The French Genealogy Blog

Pure Envy

Generally, Dear Readers, we are not the envious type but this week we fell prey to that character flaw.  We had the opportunity to join a private visit to one of those small, perfect chateaux that dot France like an abundance of wildflowers in a meadow.

For most people, a chateau is a very dear proposition and those who buy them now do not, as in the past, also acquire an army of unpaid labourers to work the land and fork over the crops for the owner to sell for a tidy sum. Nor are chateaux tax-free, as all life once was for the nobility who owned them. They require deep pockets indeed and most chatelains clearly do not have them. So many of the chateaux that we have visited are crumbling ruins exuding the rank odours of damp and rot, the stone walls long ago having lost all mortar, so that stones drop out of the walls and towers alarmingly. Most of these places were emptied of their treasures over two hundred years ago by rampaging, revolutionary peasants. What was not destroyed on the spot was sold off or, if of precious metal, melted down and then sold. Visiting a chateau is often a lesson in gloom.

The chateau in question, however, was a world away from those sad shells. Its residents claim to be direct descendants of the builder and that the family have lived there for over a thousand years. The rooms are cluttered with enough ancient riches and portraits to induce one to believe the claim. All is beautifully maintained, with not a hint of rot or mould to be smelt, the plaster not cracked, the drapery not moth-eaten. 

We assure you, Dear Readers, we were not swooning with longing for any of the shiny detritus of the ages, lovely though some of it was, until we were shown the room pictured above. At that point, envy, in all its intensity, swept over and enveloped us like the molten lava of Vesuvius swept over and enveloped the souls of Pompeii before they could kneel and say a prayer. We had come upon the family archive, a room, we were informed, that was filled with archive boxes containing over three thousand documents about the family and the chateau, dating back to the year 1055. "Oh please," our heart begged, "Let us see, let us read. Open just one carton..." Alas, no. The guide urged the group to move along and out into the extravagantly beautiful courtyard, never to see that wondrous family archive room again.

 

©2022 Anne Morddel

French Genealogy

 

Guest Post - Joyous Genealogy Tourism in Montbéliard

Cherith Chapman-Flowerday read our posts about the excellent genealogy tourism offerings of Montbéliard and planned her voyage. She tells of the adventure in today's guest post.

If you have roots in Pays de Montbéliard, France, then it is the best place you could ever go for a genealogy tour! You are likely to leave with a family tree of your lineage and a deep appreciation for the rich history and culture of what was its own country for over 400 years! My mother, age 70, sister, age 43, and myself, age 45, had casually dreamt of visiting the town of our ancestors in France for many years. When we had the opportunity to go to England this summer (my first ever trip to Europe!) we decided we must add a trip to Montbéliard, France as part of our itinerary. We had two pieces of information that guided this choice. First, word of mouth that my great-great grandmother was from a town called Montbéliard, France. Second, two of my aunts had traced the history of 10 other relatives who were born in Montbéliard and passed away in the USA. This is all we had to go on but it was enough to get us to book a hotel in Montbéliard and buy train tickets to get there from London.

It then became apparent that we needed to know something about where we were going and to have a plan. I spent many evenings trying to figure this out until I stumbled upon The French Genealogy Blog. This encounter definitely led us to the trip of a lifetime. Much to my surprise there was a blog post  that said Montbéliard, France was one of the best places in France to do genealogy tourism! The post suggested we contact Evelyne Boilaux of the Montbéliard Tourism Office. I called the tourism office and was put in touch right away with Evelyne. She and the person on the phone spoke English, which was so helpful because I speak no French at all. Evelyne helped us craft a 3-hour private tour of our ancestral town, Valentigney, including a visit to the cemetery, church, museum, lunch with locals, and much more!

As part of the visit Evelyne hoped to help us find some relatives. To aid in this endeavor she encouraged me to communicate with the René Vermot-Desroches at the Genealogical Society of Montbéliard. I had never done genealogy research before, but with the 11 names I gave René and his colleague Alain Acolat they were able to trace over 400 relatives going back 500 years in the area! The genealogy office has extensive records of birth, death, and marriage. And because they worked very hard to make it digital, it is easy to track if you have somewhere to start. Our 11 relatives of whom we had birth and death info was enough for him to do a solid amount of research. Granted, there was a lot of duplication of names over the years, so you really have to carefully compare not just names, but any possible records of birth, death, and marriage. In the end Evelyne and René helped us meet with two relatives. We were able to visit with one relative at her home, which interestingly smelled like my grandmother’s home - a smell I hadn’t experienced since her passing 10 years before. And, we enjoyed a long afternoon of coffee and delicious French pastries with our other relative and his wife.

Pays de Montbéliard joined France in 1793, at the end of the French Revolution. We learned we are from a country that, prior to joining France, had been a part of Wurtemberg for four centuries, with its own castle (now a museum) and ruling family who were loved by the locals. This family brought Lutheranism, and provided education to both boys and girls of low-income families almost 300 years before it was required by the country of France. We stayed in the oldest hotel in town, the Hôtel de la Balance. It sits at the base of the castle on the first street to ever exist in town. It was built in the 1500’s and was recently beautifully restored by a local citizen. We also learned that our family is related to the Peugeot family, who’s factories and legacy still lives on locally. It seems the Peugeot family was well loved by the community and provided health care for all employees and their families well before this was a common practice.

The area has a lot to offer with delicious food, charming streets, its own breed of cow (vache montbéliarde), a famous cheese (comté), a castle, several museums full of rich local history, archives, the ruins of a Gallo-Roman theater, outdoor activities nearby, and more. The people were lovely, the hospitality exceptional, and the connection to my past both enriching and inspiring. I thought this would be my only visit to France in my lifetime, but I have to go back again. There is so much yet to be discovered! My only regret (not really) is that it was so exciting and fun that I left worn out rather than rested – but that was my fault!

I have to say a very special thank you to Anne Morddel for this blog, Evelyne Boilaux for her hospitality and friendship that was above and beyond, and to René & Alain for their wisdom, experience and extensive support in the genealogy search process. See you all again!

 

Contact Information:

Genealogical Society of Montbéliard

Aprox. $50 cost for extensive support

 

 

Evelyne BOILAUX

RP & Communication

OFFICE DE TOURISME du PAYS DE MONTBELIARD

Aprox. $150 for 3-hour tour

1 rue Henri Mouhot

25200 MONTBELIARD

Tél. 03 81 94 16 07/ 06.44.28.85.99

evelyne.boilaux@paysdemontbeliard-tourisme.com

www.paysdemontbeliard-tourisme.com

 

 

Many thanks, Cherith, for sharing this with our Dear Readers. We hope there will be more happy stories to come.

©2018 Anne Morddel

French Genealogy

Jolly Times at WDYTYA 2017

We have left The Hexagon for Albion and the Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2017 mouthful of a genealogy extravaganza in Birmingham. It is vast, quite noisy if compared to the archives we usually inhabit, fascinating and quite a lot of fun. We have attended numerous talks on British genealogy. We met with the erudite and engaging Peter Towey of the Anglo-German Family History Society, who regaled with tales of DNA discoveries. We have reconnected with Marie Cappart, Belgian genealogy expert, at a stand about the Mons Memorial.

We are most disappointed that Yvette Hoitink, Dutch genealogist, was recovering from illness and could not make it, but we will be socializing with colleagues from the Association of Professional Genealogists, who are running a lively stand.

 

Most of the stands representing the various British counties and countries are linked to the Society of Genealogists, one of the organizers of the show. Their list of workshops is impressive, and we have had a great deal of fun serving on a table in their "Ask an Expert" camp. This is run, as one person described it to us, like a speed dating event. Genealogists wait at tables, computers at the ready, until a bell is rung. At that point, a stampede of researchers bent under their brick walls comes hurtling toward us, fanning out, one to a table. We have twenty minutes together to try to solve the genealogy puzzle. Then, the bell rings again, the researcher departs with new possibilities, and the next stampede surges toward us. A full day of this could lead one to start humming "Ten cents a dance", but for a couple of hours, it is incredibly jolly. We shall be there again today, so do charge our table if you've a mind.

We do feel that the French were under represented. Where was the Huguenot Society? Nevertheless, an excellent junket which we hope to repeat in years to come.

 

©2017 Anne Morddel

French Genealogy