Changes are happening quickly in terms of Alsace-Lorraine research. Even so, we continue to receive communications that indicate a lack of understanding as to just what Alsace-Lorraine is. We have all ready given a brief, oh so brief, history of the region, and numerous discussions of the Optants. (For a much fuller history, see the wikipedia article.) Now, a bit of geography seems to be in order.
Alsace and Lorraine are two areas in eastern France that have often been in western Germany and before that, the Holy Roman Empire. Being border territories, when the border shifts, so does their legal nationality. Together, they cover just under 14,500 square kilometers and contain thousands of villages, towns and cities, the largest being Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Metz, Thionville-Hayange and Colmar. The eastern border of the region is formed by the Rhine, a river which locals crossed constantly, for love or money. Much of the other side, during the nineteenth century, was the Grand Duchy of Baden.
Eight different dialects are spoken in Alsace-Lorraine:
- Two of French roots:
Franc-comtois, in a very limited area of the southwest
- Francique méridonal palatin, which is close to High-German, in the northeast
- Two of High-German roots:
Haut-alémanique, in the southeast
- Three of Middle-German roots:
Francique mosellan, in the north
Francique rhénan, in the central north
This is a part of the world where French and German identities intermingle. Thus, when researching ancestors from this region, one must recognize this fluidity and expect that documents on the same person could say that he was French or German, came from Alsace or France or Germany or maybe Baden, and that all would be true. Ancestors who said they were French could have spoken a variation of German, and vice versa.
There are no French départements named Alsace or Lorraine, nor are those the names of any villages or towns. Elsass-Lothringen was the German name for the territory after the 1871 annexation. The departments that cover Alsace are Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin. The department that covers Lorraine is la Moselle.
Lists of communes can be very helpful in locating an ancestral village:
- The communes of la Moselle
- The communes of Haut-Rhin
- The communes of Bas-Rhin
A few days ago, Haut-Rhin put some of their civil registrations and ten-year indices online. Bas-Rhin is expected to have theirs up some time this month. There seems to be some competition between these two departments, or so the rumours go. Thus, Haut-Rhin, in a rush to be the first of the region, may have not been quite ready to open the database when they did, for it does not work very well. (Competition does not always work in the consumers' favour. Sigh.) Bas-Rhin keeps issuing notices that they are checking, checking, checking, to make sure all is correct before they make their registrations available. The more cautious Moselle is aiming for 2012. The links are in the panel to the left.
Get a map; get some dictionaries; get to work. Enjoy!
Update: the Bas-Rhin parish and civil registers are up, and the site is a joy to use. Well done.
©2010 Anne Morddel
French Genealogy
Looking for family tree of Heinrich Jean Wildermann. He came to America. Born 6 May 1806. Married Marie Schoeffel. died 26 September 1886 in Posey County Indiana USA. Any Help would be great. He is from Hagethal le-Bas, Haut Rhien France.
Posted by: Terry Wilderman | 19 June 2011 at 05:32
Glen,
You could look for the baptism registration on the website of the archives of the department of Bas-Rhin. The link is in the column to the left on this page.
Posted by: Anne | 02 June 2011 at 19:00
How can I find my ancestor born in Strasbourg about 1735 and migrated to America in 1752 as a script soldier for the French. His name was Matthias Schoener
Posted by: Glen Shanor, Jr | 01 June 2011 at 22:50
Looking for information on Samuel James Alexander(re) Jr. Samuel is the son of Samuel Alexander Sr., and R. Alesses supposedly from the Lorraine Region. Samuel Jr., migrated to America some time before 1876. He may have had siblings named Joseph, William and Louis/Lewis who also migrated to America around 1880.
Posted by: Cynthia Evans | 25 March 2011 at 21:43
Alexander Meyer (also a tailor) married Joephine Chaboux from Alsace Lorraine, France. Alexander died at the age of 75. looking for infomation please cannot get over the atlantic ocean..
Posted by: Rosannne | 04 October 2010 at 18:38
This is for Mary Beaulieu: My Great Great Grandfather was named John (Johan) Beaulieu and came from a large family in the Alsace Lorraine region. His father was named Michael Beaulieu.
Please contact me if you read this post. I am anxious to learn more.
I am currently living in Zurich Switzerland and have easy access to the Alsace region and love visiting.
Posted by: Steve Boley | 02 September 2010 at 16:09
Just back from a Rhine River cruise with stops in beautiful Colmar and Strasbourg. The wonderful castles of the Rhine are testament to the conflicts in this area.
From Anne: How wonderful that must have been! Lucky you.
Posted by: Mary Beaulieu | 12 July 2010 at 14:00
Great information!! I had already noticed that some of my Alsace-Lorraine ancestors were French and some German and knew that wars had changed boundaries, but this is a great and easily understood explanation. I'll be printing it out to refer to as I research these ancestors. Again, Thanks.
From Anne: SO glad you find it helpful! Thank you for taking the time to write.
Posted by: Elizabeth Thomas | 09 July 2010 at 15:31