Finistère, France Genealogy

Guide to Finistère Department ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
The department was created from part of the former province of Brittany (the historical region of Léon and parts of Cornouaille and Trégor). Bounded on three sides by the sea, it is adjacent to the departments of Côtes d'Armor and Morbihan.

Localities (Communes)

 * FranceGenWeb
 * Locom
 * Wikipedia
 * Wikipedia, former localities

Church Records and Civil Registration (Registres Paroissiaux et Etat Civil) Online
The vast majority of your research will be in church records and civil registration. For more information on these records and how to use them, read France Church Records and France Civil Registration. Additional instructions and practice activities are available: Fortunately, these records are available online from the archives of each department: Here is the website for the Department Archives of Finistère, where you will find these records.
 * Alsace-Lorraine - [[Media:Alsace-Lorraine_-_activity.pdf|Activity]], [[Media:Alsace-Lorraine_-_answer_key.pdf|Answer Key]]
 * Alsace-Lorraine: Department Archive Records Online - [[Media:Alsace-Lorraine,_Department_Archive_Records_Online_-_instructions.pdf|Instruction]]
 * Department Archives of Finistère
 * Civil status collections are available on the Municipal Archives websites for the cities of Brest and Quimper.


 * FamilySearch Collections:
 * 1772-1894 - at FamilySearch — index and images

See Using France Online Department Archives for step by step instructions on finding and reading these records. For a demonstration of navigating archives websites, watch the video, Using France Department Archives Online.

Online Census Records
Census records can support your search in civil and church records. They can help identify all family members. When families have similar names they help determine which children belong in each family. See France Census.
 * Online census records, Department Archives of Finistère

Online Local Databases and Extracted Records
Groups devoted to genealogy have also extracted and/or indexed records for specific localities, time periods, religious groups, etc. Since church records at the departmental archives are generally not indexed, you might find an index here that will speed up your searching.
 * FamilySearch Collections:
 * 1521-1896 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1536-1897 -  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1542-1900 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1793-1896 - at FamilySearch — index
 * Tout en Un (All in One) Online Databases Check for online databases and records in right column.  Check back occasionally to see if new databases have become available.
 * Filae, index and images, ($).
 * Tout en Un (All in One) Local Databases Here you may find extracted/translated records, record indexes, and other helpful records such as cemetery, land, or military records.
 * Upper Brittany, France Births & Baptisms, 1501-1907, index, ($).
 * Upper Brittany, France Marriages, 1536-1907, index, ($).
 * Upper Brittany, France Deaths & Burials, 1540-1907, index, ($).
 * Geneanet Collaborative Indexes Search by locality (parish or commune).
 * Genea-Bricolo
 * Le Centre Généalogique du Finistère (CGF) Databases
 * Généalogie Spézétoise
 * Les Moulins de mes ancêtres
 * Thierry Palud Recherches généalogiques, héraldiques et onomastiques
 * Ressources généalogiques pays de Bannalec, Morteau, Annonay Page généalogique de Gérard Baudoin
 * Upper Brittany, France War Memorials Index, 1870-1945, index ($)
 * Brittany, France Court Records, 1600-1790, index ($)
 * Upper Brittany, France Sailors & Marine Workers, 1711-1907, index ($)
 * Brittany & Yonne, France Politicians, 1789-2005, index, ($).

Microfilm Records of the FamilySearch Library
The church and civil registration records have all been microfilmed. Currently, they are being digitized, and plans are to complete that project by 2020. Check back occasionally to see if your records have become available. In the meantime, some of them might be available at a Family History Center near you. To find a microfilm: Click on, find and click on "Places within France, Finistère," and choose your locality from the list.

Writing for Records
Online records tend to cover only the time before 100 years, due to privacy laws. You can write to civil registration offices and local churches who might honor requests for more recent records of close family members for the purpose of genealogy.

For a civil registration office, address your request to:

Monsieur l'officier de l'état-civil Mairie de (Town) (Postal code) (Town) France

For a parish church:

Monsieur le Curé (Church --see The Catholic Directory for church name and address) (Town) (Postal Code) France

For other addresses and for help writing your request in French, use French Letter Writing Guide.

Learning to Read Enough French to Do Genealogy
It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately. Here are some resources for learning to read French records. During the reign of Napoleon, a different calendar was used. You will want to translate the dates written in these records back to normal Julian calendar dates. Charts in this article will help you: Also, see: There is a three-lesson course in reading handwriting in old French records:
 * French Genealogical Word List
 * French Handwriting.
 * French Republican Calendar
 * Alsace-Lorraine: Converting French Republican Calendar Dates - [[Media:Alsace-Lorraine,_Converting_French_Republican_Calendar_Dates_-_instruction.pdf|Instruction]]

These lessons focus on reading church record and civil registration records: Another resource is the French Records Extraction Manual, Full Manual. Much more is covered, but these first four lessons are especially useful.
 * France Church Records
 * France Civil Registration- Vital Records
 * Chapter 1: OLD FRENCH RECORDS
 * Chapter 2: PARISH CHRISTENING AND CIVIL BIRTH ENTRIES
 * Chapter 3: MARRIAGE ENTRIES
 * Chapter 4: OTHER ENTRIES
 * Chapter 5: FRENCH HANDWRITING AND SPELLING

Some Catholic Church records will be written in Latin:
 * Key Words and Phrases in Latin Records
 * Latin Genealogical Word List

Search Strategy

 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all family members.
 * Then repeat the whole process for both the father and the mother.
 * If earlier generations are not in the record, search neighboring parishes. 

Genealogical Societies and Help Groups

 * Finistère Wiki GenWeb Associations
 * Finistère Forums
 * Southern Europe Genealogy Research Community


 * Le Centre Généalogique du Finistère (CGF)
 * Antenne de QUIMPER
 * 4, rue Félix le Dantec
 * 29000 QUIMPER
 * France
 * Tel: 02 98 64 29 82
 * Fax: 02 98 64 23 09
 * Email: cgf-quimper@orange.en
 * Databases
 * Website

Websites

 * Tout en Un Finistère
 * GenWeb, Finistère Portal
 * Cousins 29
 * Geneanet Surname Search
 * France Geneawiki Genealogical Sources includes instructional discussions of various records available.
 * French Republican Calendar. This site will help you translate dates used by France from 24 October 1793 to 31 December 1805.
 * There are parallel articles also available on the French Language Wiki. Because they are maintained by different authors, links may be added there that do not appear here. Generally, the articles translate automatically to English when accessed.