Alsace

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

Quick Facts
Alsace (French: Alsace; Alsatian: Elsàss; German: Elsass, pre-1996: Elsaß; Latin: Alsatia)

Smallest of the regions. Alsace is located on France's eastern border and on the west bank of the upper Rhine adjacent to Germany and Switzerland. The political, economic and cultural capital as well as largest city of Alsace is Strasbourg. Due to that city being the seat of dozens of international organizations and bodies, Alsace is politically one of the most important regions in the European Union.

The name "Alsace" derives from the Germanic Ell-sass, meaning "Seated on the Ill", a river in Alsace. The region was historically part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was gradually annexed by France in the 17th century under kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV and made one of the provinces of France. Alsace is frequently mentioned in conjunction with Lorraine, because German possession of parts of these two regions (as the imperial province Elsaß-Lothringen (English: Alsace-Lorraine), 1871–1918) was contested in the 19th and 20th centuries, during which Alsace changed hands four times between France and Germany in 75 years.

In 1792, composed in Strasbourg the Revolutionary marching song La Marseillaise, which later became the anthem of France.

Archives and Libraries

 * 1) Sources in the archives relating to the Alsace region of France from the 17th to 20th centuries. (Sources d'archives relatives à la démographie de l'Alsace XVII-XX siècles : (à l'exception de Strasbourg)

Biography

 * 1) Dictionary of celebrated men of Alsace (Dictionnaire de biographie des hommes célèbres de l'Alsace)
 * 2) Biographical dictionary of people from the Alsace region of France. (Nouveau dictionnaire de biographie alsacienne)
 * 3) Alphabetical listing of pastors of the duchy of Hanau-Lichtenberg in the Alsace-Lorraine area of France. (Le Pastorat du Comté de Hanau - Lichtenberg de 1618-1789)
 * 4) List of the clergy during the Ancien Regime of Alsace, France. (Répertoire du clergé d'Alsace sous l'Ancien Régime, 1648-1792)
 * 5) Bibliography of collective biographies of Alsace. (Répertoire bibliographique des biographies collectives d'Alsace)

Census

 * 1) Rights of citizenship or residency and population listings for the former region of Alsace, France. (Droits de bourgeosie ou d'habitation et dénombrement de la population, 1746-1789)
 * 2) Enumeration of the Jews in Alsace for 1784. (Dénombrement général des Juifs : qui sont tolérés en la Province d'Alsace, en exécution des lettres-Patentes de sa Majesté, en forme de règlement du 10 juillet 1784)
 * 3) Census of Jews in Alsace, 1784. (Dénombrement général des Juifs, qui sont tolérés en la province d'Alsace.)
 * 4) Enumeration by name of the Jews in Alsace for 1784. (Dénombrements nomitatifs des Juifs en Alsace, 1784)
 * 5) Four indices to the 1784 census of Alsatian Jews (Quatre tables alphabetique du denoumbrement general des juifs d'Alsace, 1784)
 * 6) Indexes the 1784 census of Jews in Alsace-Lorraine. (Index du dénombrement des Juifs d'Alsace de 1784)

Civil Registration

 * 1792-1917 Belfort, Alsace, France, Birth, Marriage and Death Registers, 1792-1917 at Ancestry — index & images, ($)

Records

 * 1) Anabaptists of Alsace. (Anabaptistes)
 * 2) Anabaptists residing in Alsace during the Second Empire after an administrative enquiry in 1850. (Les anabaptistes alsaciens sous le Second Empire d'après une enquête a dministrative de 1850)
 * 3) History of the assemblies of the Anabaptists (or Mennonites) of Alsace and Lorraine, France. (Les assemblées anabaptistes-mennonites de France)
 * 4) Pamphlet written describing the third jubliee celebration in Alsace of the Protestant Reformation. (Circulaire du consistoire général de la confession d'Augsbourg)
 * 5) Geographical, historical, and political dictionary of Alsace. (article: Anabaptistes) (Dictionnaire géographique, historique, et politique de l'Alsace)
 * 6) Documents concerning Jews and Anabaptists presented to the Royal Council of Alsace. (Documents concernant les Juifs et les Anabaptistes présentés au Conseil Souverain d'Alsace)
 * 7) History of the Sectarian movement during the Reformation, 1524-1534. Text in German (Geschichte der Strassburger Sektenbewegung zur zeit der Reformation, 1524-1534)
 * 8) History of the catholic clergy of Alsace, before, during and after the French revolution. (Histoire du clergé catholique d'Alsace: avant, pendant, et après la grande révolution)
 * 9) Historical notes on the Mennonite or Anabaptist meetings of Alsace and Lorraine, France. Some are mentioned in Bavaria and Switzerland. (Historique des assemblées)
 * 10) Memoirs of the Anabaptist churches established in the Haute-Alsace region of France (Mémoires sur les anabaptistes etablis dans la Haute-Alsace)
 * 11) Picture of past history of Alsace and the role of the Anabaptists. (in German) (Perles d'Alsace : Bilder aus der elsässischen Vergangenkeit)
 * 12) Historical research on the Anabaptists of the former principality of Montbeliard, Alsace, and neighboring regions. (Recherches historiques sur les Anabaptistes de l'ancienne principauté de Montbéliard, d'Alsace, et des regions voisines)
 * 13) On the history of the Anabaptists in Alsace, 1712-1713. (in German) (Zur Geschichte der Täuferverfolgung im Elsaß, 1712-1713)

Periodicals

 * 1) Periodical of church history of Alsace, France. - La bibliothèque n'a que vol. 46. (Archives de l'Eglise d'Alsace: organe de la Société d'Histoire de l'Eglise d'Alsace)
 * 2) Annual of the Society of history and archeology of Colmar, France. Colmar: Societe d'Histoire et d'Archeologie de Colmar, 1973.
 * 3) Annual of the Historical and Literary Society of Colmar. Société Historique et Littéraire de Colmar.
 * 4) Anniversary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Colmar. Special edition of Annuaire de la Société d'histoire et littéraire de Colmar. Centenaire de la Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Colmar.
 * 5) Journal for the History of the Upper Rhine. Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins.

Description and Travel

 * 1) Geography and history of the former French province of Alsace. (Visages de l'Alsace)

Dwellings

 * 1) Evidences of peasant life in the Alsace. (Témoins de la vie paysanne: l'Alsace)

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1) The Alsace emigration book
 * 2) Emigration from the district of Aachen, Rheinland, Germany. (Auswanderungsakten, 1816-1925) Includes Erkelenz, Eupen, Geilenkirchen, Heinsberg, Jülich, Malmédy, Gemünd, Montjoie (Monschau), Schleiden, St. Vith (Eifel), Elsaß-Lothringen and Düren.
 * 3) The Baden emigration book (including emigration from Alsace, during the 18th and 19th centuries) Each entry includes name, date of birth, birthplace, date of emigration and source. Alsace emigrants in separate list.
 * 4) Eighteenth century emigrants from the northern Alsace to America Volume XXVI in its series of publications on Pennsylvania German history and culture
 * 5) Former Alsace-Lorraine residents migration to Yugoslavia. Text in German. (Elsaß-Lothringer siedler in Jugoslavien)
 * 6) Settlers to North America from Alsace-Lorraine. Text in German. (Elsässer und Lothringer als Ansiedler in Nordamerika)
 * 7) Alsatian students at schools in Heidelberg, Baden, Germany and Bologna, Italy. (Elsässische Studenten in Heidelberg und Bologna)
 * 8) Emigration of people from Alsace to the United States; with emphasis on the Texas colony. (Emigration alsacienne aux Etats-Unis 1815-1870)
 * 9) French and foreign travelers entering and leaving France. (Etats des voyageurs français et étrangers entrés et sorties de France, 1863-1866)
 * 10) Migrations from Alsace-Lorraine to Algeria, within the region, and parts of Germany. (L'Exode de Bischwiller à Elbeuf, Phalsbourg, Mulhouse, Metz, Algêrie, Wissembourg)
 * 11) Swiss immigration to the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg during the 17th century. (L'immigration suisse dans le comté de Hanau-Lichtenberg au dix-septièm e siècle)
 * 12) Alphabetical lists of emigrants from the provinces of Lorraine and Alsace, France to North and South America, from 1815 to 1875. (Lorrains émigrés en Amérique de 1815 a 1875) Includes their birth date, birth place and destination.
 * 13) Protestant refugees from Lorraine and Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines to Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) and to Switzerland in the 17th century. (Les réfugiés protestants lorrains et de Sainte-Marie à Mulhouse et en Suisse au XVIIe siècle)
 * 14) Swiss immigrants in Alsace. Text in German. (Schweizer Einwanderung ins Elsaß)
 * 15) Southern Alsatian emigration to the U.S.A.: 1840-1925: personal cases
 * 16) BYU Immigrant Ancestors Project

Maps

 * 1) Map of Württemberg, Baden, Palatinate and Alsace and the places from which the Black Sea Germans (including those in the Caucasus and Bessarabia) came. (Karte von Württemberg, Baden, Pfalz u. Elsaß, mit den Orten, aus denen die Schwarzmeerdeutschen (einschl. Kaukasus u. Bessarabien) ausgewandert sind (1804-42))
 * 2) Places in the Alsace-Lorraine from which emigrants left for Russia. In German (Orte in Elsaß-Lothringen, aus denen Auswanderungen nach Rußland stattgefunden haben)

Gazetteers

 * 1) Place names of Alsace (former province) in 1789. Includes Belfort. (L'Alsace en 1789 : tableaux des divisions territoriales et des différentes seigneuries d'Alsace) No circulation to family history centers.
 * 2) Geographical, historical and political dictionary of the Alsace region of France. (Dictionnaire géographique, historique et politique de l'Alsace) No more published. Volume incomplete. Pp. 384-596 missing.
 * 3) Genealogical gazetteer of Alsace-Lorraine Includes important genealogical addresses for correspondence.
 * 4) Place names of the former region of Alsace (Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin), France. (Répertoire des communes de l'Alsace)
 * 5) Index to the communes of ALsace. Statistical information. (Répertoire des communes de l'Alsace)

Genealogy

 * 1) Genealogical research sources in Alsace-Lorraine, France
 * 2) Genealogical lists on the town origins of families of the Savern region of Alsace. (Listes généalogiques sur l'origine commune des familles Savarnoises (Alsace)) The Ostermann-Keller-Hertz, also the allied families of Klee-Engelspach, Gillmeyer, Cabrillon-Breymann, and Oster, are traced.
 * 3) Pedigrees of West German nobility in the Middle Ages: photocopied extracts of Alsatian families. In German (Stammtafeln Westdeutscher Adelsgeschlecter im Mittelalter: extracts photographiques des familles Alsaciennes)

Genealogy - Handbooks, manuals, etc

 * 1) Guide to genealogical research in Alsace. (Guide des recherches généalogiques en Alsace)
 * 2) Illustrated manual for genealogical research in the Alsace region of France. (Manuel illustré pour la généalogie et l'histoire familiale en Alsace)
 * 3) Researching in Germany: a handbook for your visit to the homeland of your ancestors Includes sub-sections on researching in Alsace-Lorraine (Elsaß-Lothringen), Austria, the Czech Republic (including Bohemia and Moriavia), Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

Maps

 * 1) Map of Württemberg, Baden, Palatinate and Alsace and the places from which the Black Sea Germans (including those in the Caucasus and Bessarabia) came. (Karte von Württemberg, Baden, Pfalz u. Elsaß, mit den Orten, aus denen die Schwarzmeerdeutschen (einschl. Kaukasus u. Bessarabien) ausgewandert sind (1804-42))
 * 2) Places in the Alsace-Lorraine from which emigrants left for Russia. (Orte in Elsaß-Lothringen, aus denen Auswanderungen nach Rußland stattgefunden haben)

Periodicals

 * 1) Bulletin of genealogical studies and findings in Upper Alsace. Description d'apres: No. 8 (Mai 1981) (BERGHA: bulletin d'étude et recherches généalogiques en Haute-Alsace)
 * 2) Bulletin of the Genealogical Club of Alsace. (Bulletin du Cercle Généalogique d'Alsace) For further information see website: http://www.alsace-genealogie.com (retrieved 18 April 2010)

Indexes

 * 1) Alphabetical index to the Bulletin (Cercle Généalogique d'Alsace), 1968-1970. (Index alphabétique des noms de famille des bulletins 1-12)
 * 2) Alphabetical index to the Bulletin (Cercle Généalogique), 1971-1973. (Index alphabétique des noms de famille des bulletins 13-24 (1971-1973))
 * 3) Alphabetical index to the Bulletin (Cercle Généalogique), Nº 37-48. (Index alphabétique des noms de famille des bulletins 37-48 (1977-1979))
 * 4) Alphabetical index to the Bulletin (Cercle Généalogique d'Alsace), Nº 25-36 (1974-1976))
 * 5) Index to the Bulletin (Cercle Généalogique d'Alsace) 1983-1985. (Index alphabétique du Bulletin, tome 6 (1983-1985))
 * 6) Index of authors, articles, subjects of the Bulletin (Cercle Généalo- gique d'Alsace). (Table des auteurs et des articles, 1968-1982 (Nº 1-60))

Heraldry

 * 1) Heraldry of the Alsace region of France (Armorial de la généralité d'Alsace: recueil officiel) containing coats of arms and names of the provincial society in the last years of the 17th century--nobles, important townsmen, manors, earldoms, bailiwicks, towns, villages, guilds, schools and univerisities, brotherhoods, religious orders, hospitals, corporations, etc.

History
Atlas of the medieval towns of Alsace. (Atlas des villes médiévales d'Alsace)


 * 1) The Alsatian bourgeoisie. (La Bourgeoisie alsacienne: études d'histoire sociale)
 * 2) The duchy of Alsace at the time of Saint Odile (600 - 700 A.D.). (Le duché d'Alsace au temps de Saint Odile)
 * 3) History of Alsace region of France (also Elsaß-Lothringen, Germany). Text in German. (Geschichte des Elsaßes)
 * 4) History of Alsace Prov., France. (Histoire d'Alsace)
 * 5) History of the former province of Alsace. (Histoire de l'Alsace)
 * 6) History of the former French province of Alsace. (Histoire de l'Alsace)
 * 7) The administration of the province of Alsace during the reign of Louis XIV. (L'Indendance d'Alsace sous Louis XIV)
 * 8) Early history of Europe and later of Switzerland where the Buser name originates with Rudolf von Bus usser Walde (Rudolf des Bois: Une saga alsacienne ou huit siècles d'aventures familiales celto-romano-helvetico-allemanno-franco-germano-alsaciennes)
 * 9) Relations between Strasborg Lothringen and France in the 16th century. In German (Eine Strassburger Legende : ein Beitrag zu den Beziehungen Strassburgs zu Frankreich im 16. Jahrhundert)
 * 10) Geography and history of the former French province of Alsace. (Visages de l'Alsace)
 * 11) Anniversary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Colmar. (Centenaire de la Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Colmar)

Periodicals

 * 1) Articles on the history and archeology of the Alsace region of France. (Revue d'Alsace)
 * 2) Annual of the Society of history and archeology of Colmar, France. (Annuaire de la Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Colmar)
 * 3) Annual of the Historical and Literary Society of Colmar. (Annuaire de la Société historique et littéraire de Colmar)
 * 4) Journal for the History of the Upper Rhine. in German (Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins. Neue Folge)

Jewish History and Records

 * See also Census, Minorities


 * 1) History of the Jews of Alsace. (Histoire des Juifs d'Alsace)

Land and property

 * 1) Documents pertaining to land holdings of noble families of Baden in the former region of Alsace, France. (Documents alsaciens des chartriers nobles du pays de Bade après les inv entaires publiés)
 * 2) List of families possessing land in Alsace in 1789. (Etat des chartriers des familles possessionnées en Alsace en 1789)

Maps

 * See also History.

Military History and Records

 * 1) Reminiscences of a member of the 83rd regiment in the French-German war of 1870 in Alsace-Lorraine. In German (Vor dreissig Jahren, Rückerinnerungen eines Dreiundachtzigers)

Minorities

 * See also Census


 * 1) Condition of Jews residing in Alsace, contains some names. (Etats de la population des Juifs d'Alsace, 1775 et 1780)
 * 2) Brief history of Anabaptists and Mennonites in Alsace (Saisons d'Alsace : les anabaptistes mennonites d'Alsace, destin d'une minorité)

Naturalization and citizenship

 * 1) Registers of citizenship and naturalization for the former province of Alsace, now Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin. (Registres de nationalité et naturalisation, 1684-1791)

Nobility

 * See also Genealogy, Land and Property


 * 1) The nobility of Alsace (L'Alsace noble : suivie de le livre d'or du patriciat de Strassbourg)
 * 2) List of the nobles from Alsace at the States-General of 1789. (Catalogue des gentilshommes d'Alsace)
 * 3) Documents concerning the succession of the House of Württemberg to the Horbourg estates and Montbéliard. Text in French and German. (Documents divers concernant les comtes de Horbourg, les baux, les bourge ois dans le comté de Horbourg, 1125-1789)
 * 4) Documents of the Schoppenwihr collection in the Haut-Rhin archives (Fonds Schoppenwihr, 1200-1926) pertaining to the Berckheim (Bergheim) family, and the related families of Franck, Boch, Renouard de Bussiere, Türckheim, Coëhorn, Faviers, and Fontanille.
 * 5) Genealogies of several nobles families of Haute-Alsace. (Généalogies de quelques familles nobles de la Haute-Alsace)
 * 6) Registers of fiefs and fief-fees of the Abbey of Murbach. (Registres de fiefs de l'Abbaye de Murbach, 1201-1787)

Heraldry

 * 1) Coats of arms of the nobility of Baden, Alsace-Lorraine, and Luxembourg. (Die Wappen des Adels in Baden, Elsaß-Lothringen und Luxemburg)

Notarial records

 * 1) Notarial handbook of Alsace, or, sketches of the organization of all the notarys' offices in this ancient province (Manuel du notariat en Alsace, ou, Notices sur la composition de toutes les études de cette ancienne province) (Haut- and Bas-Rhin, parts of Vosges and of the Rheinland mountains) and of the documents deposited in their offices and in public archives, with a list of the officials who drew them up, preceded by a history of the profession. ((Haut-Rhin et Bas-Rhin, partie des Vosges et de la Barrière-Rhénane) et sur les actes déposés dans lesdites études et dans les dépôts publics, avec la nomenclature des fonctionnaires qui les ont reçus, depuis les époques les plus reculées, précédées d'une histoire du notariat)

Officials and employees

 * 1) Government officials of Alsace, France. 1974 (Liste des fonctionnaires et officiels militaires d'Alsace) When information from these microfilms is used for publication, a tax must be paid to the National Library of France.

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Societies, Libraries and Museums

 * 1) Genealogical Club of Alsace (Cercle Généalogique d'Alsace) (retrieved 18 April 2010)