Manche, France Genealogy

EuropeFrance Manche

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

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.

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
 * Marriage Entries Chapter 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,
 * French Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Key Words and Phrases
 * Reading French Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading French Records

Finding Church Records and Civil Registration Online
Each Department of France has archives that provide digitized images of these records. Here is the address for the Department Archives of Manche, where you will find these records.

Archives départementales de la Manche en ligne (Departmental Archives of Manche)

Communes

 * Liste des communes de la Manche
 * Liste des anciennes communes de la Manche (aller en bas de la page)
 * carte de Manche
 * gencom.org
 * Geoportail permet une comparaison par superposition des cartes modernes et des cartes anciennes.
 * Locom.org

Resources

 * Tout en-Un
 * Memorhom
 * Genea-Bricolo
 * Cousins 50
 * Manche Wiki GenWeb

Genealogical Societies

 * Geneawiki - Associations généalogiques en France


 * CG de la Manche Archives Départementales 50000 ST LO
 * CG et d'histoire locale de Coutances Bibliothèque municipale50200 Coutances
 * Entraide Généalogique Bretagne-Maine-Normandie
 * UCGHN Union des Cercles Généalogiques et Héraldiques de Normandie
 * Association parisienne de généalogie normande

Websites

 * Bases généalogiques de la Manche - Arbres généalogiques
 * Le 50 en ligne
 * Coutances Cotentin Généalogie et Histoire
 * Dispenses du diocèse de Coutances
 * GeneAnnuaire
 * Généalogie et histoire France Normandie Manche
 * La Basse Normandie protestante
 * GeneaNet Relevés

Family History Centers

 * Introduction aux Centres d'Histoire Familiale


 * Centre d'Histoire Familiale du Mans
 * Centre d'Histoire Familiale de Cherbourg
 * Centre d'Histoire Familiale de Caen
 * Centre d'Histoire Familiale du Havre
 * Centre d'Histoire Familiale de Rennes