France Genealogy

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Getting started with French research
Welcome to the France portal page! FamilySearch Wiki is a community website dedicated to helping people throughout the world learn how to find their ancestors. Through the France Portal page you can learn how to find, use, and analyze French records of genealogical value. The content is variously targeted to beginners, intermediate, and expert researchers. Here you will find helpful research tools and research guidance. Please visit the help page to learn more about using the site. The French Portal Page is a work in progress, your contributions and feedback are essential! For help with specific areas in France, click here for a list of locations and topics.

Jurisdictions
Prior to March 1790 France was organized into provinces. Several administrative regions of France still carry the names of the former provinces.

Provinces (with their capital)

Today France is divided into 96 departments plus 4 overseas departments. This number has changed over the years, in 1790 there were 83 and at the height of Napoleon's reign there were as many as 130. Records are kept on the town level, but one needs to know in which department the town is located.

Research Tools

 * French Republican Calendar
 * France Letter Writing Guide
 * French Archives Online
 * Gallica: The French "Library of Congress"
 * French Handwriting
 * French Wordlist

Research Strategies

 * Birth records 1539-1791
 * Birth records 1792-Present
 * Death records 1539-1791
 * Death records 1792-Present
 * Marriage records 1539-1791
 * Marriage records 1792-Present

Help Wanted
In order to make this wiki a better research tool, we need your help! Many tasks need to be done. You can help by:

Articles that need editing:


 * French Records online

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Related Content
French citizens of Alsace-Lorraine (Haut Rhin, Bas Rhin, Moselle) often speak German. Many people from this area moved to Russia and the Ukraine and are discussed in Germans from Russia.

Did you know?

 * The archives of more than 40 départements (counties) in France and 60 French cities have digitized a wide range of historical records and made them available online. Additional French archives are coming online monthly. Records available often include birth, marriage, and death records, cadastral and other land records, military records, censuses, and more. Click here to see the latest updates.
 * French national censuses are seldom used for primary research by most family historians, and many have not been microfilmed.
 * Some French military records begin as early as the 1500s. Records since the 19th century may include information about an ancestor's military career, such as promotions, places served, pensions, and conduct. In addition, these records may include information about his age, birthplace, residence, occupation, physical description, and family members.

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