With civil registration beginning in 1792 and church baptisms and burials being kept as early as 1539, researching your French ancestry can be a very successful endeavor!
Using Records to Trace French Ancestry
France – like most other countries – has a variety of record sources that can assist you in learning more about your French ancestry, but generally the most useful for genealogists are the vital records. The French government began creating official birth, marriage and death records in 1792, and many churches required their clergy to keep christening (baptism) and burial records starting as early as 1539. Before civil registration, the government required the churches to submit copies of these records, so this means that you might find copies of these early records at the local parish church or at the town government offices. Either way, you must know the exact town and/or parish to look in, as there are no national indexes to these records.
France is divided up into geographic departments (similar to counties in other places), and vital records are generally kept at the town level within each department, while church records are generally kept by each parish. Some smaller towns and villages didn’t have their own parish church or record keeping office, so once you have determined the town or village of origin for your French ancestors, you will want to use gazetteers and other resources to determine the record keeping jurisdiction.
Our Team of Professional Genealogists Can Help
With professional genealogists who specialize in French genealogy, along with onsite agents worldwide, we are able to help you identify the origin of your French ancestors, determine where the applicable records are kept, and obtain them for you so that you can learn as much as possible about your French ancestry.