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Discover 15+ lists of people (emigrants, sailors, prisoners, authors) to find your ancestors.
What if your ancestor's name is hidden in an unusual list dating back to the Ancien Régime or the French Revolution?
Genealogy isn't just about parish and notarial records : baptism, marriage, will records… There are also amazing historical documents, sometimes satirical, sometimes official, that contain thousands of names.
These lists can help you:
find your ancestors before 1792,
better understand their role in society (soldier, sailor, priest, emigrant…),
enrich your research beyond traditional archives.
Here is a selection of 15+ lists of people, useful or unusual, for your genealogical research.
Find the names of French soldiers who participated in the American War of Independence. A precious resource to identify a military ancestor before the Revolution.
This register lists the beneficiaries of pensions from the public treasury, with often ironic annotations. Ideal for cross-referencing your research with notarial records.
An unusual list of priests caught in Parisian brothels. Behind the scandal, an unexpected insight into the morals of the Ancien Régime.
A mix of prophecies and anecdotes about the Revolution. This 7th edition is "enhanced with the list of prisoners from Orléans stuffed in Versailles", for sale in Paris at all newsstands, great!
Thousands of names listed alphabetically: nobles, priests, bourgeois who left France. A goldmine for those researching emigrant ancestors during the Revolution.
Census of the "prettiest public women of Paris" with addresses and descriptions. An unusual but revealing source of post-revolutionary Parisian life.
A useful tool to trace the career of a writer or scholar ancestor.
All the convicted and buried at La Madeleine, from Louis XVI to the unknown. Essential for genealogical research on the French Revolution.
Indicates the beneficiaries of pensions and the reasons for their allocation.
Nomative list of French ministers over three centuries.
Portraits of sailors and accounts of their expeditions. A resource for maritime genealogy.
Results of the winners in industry, agriculture, and arts.
List of subscribers to the reconstruction of the burnt-down palace.
Journal of the Association to find the missing of the First World War.
Compiled by the German military authority, they allow to find ancestors who were prisoners during the Second World War.
To quickly find a name in these documents, use the function CTRL + F (or ⌘ + F on Mac).
These lists show that in genealogy, you shouldn't limit yourself to parish or civil registration records. unexpected archives sometimes reveal unexpected aspects of your ancestors' lives.
👉 With Geneafinder, you can build your family tree, cross-reference this information with your research, and share your discoveries with your family. Discover Geneafinder and start exploring your roots !