Genealogy Chat

Top tip - using the Genes Reunited community

Welcome to the Genes Reunited community boards!

  • The Genes Reunited community is made up of millions of people with similar interests. Discover your family history and make life long friends along the way.
  • You will find a close knit but welcoming group of keen genealogists all prepared to offer advice and help to new members.
  • And it's not all serious business. The boards are often a place to relax and be entertained by all kinds of subjects.
  • The Genes community will go out of their way to help you, so don’t be shy about asking for help.

Boards

Quick Search

Single word search

Tools

Findmypast DNA Banner

Icons

  • New posts
  • No new posts
  • Thread closed
  • Stickied, new posts
  • Stickied, no new posts

Researching french ancestry

Login to Add Reply Watch This

Page 1 + 1 of 2

  1. «
  2. 1
  3. 2
ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

AnneRachel

AnneRachel Report 23 Aug 2014 11:37

Hello Mandy
In your situation of not knowing the town or region, this may not be the best place to start, but....

I find Geneanet an excellent website for French research,
www.geneanet.org
It has an English language option, and an extensive database of online trees. The search engine is brilliant if you subscribe (as I do), but I recall that when I initially had just a free membership then the search capability was limited.

The parish registers of most French departments are freely available online, and they contain much more detailed information than the English or Scottish registers that I have seen. Each department has its own separate archives, and it helps to understand a bit of French to navigate through these websites.

BUT you really need to know where to start looking, it is a large country. If you can pinpoint the location in France, and link to the correct family, then researching French ancestry is very rewarding. A huge amount of information available.

Anne in NZ

Christine

Christine Report 23 Aug 2014 10:36

I was interested by this question, as I have been given to believe that my grandfather fathered a daughter in France while serving in WW1. Not having a name ( I don't imagine she would have been given his surname anyway). I have no way of searching any records, but I had wondered if there any forums like this one, in France, where perhaps someone descended from her might also be trying to find her parentage. Might help Mandy too.

Researching:
Hill, Jewell - Cornwall. Langley-Shropshire,Cole, Neate -Wiltshire,Lott, Ewell- Kent.Punter, Gadd, Wapshott, White, Weston - Surrey. To say nothing of the other half's family!

AnnCardiff

AnnCardiff Report 23 Aug 2014 09:32

hello Mandy - can you give us some details - we may be able to find something for you

Ann X

Researching:
Breakspears of Berkshire and Cardiff, Williams and Harman of Whitchurch, Melingriffith &Tongwynlais,Glamorgan WE HAVE NO CONNECTION Do not share your tree with me

Mandy

Mandy Report 23 Aug 2014 08:54

I discovered some time ago that my great grandmother was french. Unfortunately I have no detail of where or what region in France which makes the task doubly hard. I have searched the ancestry site and others but cannot find anything that helps. Can anyone suggest any other site? She came to live in Ireland as a child, then married in 1883 and went on to have 10 children, one of which was my grandmother. Any help would be gratefully received. Thanks, Mandy

Page 1 + 1 of 2

  1. «
  2. 1
  3. 2