Research in France - Book Recommendations

[rebeccaclaire86]

Can anyone recommend a good book about researching French ancestors - written in English?  I've tentatively looked at my French line a little (my ancestor was born around 1828 in France, most likely Paris) but I don't understand the sources in the same way that I do for my English, Irish and Canadian lines, and would really like to educate myself a bit before I look at properly researching this line.  I've looked on Amazon but nothing obvious is jumping out!

Any recommendations would be gratefully received

[hanes teulu]

As a starter have a look at
https://french-genealogy.typepad.com/genealogie/2009/09/the-etats-civils-finding-them.html

There is no overarching index for these records. Hence the importance of establishing where the event occurred. The "filae" site goes someway to providing an index but requires registering to view their records. But if the "filae" index search delivers a possible result you can turn to searching/ploughing through the original documents if they are available. This means ploughing through the original documents page by page.

A simplification of the process but emphasises the significance of establishing where the event occurred. Popping in a search key and sitting back it aint. 

[pb_devon]

Familysearch wiki is useful: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/France_Genealogy

As hanes teulu said you will need to find the place to be able to research further.

Paul

[jayaygee]

You might find useful clues as to place on Généanet - there is an English version - but, as with all online trees, great caution is needed and any clues or leads should be followed up by your own research.

[hanes teulu]

You mention your rellies as "most likely Paris". This explains the pre and post 1860 situation re. availability of records.
https://www.myfrenchroots.com/finding-your-ancestors-in-paris/

[jorose]

Unfortunately with only a rough birth year and "Paris" it's much like saying "1827 in London" (and then probably finding 5 years down the track the guy was actually born in a little village in Surrey).

Finding that first link to a concrete French location is always the hardest part.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=846797.msg7139072#msg7139072
I suggest you look first at his marriage in England (it appears to have been indexed as "Gwelle" for some unimaginable reason), if you haven't already and look closely at the witnesses and the address he was living.

Why Hitchin? Not exactly a major port or big city you would expect emigrants to head towards. Most of those in the 1851 who are French-born appear to be children of railway workers (many of whom worked in France from England in the 1840s).  Might be worth looking at those connections. Perhaps he met someone from England in France who offered him an apprenticeship. Perhaps his mother or sister married an Englishman and moved to Hitchin and he followed over. In this case looking at where these families had been in France before they came back to Hitchin could help.

[rebeccaclaire86]

Thanks for the replies! I’m aware a rough year in the Paris area isn’t too much to go on, which is why I’m trying to brush up my knowledge a bit. Those links are helpful

I’ve got his marriage certificate, it does give a fathers name of Pierre but the witnesses aren’t helpful and it took place in the register office. I’ve looked for other Guelle (and variations) in Hertfordshire and London (they briefly lived in North London in the 1860’s), and also for other French born folk in Hertfordshire and haven’t found anything useful at this point. There was another Guelle marriage but it turned out to be a vicar of that name who isn’t connected.

My best guess about why Hitchin is the link to the railway, he was a platelayer at one stage, and then he married a girl from Hitchin and stayed. I’ve been meaning to look at records from GNR or whichever train line it was at that stage if any survive.

[pb_devon]

The National Archives guide to railway employees here: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/railway-workers/
It says Ancestry has these online, so give it a try.