Bresse, Dombes, Bugey and the Pays de Gex - the Ain
Bourg-en-Bresse, Belley, Gex, Nantua, Trévoux (Dombes), Ferney. Which empire held this ground in which years — and, the part that matters, which archive that means.
Whose archive this ground was
| Years | Who held it | Whose archive that means |
|---|---|---|
| 843–1272 | Lothar I's kingdom after the Treaty of Verdun; local lords | no registers survive Before registers. The Treaty of Verdun in 843 assigned this area to Lothar I's kingdom. |
| 1272–1536 | County, then Duchy, of Savoy - Bresse (from 1272) and Bugey | Archives départementales de l'Ain · FamilySearch · Geneanet Bresse joined the House of Savoy's domains in 1272 through a marriage. |
| 1536–1559 | French conquest of the Duchy of Savoy | Archives départementales de l'Ain · FamilySearch · Geneanet Francis I conquered the Duchy of Savoy in 1536, and the territory was restored after the treaty of 1559. |
| 1559–1601 | Duchy of Savoy - Bresse, Bugey, Valromey and Gex | Archives départementales de l'Ain · FamilySearch · Geneanet The Savoy period ended with the Franco-Savoyard War of 1600-1601. |
| 1601–1790 | Kingdom of France - government of Burgundy (Bresse, Bugey, Valromey, Gex); Dombes separate to 1762 | Archives départementales de l'Ain · FamilySearch · Geneanet By the Treaty of Lyon of 17 January 1601 Savoy gave France Bugey, Valromey, Gex and Bresse, and Bresse was attached to the military government of Burgundy. Dombes stayed separate until the Count of Eu ceded it to Louis XV on 28 March 1762, so Dombes parishes were under a different sovereign until then. |
| 1790–1815 | France - department of Ain | Archives départementales de l'Ain · FamilySearch · Geneanet The department of Ain was created in 1790 from Bresse, Dombes, Bugey and the Pays de Gex. Secular civil registration by the municipalities dates from the decree of 20 September 1792. |
| 1815–2026 | France - department of Ain | Archives départementales de l'Ain · FamilySearch · Geneanet After the Congress of Vienna in 1815 seven communes of the Pays de Gex went to Geneva, so some Gex families appear in Genevan, not French, records after that date. |
The rings are approximate — deliberately. They exist to shade which filing system a place fell under, not to adjudicate a border. A place near a ring's edge should be checked against both neighbours.
See the whole span, 843–2026, on the map →
The map takes a range, and a range that crosses one of the rows above is where records get lost: the family never moved, and the archive on the far side of the handover will tell you it holds nothing.