In Québec, we have an exceptional knowledge the genealogy of the French-Canadian since the foundation of New France in the 17th century. We can use this information to study historical, environmental, sociological and biological factors involved in phenotypic variation. In particular, we can estimate genetic parameters such as heredity for life-history traits (fertility, lifespan, etc) using state-of-the-art statistical methods. In addition, we can link molecular data to the genealogy to investigate the evolutionary dynamics of specific mutations, such as those involved in genetic diseases. In this endeavour, performing a critical analysis of source materials is essential to understand the nature and limits of the data used, as well as the biases they may induce in our analyses. This is why we work within an interdisciplinary framework with collaborators from diverse fields (anthropology, historical demography, genetic epidemiology, etc).