Did your ancestors sign a marriage contract?

We mentioned this in a previous article, marriage contracts can be rich in useful information for your genealogy.

What is a marriage contract?

A marriage contract is drawn up by a notary before the wedding. It sets certain rules before the union of two spouses and two families.

The following will be defined in the marriage contract:

• the different contributions (inheritance, dowries, expectations) from the parents and future spouses

• the separate property of each future spouse

• the property excluded from the community according to the chosen regime (community or separate property regimes)

• the conditions of widowhood

• the property that will be bequeathed to the children

• the role of the spouses' parents when they are too old

and more...

These contracts were drawn up by a notary between 1 day and 2 months before the wedding.

💡 Did you know? 
Until 1938, the husband had marital power. The wife was under the legal control of her husband. He could manage her property and their joint property. She could not sign a contract without her husband's permission.
It was not until the law of February 18, 1938, that this marital power was abolished, and 1942 for the wife to obtain a domestic mandate (which could still be taken away from her).
It was the law of July 13, 1965, that allowed each spouse to commit in their own name. Both are automatically and jointly responsible for the maintenance of the household and the education of the children.

How to find a marriage contract in archives?

Marriage contracts are most often classified in the notarial archives of the departmental archives (series E).

If you are looking for a marriage contract after 1850, it will be mentioned in the marriage records. Practical for going faster! You will then know the date of the contract, the place, and the name of the notary.

If your ancestors were married before 1850, you will need to search for the marriage contract. Note that it was very common to have one at the time, even for the poorest families (except in Brittany where it was rarer).

The elements that will help you find a marriage contract:

• the name of the notary - it is not always the one in place at the location of the marriage or the spouses' residence.

• the year of the marriage

• possible locations of the contract (town of marriage, spouses' residence...)

• the names of the future spouses (obviously)

You will certainly need to go to the departmental archives in person to find a marriage contract, as few of them have been digitized and put online.

However, to guide your research, you can start by consulting the alphabetical indexes. These alphabetical indexes by notary's name will help you find the right notarial records. The archive department and the reference of the file will be requested.

Some additional resources:

Reading a notarial deed: the marriage contract

Finding marriage contracts

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