French Handwriting

Many resources exist that will help you read French records. One of these is the Reading Handwritten Records Series of free online classes available at FamilySearch. It includes tutorials on the French Alphabet, Key Words and Phrases, and Reading French Records.

Another resource is the French Records Extraction Manual, which is listed below.

FRENCH RECORDS EXTRACTION MANUAL

Chapter 1: OLD FRENCH RECORDS

Chapter 2: PARISH CHRISTENING AND CIVIL BIRTH ENTRIES

Chapter 3: MARRIAGE ENTRIES

OTHER ENTRIES

FRENCH HANDWRITING AND SPELLING

NAME IDENTIFICATION

GENDER

DATES

PUTTING IT ALL INTO PRACTICE

FRENCH OCCUPATIONS LIST

COMMON ABBREVIATIONS

ANSWERS TO SELF-EVALUATION EXERCISES

GLOSSARY

BIOGRAPHY