Major Types of French Records

SACRAMENTAL (Church, the first four required by law)

Many towns and cities have two copies of church records, the parish copy (la copie paroissiale) and the copy kept by the town clerk (la copie greffe). The greffe copy is always kept at the archives of the département in which the town is located. The parish copy is kept by the mayor’s office, usually in the city library (bibliothèque municipale), unless the town is smaller than 2,500 people. Then the parish copy is supposed to be at the archives of the département in which the town is located. Baptisms, marriages, and funerals all indexes by local genealogy clubs.

1. Baptism (Baptême)

2. Marriage (Mariage)

3. Funerary (Sépulture)

4. Abjuration (Abjuration d’Hérésie), sometimes combined with Baptism rite

COLONIAL GOVERNMENT (Before 1791)

1. Civil recordation of Birth, Marriage, and Death, (État-Civil) required after 1678, enforced after 1736

2. Acts of the Monarch (Série A)

Krakovitch, Odile. Arrêts, déclarations, édits, et ordonnances concernant les colonies, 1666-1779: Inventaire analytique de la série Colonies A. Paris: Archives Nationales, 1993. This guide and index should be used in conjunction with the following:

Wroth, Lawrence C. and Annan, Gertrude. Acts of French Royal Administration Concerning Canada, Guiana, the West Indies and Louisiana, Prior to 1791. 1930 reprint, Ville Platte, LA: Provincial Press, 1999. The introduction of the reprint gives an explanation of French document retrieval.

3. Correspondence from the King or his Ministers (Série B)

For B 1 to 37, Taillemite, Étienne. Inventaire analytique de la correspondance générale avec les colonies. Départ. série B, déposée aux Archives nationales. Paris: Ministère de la France d’outre mer, service aux archives, 1959.

4. Correspondence to the King or his Ministers (Série C)

A. Organized by colony: (and indexed!!)

B. C ¹¹ = Canada, Newfoundland, Cape Breton Island, and Acadia

C. C ^{11 A} 1 to 126

D. Desrosiers, A. Correspondance générale et mémoires. Canada: série principale (1575–1784). Ottawa: Archives Nationales du Canada, 1993.

E. C ¹³ = Louisiana

F. Menier, Marie-Antoinette; Taillemite, Étienne; and de Forges, Gilberte. Correspondance à l’arrivée en provenance de la Louisiane. 2 vols. Paris: Archives Nationales, 1976.

5. Civil and Military personnel (Séries D, E)

Brasseaux, Carl A. France’s Forgotten Legion: French Military Service Records, Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast, 1699–1769. CD-ROM Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 2000.

6. Passenger Lists (Listes de passagers, Série F ^5
B)

A. Colonies F ^5
B 1–2, Marseille, 1749–1817.

B. Colonies F ^5
B 5, Saint-Domingue (à France), 1751–1804.

C. Colonies F ^5
B 31, Rochefort, 1749–1829.

D. Colonies F ^5
B 34, Louisiane 1732–1765, St-Domingue (à France), 1775–1806.

E. Colonies F ^5
B 38, Bayonne, 1749–1826, Brest, 1762–1830.

F. Colonies F ^5
B 39–43, Bordeaux 1749-1829.

G. Colonies F ^5
B 44, Caen, 1778–1819; Calais, 1756–1799; Cherbourg, 1749–1830; Dieppe, 1789–1814; Dunkerque, 1720–1830; Fécamp, 1749–1802; et Sète, 1818–1830.

H. Colonies F ^5
B 45–48, Le Havre 1749–1821, Honfleur, 1749–1830.

I. Colonies F ^5
B 49–51, Lorient 1720-1825.

J. Colonies F ^5
B 52, Marseille, 1749–1830.

K. Colonies F ^5
B 53–4, Nantes, 1764–1791.

L. Colonies F ^5
B 55–6, Rochefort, 1714–1829.

M. Colonies F ^{5 B} 57, La Rochelle, 1718–1828.

N. Colonies F ^5
B 58, Les Sables-d’Olonne, 1749–1772; Rouen, 1749–1821; Royan, 1718–1823; Saint-Brieuc,1749–1822; Saint-Jean-de-Luz, 1749–1818; Saint-Malo, 1749–1815; et Toulon, 1755–1823.

O. Colonies F ^5
B 59–60, (à ou de) Brest, 1749–1794.

P. Colonies F ^{5 B} 112, Passagers allant aux colonies (ports assortis), 1716–1823

7. Censuses (Recensements, Série G, Dépôt des papiers publics)

8. Superior Council (Conseil Superieur), both civil and criminal proceedings

NOTARIAL (no changes due to French Revolution)

All kept at the archives of the département in which the town is located. Marriage contracts and Successions are probably indexed by local genealogy clubs.

1. Marriage Contracts (Contrats de mariage)

2. Annulments (Annulations de contrat de mariage)

3. Separations (Séparations)

4. Successions [Probates]

A. Family Meetings (Réunions)

B. Inventories (Inventaires)

C. Wills (Testaments)

5. Donations

6. Acts of Sale (Actes de vente)

A. Movables [Personal Property] (Meubles)

B. Immovables [Real Estate] (Immeubles)

C. Leases and Obligations

7. Affidavits (Déclarations, Procès-verbal)

ÉTAT-CIVIL (after 1791)

Officially, it is the recordation in the Mayor’s office (la mairie, état-civil) of the births, marriages, deaths, and divorces that occur within the arrondissement. Usually found in alphabetical tables in 10 year increments (tables décennales). Large cities will have complete indexes as will a large number of genealogy clubs. Church records after 1791 are complementary to these and not considered to be valid without corresponding civil record.

1. Birth (Naissance)

2. Marriage (Mariage)

3. Death (Décès)

4. Divorce

Where to Begin on a Small Budget

If you know family name and location, first check Gaston Saffroy (at Clayton) and Inter Library Loan volumes of Etienne Arnault (ask for it from Arizona State University).

Saffroy, Gaston. Bibliographie généalogique héraldique et nobiliaire de la France: des origines à nos jours, imprimés et manuscrits. 5 vols. Paris: Librairie Gaston Saffroy, 1968-1988.

Unfortunately, it is doubtful whether there will ever be an English version, but the name indices for publications, etc. are invaluable to finding family histories. These books can save a great deal of time, especially for “notable” families. Librairie Gaston Saffroy is also the largest genealogical book store in France. The address is Librairie Gaston Saffroy

4, rue Clément,

75006 PARIS

Saffroy also contains bibliographies on published records in many categories of genealogical research organized regionally. Also, has cross reference volume and one supplemental “update” volume.

Arnault, Étienne. Répetoire de généalogies françaises imprimées. 3 vols. Nancy, FR: Berger-Levrault, 1986.

Vol. 1 A-F

Vol. 2 G-M

Vol. 3 N-Z, Supplement to Vols. 1 & 2

If you get find your family in either, you can get a copy of article (if it is an article) from the following:

Bibliothèque Généalogique, http://www.geocities.com/eureka/1568/

Bibliothèque Généalogique

3, rue de Turbigo

75001 PARIS

e-mail: bibgen@mail.dotcom.fr

More expensive than municipal libraries, but has it all. Will so simple surname checks for nominal fee for articles.

If a book is cited, try to find on WorldCat and Inter Library Loan it. You can also ask Saffroy to locate and purchase (be prepared for large expense).

Never forget your friendly French Bibliothèque Municipale! It is always a good idea to write a letter in French to the Bibliothèque Municipale of the town from which your gateway (emigrant) ancestor came. They are usually very understanding. Send coupons or $5 (bill). They can be very helpful.

Other Handy Resources

France Genweb, http://francegenweb.org

Also, for the addresses of the Archives départementales, go to

http://webhome.infonie.fr/jomave/archives.html

This site is in French, but most French understand some English.

SIMPLE REQUESTS!

France Telecom Phone Book, http://wgc.pagesjaunes.fr

Very handy for finding addresses, must know département number. Has English mirror.

Bibliography

Remember, Clayton is only library in U.S. to have all the family history and general research guides of the of the French Archives Nationales!!

Research Aids-General

1. Braudel, Fernand. Civilization and Capitalism: 15^th - 18^th Century. Translated by Siân Reynolds 3 vols. New York: Harper & Row, 1981-1984. Vol. 1, The Structures of Everyday Life: The Limits of the Possible (1981). Vol. 2, The Wheels of Commerce. (1982) Vol. 3, The Perspective of the World (1984). This three-volume set gives a perspective on societal forces moving history during this period. This set contains a superb explanation of the forces driving colonization of North America. If you have ever wondered how shopkeepers laid out their store, it’s in here.

2. Mousnier, Roland E. The Institutions of France under the Absolute Monarchy, 1598-1789, 2 vols. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1979 and 1984. Vol. 1, Society and the State. Translated by Brian Pearce. Vol. 2, The Organs of State and Society. Translated by Arthur Goldhammer. This two volume set is indispensable for understanding the structure of French society and government during this time period.

3. Archives Nationales de France. État général des fonds. 4 vols. Paris: Archives Nationales, 1978–1980.

4. Archives Nationales de France. État des inventaires. 4 vols. Paris: Archives Nationales, 1991–9.

5. Direction des archives de France. État des inventaires des archives départementales, communales, et hospitalières au 1er janvier 1983. 2 vols. Paris: Archives Nationales, 1984.

Research Aids-General Genealogy

1. Bernard, Gildas. Guide des recherches sur l’histoire des familles. Paris: Archives Nationales, 1988.

2. Bernard, Gildas. Les familles protestantes en France: XVIe siècle – 1792. Paris: Archives Nationales, 1987.

3. Bernard, Gildas. Les familles juives en France, XVIe siècle-1815: guide des recherches biographiques et généalogiques. Paris: Archives Nationales, 1990.

4. de Berardinis, Robert. “On Obtaining French Military Service Records.” Mississippi Valley Mélange. vol. IV, Winston De Ville, fasg, and Don Pusch, eds. Ville Platte, La.: Provincial Press, 2000.

5. de Berardinis, Robert. “Pre-Revolutionary French Marriage Evidences: A Durel-Le Brun Example,” National Genealogical Society Quarterly, vol. 88, no. 2. (June, 2000).

6. Mommessin, Pierre R. A Practical Guide to Genealogical Research in France. Houston: p.p., 1991.

7. Pontet, Patrick. Ancestral Research in France: The Simple Guide to Tracing Your Family History through French Records. Andover, U.K.: P. Pontet, 1998.

8. Pontet, Patrick. Ancestral Research in Paris: A Guide to Using the Variable Sources in Family History Research. Andover, U.K.: P. Pontet, 1998.

9. Pontet, Patrick. A–Z of French Genealogical References & Sources. Andover, U.K.: P. Pontet, 2001.