French Departments’ Archival of Maritime Enrollments
Recently, someone asked me where early ‘Maritime’ Records could be found, so he could research ancestors who were part of the French Navy. Good Question! He visited the ‘Memoire des Hommes” website, but he couldn’t find, if any, repository of maritime registers. He also couldn’t locate them in the archives of the departments he was examining.
I can understand this. Where CAN you find them?
Maritime enrollments of sailors and crew, along with the ship’s officers or those who registered for some manner of service are located, in mostly west coastal Departments. Again with all things French genealogy in France, not all coastal departments have digitized online images uploaded to look through. There are departmental maritime inscriptions, such as in the Vendee, available on microfilm. However, you can only access them in person at their archives building.
Below, are the French Departments who do have digitized images of Maritime registers, uploaded on their archival websites for viewing, browsing and some searchable.
New! Maritime Personal Registers of Bretagne-sud – Searchable
New! Maritime Inscriptions of Ille-et-Vilaine -Search by drop-down menu of administrative Quarters
New! French Maritime Records of Calvados – On the left side of webpage, under the heading “Registres matricules des gens de mer (fonds de l’inscription maritime)” click the towns with the word quartiers in front. (i.e quartier de Honfleur) Takes you to the search filters
New! French Maritime Records of Corse/Corisca
New!Searchable French Maritime Records of Loire Atlantique – Temporarily closed, reopens Sept 21
New! French Maritime Records of Loire Atlantique – Temporarily closed, reopens Sept 21
New! French Maritime Records of Seine-Maritime
Choose either the divisional Quarter or the syndicat town or both: Then click on the chainlink icon in the row of information on the right side of page -coming soon! navigational tutorial
New!
Missing & Deceased Sailors of DE LA COLLECTIVITE TERRITORIALE DE SAINT-PIERRE-ET-MIQUELON
New! How to Navigate the French Maritime Records – Part 1