Bonjour à tous
I started my journey researching my French ancestry in 1998 with what little I had; My paternal grandmother’s name, her parent’s names and the two countries they originated from,. It was a hard, frustrating and long journey. It felt as if I was on my stomach, crawling with ragged fingers across rocky terrains with no end in site. Little was passed down, shared, known, or written down for the generations to come. My father, his mother, grandparents, uncles and aunts, were all dead. And the distant cousins I managed to find, had very little or incorrect information to add.
Here, in the USA, I searched and ordered every scrap of information and records I could find on my French grandmother. Since my grandmother and her siblings lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I wrote to the town clerks and state archives. I was hoping to find death, probate, marriage, birth, ships lists, schools, newspaper clippings hoping it would led me to more information of ancestors that seemed to have been living under rocks. As Ancestry.com, FamilySearch and Geneanet continued to developed, I was able to discover records that, mercifully, opened the door to documents that would eventually lead me to the genealogical information and the towns they were born in.. Surprisingly, I uncovered direct ancestors were also rooted in Belgique.
Sadly, I finally found out that my grandmother, her parents, and most of her siblings suffered many tragedies. They faced diseases, infant deaths, suicides, skeletons in the closet, and what we now know as mental illnesses. There were two “disappearing uncles” of my father, who left to be heard of no more. Until American censuses came along that is. I found one of my grandmother’s brothers hiding out in a remote part of Minnesota.
Consequently, after this exhaustive journey, with perseverance and help from volunteer genealogists and archives, I located all key records. I’ve now completed most of my French and Wallon Belgian family lines, some up to 13 generations tracing them across France and Belgium.
I want to spare my fellow sojourners as much headaches and frustration as possible, by sharing what I have learned and what has worked: How-to tutorials, how to equip yourself with the tools, resources, articles, and navigational guides through difficult documents and websites, and my site has expanded beyond that. You’ll find useful articles and tips in the hope it will help you succeed in your search for your elusive French (and Walloon) ancestors.
Let me give you the history of my evolving websites. In 2009, at the beginning of creating my French ancestry research tutorial pages, I registered the domain ‘genealoft.com’ and named my new website ‘Researching French Ancestry” and added tutorials for examining and deciphering French Civil and Parish records. Lots of ugly handwriting to wade through. (is that a ‘u’ or a ‘n’?)
Then, the worst happened, my website was hacked into, and every html page I worked so hard on was lost. I think it took a year to get it back up again.
As I added more pages and tutorials to make researching French genealogy easier, it had became apparent I was hyper focused on helping others with their research and success, that nothing else existed. So I registered a French focus domain; frenchgen.com and renamed the website to ‘a la French Genealogy” However, there was another established and impressive website with a similar name. I had to think of a name that would mirror the passion to help others make their way through the maze of ancestral discovery as painstakingly as possible . So, again, I renamed my website to reflect my mission: “Making French Genealogy Easier” was born.
As of now, I am addicted to researching, producing tutorials, and writing genealogical articles. Additionally, I won’t be renaming my website either.
Research Happy!