Genealogy in Val-d'Oise (95): Dive into the archives

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Genealogy in Val-d'Oise (95): Dive into the archives

©️Wikimedia - Claude Villetaneuse

Updated: February 20, 2026


The Val-d'Oise (95) is a department in the Île-de-France region, located north of Paris. Its prefecture is Pontoise (although the departmental headquarters is administratively located in Cergy). It is bordered by theOise, the Seine-et-Marne, the Seine-Saint-Denis, the Hauts-de-Seine, the Yvelines, and the Eure.


Created later by the law of July 10, 1964 (and effective as of January 1, 1968), the department is the result of the dismantling of the former Seine-et-Oise. Its history is marked by a strong duality: the French Vexin, which remains very agricultural and preserved, and the Montmorency Valley, which has become a dense urban area. A vacation spot for impressionists (Auvers-sur-Oise) and home to former royal abbeys (Royaumont, Maubuisson), Val-d'Oise preserves a rich archive heritage, despite the administrative upheavals of the 20th century.



📜 The archives of Val-d'Oise


The departmental archives of Val-d'Oise

Visit the Departmental Archives of Val d'Oise:

📍 3 avenue de La Palette, 95011 Cergy-Pontoise


Contact the Departmental Archives ofVal d'Oise :

📞  01 34 25 36 75

📧  Send an email


Browse the digitized archives to find your ancestors: 


Online records 

Unusual records


🌍 Migrations in Val-d'Oise


The migratory history of Val-d'Oise is inseparable from its proximity to Paris. There are constant flows linked to the supply of the capital, then to industrialization.

  • 18th century: At this time, future Val-d'Oise is the "granary of Paris". Many workers come from Picardy and Normandy for the harvests on the large farms of Vexin.

    The Oise and Seine rivers drain a mobile population of boatmen and water merchants, often from the North or East, who settle in cities like Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (bordering) or Pontoise.


  • 19th century: The 19th century transforms the social landscape with the arrival of the rail (Paris-Lille line). There is a significant arrival of populations from the Grand Est and the Massif Central, attracted by railway construction sites and the exploitation of stone and gypsum quarries (Cormeilles-en-Parisis sector).

    To feed Paris, entire families of market gardeners settle in the Montmorency valley.


  • 20th century: This is the century of demographic shift. After 1914-1918, Polish and Italian workers arrive to work in the emerging industries of the Seine and Oise valleys (mechanics, chemistry).

    From the 1950s-1960s, the department welcomes workers from the Maghreb (especially Algeria) and Sub-Saharan Africa to meet the needs of the automotive industry (Simca-Talbot factories in Poissy, bordering) and construction.

    The creation of Cergy-Pontoise attracts young executives and families from all over France and overseas, creating immense sociocultural mixing. We also note the installation of important communities coming from Portugal and, later, Southeast Asia (especially in Sarcelles and Cergy).


For more information:



🎛 Val-d'Oise in images


Videos


Old images and postcards


Old maps of the department



📄 The History of Val-d'Oise



On Gallica: books, press and manuscripts to learn everything about the Val-d'Oise department


🚀 Genealogy sites in Val-d'Oise


Genealogy circles and associations in Val-d'Oise and surroundings


Genealogy blogs in Val-d'Oise


Useful social networks



Happy researching!


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