Aisne, France Genealogy

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

History
Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Champagne, Île-de-France, and Picardy. The name comes from the Aisne River, which crosses the department from east to west. Aisne borders Belgium to the northeast, as well as the French departments of Nord, Somme, Oise, Ardennes, and Seine-et-Marne.

Localities (Communes)
Sources of locality information:
 * FranceGenWeb
 * Locom
 * Wikipedia list of communes
 * Wiipedia list of former communes

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: Here is the website for the Department Archives of Aisne, where you will find these records.

Aisne Departmental Archives

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

Online Census Records
Census records can support your search in civil and church records. They can help identify all family members. When families have similar names they help determine which children belong in each family. See France Census.
 * Online census records, Department Archives of Aisne

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)
 * Huguenots-Picards

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 known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.

Genealogical Societies and Help Groups

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


 * Cercle Généalogique de l'Aisne
 * BP 263 02406 Chateau Thierry
 * France


 * Association des Releveurs Bénévoles pour la Recherche et l'Entraide (ARBRE)
 * Généalogie-Aisne
 * 12 rue des frères Desains
 * 02100 Saint-Quentin
 * France


 * Fédération des sociétés d'histoire et d'archéologie de l'Aisne
 * (FSHAA)
 * 28, rue Fernand-Christ
 * 02000 Laon'
 * France
 * Tél. : 03.23.24.61.47


 * Société Historique et Archéologique de Château-Thierry
 * Société Académique d'histoire, d'archéologie, des Arts et des Lettres de Chauny et de sa région
 * Société Historique de Haute-Picardie
 * Société Académique de Saint-Quentin
 * Société Archéologique, Historique et Scientifique de Soissons
 * Wikipedia: Société Archéologique et Historique de Vervins et de la Thiérache
 * Société Historique Régionale de Villers-Cotterêts

Websites

 * Tout en Un Aisne
 * GenWeb Wiki Aisne Portal
 * Cousins 02, Aisne
 * 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.
 * Généalogie-Aisne