FR-1 7586 990901 French resources for Jewish genealogy +----------------------------------------------------------------+ FRENCH RESOURCES FOR JEWISH GENEALOGY - I +----------------------------------------------------------------+ A JewishGen InfoFile By: Micheline Gutmann Paris, France The sources are varied, they may be civil, such as birth, marriage, death records, or general and special census, naturalization files or electoral lists, etc. They also may be religious, written on the Consistoires registers, or in cemeteries. Many deeds concerning marriages are available, even before 1792. Some taxes in some places too, as well as draft registers. There are many exceptions, depending on the place one is looking for. I'll try to mention most of them. In any case, most of this information is not available from abroad and it is often necessary to ask somebody to obtain the certificates. I can sometimes give advice about this. Chapter I - Civil Records Chapter II - Decree of Bayonne, 1808/ Alsatian Census, 1784 Chapter III - Naturalization records Chapter IV - Religious records/ Cemeteries Chapter V - Addresses Chapter VI - Bibliography CHAPTER I Civil Vital Records ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Civil registers exist since the French Revolution, 1792, although there are many exceptions. For instance in Paris the civil Archives before 1860 were destroyed in 1871 during a revolution. I'll write a section for Paris. I am going to describe here the French laws which generally permit one to obtain civil records. B. M. D. records since 1893: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Photocopies are available in the Mairies (Town Hall) of the town where B. M. D. took place. Death records (acte de deces): Everybody may ask for them. Birth and Marriage records (actes de naissance , de mariage): You have to be a descendant. Declaring that you are a descendant is enough. In any case, send a letter to the appropriate Mairie (Town Hall), give a rather precise date, include a French stamp or an International Reply Coupon, 2 if you wish to request a reply by air mail. B. M. D. records before 1893: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ France is divided into 97 Departements. The vital record registers are in the Archives Departementales at the "chef-lieu" of the Departement, generally the principal town. You cannot write there. Nobody may ask for a copy. But everything may be read on site. If there are microfilms (60% of the archives are microfilmed), you may have a copy if you go there or if somebody goes for you. One exception in Alsace,( Haut-Rhin), the "Centre Departemental d'Histoire des Familles", in Guebwiller may do researches and send you a vital record for 60 FF (about $12). The preferred method of payment from overseas is an International Postal Money Order. In addition, the Mormons have microfilmed the Civil Registers, and these may be viewed at any LDS Family History Center. Civil Census ~~~~~~~~~~~~ In France, except Paris and almost all the Ile de France (area around Paris), censuses are available from 1836 and every 5 years until 1936, irregularly after. Censuses taken before 1893 are held by Archives Departementales, after 1893 they are held in the individaul Mairies. Unfortunately, these censuses are not indexed, and have not been microfilmed. Census Records for Paris ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paris is divided in 20 "arrondissements" or districts, each one with its own Mairie. To look for a record, it is necessary to know the district. Since 1893, the conditions are those described above. Write to the right Mairie. In this case, if you do not know the correct Mairie you may first contact the : Tribunal de Grande Instance, Greffe de l'Etat Civil, 2, Boulevard du Palais, 75001 - Paris, including one or two International Reply Coupons. They may be able to tell you which Mairied to contact for the records you seek. Before 1893 the records are held by the "Archives de la Ville de Paris". >From 1860 to 1892: If you know the Mairie, the problem is the same as for the rest of France. Before 1860: The Archives of Paris were destroyed. Some (about 1/3), have been reconstructed from other sources. So, in that case, you have to look for an existing reconstruction at the Archives. Census for Ile de france (Paris...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Only 1926, 1931, 1936. Rare after WW2. Before there were only partial census (professional for instance) For some towns near Paris, we can find census since 1881 or 1891 (Courbevoie, Boulogne, Vincennes...) Notarial deeds (Actes notaries) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When they are more than 100 years old they have to be sent to the Archives departementales. There you may consult them. However, this was not always done. Sometimes they still remain at the lawyer's. Before the French Revolution, 1792, these are the only source for French Jewish marriages. In Alsace,during the 18th century, the Jews were obliged to marry before a notary. Most of the contracts are written in old gothic German with a spidery writing, some also contain Alsatian yiddish. A list of contracts written in Haut-Rhin been compiled by Salomon Picard and can be found in Colmar, Guebwiller or Strasbourg Archives. Then, the best is to get the contract itself and find somebody to translate it (very difficult), so you may verify and have also the witnesses. His widow has published a book with a list of contracts for Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin, ordered by names of notary ". "Memoire Juive en Alsace", de A.A. FRANCKEL , editions du Cedrat, 19 rue du Marechal Foch, Strasbourg. There is now an index, compiled by Rosanne and Daniel Leeson, published 1999 by the Cercle de Généalogie Juive, and available for order on their Web site http://www.genealoj.org In Lorraine, many marriage contracts from the Civil records in Metz have been listed by Jean Fleury. (In Metz, births, marriages and deaths has been written on registers from 1717 to 1792). There is also a book of the Jewish births, marriages and deaths, taken from the Jewish Community registers of Metz, by Pierre-Andre Meyer. Both of these items are also available through Interlibrary Loan and both of these are now reprinted, and also available from the CGJ. The other contracts which could be obtained in France come from registers of the Jewish community. (Vaucluse, Bordeaux). All the details can be found in the guide of Gildas Bernard. Other Civil Sources ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In his book "Les familles Juives en France", (Paris, Archives Nationales, 1990), Gildas BERNARD has listed departement by departement, town by town, all the known civil sources for Jewish Genealogy, from the 16th Century to 1815. This book can easily be obtained by Interlibrary Loan or bought at the Archives Nationale or sent by "La Documentation Francaise". Conclusion ~~~~~~~~~~ Of course all this will not be complete but give an idea of what it is possible to obtain in France. Provider: Micheline Gutmann Association de Genealogie Juive Internationale http://www.chez.com/genami/ ------------- [01Sep99mg]rl Copyright 1999 JewishGen, Inc. http://www.jewishgen.org +----------------------------------------------------------------------+