Genealogy in Nord (59): searching for your ancestors
Genealogy cheat sheet - All useful resources for your genealogical research in Nord: archives, online records, images, videos, useful websites...
©️Wikimedia - Claude Villetaneuse
update: February 12, 2026
The department of Nord is a unique territory in France, characterized by its elongated shape and exceptional population density. Located on the border with Belgium, it is bordered by the North Sea and the departments of Pas-de-Calais, of the Aisne and of the Somme. Its prefecture, Lille, is the heart of a powerful metropolis that includes Roubaix and Tourcoing.
Created during the French Revolution in 1790, the department is the result of a complex assembly of territories with strong identities: the Maritime Flanders (Dunkerque), the Gallic Flanders (Lille, Douai), the Hainaut (Valenciennes), the Cambrésis and the Avesnois. Marked by a persistent Flemish culture in the north and an early industrial history in the south, the 59 has a unique identity, shaped by the textile trade, coal mines, and a strategic geographical position as the "crossroads of Europe".
📜 Nord Archives
Departmental Archives of Nord
Visit the Departmental Archives of Nord:
📍 22 rue Saint-Bernard, 59000 Lille
Contact the Departmental Archives of Nord:
📞 03 59 73 06 00
📧 archivedep@lenord.fr
Browse the online departmental archives to search for your ancestors:
- Decimal tables
- Parish and civil records
- Military records
- Population censuses
- Tables of succession and absences
- Tables and registers of mortgages
- Cadastre plans
Online records
- On FranceGenWeb: "Records in bulk" - Marriages - Marriages of migrants - Marriages of migrants from Nord - Notaries
- Geneachtimi
- Databases – Genealo 59, 62, 02, Belgium project
- Decimal tables of marriages in Bantigny, Blecourt, Cauroir, Escarmain, Estrun, Eswars, Fressies, Gonnelieu, Haynecourt, Hem lenglet, Honnechy, Montigny en Cambrésis, Neuville St Rémy, Niergnies, Paillencourt, Sancourt, Vendegies sur Ecaillon, Villers Plouich, Villers-Guislain
- Recordsin Abancourt, Anneux, Blécourt, Boursies, Doignies, Elincourt, Flesquières, Fontaine notre Dame, Fressies, Gouzeaucourt, Haynecourt, Hem Lenglet, Moeuvres, Raillencourt St Olle, Ribécourt la Tour, Sailly lez Cambrai, Sancourt, Thun St Martin, Villers Plouich, Villers-Guislain, Walincourt, Wavrin
- Marriage records of Bourbourg
- Records and tables of Iwuy
- Census in Cambrésis
- Census of Dunkerque in 1906
- History and genealogy in the châtellenie of Lille
- Genealogy of Northern France
- Genealogy and local history in Haisnaut
- Genealogy in Lécluse
- Genealogy in Marcq en Baroeul
- Genealogy in Petite-Synthe
- Genealogy in Annoeullin, Carnin and surroundings
- Genealogy in Clary en Cambrésis
Unusual records
- A huge fire after the battle of Wattignies and champagne offered at the café Soyez to all travelers on the J. Marchal's site.
🌎 Migrations in Nord
- Under the Ancien Régime (17th - 18th centuries): at this time, borders were fluid. Following the conquests of Louis XIV (Treaties of Aix-la-Chapelle and Nijmegen), many families moved as sovereignty shifted between France and the Spanish Netherlands.
There were departures of Huguenots (Protestants) to the Netherlands or Germany following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. As in Anjou, pioneers left Nord for New France (Canada), often via the ports of Dunkirk or Belgium.
- The 19th century: the rise of mining and textiles transformed the department into a true magnet. Belgian immigration was the main influx. Attracted by the textile factories of Roubaix and Tourcoing or the mines of Valenciennes, thousands of Belgians crossed the border. In 1886, there were nearly 300,000 Belgians in Nord. Poor populations from Picardy or the interior of Flanders also converged on urban centers to become workers.
- The 20th century : the department, devastated by the two world wars, had to rely on massive foreign labor for its reconstruction and industry.
Following an agreement between France and Poland in 1919, thousands of Polish miners settled in the mining basin (Douai, Valenciennes). They created real communities with their own churches and associations.
The "Trente Glorieuses" saw the arrival of workers from the Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco), from Italy, Portugal, and Turkey, mainly to work in steel and construction.
For more information:
- History and memory of immigration in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, 19th-20th centuries
- Nord-Pas-de-Calais, a border region at the heart of Europe
- Belgian workers in the Nord department in the mid-19th century
- Migratory movements in Belgium in the 19th and 20th centuries
- From the countryside to the slag heap: Moroccan miners in Nord
🏠 Nord in images
Videos
- Dunkerque, one of the most devastated cities in France – 1945
- Demining work in the port of Dunkerque – 1945
- School for young miners in Aubry – 1946
- Strike in Vieux Condé – 1948
- Football match Lille LOSC vs Racing de Paris – 1948
- Heating in a street in Lille – 1954
- In the mines of Nord, the machine replaces the miner – 1956
- The parade of giants in Lille – 1959
- The woman at home: snow eggs with caramel – 1959
- A life of an athlete – 1961
- Farmers of Nord talking about their job – 1967
- A farmer from Nord – 1967
- Christmas in Lille – 1968
- The reconversion of the central workshops – 1972
- Douai: cut trees – 1973
- Nord: rabbit with plums – 1977
- Textile factory – 1979
- Tell me where you live: Nord-Pas-de-Calais – 1980
Old images and postcards
- On Gallica: the Nord in images
- On Clochers de France: the belfries of Nord in images
- On Memorial GenWeb: postcards of the war memorials
- On CPArama: Collection of old postcards in Nord
- Old postcards in Nord Pas de Calais
- Postcards of Sains-du-Nord
- Postcards of the city of Anor
Old maps of the department
- From Cassini villages to today's communes: the department of Nord
- On Old Maps Online: old maps of the department
- On Gallica: old maps of the Nord
📆 The history of the Nord department
- History of the Nord department
- Currency in Flanders and the Nord (17th-19th century)
- Statistics of the Nord department
- On the inland navigation of the Nord department, and particularly on the works of the port of Dunkirk
- Description of the Nord department
- Agriculture of the Nord department
- City of Lille, Nord department
- Army and society in Northern France (17th-20th century)
- Sports practices and shows in Northern France (19th-20th centuries)
- Territorial adjustments and tax quotas in the first third of the 19th century: the example of the Nord department
- Fraternization and competition: links and limits of a work relationship. The example of Belgian workers in the Nord department from the mid-19th century to the interwar period
- The Bank of France in Dunkirk, a national credit institution at the service of local economic development (1855-1914)
- Sports policy in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais under the Vichy regime(1940-1944)
On Gallica: the books, the press and the manuscripts to learn everything about the Nord department
🖵 Genealogy Sites in Nord
Genealogy Circles and Associations in Nord
- Flandre Artois Genealogical Research Center
- Lys and Ferrain Valley Genealogy Circle
- Flandre Hainaut Genealogy and History Association
- Escaudain Genealogy Club
- Cambrésis, Land of History
- Cambrésis Amateur Genealogists Group
- Berlaimont-Avesnois Historical and Genealogical Circle
- Genealogy in Douaisis
- Genealogy and History of Dunkerque
- Gravelines Genealogy Association
- Genealogy Group of the Nord Region
- Forums of Genealogists from Nord-Pas-de-Calais
- Geneachtimi
- Genealo Project
On Facebook
Happy researching!
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