1890-1980 JGS-Montreal members-only ?
https://jgs-Montreal.org/whoswho/wwicj.cgi
This resource allows search and retrieval of pages from the 1965 book by Dr. Eli Gottesman. It provides biographies hundreds of prominent Canadian Jews and their families,
Canadian Jewish Heritage Network Canada free ?
https://cjhn.ca/en/
This site brings together the databases and digitized archival material of - Canadian Jewish Congress Charities Committee National Archives (CJCCCNA) - Jewish Public Library Archives of Montreal (JPL-A) - Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre (MHMC) - Saint John Jewish Historical Museum (SJJHM) - Congregation Shaar Hashomayim Museum and Archives - Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue Archives
Center for Jewish History
https://www.CJH.org/
The Center for Jewish History in New York City illuminates history, culture, and heritage. The Center provides a collaborative home for five partner organizations: - American Jewish Historical Society - American Sephardi Federation - Leo Baeck Institute - Yeshiva University Museum - YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
JIAS Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Canada 1922-
https://www.JIAS.org/
Founded on August 30th, 1922, JIAS Canada has assisted Eastern European Jews escaping pogroms, Holocaust survivors, Bosnian refugees, and a multitude of other Jews from around the world. In one way or another, the life of every Jewish family in Canada has been touched by JIAS Canada.
Jewish Public Library 1914-
https://www.JewishPublicLibrary.org/en/
The Jewish Public Library (JPL) remains unique among Montreal's - and the world's - Jewish institutions. A full service lending and research library containing North America's largest circulating Judaica collection, we are an internationally-recognized resource while also meeting the informational, educational and recreational needs of Jewish Montrealers of all ages and backgrounds.
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
https://www.YIVO.org/
YIVO is dedicated to fostering knowledge of the ongoing story of Jewish life, with a focus on the history and culture of East European Jewry'the ancestry of a significant proportion of Jews in the world today.
YIVO Catalog of Photographs of Jewish Life in Eastern Europe
http://yivo1000towns.CJH.org/
The 17,000 photographs in this catalog represent several important YIVO Archives collections of images of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. It is important to note, however, that this presentation covers only a small fraction of YIVO's extensive photographic holdings, one of the world's foremost collections of photographs of Jewish life around the world.
ITS-Arolsen Tracing Service
https://www.ITS-Arolsen.org/en/
The International Tracing Service (ITS) in Bad Arolsen is an archive and a center for documenting National Socialist persecution and the liberated survivors. Former victims of Nazism and their families receive information regarding their incarceration, forced labor and post-war Allied assistance. The more than 30 million documents in the ITS archives also provide the basis for research and education.
Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial
https://www.YadVashem.org/
World Center for Holocaust Research, Education, Documentation and Commemoration
Yad Vashem Shoah Victims free
https://yvng.yadvashem.org?language=en
The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names (new interface, introduced February, 2016)
1939 German "Minority Census" 1939-1942 Germany+annexed free
https://www.tracingthepast.org/minority-census
The database contains the names of all of the people who lived in the household where one or more people in the household had a minimum of one Jewish grandparent. Of the approximately 410,000 original entries, about 275,000 (or around 67%) of the "Minority Census" are available here online, searchable by family name, first name, maiden name if applicable, birth date, birth place, street address and city.
Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation
https://RTRFoundation.org
A Genealogical and Family History guide to Jewish and civil records in Eastern Europe

General Resource Lists and Tools

Ancestry.ca Canada $subscription Ancestry.ca ?
https://search.Ancestry.ca/search/
Voilà: Canada's Catalogue free
https://canada.on.worldcat.org/discovery
Search for items held by Voila or Library and Archives Canada.
WorldCat.org free
https://www.worldcat.org/
Search for items held by libraries worldwide.
Gazette on Google Newspapers 1870-1986 Montreal free
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC
Google Newspapers (Montreal Gazette, ...)
Google Newspapers free Google ?
https://news.google.com/newspapers
Google Newspapers (Montreal Gazette, ...)
Newspapers.com Canada English $subscription
https://www.newspapers.com
Newspapers.com has indexed many Canadian newspapers
Facebook free
https://www.Facebook.com
Canada411 Phonebook Montreal free
https://www.Canada411.ca
Find any persons across Canada on Canada 411 thanks to Canada411.ca
Pipl - People Search Montreal subscription
https://pipl.com/
Find the person behind the email address, social username or phone number.
Stephen P. Morse's One-Step Webpages
https://SteveMorse.org/
This site contains tools for finding immigration records, census records, vital records, and for dealing with calendars, maps, foreign alphabets, and numerous other applications. Some of these tools fetch data from other websites but do so in more versatile ways than the search tools provided on those websites.
Stephen Morse Canadian Census Search 1851-1921 Canada
https://SteveMorse.org/census/canada1911.html
Stephen Morse Hebrew Translation
https://SteveMorse.org/hebrew/trans.html?mode=hebrew
Stephen Morse Hebrew Tombstone Dates
https://SteveMorse.org/jcal/tombstone.html
Hebrew Calendar Date Converter
https://www.hebcal.com/converter/
Cyndi's (Huge, Categorized) List (of Resources)
https://www.CyndisList.com
A huge comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online. Includes hundreds of Jewish links and thousands of Canadian links with hundreds of Quebec links (see Provinces).
Cyndi's List - Jewish
https://www.cyndislist.com/jewish/
Cyndi's List - Canada Canada
https://www.cyndislist.com/canada/
Cyndi's List - Quebec Quebec
https://www.cyndislist.com/canada/provinces/qc/

Genealogical Societies

Jewish Genealogical Society of Montreal
https://JGS-Montreal.org
Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto
https://JGSToronto.ca
Quebec Family History Society Quebec
https://QFHS.ca/
The Quebec Family History Society is the largest English-language genealogical society in Quebec. Our Heritage Centre and Library is open six days a week to help you discover your ancestors and heritage.
Jewish Genealogical Society of New York
https://www.JGSNY.org
IAJGS
https://www.IAJGS.org
The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) is an organization of organizations formed in 1988 to provide a common voice for issues of significance to its members, to advance our genealogical avocation, and to coordinate items such as the annual International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.

Online Family Trees

Family Tree of Jewish People free ?
https://www.jewishgen.org/gedcom/
The Family Tree of the Jewish People (FTJP) is a project to centralize the collection of Jewish family trees, to provide a powerful resource to connect individuals researching the same Jewish family branches, to re-connect their families, and to increase interest in Jewish genealogy.
Ancestry.ca Family Trees $subscription
https://www.Ancestry.ca
Family Trees on Ancestry.ca
Geni.com Family Trees free Google
https://www.Geni.com
Collaborative family trees on Geni.com, owned by MyHeritage.com
MyHeritage Family Trees free Google
https://www.MyHeritage.com
Family Trees on MyHeritage.com
FamilySearch.org free
https://FamilySearch.org/
FamilySearch is a nonprofit family history organization dedicated to connecting families across generations.