Clayton Library recently added to its foreign collection volumes 1, 2, and 4 of État des inventaires (Paris: Archives Nationales, 1985- ) (A673 FRANCE)¹ and the two-volume set, État des inventaires des archives départementales, communales, et hospitalières... (Paris: Archives Nationales, 1984) (D598 FRANCE). These, together with the previously acquired four-volume set, État générale des fonds (Paris: Archives Nationales, 1978-80) (944 A673), give Clayton Library patrons powerful aids for French historical and genealogical research. Aside from the Library of Congress, Clayton appears to be the only public library in the U.S. with the complete set of these reference books.² It should be noted, however, that none of the État volumes gives actual abstracts of documents; rather, they help researchers narrow the focus of their searches by describing the organization of the records and providing bibliographic citations to published finding aids.³

Individuals involved in French research know that it is almost impossible to gather “best evidence”⁴ on a French ancestor unless they can research in the French National Archives (Archives nationales de France) or the various departmental archives (archives départementales) and municipal archives (archives municipales). Although there is a substantial amount of French material available on microfilm from the Family History Libraries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, that collection is far from complete, and it is often necessary to either visit the archives in France or to write to them and request copies of specific documents.⁵ Thus, determining what to ask for needs to be high on the researcher’s list of priorities. The État volumes can be a big help in this regard.

The État des inventaires des archives départementales is a research guide to the holdings of France’s 99 départements (similar to the county subdivisions used in the U.S.). By law, the French archives départementales are custodians not only of the notarial records older than 125 years but of church records created prior to the French Revolution.⁶ This is because all French church records created prior to 1685—the date of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes—and Catholic Church records for the period 1685 to 1791 are considered to be official records of the state and can be cited for legal proof of baptism (birth), marriage, and burial (death).⁷

An important aspect of the État des inventaires des archives départementales is that it contains bibliographic citations for supplementary guides and inventories that better define the content of each series (or lower-level divisions), so that specific documents can be located.⁸ The following listed series of records at the archives départementales will be of the most interest to family historians:

• 2 E series (if it exists) of the alphabetical tables (either year-by-year or in ten-year increments) of Catholic Church records and city indexes of them prior to 1791
• 3 E series of the notarial records
• GG series of Catholic Church records⁹
• H series of charitable organizations’ records
• I series of Protestant records

The État générale des fonds volumes show the classifications, i.e., séries, sous-séries, and articles, into which the holdings of the various archives are divided and by which the documents can be retrieved. Although written in French, the descriptions contained in the État générale des fonds volumes are concise and fairly easy to translate with the aid of a French-English dictionary. The following series of records at the Archives nationales will be of the most interest to family historians:

• H² series for Parisian ancestors between 1536-1796
• M series under “Ordres militaires et hospitalièrs” (military and charitable orders)
• M series under “Titres nobiliaires” (noble titles)
• O¹ series under “Actes royaux” (royal acts)¹⁰
• P series under “Dénombrements” (tax enumerations)¹¹
• TT series under “Affaires et biens des Protestants”¹²
• Series Y and ZZ under “Châtelet de Paris” (notarial archives)¹³

The books described above are shelved in the foreign section of the library under “France.” Individuals currently researching a French ancestor, or planning to do such research, would do well to become familiar with these references, especially if that research includes visits to, or correspondence with, French archives.

1. Here and elsewhere in this article, call numbers are noted for those books that are available at Clayton Library.
2. Worldcat database of library holdings on OCLC First Search, an on-line service accessible on Houston Public Library computer terminals or through HPL’s Internet home page at http://www.hpl.lib.tx.us.
3. For information on specific techniques for conducting French research, the author recommends Gildas Bernard, Guide des recherches sur l’histoire des familles (Paris: Archives Nationales, 1988) (944 B518 FRANCE) and Les familles protestantes en France: XVIe siècle - 1792 (Paris: Archives Nationales, 1987) (944 B518 FRANCE). The best book in English on French genealogy is Pierre Durye, Genealogy: An Introduction to Continental Concepts, trans. by Wilson Ober Clough (New Orleans: Polyanthos, 1977) (940 D969 EUROPE). Durye was an eminent genealogist and chief custodian of the Archives nationales.
4. For a description of the term, see Noel C. Stevenson, Genealogical Evidence: A Guide to the Standard of Proof Relating to the Pedigrees, Ancestry, Heirship and Family History, revised edition (Laguna Hills, California: Aegean Park Press, 1989) (929.1072 S848 USA), p. 185. It is the nature of French law that qualifies certain French archival records—including church records prior to 1791—for designation as “best evidence.” French notarial records, e.g., marriage contracts, testaments, inventories, and minutes of family meetings, also qualify for this designation.
5. It is quite possible to do French research without being fluent in French; however, when writing to French archives, it is important to write in the French language. The author recommends high school French teachers as a source for help in writing and translating correspondence, since such exercises have a very practical use in the classroom. In addition, there is the Alliance Française in Houston, which is composed of French speakers. For additional comments on obtaining records from France see Robert de Berardinis, “The Marriage Contract of Jean-Baptiste Durel and Cécille Le Brun of New Orleans, Louisiana,” accepted for publication (1999) by the NGS Quarterly, and de Berardinis, “The French Ancestry of Antoine Déjan of New Orleans, Louisiana,” accepted for publication (1999) by The American Genealogist.
6. Durye, Genealogy, pp. 83 (for church records) and 108 (for notarial archives). See also Bernard, Guide des recherches, pp. 30-31, 35-40. There are a few exceptions to this law in terms of the proper custodian, but by writing to the archives départementales the address of the proper custodian can be obtained.
7. Bernard, Guide des recherches, pp. 27-34, and Durye, Genealogy, pp. 81-82.
8. Most of these supplemental guides are available via inter-library loan through Worldcat on OCLC First Search. Also, the Archives nationales has published some abstracts in its inventory summaries and supplements, the bibliographic citations for which appear in État des inventaires des archieves départementales. In addition, Clayton Library has a listing of the various genealogy clubs in France that will help researchers find records, either for free or for a pittance compared to the fees charged by the state vital records offices.
9. The État des inventaires des archives départementales does not provide specific information on the GG series; however, by writing to the departmental archive, researchers can obtain bibliographies of guides and other finding aids for specific parishes.
10. This also includes lettres patentes by which individuals were ennobled.
11. There are, apart from these, published transcriptions and abstracts of the taxpayer rolls for the various districts of Paris.
12. The Société de protestantisme, (54 rue de Sts.-Pères, 75007 Paris) has published most of the documents contained within this series and has collated them with other records from across all of France. Anyone doing Huguenot or Waldeniste research is well advised to get in touch with this society.
13. These are the notarial archives for Paris, a necessary part of research for Parisian marriage contracts, testaments, and inventories. For information on their nature and the retrieval of data from them, see de Berardinis, “The Marriage Contract of Jean-Baptiste,” cited at note 5. Also, for Paris, the best method is to use the genealogy club there.
14. Again, most of these summaries are available through inter-library loan.