Family History Library
35 North West Temple Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84150

• Family History Centers. Copies of most of the records on microform at the Family History Library can be loaned to more than 2,000 Family History Centers. There are small duplication and postage fees for this service.
  

The library's books cannot be loaned to the centers, but copies of many books not protected by copyright are available on microfilm or microfiche. You can get a list of the Family History Centers near you by writing to the Family History Library at the address above.

• Town registrars. Most of the original documents you will need are at the civil registration office [bureau de l'état civil], which is usually located in the local town hall [mairie]. The Family History Library has many records on microfilm, but some records are available only at the civil registration office. You can write to request one or two hand-copied certificates from registrars, but they will not send you original documents or do research for you. (See the “Archives and Libraries” section of this outline for more information.) Complete instructions on writing to France and preparing a genealogical letter in French are in the library's French Letter-Writing Guide (34059).
  
• Professional researchers. You can employ a private researcher to search the records for you. Some researchers specialize in French records. Lists of qualified professional researchers are available from the Family History Library. A list of researchers in France who are approved by the Council of Genealogists [Chambre syndicale des généalogistes] can be found on the last page of each issue of the Gé[néalogie] Magazine (Genealogy Magazine). Other researchers advertise on the last few pages of La revue française de généalogie (French Genealogical Review). See the “Periodicals” section for further details.
  
• Photocopies. The Family History Library offers limited photoduplication services for a small fee. You must specify the exact pages you need. Books protected by copyright cannot be copied in their entirety. However, a few pages can usually be copied for personal research. In France, photocopying vital records is illegal.
  

Correspondence. When requesting information by mail from town halls, archives, or professional researchers, you are more likely to be successful if your letter is brief and very specific. Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope when writing to someone within your own nation. When you write to people in other nations, enclose at least three international reply coupons (available from large post offices).

Your letter should include the following information:

• Full name and the sex of the person sought.
• Names of the person's parents or spouse, if known.
• The event you wish to document (such as birth, marriage, death) and its approximate date and specific place.
• Your relationship to the person.
• Reason for the request (such as family history).
  

See the library's French Letter-Writing Guide (34059) for details.

Suggestions for Searching the Records. You will be most successful with French research if you can examine the original records (or microfilm of the original). Any transcription or translation may be less accurate than the original records.

As you search the records for your ancestor—

• Search for one generation at a time. Do not attempt to connect your family to others of the same surname who lived more than a generation before your proven ancestor. It is much easier to prove parentage than descent.
  
• Search for the ancestor's entire family. The records of each person in a family may provide clues for identifying other family members. In most families, children were born at regular intervals. If there appears to be a longer period between some children, reexamine the records for a child who may have been overlooked. Consider looking at other records and in other places to find a missing family member. Records for the first child born to a couple are often found in the place where the maternal grandparents lived.
  
• Search each source thoroughly. A minor detail on the record you are searching may lead you to another person or to trace the family further. Note the occupation of your ancestor and the names of witnesses, godparents, neighbors, relatives, guardians, and others. Also, note the places they are from.
  
• Search a broad time period. Dates obtained from some sources may not be accurate. Look several years before and after the date that you think an event, such as a birth, occurred.
  
• Look for indexes. Many records have indexes. However, many indexes are incomplete. They may include only the name of the specific person the record is about. They usually do not include parents, witnesses, or other incidental persons. Also, the original records may have been misinterpreted, or names may have been omitted during indexing. Some pages may have been missed during microfilming.
  
• Search for previous residences. Information about previous residences is crucial to continued successful research.
  
• Watch for spelling variations. Look for the many ways a name could have been spelled. Spelling was not standardized when most early records were made. You may find a name spelled differently than it is today.
  
• Watch for name translations. In some nations a surname may have been translated. For example, a person named Miller (wheat grinder) may be called Meunier (in French) or Molitor (in Latin).
  

Record Your Searches and Findings. Copy the information you find and keep detailed notes about each record you search. These notes should include the author, title, location, call numbers, description, and results of your search. Most researchers use a “Research Log” (31825) for this purpose. Making photocopies of the information, including the title page, may save you a lot of time and prevent possible errors.

Step 5. Use the Information

Evaluate the Information You Find. Carefully evaluate whether the information you find is complete and accurate. Ask yourself these questions:

• Who provided the information? Did that person witness the event?
• Was the information recorded near the time of the event, or was it recorded later? How much later?
• Was the handwritten information interpreted accurately?
• Is the information consistent and logical?
• Does the new information verify the information found in other sources? Does it differ from information in other sources?
• Does it suggest other places, time periods, or records to search?