Haute-Garonne, France Genealogy

Guide to Haute-Garonne ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers.

History
Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. It is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc. The department was originally larger. The reduction in its area resulted from an imperial decree dated 21 November 1808, which established the neighboring department of Tarn-et-Garonne, to the north. The districts lost to Tarn-et-Garonne in 1808 were those of Montech and Castelsarrasin. Haute-Garonne is surrounded by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées, Gers, Tarn-et-Garonne, Tarn, Aude, and Ariège. It also borders Spain in the south (province of Lleida and province of Huesca).

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 Haute-Garonne, where you will find these records.


 * Department Archives of Haute-Garonne

Using France Online Department Archives

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

 * Haute-Garonne Francegenweb
 * Gazetteer for Haute-Garonne