Seine-Saint-Denis, France Genealogy

Guide to Seine-Saint-Denis ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Church Records and Civil Registration (Registres Paroissiaux et Etat Civil) Online
The vast majority of your research will be in church records and civil registration. For more information on these records and how to use them, read France Church Records and France Civil Registration. For most of France, these records are available online from the archives of each department. Digitization for the records of Seine-Saint-Denis began in March and April of 2017. Registers might be unavailable for consultation as this work progresses. You can check the genealogical collections of Seine-Saint-Denis Department here from time to time to see what has become available. In the meantime, the following methods can help you access the records:

Microfilm Records

 * Seine-Saint-Denis was created from splitting the Department of Seine-et-Oise in 1968. It also covers a small part that was formally in the Department of Seine.
 * Search the records of the Family History Library, which has microfilmed records for several municipalities formerly in Seine or Seine-et-Oise.
 * These microfilms can be borrowed from the collection of the Family History Library or at a nearby Family History Center

Contact the Seine-Saint-Denis Archives
Try contacting the archives to see if arrangements can be made to have a record copied and mailed:


 * Departmental Archives of Seine-Saint-Denis
 * 54 avenue du President Salvador Allende
 * 93000 Bobigny
 * France


 * Tel: 01.43.93.97.00
 * Fax: 01.43.93.96.00

This guide will help you in writing to the archives in French: France Letter Writing Guide

Hiring Searches by an Agent Your Behalf
Professional Genealogists who specialize in French Research

Learning to Read Enough French to Do Genealogy
It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately. Here are some resources for learning to read French records.
 * French Genealogical Word List
 * French Handwriting.

There is a three-lesson course in reading handwriting in old French records:
 * Reading French Handwritten Records Lesson 1: The French Alphabet,
 * Reading French Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Key Words and Phrases
 * Reading French Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading French Records

These lessons focus on reading church record and civil registration records: Another resource is the French Records Extraction Manual, Full Manual. Much more is covered, but these first four lessons are especially useful.
 * France Church Records
 * France Civil Registration- Vital Records
 * Chapter 1: OLD FRENCH RECORDS
 * Chapter 2: PARISH CHRISTENING AND CIVIL BIRTH ENTRIES
 * Chapter 3: MARRIAGE ENTRIES
 * Chapter 4: OTHER ENTRIES
 * Chapter 5: FRENCH HANDWRITING AND SPELLING

Search Strategy

 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.

Websites

 * Gazetteer for Seine-Saint-Denis