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Discover the history of Breton migrations to Paris and America (19th-20th centuries). Tips for finding your emigrated ancestors. Complete guide for genealogists.
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For any Breton genealogist, it is almost inevitable to encounter in their family tree a person who left Brittany. Between 1850 and 1970, about one million Bretons left their native region, turning the peninsula into a land of massive emigration. Two destinations stand out particularly: Paris, where the trains of misery converge, and North America, land of all hopes. Understanding these migratory movements is essential to successfully conduct your genealogical research and reconstruct the journey of your ancestors.
In the 19th century, Brittany experienced a sharp economic decline that drove hundreds of thousands of people into exile. The region's population grew steadily throughout the 19th century and up to World War I, particularly in Finistère, creating considerable demographic pressure on increasingly limited agricultural lands. considerable demographic pressure.
The textile industry, once prosperous due to the production of linen and hemp fabrics, collapsed when sailing shipping disappeared and cotton competition intensified. The region's economy faced major difficulties affecting most sectors, especially the textile industry. The slate quarries in the Black Mountains, especially around Gourin, gradually ceased operations.
From 1800 to 1911, Brittany's population steadily increased from 1,848,311 to 2,601,792. However, this demographic growth was not accompanied by sufficient economic development. Between 1872 and 1891, there were 126,000 departures, and over 200,000 between 1891 and 1911. the population of Brittany constantly increased.
For genealogists, this period often corresponds to the sudden disappearance of an ancestor from Breton parish records. If you are searching for an ancestor born between 1850 and 1920 in central Brittany and cannot find them after age 20, the hypothesis of emigration should be seriously considered.
Contrary to what one might imagine, Breton emigration was not an isolated and desperate act. Family and neighborhood support networks developed, allowing settled migrants to encourage or bring over other compatriots. This community solidarity explains why some Breton villages literally emptied out to specific destinations.
📌 Our genealogy tip: if you identify an emigrated ancestor, systematically search for their neighbors, cousins, and relatives in the same destinations. Bretons rarely left alone.
With the opening of the Paris-Nantes-Quimper railway line inaugurated in 1863, and then the completion of the line connecting Brest to Paris in 1865, Breton emigration to the capital intensified throughout the second half of the 19th century. For your genealogical research, this date constitutes a crucial chronological marker: before 1865, Breton emigration to Paris was limited; after that, it became massive.
Arriving at Montparnasse Station, the newcomers naturally settled in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, which gradually became a real Breton village in the city. If your Breton ancestor emigrated to Paris between 1865 and 1960, start your research in the 14th and 15th arrondissements.
The figures testify to the extent of the phenomenon: in 1891, Breton emigration included 88,100 people in Paris and the Seine department, rising to a minimum of 100,000 in 1896. In Paris, the number of Bretons is estimated between 300,000 and 500,000, making it the largest Breton community outside Brittany.
Faithful to the clan habits they brought from their homeland, these migrants group together according to their origins and family ties. This network organization is precious for genealogists: finding one ancestor can lead you to an entire family branch.
These voluntary exiles took the hardest jobs. Many men worked on the digging of the Paris Metro tunnels starting in 1898. The designer of the Paris Metro, Fulgence Bienvenüe, was himself from Brittany.
Breton women were not better off. Many worked as nannies, doormen, maids, or street vendors. The stereotype of "Bécassine", created in 1905, reflects this reality: young rural women, often speaking only Breton, employed as domestics by the Parisian bourgeoisie.
Faced with difficulties, the Breton community quickly organized. Priest Cadic leads a Breton parish at the end of the 19th century. At the turn of the 20th century, he founded the first Breton parish in Paris at the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Champs, where he created a mutual aid society, French classes, and a monthly bulletin.
The Breton Mission, created by Father Élie Gautier in 1947 and led by his successor Father Le Quemener, in addition to its cultural role, had a significant welcoming function after World War II. Located since 1977 at 22 Rue Delambre in the 14th arrondissement, this institution potentially holds valuable archives for genealogists.
📋Our genealogy tip: the records of these Breton associations, when preserved, can provide valuable information about your Parisian ancestors: dates of arrival, jobs held, successive addresses, links with other Bretons.
Gourin, a small town in Morbihan located on the border of Finistère and Côtes-d'Armor, has become world-famous for its massive emigration. Between 1880 and 1970, 11,500 people from the canton of Gourin crossed the Atlantic.
This emigration mainly took place from Central Brittany around Gourin within a triangle between Quimper, Carhaix, and Loudéac. The reasons? Poverty in the Breton countryside, the decline in demand for agricultural labor, and the closure of slate quarries.
By 1928, there were about 3,000 inhabitants of Gourin in New York, 400 of whom were directly employed by Michelin, the company created in 1901 south of New York in Milltown, which preferentially recruited Bretons.
Nearly 100,000 Breton women and men left for the United States between 1880 and 1980. This figure includes hundreds of Breton women who married American soldiers during the two world wars, as Brest was a major landing port for American troops.
Between 1945 and 1958, just the city of Gourin and its surroundings saw 4,000 inhabitants leave for the USA. Between the years 1946 and 1955 alone, 747 immigrants left Gourin, representing 13.4% of the population, many of whom went to the United States.
Emigration happened in several waves: at the beginning of the century, and after the first and second World Wars. Bretons were first loggers or farmers in Canada, workers in New Jersey, and the last arrivals in the 1950s built careers in New York in the restaurant industry.
The main destination was New York and 80% of jobs were in the restaurant industry. Bretons blended into the proletariat of American cities, particularly in New York and its suburbs.
Ellis Island is an island located at the mouth of the Hudson in New York. In the first part of the 20th century, it was the main entry point for immigrants arriving in the United States. Immigration services operated there from January 1, 1892, to November 12, 1954.
During its 62 years of operation, the U.S. immigration bureau processed 12 million applications. Your Breton ancestors who arrived between 1892 and 1954 therefore passed through Ellis Island, and their names potentially appear in the records.
📌Our genealogical tip: Ellis Island records are digitized and freely available online. This is your first step to finding an ancestor who left for America.
In the 1880s, the Argentine Republic employed recruitment agents in Europe, particularly active in Aveyron, the Basque Country, and central Brittany. Through illustrated brochures, they presented a veritable land of milk and honey and promoted the ease of travel or assistance in acquiring land.
Grégorie Le Clech estimates that 15,000 Bretons immigrated to Argentina in the second half of the 19th century, many of whom came from central Brittany. Hundreds of Bretons emigrated to Argentina, in regions other than those where the Welsh settled at the end of the 19th century.
However, many Bretons were decimated by diphtheria and typhoid and quickly decided to join the coast. This emigration was less durable than that to the United States.
Some Breton families nevertheless succeeded in Argentina. José Sanseau, who was 15 years old at the time of departure from Brittany, marries an Italian woman and has 11 children. His brothers and sisters also founded large families who quickly integrated into Argentine high society. One of his sons, Ivan, becomes mayor of Pigué and Argentine senator in 1957.
1. Check Breton civil registry records: a sudden disappearance from records may indicate departure. If your ancestor appears in records until age 20 or 25, then disappears without a death record, consider emigration.
2. Verify military archives: the military conscription records sometimes mention address changes. Available at Departmental Archives, they may indicate "resident in Paris" or "emigrated to America".
3. Search passport applications: passport requests issued before 1914 are often kept at Departmental Archives. They contain useful information: destination, travel purpose, physical description.
4. Explore census records: population censuses may show the presence then absence of an individual, guiding your research.
1. Paris Archives: population censuses are very useful to locate an ancestor in the 14th-15th arrondissements. Available online on the Paris Departmental Archives website for certain periods.
2. Archives of the Breton Mission: Contact the Breton Mission at 22 rue Delambre, 75014 Paris. Their archives may contain information about your ancestor: registration, participation in activities, addresses.
3. Parish archives: the church Notre-Dame-des-Champs (rue Madame, Paris 6th) hosted the first Breton parish. Parish registers may reveal baptisms, marriages, or burials.
4. Workers' booklets: mandatory in the 19th century, kept at Paris Archives, they may reveal your ancestor's professional path and successive employers.
5. Business and industry directories: if your ancestor was a craftsman or merchant, Didot-Bottin directories may provide their business address.
1. Ellis Island: Free online database with over 22 million passengers (1892-1954). Search by name, but try multiple spellings as American officials phonetically transcribed Breton names.
2. Breton Immigration Museum: Château de Tronjoly in Gourin houses a documentation center on Breton immigration to America. They preserve photographs, documents and may assist in your research.
3. American diocesan archives: many Bretons gathered around their priests. Parish archives in New York, New Jersey, and Canada may contain baptism, marriage, and burial records.
4. Naturalization files: American naturalization records (USCIS) contain valuable genealogical information: birth date and place in Brittany, arrival date, port of entry, U.S. address, occupation, names of relatives.
5. U.S. Censuses: U.S. federal censuses (available every 10 years) can be accessed online on FamilySearch and Ancestry. They list country of birth, year of immigration, naturalization status.
6. Castle Garden: for arrivals before 1892, consult Castle Garden records (1855-1890), the first immigrant reception center in New York.
1. Immigration databases: Argentine sites list passengers who arrived in the 19th century. The website www.cemla.com (Centro de Estudios Migratorios Latinoamericanos) and other online databases may help.
Emigration mainly concerned:
Breton names may have been modified by American immigration officials and Parisian civil servants. Try all possible variations:
- Le Gall → Legall, Le Gal, Legal, Gall
- Kermarrec → Kermarec, Kermarech, Kermarek
- Quéméneur → Quemenneur, Kemener, Quemener
Wedding witnesses are often compatriots. If you find your ancestor's Parisian or American marriage, note the names of the witnesses: they are probably Bretons from the same village who left together.
Many Breton associations in Paris and the United States keep archives.
Contact:
- Breizh Amerika (for the United States)
- Breton Celtic and friendly circles in Paris
- Associations of Gourin and central Brittany
Breton newspapers from the 19th and 20th centuries sometimes mentioned departures and news of emigrants. Available in departmental libraries and on Gallica.
Breton migrations are an essential chapter in French demographic history and often a determining factor in family history. For the genealogist, understanding these population movements is not just an academic exercise: it is often the key to finding an ancestor missing from Breton records and reconstructing the complete history of your family.
Rural exodus reveals still secret and unspoken suffering and above all the extreme poverty of rural France in the 19th and 20th centuries. These migrations, though often experienced as a true exile, testify to the resilience and courage of your ancestors.
Breton identity, preserved in the land of exile, facilitates our research today: Bretons gathered, created associations, married among themselves, forming identifiable communities in the archives. This community solidarity is your best ally in your research.
Geneafinder helps you navigate digitized archives efficiently, organize your findings, and easily manage your family tree. Whether you are new to genealogy or an experienced genealogist, Geneafinder accompanies you in your genealogy.
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