46 FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019JEANPHILIPPE^ T
OURNUT
/MOMENT/GET
TY^IM
AGES (^) Records of baptisms contain the date;
names of the child, parents and godparents; and
the family’s place of residence.
(^) Marriage records list the date and place,
plus the names of the couple, their parents and
witnesses.
(^) Death records give the date and place, plus
the names of the deceased and his or her parents
or spouse.
If your ancestors were Protestants, start
with the FamilySearch database “France, Prot-
estant Church Records, 1536–1897” <www.
familysearch.org/search/collection/1582585>.
You can also fi nd some Protestant parish reg-
isters, primarily from around Paris, on micro-
fi lm. Original registers are in departmental or
national archives or at the Protestant Historical
Society in Paris (Société de l’Histoire du Protes-
tantisme Français, or SHPF) <www.shpf.fr>.
When researching Jewish ancestors living in
France, try the JewishGen databases at <www.
jewishgen.org/databases/France> and consult
the article at <www.jewishgen.org/French/
kallmann.htm>.
COUNT ON THE CENSUS
If you still haven’t been able to pin down an
ancestor’s commune, French censuses (recense-
ments) might be able to help. If you’ve already
tapped vital records, censuses can help fi ll in the
blanks between key family events, much as in
US research.
Although censuses began in France in 1772,
these were mostly just headcounts without
names. From 1836 on, censuses were conduct-
ed every fi ve years and listed everyone in the
household by name (women by maiden name)
and usually gave ages, marital status and occu-
pations. Note that the every-fi ve-years schedule
was bent in 1871 (when the census was post-
poned to 1872) and skipped in 1916 (because of
World War I.)
Departmental archives have begun digitizing
censuses and putting them online. FamilySearch
also has some searchable French censuses, by
department, with a few matched with images.
GETTING IT NOTARIZED
The (potential) brick-wall busters of French
genealogy are called “notarial records.” These
records kept by a notary—more like a civil
attorney than just someone with a notary seal—
included marriage contracts, wills, estates,
inventories and guardianships, with details of
family members and their relationships. Notar-
ial records date back to the 1300s and were
required to deposit records more than 125 years
old in department archives.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that
compliance with the archiving rule was incom-
plete and notarial records are not commonly
indexed—much less online. Only a handful of
notarial records have been microfi lmed. You’ll
need to track down the likely notary’s name (and
perhaps that of his successor). Keep in mind that
people may have gone to a family notary rather
than the nearest one. French genealogical soci-
eties can help, as can their periodicals. Try an
online search for your ancestors’ department
plus société de généalogie.
OTHER RECORDS
Still coming up empty (vide) in your French
ancestral quest? Here are some other types of
records to try:
Military Records
Young men in France may have grumbled about
being required to register for military service,
but the resulting records (registres matricules)
might make their descendants smile. In addition
to service details, these usually contain date and
place of birth, parents’ names, civilian occupa-
tion and physical description.
Records collected
by the Catholic
Church are
valuable docu-
ments for tracing
your French
ancestors before
the dawn of civil
registration in 1792.