Was your ancestor really a French count? Did the French Revolution erase all traces of their noble lineage? Family legend like this persist across generations, shaping identities and sparking curiosity. But when myth meets historical records, the truth is often more nuanced—and even more fascinating.
Category: Understanding the Basics of French Genealogy
Marginal annotations are, as we saw in a previous post, a precious element of French documents. Although they are valuable in descending genealogy, they may contain traps that can be avoided.
Marginal annotations are a measure of publicity intended to establish a relationship between two acts of civil status or between an act and the transcription of another act or judgment. They are, for the genealogist, a valuable element of his/her research.
Your family name is Delavergne, Delaborde, Dufour, Desmas, Deboise… Does this mean that you are descended from French nobility? In this article, I explain the origin of the particle and its link, or not, with the French nobility.
Reading deeds in another language is not always easy. Discover how to read French records with those advices.
If you’re searching for your French ancestry, you may have already encountered French family names. Maybe, your family name is French. But do you know what is means ? Can your French name help you in your research ? Let’s find what’s behind a French name.
