Genealogy in Oise (60): Archives and Genealogical Resources
Genealogy Cheat Sheet - A concise guide for genealogical research in Oise: vital records, histories, videos, old maps, and much more...
©️Wikimedia - Claude Shoshany
Updated: January 7, 2026
Created on March 4, 1790, the department of Oise was born from the French Revolution, mainly from part of the former province of Île-de-France, while historically belonging to the cultural region of Picardy, now integrated into the Hauts-de-France. It borders the departments of Somme, the Aisne, the Seine-et-Marne, the Val-d'Oise, the Eure, and the Seine-Maritime.
Its prefecture Beauvais, an ancient Gallo-Roman city and former important episcopal seat, shares the territory with other notable poles like Compiegne, a royal city, and Senlis, the election place of Hugh Capet in 987, which gives Oise a strong anchor in the political history of the kingdom of France.
From the 19th to the 20th century, Oise transformed into an agricultural exporter (beet, cereals) and industrial department, with the development of textiles, metallurgy, and chemistry, supported by a dense railway network and navigation on the Oise.
For genealogists, this dual agricultural and industrial vocation is reflected in ancient peasant lineages in villages, as well as branches of workers from other regions, visible in civil status registers and censuses of industrial towns and cities near Paris.
📜 The Archives of the Oise
The Departmental Archives of the Oise: Online Sources for Your Genealogy
Visiting the Departmental Archives of the Oise:
📍 71 rue de Tilloy, 60000 Beauvais
Contacting the Departmental Archives of the Oise of the Oise:
📞 03 44 10 42 00
📧 Send a message
Browse the online archives of the Oise department to search for your ancestors:
Online Records
Unusual Records
🗺 Migrations in the Oise
- Before 1800 : before the Revolution, the area corresponding to the current Oise belonged mainly to Île-de-France and Picardy, marked by a high density of lordships, abbeys, and royal cities (Compiègne, Senlis, Noyon) that structured movements. Mobility was mainly local: peasants, artisans, servants, and clerics moved between neighboring parishes, following markets, fairs, and ecclesiastical careers, more than they emigrated to distant regions.
In genealogy, this means that before 1790, you should systematically check neighboring parishes and former lordly or ecclesiastical jurisdictions (chapters, abbeys), as an ancestor may easily appear in several nearby villages just a few kilometers away.
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19th century : in the 19th century, the Oise fully embraces the industrial revolution: textiles, then metallurgy and chemistry develop, particularly in the valleys and around new railroad lines (Paris–Lille via Clermont, Creil–Compiègne, Noyon–Compiègne links). Peasants receive raw materials and tools to produce at home, before large factories gradually replace these workshops, leading to the concentration of a workforce near industrial centers.
This industrialization causes significant rural exodus: the demand for factory labor pushes populations to leave the countryside for Oise cities (Creil, Nogent-sur-Oise, Compiègne, Creil–Montataire) or for Paris, located nearby. For your research, it is therefore common to follow a branch born in an agricultural village in the Oise that later migrates to an industrial town in the department or directly to the capital, which implies consulting Paris civil records and urban censuses.
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1914–1945 : the two world wars deeply mark the Oise, which was a combat and occupied zone during World War I, and then affected again during World War II. The region experiences destruction, evacuations, and significant human losses, which disrupt local demographics and sometimes erase entire generations of men from records, visible through "Died for France" mentions or gaps in marriages and births.
Post-war reconstructions temporarily attract labor, sometimes foreign, to construction sites and industries, but the Oise remains generally marked by a moderate migration deficit: natural growth partially compensates for regular departures to more industrialized regions. For genealogists, this period often translates to ancestors displaced for military or economic reasons, with marriages or deaths recorded in other departments, or even in Paris or Nord–Pas-de-Calais.
- 1945–1980 : after 1945, the Oise benefits from its proximity to Île-de-France: improvements in networks (railway electrification, highways, modernization of navigation on the Oise) facilitate commuting to the Paris region. Agriculture modernizes, while the industrial fabric transforms; the economic crisis starting in the 1980s leads to restructuring and unemployment, causing the concentration and then renewal of economic activities.
Learn more:
🎦 The Oise in Images
Videos
Images and Old Postcards
Old Maps of the Department
- From Cassini villages to today's communes: the department of the Oise
- On Old Maps Online: the old maps of the department
- On Gallica: the old maps of the Oise
📄 The History of the Oise
On Gallica: the books, the press and the manuscripts to learn everything about the Oise Department
🚩 Genealogy sites in the Oise
Genealogy circles and associations in Oise or nearby
Accounts to follow on social media
Happy researching!
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