A large portion of the Drouin Collection, one of the most important resources for family history research in the province of Quebec, Canada, has been added to Ancestry.com. Best of all, it is available for free searching through the end of March. The entire Drouin collection contains vital, notarial, and other miscellaneous records from Quebec, as well as French Catholic parish records from Ontario, Acadia, and the U.S. The majority of the records are written in French, but some are written in English, Latin, or Italian. Most are baptisms, marriages and burials, but you'll also find other church records including confirmations, dispensations, censuses, statements of readmission to the church, etc.

The Drouin Collection is online at Ancestry.com as a series of databases:

Quebec Vital Records

Quebec Notarial Records

Acadian Catholic Church Records

Ontario French Catholic Church Recors

Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records

Miscellaneous French Records The majority of the handwritten records are in French and the index won't be available until later this year, so be prepared to spend some time searching!