We have a property that is over 350 years old, to be found on Cassini maps.
We are curious to know who has owned this place in the past - we have some names from our own acte de vente - servitudes in place from previous owners, etc and we met one of our neighbours who lived in our house, along with another family, as a child. But that only gets us to early/mid 20th century and even then we think some names are missing.
Does anyone know please? Is there anywhere where we can track down the names of previous owners?
Interestingly we already know just from the little we hold that notaires spread over an amazingly wide area have been involved in the sales from Marmande to Seyches and Miramont - an indication I suspect of the paucity of local notaires. So I doubt whether any one notaire can tell us more than a fraction of the story.
I canât really remember but I think they may have had on some. We needed to find out who had the original right of way over some of our land and the maps helped. I do know they recommended a local historian, heâd done a huge amount of research over the years, a fascinating and lovely bloke that kindly slowed his speech for us. Maybe someone in your Marie will be able to point you in the right direction. Happy hunting.
My old commune had archives at the local mairie and I found out quite a bit about my house as it was one of the original ones and over 500years old when I sold it. This was done when we had an expo about the origins of the village one year,otherwise not sure if you can demand anything just like that.
âCensus records can be found in the Archives DĂŠpartementales of each departement . Most of these records have been digitized and they can be found online on the Archives DĂŠpartementales websites.â
Hereâs a quick guide that may help.
All archived material in Agen is catalogued alphanumerically under various headings.
Youâll need a readerâs ticket to consult physical documents on site, but you can search on line the Napoleonic maps of the early C19th covering your commune.
Be sure to make notes of all the map references useful to your search.
Start with the general map (TA) to identify the âSectionâ map on which your house is located.
You can zoom in and out to capture an area for printing.
To go further, on site you use the propertyâs plot number(s) to search the catalogue in order to identify and book out the relevant âEtat des Sectionsâ register, which will show the owner of the property at the time. Then, again from the catalogue, use their identifier (number) to locate and book out the âMatrice des RĂ´lesâ (land register) containing their folio. Thatâll provide info including the from whom/to whom acquisition details, again giving the folio numbers.
You are allowed to make notes using pencil only, no ink, & to take photographs; otherwise its easy to lose track as you proceed.
Interestingly, discussing this yesterday with OH we realise, since the 60s we wonât get much from the census because our house was a second home owned by various Brits. The likelihood of any of them being here during a census is pretty remote. But before then, I am more hopeful.
As an aside - I think Iâve said elsewhere - I got quite emotional when I saw my grandmotherâs (rather than grandfatherâs) signature on the (UK) 1911 form - it doesnât surprise me, she was a very special woman.
âŚoooops sorry, in my reply, instead of Matrice des RĂ´les it should read Matrice des PropriĂŠtĂŠs Foncières non bâties et bâtiesâŚmakes more sense
Each time the house changes hands, the âacte notarialeâ will quote the previous acte, and so you can trace the ownership back. Trouble is, the notaire may change, so you will have to consult the records of different notaires, but prior to 1956, they should all be in the departmental archives. Good luck!.
