Thanks to a 463 million addition of French records on My Heritage recently, I have been able to break down a brick wall of 40 years for my 5x great grandfather, and trace him back another four generations, which has been amazing.
Unfortunately, all the spouses of these men have not been so easy.
They would seem to be just as shadowy as many women in English records, and French spelling is just as variable as English spelling when it comes to a scribe writing down what he thinks he has heard.
They are:
1. Marie Catherine Danhier/Danhiez. At her marriage in 1767, she is said to be 33 years old. Her father was André Danhier. Unfortunately her mother’s name is unreadable in the parish register of Montreuil sur mer, Pas de Calais, Haute France.
I have a transcript of the Montreuil bmds, and the name Danhier only appears that once. It sounds as if they did not come from this town.
2. Anne Giraudot/Geradot. There is a dispensation for her marriage 1735, where she is given as being 15 years old. Her father was Charles Giraudot, and her mother Anne Marie Duvivier. This dispensation was at a court in Paris, and the family may have been from there, in which case this may be a lost cause, as most Paris records were destroyed in a fire in the late 1800s. I do know Anne Marie Duvivier was born back in Montreuil sur mer in 1689.
3. Marie Marguerite Rabbatté. She married in 1714 in Montreuil. There are no ages or parents names given in the register. A Jean Rabaté signs as a witness.
Marie’s sister Jeanne Catherine, married in 1716, and in her marriage record it says her father was Jean Rabatté, and her mother Catherine Lamie.
There are just a handful of ‘Rabatté’ names in the Montreuil transcription list, none earlier than Marie Marguerite’s marriage in 1714, so again, it looks as though the family were not from here.
I can’t find anything on My Heritage that fits for these women.
The other site that has a lot of French records is geneanet.org.
This site allows you to search for free, but tantalizingly many records, including any 'soundex' variations of spelling of names, are then only viewable on Premium subscription.
Would there be anyone with a Premium subscription who could have a quick look for these women, to see if it is worth my while paying a subscription to get at any pertinent records?
I would be very grateful for any assistance in trying to track down these women.
Thank you.