France Genealogy

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

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

France Clickable Map
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Departments
Today France is divided into 96 departments plus 5 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.

French Oversees Territories
Many of the records of the French overseas territories are on-line at Les Archives nationales d’outre-mer, literally The Overseas National Archives.

More France Research Strategies
Research strategies give guidance on how to research or what records to search for first. Below are additional research strategy wiki articles for France.
 * Birth records 1539-1791
 * Birth records 1792-Present
 * Death records 1539-1791
 * Death records 1792-Present
 * Marriage records 1539-1791
 * Marriage records 1792-Present
 * Getting Started
 * What's the next step?
 * Finding your ancestor in the records
 * Civil records are crucial for research in France. Civil authorities began registering births, marriages, and deaths in 1792.
 * 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.

More France Research Tools
Research tools can include resources that assist in locating correct records to search and determining the correct locality to search in. Below are links and Wiki articles to research tools in France.
 * Military records from the WWI Era 1887-1921 online
 * [[Media:Finding_Records_of_Your_Ancestors_in_France_.pdf|Finding Records of your Ancestors in France 1792 to 1880]]
 * France Letter Writing Guide
 * [[Media:France_Research_Outline.pdf|France Research Outline]]
 * French Archives Online
 * French Handwriting
 * French Republican Calendar
 * French Wordlist
 * Gallica: The French “Library of Congress”
 * Research Guide for France by BYU
 * France Records Websites
 * France Resources
 * GeneaNet
 * GeneaWiki
 * France Genealogy Links
 * French Genealogy &amp; Family History
 * Cyndi's List: France
 * Genealogy and Family History in France
 * France Genealogy
 * France Genealogy Forum
 * Le Havre Passenger List 1864-1936
 * Online records for Algeria
 * French Telephonedirectory

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in resourcing your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records
 * Family History Center locator map