Bas-Rhin, France Genealogy

France Alsace  Bas-Rhin

Historical and Geographic Facts
(Alsatian: Unterelsàss)

Bas-Rhin is one of the original 83 departments created on 4 March 1790, during the French Revolution.

In the mid-1790s, following the French occupation of the entire left bank of the Rhine, the northern boundary of the department was extended north beyond the Lauter to the Queich river to include the areas of Annweiler am Trifels, Landau in der Pfalz, Bad Bergzabern, and Worth am Rhein. However, upon Napoleon's second defeat in 1815, the Congress of Vienna reassigned the areas north of the Lauter to Bayern; and those territories are now presently located in the neighbouring German state of Rheinland-Pfalz.

The department has twice been incorporated into Germany: from 1871 (after France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War) until the end of World War I in 1918, and again briefly during World War II (from 1940 to 1945).

Arrondissements, Cantons, Communes
Arrondissements

Cantons 

Civil Registration indexes are at canton level.

Communes

Parish and Civil Registration records are at commune level.

Chronology

 * 1) A chronology of those who ruled Lower Alsace from the 1st to the 20th century. (Chronologie de la Basse Alsace 1er - XXe siècle)

Gazetteers

 * FranceGenWeb for Bas-Rhin

Jewish records

 * Les Communautés juives du Bas-Rhin en 1851
 * Recueil des déclarations de prise de nom patronymique des Juifs du Bas-Rhin en 1808 Collection of Jewish names for the area of Bas-Rhin in France before 1808

Land and Property

 * Emigration und Nationalgüterveräusserungen im Pfälzischen Teil des Departements du Bas-Rhin The settlement of and purchase of government land by private individuals in the Pfalz region of Germany during the French occupation from 1791 to 1815
 * Répertoire numérique détaillé de la série Q, domaines nationaux Numerical index to the departmental archives of the Bas-Rhin, series Q, national lands

Military

 * Les Bas-Rhinois dans les armées de la Révolution et du 1er Empire
 * Registres militaires et tableaux de recensement, 1817-1856 A census of 19 and 20 year old males from the arrondisements of: Saverne, Sélestat, Strasbourg and Wissembourg

Notarial records

 * 1) Numerical index of the notarial archives of the former area of Basse- Alsace, now in the department of Bas-Rhin, France. Includes an index of notaries and clientele. (Répertoire numérique des archives notariales de Basse Alsace)

Repositories

 * Archives départementales du Bas-Rhin English explanation of Archives site French language Archives for Bas-Rhin
 * Répertoire numérique de fonds de l'état civil (sous-séries II E, III E, IV E) Numerical index to the departmental archives of the Bas-Rhin, sub-series 2E-4E, civil registration.
 * Répertoire numérique de la série L (documents administratifs de la période révolutionnaire, 1790-An VIII) Numerical index to the departmental archives of the Bas-Rhin, series L, administrative documents from the revolutionary period, 1790-1800

Schools

 * 1) Directory of the Evangelical Lutheran clergy, parishes, communities, and schools of higher learning, 1525-1694. (Die evangeliche Gemeinden und Hohen Schulen in Elsass und Lothringen von der Reformation bis zur Gegenwart)

Taxation

 * 1) Register of the revenue and list of taxpayers for the bailliage of Uffried. (Registres des revenus du bailliage de l'Uffried, 1561) Includes registers of Stattmatten, Dalhunden, Sessenheim, Rountzenheim, Roeschwoog, and Roppenheim.

Websites

 * Bas-Rhin FranceGenWeb