Genealogy in Paris might be a little tricky. But with some tips, going through the Archives of Paris is following your ancestor path along the streets of the capital.
In the first part of the discovery of the website of the Archives of Paris, we have seen how to search the civil registers. They are additional resources that can help you find your elusive ancestor, or enrich your family history.
Additional genealogical resources
Abandoned child
If your ancestor was an abandoned child in Paris, you can consult online admission directories. They began in 1742, and concern children admitted to the department of foundlings.
On the main page of the Archives of Paris website, click on “Sources généalogiques complémentaires” (Additional genealogical sources). Under the title “Répertoires d’admissions des enfants assistés de la Seine (1742 – 1915)“. You can search for a child admitted before 1761, or from 1761. You’ll then have to type the name of the child, the year of admission (if you know it), and the admission category. This might be the difficult part, as you have to know under what category the child was admitted. To help you, here’s a summary :
- Enfants trouvés / Children found (1761-1858), then Enfants assisstés / Assisted Children (1859-1906) for found, abandoned and orphaned children;
- Enfants morallement abandonnés / Morally abandoned children (1881-1906): children aged 12 to 16 and / or whose parents can not provide education;
- Pupilles de l’Assisstance / Pupils of the Assistance (from 1907): assisted children and morally abandoned children;
- Enfants en dépôts / Children on safekeeping (from 1841): children admitted provisionally, also prior admission to any definitive admission in the previous categories;
- Enfants secourus / Children rescued (from 1873): children whose parents are helped financially.
Then, you will find the child’s registration number. You can only consult his admission file, in the reading room at the Archives of Paris.
Military services
You can also access the military services records (1872 – 1940).
These tables make it possible to find the recruitment number of conscripts residing in the department of the Seine at the time of the call of their class: at the age of 20 years. Their prior consultation allows the identification of the service member’s registration number. They are digitized by class from 1872 to 1940. You can consult them online and on site until 1940.
Burial registers
Was your ancestor buried in Paris ? The burial registers of 19 of the 20 cemeteries of Paris are now available online for the period 1804 to 1970. These registers allow access to the following information
- date of death or date of burial ;
- location and extent of the burial in the cemetery concerned;
- place of death (district or commune);
- age of the deceased.
You’ll have to first search the annual directories, then the daily burial registers.
Paris census
They are no census for Paris before 1926. You can find online the censuses for the years 1926, 1931 and 1936. The nominative lists were drawn up by district then by district, finally in the alphabetical order of the names of streets.
Register of electors
You’ll find online two registers: the 1860-1870 register which concerns only the voters of Paris, the 1921-1939 register which lists the voters of the whole department of the Seine.
The electors file are also an additional source you can not ignore. Each form mentions: the year of registration on the electoral rolls, the surname and first names of the voter, his address, occupation, date and place of birth.
Keep in mind, you’ll only find your male ancestor. It was only on April 21, 1944 that the right to vote was granted to French women.
In conlusion, the website of the Archives of Paris is a site that is continuously enriched. Do not hesitate to consult it regularly. You can follow them on Facebook to get updates.
