Maritime Records and Genealogy: Find Your Seafaring Ancestors
Genealogy Cheat Sheet - Many free online resources allow you to trace your seafaring ancestors; we've compiled them for you!
©️Cartorum
Updated: November 14, 2024
Are you looking for an ancestor who worked at sea? A military sailor, a fisherman? We guide you through the Maritime Archives.
💡 Good to know:
In 1669, Colbert decided to list all available men among seafarers - in classes. It was only from 1795 that one began to speak of "maritime registration" to designate these men who could be mobilized at sea (it was abolished in 1952). These men, aged 18 to 50, had to register at the maritime registration office.
Maritime registration consists of two interesting registers:
- Matriculation registers
- Crew lists, by ship and destination
How to Find an Ancestor in Maritime Registration?
To facilitate your research, you will first need to know your ancestor's year of birth and place of residence.
This information will help you determine the district and union to which your ancestor belonged.
Visit the websites of the Departmental Archives of the coastal departments to search for maritime registration funds:
Calvados Departmental Archives
- Admiralty and Maritime Registration - status of what is preserved and what is available online
Corse Departmental Archives
Côtes d'Armor Departmental Archives
- Help sheet for researching a sailor
Loire-Atlantique Departmental Archives
- Maritime Registrants: Chronological search or Name-based search
- Crew Lists: Chronological search or Search by ship
Morbihan Departmental Archives
Seine-Maritime Departmental Archives
Vendée Departmental Archives
- Maritime Registration of Vendée districts kept at the Historical Service of Defense in Rochefort
Additional Sources for Maritime Archives
L'Arche Museum and Archives
- Missing and Deceased Sailors (mid-19th to mid-20th century)
France Archives - National Archives Portal
- Sources related to the sea: people, activities, planning and environment
French Lines
- Archives of French Lines & Companies
Memory of Men - Ministry of the Armed Forces
- French East India Companies: Archives of the port of Lorient, Ship outfittings, Crews and passengers, Nautical charts
Historical Service of Defense
- I am looking for... Navy personnel
Volunteer Sites Dedicated to the History of Sailors
- Net Marine: Genealogical research guide "Navy"
- Genealogy Guide: Searching for your ancestors at sea
- Jean Jacques Salein's Website: Privateers
- National Memorial of Sailors Who Died for France
- Facebook Group: GeneaMarine & GeneOutreMer
Happy researching!
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