Gironde, France Genealogy

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

History
Gironde is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne and Gascony. From 1793 to 1795, the department's name was changed to Bec-d'Ambès. It is surrounded by the departments of Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne, and Charente-Maritime, and by the Atlantic Ocean on the west. It is the largest department in metropolitan France.

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 Gironde, where you will find these records.

Department Archives of Gironde
 * Registres paroissiaux (parish registers)
 * Registres d'état civil (civil registration)
 * Censuses (recensements)

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

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. 

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
 * 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

 * Gironde Francegenweb
 * Gazetteer for Gironde