Sussex Family Historian Vol 9 No 2 June 1990

By Vincent Tickner, 24 Crown Gardens, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 3LD

Last year was the Bicentenary of the Storming of the Bastille by the inhabitants of Paris, and the beginnings of what is termed 'The French Revolution', so it appears appropriate to present some of the consequences of this upheaval on the development of genealogy in France.

Prior to 1789 most genealogical research was linked to the establishment of the lineages of aristocratic families. Estimates of the French nobility ranged from 120,000 to 400,000 people around 1789 (probably about 200,000), out of a total French population of about 27 million people. Of these nobles about 4,000 to 5,000 were extremely wealthy. From members of the Royal Family, nobility was ranked from the 'grands' down to the 'hobereaux' (impoverished local nobles). Nobility had originally been conferred for military service (Noblesse de l'epee), and later for other service to the monarch (Noblesse de robe). During the 18th Century the size of the nobility increased by upwardly mobile marriages on the part of the wealthy non-nobles, and through award or sale of off ice. The term 'anoblis' came into vogue, denoting a first generation noble. It is considered that at the end of the 18th Century only about half of the nobles could trace their nobility back to the middle of the 17th Century, and one estimate suggests that 40,000 nobles could only date their nobility to about 1700.

In this context status within the nobility became more linked with the age of one's 'noble' pedigree, and genealogical studies prospered on the confirmation or otherwise of noble ancestry. Some of the older noble families tried to maintain distinctions based on these noble origins. In 1781 the 'Loi Segur' was introduced, which restricted entry into certain commissioned ranks in the army to men belonging to families which had been noble for at least four generations. The Genealogistes des Ordres du Roi (created in 1595), and the Juges d'Armes de France (created in 1615) were the main official genealogical organisations.

The Encyclopedists had expressed their disdain for genealogy. Massillon had said: "The nobility of blood and the vanity of the genealogies are, of all the errors, the most generally established. (Author's translation)". cited in DURYE (1961) p14. The resistance of some factions of the nobility to the reforms being introduced in 1789 and 1790 led to the Decree of June 1790 that abolished the nobility. With this, except in emigree circles, the genealogical studies linked with the nobility were swept away and French interest in serious genealogy was much reduced until near the end of the 19th Century.

On the more positive side, the French Revolution introduced a system of general registration of births, marriages and deaths in France, almost fifty years before it was introduced into Britain. This, in most areas of France, enables present-day genealogists to trace their families back into the 18th Century from such records, rather than church records.

The system of administrative Departments was created on 15 January 1790 and the Decree of the National Assembly of 20 September 1792 created civil registration in France. The responsibility was conferred on the Mayors of the local communes or their representatives (usually 'le secretaire de mairie' these days). Two copies exist of every birth, marriage and death record ('Acte') in France. One is kept in the Mairie (Town Hall) of the commune and the other is deposited at the end of the year at the 'greffe du tribunal' with which the individual commune is associated. The 'greffier' can supply copies, although the copy kept in the local Mairie may have marginal notes upon it that are of more assistance to the genealogist.

This habit of making marginal notes began to be prohibited towards the end of the last century but it was only by a law of 13 January 1989 that the writing of comments on the Register held at the 'Greffe Tribunal de Grand Instance' was made illegal.

Most of the birth records before 1897 give only the date and place of birth of the person concerned and the surnames, first names, ages and places of residence of the parents, although additional information, such as the occupations of the parents, may also be given, as in the example presented here. Marriage records give the surnames, first names and residences of the parents. The death record usually contains the parents' surnames, the place and date of birth of the deceased, and the surname and first names of the deceased's spouse, whether still living or not.

A disadvantage with the French system is that there is no central registry, and for ancestors who moved around it can sometimes be difficult to locate their origins, although, having the birthplace of the deceased on their death record helps. One advantage, having located the right commune, are the ten-year tables, organised alphabetically and chronologically, that each commune maintains of these records. These have been maintained since 1792, initially from annual tables prepared in the first fifteen days of January at the commune level. Copies of all these ten-year tables are deposited in the Departmental offices for Civil Registration and after 100 years these are transferred to the 'Archives Departementales' under the 'Series M' where they can be consulted. The records from the communes for the period 1793 to 1802 are meant to be deposited in the appropriate Departmental Archive 'Series E' but not all of them have been. Records over 100 years old in communes of less than 2000 people are expected to be deposited in these Departmental Archives.

Besides civil registration the French revolution led to the first major initiative towards the establishment of a regular Census of population. In 1793 the Convention tried to undertake a Census, referred to as 'The Census of Year 2', following the Republican calendar devised by Romme and Fabre d'Eglantine, which was established on 24 November 1793 but which retroactively began on 22 September 1792, the day after the abolition of the monarchy, and was used until 1 January 1806. The existing heavy uncentralised bureaucracy and poor measuring techniques inherited from the 'ancien regime' made its implementation impossible and, only in 1799, with the 'Directoire' was the 'Bureau du Nord' created to undertake the Census in 1801. However, it was only in 1836 that more regular methods for taking censuses were clearly established and the first regular proper census was in 1868.

BERNARD, Gildas: "Guide des Recherches sur l'histoire des Familles", Archives Nationales, Paris 1981.

CAMPBELL, Peter R: "How Noble Was The Nobility" in "A Tale of Two Cities", Manorial Research PLC, 1989.

DUBOURGEY, Christian: "Votre Genealogie" Editions de Radio Monte Carlo, 1988.

DURYE, Pierre: "La Genealogie" in the series "Que Sais Je?" No 917, Presses Universitaires de France, 1961.

GODECHOT, J: 2les Institutions de la Revolution et de l'Empire", Fayard.

GROUPE HISTOIRE ET ARCHEOLOGIE DU FOYER D'EDUCATION POPULAIRE DU VIALA DU TARN: "Une Commune du Rouergue - La Viala du Tarn" Serie Documantation Regionale No 6, Federation Interdepartmentales des Senriers de Pays, Imprimerie Cahors, 1984.

MAZENC, Christian: "La Fin des mentions Marginales" in "La Revue Francaise de Genealogie" No 62, Juin-Juillet 1989.

PANISSET, G: "Vous avez dit revolution?" in "La Revue Francaise de Genealogie" No 62, Juin-Juillet 1989 pp2l-23.

Sussex Family Historian Vol 9 No 2 June 1990