Tanguay marriage records are written in a specific format that needs some explanation. Tanguay abbreviates births as 'n' (ne/nee), baptisms as 'b', marriages as 'm', deaths as 'd', and burials as 's' (sepulcre). The marriage record for Jacques Girard is described below as an example:
1. All marriages are listed alphabetically by the Groom Surname, then by the Marriage Date centered above the groom name (ex; 1710, (19 Mars) Varennes 7). The superscript '7' after the place name is used throughout that page to represent 'Varennes', even if the marriage continues onto the next page. So, previous superscript numbers may be identified further up that page.
2. Surnames are Capitalized, followed by the given name, so the above marriage ("GIRARD, Jacques,") is for Jacques Girard, who married "Francoise Petit" on 19 March 1710 at Varennes.
3. Each groom name is preceded by his Generation number ("II.-GIRARD, Jacques,"), so Jacques is in the 2nd generation.
Footnotes may appear in parentheses after the name so always check them at the bottom of the page. Footnotes may provide some detail about the person, or refer you to other Tanguay pages (ex; "Voy. vol. I, p. 269").
4. The groom's Father is capitalized in brackets at right ("[PIERRE I.") of the groom name, followed by the father's generation number. For the father's marriage, check earlier dates (20-25 years) where the groom is "I.-GIRARD, Pierre", and "Jacques" is listed as his son.
5. Information for the groom is listed after his name ("b 1683."), so Jacques was BAPTIZED in 1683.
6. If the groom was an immigrant to New France, his parents and their place of origin in France would be listed after the groom name.
7. Each spouse surname is capitalized below the groom data, so Jacques' wife was "PETIT, Francoise,", daughter of "LOUIS II.", baptized in "1687". For her father's marriage, check earlier dates (20-25 years) where the groom is "II.-PETIT, Louis", and "Francoise" is listed as his daughter.
8. Multiple marriages are marked as 1st (1 superscript 'o'), 2nd (2 superscript 'o'), etc., with each marriage date centered above the spouse surname.
9. Children of each marriage are listed in Italics followed by data about the child (typically baptism, marriage and burial). Data items are separated by semi-colons and that child's data ends with a period. Subsequent children are separated by a dash "-" with the next child name in italics. So the 1st child of Jacques and Francoise above is:
a) Marguerite-Louise Girard was baptized (b7 19 nov. 1710;) at Varennes on 19 Nov 1710.
b) Marguerite married (m7 14 janvier 1732 a Etienne Senecal;) at Varennes on 14 Jan 1732 to Etienne Senecal.
c) Marguerite was buried (s7 17 mars 1798.) at Varennes on 17 Mar 1798.
10. Remember to record the volume and page numbers in the citation. Also, be careful reading Tanguay records, since it is easy to record the wrong data. If you still need help, please email AFGS at: membersonlyhelp@afgs.org
SUMMARY: After getting the Tanguay data, you need to check Series 1 & 2 of the "Complement to Tanguay" for any additions or corrections. If you still need help, please email AFGS at: membersonlyhelp@afgs.org
St-Maclou Church, Rouen, Normandy, France. Image by Frances Tivey.
