Meurthe-et-Moselle, France Genealogy

Guide to Meurthe-et-Moselle ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers.

History
At the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, Meurthe-et-Moselle was created from the parts of the former departments of Moselle and Meurthe that remained French territory. At that time the department of Meurthe, which had been created in 1790, ceased to exist following the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by Germany. Meurthe-et-Moselle is part of the administrative region of Grand Est and the traditional region of Lorraine, and is surrounded by the departments of Meuse, Vosges, Bas-Rhin, and Moselle; and by the nations of Luxembourg and Belgium.

Localities

 * FranceGenWeb
 * Locom
 * Wikipedia
 * Wikipedia, former localities

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 Muerthe-et-Moselle, where you will find these records.

[http://archivesenligne.archives.cg54.fr/s/1/etat-civil/? Department Archives of Muerthe-et-Moselle]


 * 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 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.

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, Full Manual. Much more is covered, but these first four lessons are especially useful.
 * 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
 * Chapter 4: OTHER ENTRIES
 * Chapter 5: FRENCH HANDWRITING AND SPELLING

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

 * Gazetteer for Meurthe et Moselle