Loire-Atlantique, France Genealogy

Guide to Loire-Atlantique ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers.

History
Loire-Atlantique is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally, it was named Loire-Inférieure, but its name was changed in 1957 to Loire-Atlantique. However, when the system of French Regions was reviewed by the Vichy Government, the department was excluded from the Region of Brittany and included in the newly created Pays de la Loire Region. These administrative changes were reversed after the war, but they were re-implemented in the 1955 boundary changes intended to optimise the management of the regions. It has the Atlantic Ocean on the west. Wikipedia

Localities (Communes)

 * FranceGenWeb
 * Locom
 * Wikipedia
 * Wikipedia, former localities

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. '''Fortunately, these records are available online from the archives of each department:’’’ Here is the website for the Department Archives of Loire-Atlantique, where you will find these records.
 * Follow these steps for Department Archives of Loire-Atlantique
 * 1) Click on "Généalogie". A drop-down menu will appear.
 * 2) Click on "Registres paroissiaux et d'état civil". A pop-up screen will appear.
 * 3) Click on "J'accepte les conditions", which means "I accept the conditions."

See Using France Online Department Archives for step by step instructions on finding and reading these records.

Online Census Records
Census records can support your search in civil and church records. They can help identify all family members. When families have similar names they help determine which children belong in each family. See France Census.
 * Online census records, Department Archives of Loire-Atlantique

Online Local Databases and Extracted Records
Groups devoted to genealogy have also extracted and/or indexed records for specific localities, time periods, religious groups, etc. Since church records at the departmental archives are generally not indexed, you might find an index here that will speed up your searching.
 * Tout en Un (All in One) Online Databases Check for online databases and records in right column.  Check back occasionally to see if new databases have become available.
 * Tout en Un (All in One) Local Databases Here you may find extracted/translated records, record indexes, and other helpful records such as cemetery, land, or military records.
 * 1521-1896 -, index, incomplete.
 * 1793-1896 - - at Family Search - index only, incomplete.
 * Geneanet Collaborative Indexes Search by locality (parish or commune).
 * Genea-Bricolo
 * Bigenet
 * Huguenots des Pays-de-la-Loire
 * Au pas des siècles
 * Génhénaff
 * Planao.com Recherches en Loire Atlantique site payant
 * Généalogie du Village de Quilly
 * Familles de Loire-Atlantique
 * Mémoire Vivante de Fégréac
 * Association généalogique du pays de Oust et de Vilaine Database
 * Association Orvault Généalogie Databases
 * Association Généalogique Vertavienne Databases
 * Centre Généalogique de Loire-Atlantique Databases Requires membership
 * Brittany & Yonne, France Politicians, 1789-2005, index, ($).
 * 1542-1900 - at FamilySearch — index

Microfilm Records of the FamilySearch Library
The church and civil registration records have all been microfilmed. Currently, they are being digitized, and plans are to complete that project by 2020. Check back occasionally to see if your records have become available. In the meantime, some of them might be available at a Family History Center near you. To find a microfilm: Click on, find and click on "Places within France, Loire-Atlantique," and choose your locality from the list.

Writing for Records
Online records tend to cover only the time before 100 years, due to privacy laws. You can write to civil registration offices and local churches who might honor requests for more recent records of close family members for the purpose of genealogy.

For a civil registration office, address your request to:

Monsieur l'officier de l'état-civil Mairie de (Town) (Postal code) (Town)

For a parish church:

Monsieur le Curé (Church --see The Catholic Directory for church name and address) (Town) (Postal Code) France

For other addresses and for help writing your request in French, use French Letter Writing Guide.

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:

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 search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all family members.
 * Then repeat the whole process for both the father and the mother.
 * If earlier generations are not in the record, search neighboring parishes. 

Genealogical Societies and Help Groups

 * Loire-Atlantique Wiki GenWeb Associations
 * Loire-Atlantique Forums
 * Southern Europe Genealogy Research Community

Websites

 * Tout en Un Loire-Atlantique
 * GenWeb, Loire-Atlantique Portal
 * Cousins 44
 * Geneanet Surname Search
 * France Geneawiki Genealogical Sources includes instructional discussions of various records available.
 * French Republican Calendar. This site will help you translate dates used by France from 24 October 1793 to 31 December 1805.
 * There are parallel articles also available on the French Language Wiki. Because they are maintained by different authors, links may be added there that do not appear here. Generally, the articles translate automatically to English when accessed.