familytreemagazine.com 47French departmental archives are put-
ting some of these records online, and Fami-
lySearch has a collection of draft cards from
1867 to 1921 at <www.familysearch.org/search/
collection/2807503>. You can learn more about
French military history at the Historic Defense
Service (Service historique de la Défense), locat-
ed in Vincennes <www.servicehistorique.sga.
defense.gouv.fr>, which has fi les on individual
offi cers dating from the 1700s.
Cemetery Records
Since French cemetery plots are usually leased,
rather than owned, tombstones are not as per-
manent as they are in the United States. You can
try the cemetery or the town hall for burial or
lease records. Find A Grave <www.findagrave.
com> has records from more than 10,000
French cemeteries, but many are represented by
only a few graves.
Records of Nobility
If your French blood runs bleu, you might fi nd
records among the country’s longstanding and
well-defi ned ranks of nobility. (Be aware, how-
ever, that many family stories of noble ancestors
turn out to be just stories.) Grants of nobility
and proof of legitimacy are kept at the National
Archives, the National Library, Bibliothèque de
l’Arsenal (Library of the Arsenal), and depart-
mental archives. You can also fi nd hundreds of
printed genealogies of French nobles, who have
been eager to preserve their status. Check the
FHL catalog under as well.
The global library catalog WorldCat <www.
worldcat.org> can help fi nd volumes at librar-
ies near you, or those available through Interli-
brary Loan. Ancestry has a four-volume search-
able history of nobility (in French) at <search.
ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=34163>.
DÉNOUEMENT
Now are you ready to explore your French
heritage? Bonne chance! And if you do fi nd your
research requires a trip to your ancestral home-
land—be glad your family came from a place
with such good food.
Contributing Editor David A. Fryxell is researching his
Rousseau family and trying to remember his seven years
of high-school and college French.
French Genealogy Toolkit
WEBSITES
Geneanet <en.geneanet.org>: User-contributed records, trees
and tips. Free, with premium features that cost $50 annually.
Archives-Numerisees.Ain.Fr <www.archives.ain.fr>:
Click “Et Vos Archives?” to search for other departmental
archives. (In French)
à la French genealogy <www.frenchgen.com>: Helpful blog.
Francegenweb <www.francegenweb.org>: WorldGenWeb
site. (In French)
French Genealogy Blog <french-genealogy.typepad.com/
genealogie>: Blog by a certifi ed genealogist in France.
Huguenots of France and Elsewhere <huguenots-france.org/
english.htm>: Research page dedicated to French Huguenots in
various regions.
Grand Mémorial <www.culture.fr/Genealogie/Grand-
Memorial>: WWI military records. (In French)
Map of France <www.map-france.com>: Department, regional
and political maps of France.ORGANIZATIONS AND ARCHIVES
(All in French)
Archives Nationales (National Archives)
59 rue Guynemer
90001
93383 Pierrefi tte-sur-Seine Cedex
France
<www.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr>
Bibliothèque Nationale (National Library)
58 rue de Richelieu
75084 Paris Cedex 02
France
<www.bnf.fr>
Bibliothèque Généalogique et d’Histoire Sociale de France
(Genealogy and Social History Library)
Z.A. Grand Marais
3 digue d’Alfortville
94034 CRETEIL Cedex
France
<www.bibgen.org>
Service Historique de la Défense (Military Archive)
Château de Vincennes
Avenue de Paris
94306 Vincennes Cedex
France
<www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr>