Cantal, France Genealogy

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

History
Cantal is located in the Auvergne region, it was created in 1790 in part of the former province of Auvergne.

Communes

 * List of communes in Cantal
 * GenCom, postal codes and history
 * Cassini online gazetteer
 * Gazetteer for Cantal

Online Parish Registers 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 Calvados, where you will find these records.

Department Archives of Calvados
 * 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 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. 

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, with this linked Table of Contents. You will be able to practice on actual documents.
 * France Church Records
 * France Civil Registration- Vital Records

FRENCH RECORDS EXTRACTION MANUAL

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

Chapter 6: NAME IDENTIFICATION

Chapter 7: GENDER

Chapter 8: DATES

Chapter 9: PUTTING IT ALL INTO PRACTICE (Practice Activities)

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 Cantal, where you will find these records.


 * Department Archives of Cantal


 * Civil registation (until 1932/1950) with collaborative indexing
 * Bibliotheque
 * Sign Napoléonien
 * Photos, maps, plans
 * Topographical Dictionary

Resources

 * Tout en Un
 * Memorhom
 * Genea-Bricolo
 * Cantal Wiki GenWeb
 * Cousins 15

Genealogical Associations

 * Aprogemere
 * CG et Héraldique de l'Auvergne et du Velay&lt;/a&gt; 55 rue de Châteaudun 63000 CLERMONT FERRAND
 * Association de Généalogie du pays de Gentiane, 5, rue Large, 15400 Riom-ès-Montagne
 * ARHFA Association Historique et Généalogique
 * Cantal-Liens

Family History Centers

 * Introduction aux Centres d'Histoire Familiale


 * Centre d'Histoire Familiale de Clermont-Ferrand 298 rue de l Oradou, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France +33 4-7327-5036
 * Centre d'Histoire Familiale de Limoges, 8700 Limoges, France, 33 0 55012114

Websites

 * Archives Départementales
 * Cantal Francegenweb
 * Cousins15 FranceGenWeb
 * Actes en ligne Cantal 15
 * Aprogemere Cantal
 * Association de recherches sur l'histoire des Familles
 * Cercle Généalogique et Héraldique de l'Auvergne et du Velay
 * Communes et lieux-dits du Cantal
 * GeneaNet Relevés