I hope that anyone with an interest in researching names and families in France will join this group.

My great-great-grandmother (Elisa Cesrarine Mazet born in Brest c1849) was french. Her father was Laurent Richard Mazet(b Toulon, Var in 12/4/1821, Captain in the French Navy) and her mothers first name was Angeline(b Brest c 1829 ). I am trying to find birth, marriage records for Laurent and Angeline, and birth and death records for Elisa. Any MAZET family history would be useful.

Viv,

You are ahead of many, as you have names, dates, and the all important places. Can you read French? The archives of Finistère, where Brest is located, are not yet online, but those of Var (Toulon) are:

http://www.archives.var.fr/

I just did a quick search and found Laurent Richard Mazet's birth. I'll send you a screen shot.
Anne

My reseach interest is the TALMA surname. Since this name seems to have it's origin in France, and my knowledge of the French language is quite limited, it would be nice to share tips on how to do research in France.
The TALMA family seems to originate from Poix du Nord, 59, Nord, Nord Pas de Calais.

Sorry but I cannot seem to make the linking work, so you have to copy and paste the http addresses.
A

Sylvia,

You can get a list of sites that give a basic glossary of French genealogical terms here:

http://french-genealogy.typepad.com/genealogie/2009/05/the-first-question-you-must-answer-is-where.html


You can learn more about how to find out where the name is most common in France here:

http://french-genealogy.typepad.com/genealogie/2009/05/the-first-question-you-must-answer-is-where.html



You can see the ten-year tables of births/deaths/marriages in Nord here:

http://www.archivesdepartementales.cg59.fr/


The last is only in French, I'm afraid, but you might be able to get some information from it.

Good luck!
Anne

Anne,

Thank you very much for the links. They look like a very good place to start ..

I do have a large database of TALMA families in France already, but it's all info I've pieced together from other people's websites. It would be nice to find the sourses and proof for myself, for once.

I am looking for information on the parents and siblings of my ancestor David AYDELOTT born 1610 in Mauvoisin,France died 1677 in England. His father was Jean EIDELOT and his mother is unknown to me at this time. David's wife was Marie SOCHON. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Off the top of my head, here are my French surnames:

QUINET, GADIOU, DURET, TAUPIER, MANSEAU, CRESPIN and probably many more.

Cynthia,

You can see the archives website for Yvelines (where there are two Mauvoisins towns ) here:

http://www.cg78.fr/archives/home.html

You might find early baptism or marriage records. I describe that type of search on the blog:

http://french-genealogy.typepad.com/genealogie/2009/06/les-registres-paroissiaux-parish-registers.html

Anne