Ain, France Genealogy

EuropeFrance Ain

Guide to Ain, France ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
Ain is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France in the region Rhône-Alpes.The Department was created during the French Revolution and is subdivided into 9 districts, 49 cantons and 501 communes

Localities

 * List of communes in Ain
 * List of historic communes in Ain
 * GenCom, postal codes and some historic information
 * Cassini online gazetteer

Online Church Records and Civil Registration
'''The vast majority of your research will be in church records and civil registration. Fortunately, these records are available online from the archives of each department.'''

Finding Church Records and Civil Registration Online
Each Department of France has archives that provide digitized images of these records. Here is the website for the Department Archives of Ain, where you will find these records.

Ain Departmental Archives


 * Registres paroissiaux (parish registers)
 * Registres d'état civil (civil registration)
 * Censuses (Recensements)

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

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.

How to Read the Records

 * For more instruction on using these records, see:
 * 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.

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 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

Websites

 * French Wordlist
 * Genea-Bricolo
 * Ain-Genealogie
 * Association CousAin pour une généalogie partagée gratuitement
 * Ain Collaborative Indexes

Family History Centers
Centre d'Histoire Familiale de Chalons-sur Saône 32 rue de la Motte 71100 CHALON-SUR-SAONE, France Telephone +33 -03-85 43 20 90 Centre d'Histoire Familiale de Lyon 10 avenue de Verdun 69130 ECULLY, FRANCE Telephone: +33 04 78 33 31 79 Centre d'Histoire Familiale de Genèvem 32 avenue Louis-Casaï COINTRIN, 1216 SWITZERLAND Telephone:+41 22-798-6357
 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers