SUMMARY

Belgians were the first migrants to settle in France from the 19th century onwards: millions of French people have Flemish, Walloon or Luxembourg ancestors in their family tree. How do you go about finding them? People are sometimes reluctant to delve into archives other than those to which they are accustomed. However, things have become easier over the last two years, thanks to the increased digitisation of civil registers and parish registers in Belgium and the fact that the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has opened up its online archives to the public. This brand new guide will help genealogists with their research, whether on site or via the Internet. It explains the steps that can be taken in population registers (which have no equivalent in France), censuses, military archives, notary archives, and also in documents relating to foreigners and naturalisations. It provides essential historical reference points. It is aimed at both beginners and seasoned researchers: so many leads and cases are cited that everyone will find something to improve on. The collection's double-page layout lends itself particularly well to teaching by example. Happy research!

AUTHOR

Christophe Drugy: Well-known to genealogists for his articles and guides on research in Belgium and the former Netherlands, he is a graduate of the universities of Panthéon Sorbonne-Paris 1 and Charles-de-Gaulle-Lille 3. A history and geography teacher and long-time board member of the Fédération française de généalogie, he is also chairman of the Racines franco-belges association.

Marie-Odile Mergnac: author of a number of genealogy manuals and winner of the Institut des Sciences morales et politiques prize for her work on names, she writes about genealogy, everyday history and family names in the media. As a branch of her family comes from Luxembourg, she collaborated with Christophe Drugy on this new guide.