Manche, France Genealogy

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

History
Manche is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the province of Normandie. The first capital was Coutances until 1796. It resumed that role after World War II because of the almost complete destruction of Saint-Lô during the battle of Normandy following D-Day. Once Saint-Lô was rebuilt, it again became the capital. Wikipedia

Localities (Communes)

 * FranceGenWeb
 * Locom
 * Wikipedia
 * Wikipedia, former localities



Church Records and Civil Registration (Registres Paroissiaux et Etat Civil) Online
The vast majority of your research will be in church records and civil registration. For more information on these records and how to use them, read France Church Records and France Civil Registration. '''Fortunately, these records are available online from the archives of each department:’’’
 * Departmental Archives of Manche

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

See also:
 * 1533-1894 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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.
 * Tout en Un (All in One) Online Databases Check for online databases and records in right column.  Check back occasionally to see if new databases have become available.
 * Tout en Un (All in One) Local Databases Here you may find extracted/translated records, record indexes, and other helpful records such as cemetery, land, or military records.
 * Geneanet Collaborative Indexes Search by locality (parish or commune).
 * FamilySearch Collections:
 * (index and images)
 * (index and images)
 * (images only)
 * Genea-Bricolo
 * Bigenet
 * Bases généalogiques de la Manche - Arbres généalogiques
 * Coutances Cotentin Généalogie et Histoire
 * Dispenses du diocèse de Coutances
 * La Basse Normandie protestante
 * Entraide Généalogique Bretagne-Maine-Normandie
 * UCGHN Union des Cercles Généalogiques et Héraldiques de Normandie
 * Association parisienne de généalogie normande
 * 1542-1900 - at FamilySearch — index

Microfilm Records of the FamilySearch Library
The church and civil registration records have all been microfilmed. Currently, they are being digitized, and plans are to complete that project by 2020. Check back occasionally to see if your records have become available. In the meantime, some of them might be available at a Family History Center near you. To find a microfilm: Click on, find and click on "Places within France, Manche," and choose your locality from the list.

Online Records

 * 1533-1894 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Writing for Records
Online records tend to cover only the time before 100 years, due to privacy laws. You can write to civil registration offices and local churches who might honor requests for more recent records of close family members for the purpose of genealogy.

For a civil registration office, address your request to:

Monsieur l'officier de l'état-civil Mairie de (Town) (Postal code) (Town)

For a parish church:

Monsieur le Curé (Church --see The Catholic Directory for church name and address) (Town) (Postal Code) France

For other addresses and for help writing your request in French, use French Letter Writing Guide.

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:

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

 * Manche Wiki GenWeb Associations
 * Manche Forums
 * Southern Europe Genealogy Research Community

Websites

 * Tout en Un Manche
 * GenWeb, Manche Portal
 * Cousins 50
 * Geneanet Surname Search
 * France Geneawiki Genealogical Sources includes instructional discussions of various records available.
 * French Republican Calendar. This site will help you translate dates used by France from 24 October 1793 to 31 December 1805.
 * There are parallel articles also available on the French Language Wiki. Because they are maintained by different authors, links may be added there that do not appear here. Generally, the articles translate automatically to English when accessed.