France Getting Started

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France Beginning Research

Getting Started Online Learning Record Finder Research Strategies Finding Town of Origin

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In other languages: Français

France

Research Tips and Strategies

Getting Started

How to Research

1. Identify what you know: Work from the known to the unknown. Don't jump straight back to a distant ancestor. Begin with the present and confirm/document the information and relationships as you work your way back.
2. Document/source your tree: As you gather information, identify where and who each piece of information came from. Evaluate how reliable the sources are, and ensure you are interpreting them correctly. Don't simply accept ancestral information on your tree. Instead, look for records or other reliable sources to support each date, place, and relationship.
3. Decide what you want to learn: Have a specific research goal or objective. This is defined by pursuing a specific piece of information about a specific ancestor. An example of a bad, or too-generic research goal is: "I want to know more about my great-grandfather." An example of a good research goal is: "I want to find the marriage date of my great-grandparents."
4. Select records to search: Each country's record-keeping practices are different. See your country's Record Finder table to determine what kind of record could provide the desired ancestral information. Search the desired records.
5. Analyze/use the information: When you find new sources, carefully evaluate them to ensure they are about the correct ancestors, and that the information in the evidence is being accurately interpreted. Cite or document your sources in your family tree establish the accuracy of your findings.

Beginning Research in France

• Finding Town of Origin
• Online Learning - video classes
• Record Finder - gives suggestions for records to search
• Finding Your Basque Ancestors

Search Strategy

• Begin with the death information of the focus ancestor and locate the death record.
• Use the information on that death record to locate the ancestor's marriage record.
• Use the information on that marriage record to locate the ancestor's birth record.
• Once the birth record is found, search for the focus ancestor's siblings.
• Next, search for the marriage of the focus ancestor's parents. The marriage record will have information that often helps locate the birth records of the parents.
• Search the death registers for all known family members.
• Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
• If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes. It is possible they may have moved or boundaries changed.