Gard, France Genealogy

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

History
Gard is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the ancient province of Languedoc. It is surrounded by the departments of Hérault, Lozère, Aveyron, Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse, and Ardèche.

Localities (Communes)

 * FranceGenWeb
 * Locom
 * List of communes of Gard
 * List of historic communes ofGard

Church Records and Civil Registration
The vast majority of your research will be in church records and civil registration. At this time, the records are not available online, but are microfilmed.

Finding Church Records and Civil Registration Online

 * The parish registers and civil registration for Gard have been microfilmed, but not digitized. The best way to access them is to visit your nearest Family History Center, where microfilms may be ordered for reading for a small fee.
 * a. Click on this link to see a list of records for France, Gard.
 * b. Click on "Places within France, Gard" and a list of towns and cities will open.
 * c. Click on the town or city you wish to search.
 * d. Click on "Civil Registration" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Choose the correct event and time period for your ancestor.
 * f. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm. Clicking on the microfilm reel will lead to information on how to rent the film. Family History Center staff will assist you in ordering the film.


 * Within France, microfilms can be borrowed directly from the Archives of Gard Department through a local library. Click here for instructions.
 * The following records are made available online by the municipal archives for Nimes and Alès:
 * Tables de l'Etat civil de Nimes (index by decade of civil registers)
 * Civil registration of Alès

See Using France Online Department Archives for step by step instructions on finding and reading these records.

Online Local Databases and Extracted Records
Groups devoted to genealogy have also extracted and/or indexed records for specific localities, time periods, religious groups, etc. Since church records at the departmental archives are generally not indexed, you might find an index here that will speed up your searching.
 * FamilySearch Collections:
 * (index and images)

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

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 family members.
 * Then repeat the whole process for both the father and the mother.
 * If earlier generations are not in the record, search neighboring parishes. 

Genealogical Societies and Help Groups
du Languedoc 18 rue de la Tannerie 31400 TOULOUSE France Union des généalogistes du Gard (UGG) 43 rue de Beaucaire 30000 NIMES France Généalogie en Uzège et Gard Archives Municipales 30701 UZES CEDEX France

Cercle Aramonais d'Histoire et de Généalogie cours victor hugo 30390 Aramon France

Association des Chercheurs et Généalogistes des Cévennes HAMEAU-VILLESQUE 30610 ST-JEAN DE CRIEULON Telephone: 04 66 77 39 66 E-mail:acgc@laposte.net Website:http://site.acgc.free.fr

Cercle Généalogique Gard-Lozère (CGGL) Address for mail: Cercle Généalogique Gard - Lozère (CGGL) 384, chemin de Maza 30350 CARDET France Address: Cercle Généalogique Gard - Lozère (CGGL) 1er étage de l'ancienne poste, place de la mairie 30350 CARDET, rance

Websites

 * Military registers of Gard
 * Archives Départementales du Gard
 * Protestants des Cévennes
 * Collaborative Indexes for Gard
 * Gard GenWeb
 * Genea-Bricolo
 * Cousins 30