Cyprien Tanguay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cyprien Tanguay
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| Born | 15 September 1819 |
| Died | 28 April 1902 (aged 82) |
| Occupation | Roman Catholic priest, author, statistician |
| Known for | Genealogical works authored, especially his multi-volume Dictionnaire |
Cyprien Tanguay (born September 15, 1819 – died April 28, 1902) was a French Canadian priest and historian. He is famous for his huge collection of family histories, especially his Dictionnaire généalogique des familles canadiennes françaises. This book helps people trace their family roots back through time.
Contents
About Cyprien Tanguay
Cyprien Tanguay was born in Quebec City in 1819. He became a priest in 1843 after studying at Quebec Seminary. For the first 22 years, he worked in different parishes, which are like local church communities. He helped start a seminary in Rimouski, a school for training priests.
Becoming a Family Historian
In 1865, Cyprien Tanguay got a special job with the government. He was appointed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Immigration, and Statistics. This allowed him to focus on his passion: studying family histories, also known as genealogy.
He spent all his time researching family trees. He looked through old church records, called parish registers, in Quebec, the Maritime provinces, Ontario, and even old French settlements in the United States. He also traveled to Europe twice to find more information.
His Big Book: The Dictionnaire
From 1871 to 1890, Cyprien Tanguay published his most important work. It was called Dictionnaire généalogique des familles canadiennes françaises depuis les origines de la colonie jusqu'à nos jours. This huge dictionary had seven large books, each with over 600 pages! It was a massive project that he completed all by himself.
Even though his work had a few small mistakes, it was very reliable. It helped many French Canadians trace their family history back to their ancestors from France. This book became a very important tool for anyone interested in their family's past.
Other Works and Recognition
Cyprien Tanguay also wrote other books. These included the Répertoire du clergé canadien-français (1868), which listed French-Canadian priests, and À travers les registres (1886). Because of his amazing work, Pope Leo XIII gave him a special honor in 1887.
A special plaque in Ottawa marks the spot where Cyprien Tanguay used to live. His original research and many books helped set up French-Canadian genealogy on a strong foundation. This has been a great help to millions of Canadians and Americans who have French-Canadian ancestors.
Tanguay's Influence and Legacy
Cyprien Tanguay's Dictionnaire is a key book for French-Canadian family history. It has more than 4,350 pages across its seven volumes. Later, it was reprinted and even made available on CD-ROM. This made it easier for more people to use.
How Tanguay Changed Genealogy
René Jetté, another important genealogist, said that Tanguay's work was important in three ways:
- He started a new way of doing genealogy that was separate from lawyers or historians.
- He believed that everyone has ancestors, not just rich or famous people.
- He showed that family history should be based on real evidence and facts.
Over time, Tanguay's Dictionnaire became available in many ways. It was reprinted in the United States in 1969 and in Quebec in 1975. In 2001, it came out on CD-ROM. More recently, his main works have become available online through the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.
Building on Tanguay's Work
Other groups and people built upon Tanguay's pioneering work. For example, the Institut généalogique Drouin started a service in 1917 that used Tanguay's Dictionnaire. They later created their own dictionary based on church records.
In 1943, a priest named Archange Godbout started the first French-Canadian genealogical society in Montreal. Today, there are many such societies in Quebec.
Later, in 1983, René Jetté published his own important genealogical dictionary. It was called Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec des origines à 1730. This book used information from the PRDH (Programme de recherche en démographie historique) at Montréal University. In 2002, another dictionary was released on CD-ROM, covering families from the origins to 1765.
Even though newer works have come out, Cyprien Tanguay's Dictionnaire is still cited and used by researchers today. It shows how important his work was in helping people discover their family's past.
