Genealogy in Vendée (85): Your Ancestors in the Archives

Genealogy Cheat Sheet - We provide all the useful and free genealogical resources for your research in Vendée

Genealogy in Vendée (85): Your Ancestors in the Archives

©️Wikimedia - Claude Villetaneuse

Updated: February 16, 2026


The Vendée is a French department located in the Pays de la Loire region, on the Atlantic coast. Its prefecture is La Roche-sur-Yon, a city with a singular geometric layout redesigned by Napoleon I. It is bordered by the departments of the Loire-Atlantique, of the Maine-et-Loire, of the Deux-Sèvres and of the Charente-Maritime.


Created during the French Revolution in 1790, the department largely corresponds to the former province of Bas-Poitou. Its history is inseparable from the Wars of Vendée (1793-1796), a brutal civil conflict that deeply marked local memory and affected the preservation of some parish registers.


Today, Vendée is famous for its economic dynamism, its seaside resorts (Les Sables-d'Olonne, Saint-Jean-de-Monts), its islands (Noirmoutier and Yeu), and its famous Puy du Fou park, which brings its rich past to life.



📜 Archives of Vendée


Departmental archives of Vendée

Visit the Departmental Archives of Vendée:

📍 14 rue Haxo, 85000 La Roche-sur-Yon


Contact the Departmental Archives of Vendée :

📞  02 28 85 78 00

📧  Send an email


Browse the digitized archives to search for your ancestors:


Municipal archives in Vendée



Online acts



Unusual acts



Migrations in Vendée


The migratory history of Vendée is full of paradoxes: a land of departure to the New World, but also a land of refuge and reconstruction.


  • From the 17th to the 18th century : as early as the 17th century, Lower Poitou was one of the main centers of emigration to New France (Canada) and the Antilles. Many families left the countryside or the coast to settle in Quebec or Montreal.

    During the Wars of Vendée, population movements were dictated by survival. Two types of flows are noted: internal exodus - populations take refuge in calmer areas or neighboring departments to escape the mobile columns and political emigration - some refractory nobles and priests exiled themselves to England or Spain.

  • The 19th century : the 19th century is marked by a strong rural exodus to major urban centers like Nantes or Angers, but also to Paris.

    Workers from the plains migrate to the marshes for harvests or to the coast for fishing. The development of railways and the textile industry (notably towards Cholet, neighboring) attracts workers from neighboring departments.

  • The 20th century : after the world wars, Vendée experiences new dynamics. In the late 1930s, Vendée hosts refugees fleeing the Spanish Civil War.

    The industrial and tourist boom attracts a workforce from the Maghreb, Portugal, and Turkey, notably for working in construction, food processing, and agriculture.

    More specifically, in the 1970s, Hmong families settled in the department, notably for vegetable farming.

For more information:



🌾 Vendée in Pictures


Videos



Old Photos and Postcards


Old Maps of the Department

  • From Cassini's villages to today's communes: the department of Vendée
  • On Old Maps Online: the old maps of the department
  • On Gallica: the old maps of Vendée



📚 The history of Vendée



On Gallica: the books, the press and the manuscripts to learn everything about the Vendée department


🗺️ Genealogy sites in Vendée


Genealogy circles and associations in Vendée



Genealogy blogs that talk about Vendée


Facebook groups


Happy researching! 


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