Calvados, France Genealogy

 EuropeFrance Calvados

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

History
Le Calvados est un département de la région Basse-Normandie, créé le 4 mars 1790 à partir de l'ancienne province de Normandie.

Communes

 * Liste des communes du Calvados
 * GenCom
 * Geoportail permet une comparaison par superposition des cartes modernes et des cartes anciennes
 * Locom-France

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.

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
 * Marriage 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,
 * French Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Key Words and Phrases
 * Reading French Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading French Records

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

Department Archives of Calvados


 * Registres paroissiaux et d'état civil
 * Cadastre ancien
 * Recensements de population
 * Registres matricules

Ressources

 * Tout en Un
 * Memorhom
 * Genea-Bricolo
 * Calvados Wiki GenWeb
 * Cousins 14

Associations généalogiques

 * Le Cercle de Généealogie du Calvados Cegecal 67, bvd General Vanier 1400 Caen
 * Entraide Généalogique Bretagne-Maine-Normandie
 * Association parisienne de généalogie normande

Family History Centers

 * Introduction aux Centres d'Histoire Familiale
 * Centre d'Histoire Familiale de Caen, 36 38 av de la Délivrance 14000 CAEN, France +33 2-31-830988

Websites

 * Archives Départementales
 * Calvados Francegenweb
 * Gazetteer for Calvados
 * Cousins FranceGenWeb
 * Archives départementales du Calvados
 * Archives en Ligne
 * Cercle Généalogique du Calvados
 * Demandes de dispense pour mariage
 * La Basse Noramandie protestante
 * Union des Cercles Généalogiques et Héraldiques de Normandie
 * GeneaNet Relevés