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last update on 11/20/2009.
NORTH
AFRICA
The
French conquest of Algeria dates from 1830, the French protectorates
of Tunisia and Morocco from 1881 and 1912 respectively. For this reason
conditions for genealogical research in Algeria are a bit more favorable.
ALGERIA
All of the civil registers prior to 1962 remain in place, however the marginal notes have not been kept up to date. Only some 3,600,000 records out of a total of about 5 million, therefore approximately two-thirds, have been able to be microfilmed.
Civil
records more recent than 100 years
Civil registrations less than 100 years old for French citizens born in a state previously under the authority or the sovereignty of France are kept in Nantes, at the Service Central de l'état civil, BP 44941, 44035 - Nantes, Cedex 01. This is the case for the Jews born in Algeria before 1962.
For events (births, marriages,deaths) that occurred in Algeria less than 100 years ago, it is there that one must write (there is no public access) giving as best as possible the date, but the place is required. If it is possible first use the Minitel, 3615
*SCEC. In this case, if the date is not known, do not leave the space blank, but enter "00".
As for all civil registration documents in France less than 100 years old, a copy of a death certificate, or an extract of a birth or marriage record without any filiation, will be sent on request. But, a complete copy of a record of birth or marriage, including the names of the parents (copy with filiation) will only be sent to one who is qualified (the person themself, or a spouse, or a descendant), with the additional condition that that person furnish the full name (first and last)of the parents of the person whose record is being requested, in addition to giving his/her qualifications to receive the information.
Civil records older than 100 years
Civil records more than 100 years old are sent back to the Centre des
Archives d'Outremer, 29 Chemin du Moulin de Testa, 13090 - Aix en Provence.
This office does not responds to written requests. It is necessary to
consult the microfilms at the Centre. or to request their loan, one reel
at a time and for a limited period, through the Departmental Archives
(in Paris at the CARAN, 11, rue des Quatre-Fils, 75003 - Paris; Tel.(+33)40
27 64 19 or via the Web at:
<www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/chan/index.html>
Click on Presentation on the left, and then on Centre d'Accueil. As indicated
above not all of the registers have been filmed.
The list of available microfilms has been published in issue #58 of the
Revue du CGJ. A team of our members, led by Roland GOZLAN and Fernand
DERAY, has undertaken the task of recording a number of the documents
(see the Revue, issues 57,60,61,64).
The
CAOM recently announced that it will be progressively possible to consult
civil record data older than 100 years, including data from small towns,
which were missing because they were attached to more recent acts. To
be more accurate, it will be possible to know whether the person you are
looking for is included in an act which has been digitized by the CAOM.
But the act itself may only be consulted on the premises of the CAOM (this
has been decided by the French "Commission Informatique et Liberté". This
is nevertheless a drastic breakthrough and everything (i.e. 1,400,000
acts) has been completed by the end of 2004. At present almost all acts
have been indexed. For details, have a look on
http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/caom/fr/index.htm
To find whether an act exists, it is convenient to use the following address:
http://anom.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/caomec2/recherche.php?territoire=ALGERIE
If you are a member of CGJ, there are good news for you: we can
obtain the acts for you. Please click
here.
If you have not found the microfilm you are seeking, you can write politely,
without a guaranty of success, to the Algerian Mairie (renamed" Assemblée
Communale Populaire"), which in principal owns the original registers
(assuming that these were not destroyed during the events of 1954 to 1962).
You must indicate the the precise place, the date as precisely as possible,
and include two International Reply Coupons. Be aware, in the address,
of a possible change of name of the locality. We are able to provide you
with a list of the new names.
The
vital records of Constantine
Our
member Fernand Deray collected more than 15,000 vital
records of the Jews of Constantine (Algeria), namely 9,900 birth records,
1,200 marriage records and 3,600 death records.
This huge work, covering the
1843-1895 period, was done between 1990 and 2000 from the microfilms deposited
in the CAOM (Centre des Archives d'Outre-mer) at Aix en Provence. Fernand
Deray noted the whole set of information found on the records, which he
was sometimes able to complete by data from other sources. Please note
that a few records now available on the Website of the CAOM were absent
from the microfilms in 2000.
We offer here two levels of
access :
- a free access in the section "North Africa" section of our
Website, where you can obtain the number of records which fit your request. Click here
- an access reserved to our members in the "' Members' Corner
", where
you can obtain all the detailed information of the records which fit your
request.
MOROCCO
Before the establishment of the the Protectorate, as well as after its abrogation in 1956, there was diplomatic representation, and therefore Consular Archives. Copies of the civil registrations were transmitted each year by Consular post to the Service Central de l'Etat Civil, but the complete information is reserved to those who are qualified, as above. At the end of 100 years the microfilms are sent to the Centre des Archives Diplomatique de Nantes, 17, rue de Castenau, BP 44036, Nantes, as well as to the archives of the Quai d'Orsay, 37, Quai d'Orsay, 75007 - Paris. There they may be freely viewed.
From the years 1915 up until 1956 one finds in Nantes the same registers as in effect in France, and subject to the same regulations.
TUNISIA
>From the beginnings of the Protectorate, between 1881 and 1900, the civil registers are very fragmentary, but turn out to
be almost all complete following then (but without reliable annual tables), until the end of the Protectorate. For the rest, that
which has been described for Morocco applies also to Tunisia.
For North Africa, even more than for other regions, the mutual assistance among researchers has been found to be
invaluable. Other members have investigated these sources, and also other sources that we have not mentioned.
Join us, and profit from their experience.
By joining the Cercle de Généalogie Juive, you will be able to participate
in specialized groups. A North African group has just begun in our Marseille
branch. The Paris group, led by Joëlle ALLOUCHE and Jacob BENZAZON,
also meets several times a year (see Réunions/Meetings).
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