French Census, why are we looking for this information? Is it difficult?
Looking for French ancestors might be overwhelming. I can tell this from my own experience. In France, vital records are departmental and not national. French departments across the country have digitized and made available a variety of vital records, parish registers, and census records. However, the records and years available vary by department, and on top of this, to be able to use them, you must know or search for your ancestor´s place of residence first. The genealogy expert Kimberly Powell [i] also points out that “…in large cities, such as Nice or Paris, there may be many civil registration districts, so unless you can identify the approximate location where (your ancestors) lived, you may have no choice but to browse through the records of multiple registration districts”.
In what has to do with censuses in France, many have been local as well. Of course, besides local censuses, there have been some national censuses. But there is a “but”: national censuses have not yet been digitized and must be consulted at the departmental archives, which is something difficult even if you live in France.
The first census listing names in France (and thus useful from a genealogical point of view) was taken in the year 1772. One was carried out in 1975, and another under Napoleon in 1801; next one was recorded in 1806, next in 1821, and from then on census was performed every 5 years. While 1871 census was delayed until 1872, 1916 census was skipped because of World War I. But somehow between 1795 and 1836, censuses show only statistics without personal names, and just after 1836 they provide the most useful information genealogically speaking.
What is the solution and why?
- National censuses have not yet been microfilmed and therefore, for the time being, the only solution for checking most censuses is going to the local archives.
- Good news is that LSD is working on these censuses right now. I myself have recently volunteered to index for LDS and I am mostly consecrating to French censuses. Hopefully, little by little we will start having some more information online. It is a pity this work hasn’t been done before: as far as I was able to check, registers have been very well preserved, and information is very clear. Indexing French census schedules is not difficult at all.
- Census records already published by LDS, are available both the LDS Family History Library and on the web. By clicking on a specific department of an interactive map of France available at https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/France_Genealogy, you can access specific information for such department.
- com has also some interesting information available online. Check http://search.ancestry.co.uk/Places/Europe/France/Default.aspx for some French censuses.
- Besides this, the genealogy expert, Kimberly Powel, in her article “French Genealogy Records Online. French Databases — Actes Etat Civil” [ii]provides useful links to 54 French departmental archives. You can check full article at http://genealogy.about.com/od/france/tp/France-Genealogy-Records-Online.01.htm
- Apart from census registers, you can search French ancestors, by locating their vital records. As mentioned above, in France, vital records are departmental and not national. However by checking the “Tables décennales de l´état civil” – most of which are available on line – you can get the place and the date of the event you are looking for, to later check the right register for the full information. The “Tables décennales” are some kind of indexes carried apart from vital records that gather information in groups of 10 years. Records from 1792 on can be found on line: you just have to place in google the phrase “tables décennales” and you will get several useful links to them.
- You can also take profit of military records, which are a gold mine for ancestor´s information in France. The[iii] “military records are held by the Army and Navy Historical Services in Vincennes, France. Records survive from as early as the 17th century and may include information on a man’s wife, children, marriage date, address, a physical description of the man, and details of his service”. com is a good source for military records too. You can check them at: http://search.ancestry.co.uk/Places/Europe/France/Default.aspx?category=35&ldf=2
- Cemetery records are also a noticeable source of genealogical information in France. They are kept locally and may include the name and age of the deceased, the birth date, death date, and place of residence. The cemetery keeper may also have records with detailed information[iv].
- Last but not least, notarial records are also an important genealogical source in France and can include such records as marriage settlements, wills, inventories, guardianship agreements, and property transfers. Some of the oldest available records in France are part of this collection: some date back to the 1300s. Unfortunately most of them are not indexed, but can be checked at departmental archives. In practical terms, it is almost impossible to research these records without hiring a professional genealogist.[v]
Is there anything should I consider when looking for French ancestors at the French Censuses?
- Indeed yes. The information on French censuses should be used with caution, since the information was not being given by the householder but may have been given by any member of the family or a neighbor. Some information may be incorrect or deliberately falsified.
- For those not reading French, LDS provides a list of the most commonly used genealogical terms in French at https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/France_Language_and_Languages#General_Word_List
[i] Kimberly Powell, “French Civil Registration. Vital Records of Birth, Marriage and Death in France.” About parenting, http://genealogy.about.com/od/france/a/French-Civil-Registration.htm, May 2, 2016.
[ii] Kimberly Powell, “French Genealogy Records Online. French Databases — Actes Etat Civil », About parenting, http://genealogy.about.com/od/france/tp/France-Genealogy-Records-Online.htm January 23, 2016.
[iii] Kimberly Powell, “Genealogy in France. More Sources for Genealogical Information in France”, About parenting, http://genealogy.about.com/od/france/a/french_ancestry_5.htm, June 30, 2016.
[iv] Kimberly Powell, “Genealogy in France. More Sources for Genealogical Information in France”, About parenting, http://genealogy.about.com/od/france/a/french_ancestry_5.htm, June 30, 2016.
[v] Kimberly Powell, “Genealogy in France. More Sources for Genealogical Information in France”, About parenting, http://genealogy.about.com/od/france/a/french_ancestry_5.htm, June 30, 2016.
By, Carmen Vazquez Sibils
