Genealogy: Your Foreign Ancestors, How to Find Them?

Genealogy Cheat Sheet - Explanations on immigration waves in France and useful links to trace your immigrant ancestors

Since the 3rd century BC, the territory has experienced many waves of immigration. First Celtic and Germanic, then Armorican and Anglo-Scandinavian, migrations followed one another until the 19th century, from which point they began to develop.

In 2015, according to INSEE, 13.4 million people are immigrants and direct descendants of at least one immigrant parent in France.

Here are some tips to help you in your genealogical research of your foreign ancestors :

Useful translation tools :

DeepL – Google Translate – Reverso – Linguee

The registration of foreigners in France

Videos and films on the different waves of immigration in France

Two centuries of immigration history in France

Immigration, Retrospective of the second wave – 1920

Immigration, Retrospective of the third wave – 1950

There are three million foreign workers in France

The knights of those who don't know where to go

Problems of immigrant children at school

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🇮🇹 The Italians

To Understand Everything About Italian Immigration

- History of Italian Immigration to France

- Italian Immigration in France and the World: Dates, Places, and Chronological Landmarks

- Italian Diaspora in France

To Guide Your Genealogical Research in Italy:

Explanations: Civil records, parish registers, notarial archives before and after 1866 in Italy

act > atto	baptism > battesimo	date > data	civil status > stato civile
filiation > filiazione	genealogy > genealogia	marriage > matrimonio	municipality > comune
birth > nascita	name > cognome	first name > nome	census > censo
search > ricercare	parish registers > registri parrocchiali	burial > sepoltura

Useful Resources:

- Wiki: Genealogical Research in Italy, Information on Italy, Useful links for genealogy by Venarbol, 3 Steps to Succeed in Your Genealogical Visit to Italy by Marine Soulas, our cheat sheet on Italy

- Online Archives: Antenati – National Archives, FamilySearch

- Associations: Italian Ancestors, The Great Family of Procida and Ischia, Italian Genealogical and Heraldic Institute, Jewish Genealogy Association – Research in Italy, BenevolActes

- Surnames: Gens, Digilander Libero

For Further Research:

- Blogs: FamilySearch – Italian Ancestors Project, My Roots in Venice, In the Branches

- Gallica: Books, Press and Magazines, Images, Maps, Manuscripts, Sound Recordings

- Google Books: Italian Immigration

- INA Videos: Tende and Brigue Returned to France (1946), Unemployed Italians Coming to Work in France (1946), Archive on Italian Immigration in France,The Italian Miners' Home in Aniche (1963), Villages Without Men (1968), An Italian Miner in Waziers (1976), The Cousins from Italy (1976), Pierre Milza “Italian Immigration in France” (1993)

- Other Videos: Italian Occupation of Southern France and Corsica, History of Italian Immigration, Italian Immigration in France – Excerpt from the documentary “Mémoires d’Ouvriers” by Gilles Perret, Interviews of Italian Immigrants Living in Lot-et-Garonne since 1922, Two Centuries of Italian Immigration in the Lyon Area, “Ciao Italia!”, Italian Immigration Surprises Us, A Century of Italian Immigration and Culture in France

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🇩🇿 The Algerians

- Google Books : Algerian immigration

- INA Videos : Young Maghrebi in Paris (1961), Employment for repatriates (1963), Interview with an Algerian (1978), Living and working conditions of Algerians in the Bouches-du-Rhône (1980), The Harkis (1980), Immigrants of Dreux before the explosion (1981), March 19 for an Algerian and a Pied-Noir (1982), The Pieds-Noirs (1982), Rafa, Breton-speaking Algerian (1982), Hautmont racism (1994)

- Other videos : Emmanuel Blanchard: 'History of Algerian immigration in France', Algerians in France, 1954-1962, Algerian immigration in France in the 1970s, Story of an Algerian family in France

Links provided by P. Mear:

- Statistical management of populations in the French colonial empire [The case of Algeria, 1830-1960]

- Kabyles in France, a historical overview

- Official Journal regarding the census and civil status of 'Muslim natives of Algeria'

- Civil status of natives of Algeria

- Kabyle village of Ait abdelmoumen - genealogy of families

His experience report: 'There is little written about the fact that the French (civil and military administrators) changed surnames during the first census, sometimes assigning 'ridiculous', grotesque names (especially those given by the administrators), often splitting family lines (when too large) into 3 or 4 parts. For example, a person with an Amazigh name = (Aït) Maamar was split into 4 branches, with 4 different new 'French' surnames - Bedrane, Bechane, Behtane, Beggar; all the new surnames in this village then started with A or B, with 19 families becoming 50 families...'

+ 🇲🇦 The Moroccans: Moroccan diaspora in France, Genealogical research in Morocco, Genealogy Algeria Morocco Tunisia

+ 🇹🇳 The Tunisians: Tunisian diaspora, Genealogical research in Tunisia, Genealogy Algeria Morocco Tunisia

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🇵🇹 The Portuguese

To understand everything about Portuguese immigration

- Portuguese immigration in France in the 20th century

- Portuguese immigration in France

- Phases of Portuguese immigration, from the 1920s to the 1970s

- History of Portuguese immigration in France in the 1960s

- Portuguese immigration in France. Statistical report

- Balance and lessons of Portuguese immigration in France

To guide your genealogical research in Portugal:

Explanations: Research in Portugal

document > assento	baptism > batismo	date > data	civil status > estado civil
filtration > filição	genealogy > genealogia	marriage > casamento	municipality > município
birth > nascimento	name > apelido, sobrenome	first name > nome	census > censo, recenseamento
search > procurar	parish registers > livros paroquiais	burial > sepulture, Óbitos

Useful resources:

- Wiki : Genealogical research in Portugal

- Online archives : FamilySearch

- Associations : Associação dos Amigos da Torre do Tombo, SephardiGen (Databases by country)

- Surnames : Formation of names, Portuguese surnames

To go further :

- Blogs : Genealogia em Portugal

- Gallica : Books, Press and journals, Images, Maps, Manuscripts, Sound recordings

- Google Books : Portuguese immigration

- INA videos : Portuguese immigrants settled in the shantytown of Nanterre (1969), Interviews with second-generation Portuguese youth, deserters (1969), Testimony of demobilized soldier about torture (1969), Fire in the Franc Moisin shantytown (1970), Immigrant workers: living conditions (1971), Franc Moisin shantytown in Saint-Denis (1973), Arrival of a train of Portuguese in France (1973), The Portuguese in France (1979), The Portuguese population in Paris and Île-de-France (1979), Immigrants (1981), Learning Portuguese (1982), Michelin: departure of Portuguese workers (1985), Cod à Brás (1989), A well-integrated community in the Alpes-Maritimes: the Portuguese (1989), Undocumented Portuguese immigrants (1989)

- Other videos : The shantytown of Francs-Moisins in Saint-Denis – 1969, Storyteller of Portuguese immigration in 1973, Portuguese lesson in France, France 3 report on the Portuguese community in Clermont, France 2 report on Parisian apartment building caretakers, Portuguese immigration as seen by photographer Gérald Bloncourt

🇪🇸 The Spanish

To understand everything about Spanish immigration:

- Spanish immigration in France in the 20th century

- Spaniards in French territory from 1813 to 1971: circuits or integration of exiles and emigrants

- La Retirada or the Spanish Republican exile after the war

- Refugees and exiles of the Spanish War

- Spanish immigration in France (1945-1952)

To guide your genealogical research in Spain:

Explanations: Parish registers are kept in parishes or dioceses (these are private records; requesting a record is paid). Civil registration was established in 1870, with records depending on the Spanish Ministry of Justice. Access to records is difficult online; you often need to make free requests to retrieve a record. There are no decennial indexes but annual tables, and no marriage records in civil registration (only religious records). Baptism records may contain a lot of information about the parents and grandparents of the baptized.

act > acta	baptism > bautismo	date > fecha (information > datos)	civil registration > registre civil
filiation > filiación	genealogy > genealogía	marriage > matrimonio	municipality > ayuntamiento
birth > nacimiento	name > apellido	first name > nombre	census > censo
search > buscar	parish registers > registros parroquiales	burial > sepultura, enterramiento

Useful resources:

- Wiki : Genealogical research in Spain, EspanaGenWeb, Research in Spain, Dioceses and Archdioceses of Spain, Letter templates for requesting records in Spain, our cheat sheet on Spain

- Online Archives : Ministry of Justice (mandatory request for a record: « Formulario de solicitud de consulta), BNE (National Library of Spain), Elche municipalities, Oviedo municipality, Vera municipality, FamilySearch

- Associations : Gen-Ibérica, Jewish Genealogy Circle, HispaGen, ANABAD (Spanish Federation of Associations of Archivists, Librarians, Archaeologists, Curators and Documentalists), E l legado andalusíí (Andalusia), AragonGen (Aragon), Antzinako, Ascagen (Cantabria), ExtremaduraGenWeb (Extremadura), Genealogy of the Canary Islands, El faro de Málaga (Malaga)

- Surnames : Spanish family names, Traditional Spanish naming system, Map of family names in Spain

For further information:

- Blogs :Genealogia Hispana

- Gallica : Books, Press and journals, Images, Objects, Maps, Manuscripts

- Google Books : Spanish immigration

- INA Videos : Spanish refugees in France in 1937, Aid to Spanish children (1941), The most Parisian of Spaniards (1960), Spanish grape pickers in the vineyards of Aude (1963), Portrait of a Spanish immigrant family (1984), 50 years ago: the Spanish War (1986), The Spanish community and the World's Fair (1992)

- Other videos : Label Histoire – The Spanish refugees, Normandy: when migrants came from Spain, FACEEF: portraits of migrations, exhibition at FACEEF

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🇵🇱 The Poles

To understand everything about Polish immigration:

- Polish diaspora in France

- Polish immigration in the mining basin of Nord-Pas-de-Calais

- Polonia, Poles in France since 1830

- Poles in France before World War II

To guide your genealogical research in Poland:

Explanations: Genealogical passport France-Poland , Polish archives

act > akt	baptism > chrztu	date > data, dzień	civil status > stan cywilny
filiation > pokrewieństwa	genealogy > genealogia	marriage > mmałżeństwa / ślubu	municipality > gmina, miasto
birth > urodzenia	name > nazwisko, imię	first name > imie, nazwisko	census > spis
search > szukać, poszukiwać, znaleźć	parish registers > księgi metrykalne	burial > zgonu