The French Genealogy Blog

Wallis-et-Futuna, a DOM-TOM Research Example

These tiny islands turn out to be quite dynamic when it comes to helping people with their genealogical research. There is a quite determined effort to protect and to preserve the history of the country's families and to help people to know more about their families. 

In 2018, France TV reported that two women from the cultural service (under which come the archives) of Futuna set out to gather oral and genealogical histories from every family on the island. They discovered that most people interviewed did not know generations further back than their own grandparents. Using this primary information, one of the researchers began tracing each family through the baptismal records of the Catholic mission, which began in 1842. This is a good fifty years earlier than the civil registrations that can be viewed on the website of the Archives nationales d'outre-mer (ANOM), the starting point for any DOM-TOM research.

The following year, after all the research was digitized, the results of the genealogical research began to be promoted and the research extended to requesting living people to send in copies of their own and their family's documentation in order to complete the goal of researching and documenting the genealogy of every family of Futuna. The cultural and archives service's own website has an excellent graphic explaining the procedure by which one may request aid from and contribute to the genealogy service:

 

There is a form to download (télécharger) and complete for joining the project. It asks for genealogical information, such as it may be known, and the reason for the request.

There is also a list of documentation to provide that can be downloaded. Documents required are the livret de famille and copies of as many civil registrations as possible. 

Note that this is somewhat different from researching one's more distant ancestors. French law protects the privacy of individuals much more so than in many other countries. If requesting information about people still alive or about whom the documentation is less than seventy-five years old, one will have to prove the familial relationship. Additionally, the documents provided with the request will become part of the collection on Futuna families. According to the fine graphic of steps in the procedure, the service will then verify the documentation, perhaps ask for more, and then be in contact.

A very fine project, we opine.

©2020 Anne Morddel

French Genealogy

 

How the French See Their Ex-Colonies in North America

 

Just now, on France 3, the show Le Grand Tour, presented by Patrick de Carolis, is airing an episode entitled "When America Was French" (Quand l'Amérique était française), with visits from Quebec to Louisiana. For those of you with French ancestors, it is an interesting opportunity to discover how your distant cousins see you and your history. 

There are discussions of Cartier, Champlain, whaling, the Iroquois, les Filles du Roy, genealogical research, the sale of Louisiana, jazz, fishing, etc. The way French is spoken in Quebec is explained; the way it is spoken in Louisiana requires subtitles. The music, very cloying, is most intrusive. The entire episode may be seen for a fee here. Short extracts may be seen here (some of you report that this does work in North America). One by one, sections of it may be seen on YouTube here.

©2014 Anne Morddel

French Genealogy

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