Ardèche, France Genealogy

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Guide to Ardèche, France ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History

Ardèche is a Department in the south-central France named after the Ardèche River. The department of Ardèche, corresponding to the ancient province of Vivarais, is part of the current region of Rhône-Alpes and was formerly part of the province of Languedoc.

Localities

Church Registers and Civil Registration

The vast majority of your research will be in church records and civil registration. Fortunately, these records are available online from the archives of each department.

How to Read the Records=

Learning to Read Enough French to Do Genealogy

  • It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately. Here are some resources for learning to read French records.
French Genealogical Word List
French Handwriting.
  • There is a three-lesson course in reading French Records:
Reading French Handwritten Records Lesson 1: The French Alphabet,
French Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Key Words and Phrases
Reading French Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading French Records

Finding Church Records and Civil Registration Online

Each Department of France has archives that provide digitized images of these records.
Here is the address for the Department Archives of Ardèche, where you will find these records.
Ardèche Departmental Archives

  • Registres paroissiaux catholiques et protestants
  • Registres d'état civil
  • Autres données nominatives:
  • Plans cadastraux (napoléoniens et rénové)
  • Fonds Mazon Encyclopédie Chronologie
  • La presse
  • Iconographie

Resources

Societies

SAGA www.saga/online Société des Amateurs de Généalogie de l'Ardèche Rayon d'action: Ardèche. Adresse postale SAGA BP 3 - 07210 CHOMERAC E-mail:bureau@geneardeche.org

Websites