SUMMARY

"It depends". These two words sum up the situation when it comes to genealogical research in Switzerland. They are linked to the very structure of the Confederation, which has been built up over the centuries by the addition of independent cantons, each with its own way of operating: variable sources; parish registers that are more or less easy to access, microfilmed for some, jealously preserved in the parish priories for others; a quotation system that follows a singular logic... in short, a different way of operating for each cantonal archive, because each canton is a State, with its own regulations.

So you can't rush headlong into following in the footsteps of your Swiss ancestors, thinking that the rules of the game in the Swiss Confederation are similar to those in France. It is there to reassure, prepare and make you aware of the many precautions you need to take before taking the plunge. It also provides many tips on how to work at home, on the Internet, since more and more data is accessible via this practical and inexpensive medium.

For the military, it indicates what can be found in the National Archives or at the Château de Vincennes; for the Swiss who passed through Alsace, it indicates the support of the CRHF in Guebwiller. Thus prepared, you will be able to approach your ancestors with peace of mind, in a country where it is not uncommon to reach the 14th or even 13th century.

AUTHOR

Denis Dubich: a descendant of a Swiss couple who arrived in Alsace in 1670, Denis Dubich has been passionate about his ancestral homeland for thirty years. Thanks to his many visits to the archives of Lucerne, Bern, Fribourg, Lausanne, Sarnen, Altdorf, Zurich and Rougemont, he has been able to trace his agnatic lineage back to 1215 and reconstruct the various branches making up the great Swiss Dubach, Dubath, Dubacher or Dubas family and its ramifi cations in France, the Netherlands and the United States, in particular. He is the author of several works on Alsatian genealogy and was president of the Friends of the Centre départemental d'histoire des familles (CDHF) in Guebwiller (Haut-Rhin), now the Centre de recherches sur l'histoire des familles (CRHF), from 2010 to 2015.