Record Atlas
5 eras · 1000–2026 · 1 places

Vivarais - Ardèche

Privas, Annonay, Aubenas, Tournon, Largentière. Which empire held this ground in which years — and, the part that matters, which archive that means.

Whose archive this ground was

YearsWho held itWhose archive that means
1000–1309 Vivarais, in the Holy Roman Empire with its bishop as count no registers survive

Before registers. The bishop was count.

1309–1598 Kingdom of France - Vivarais in the province of Languedoc Archives départementales de l'Ardèche · FamilySearch · Geneanet

In 1309 the Vivarais became a Capetian territory and was included in the province of Languedoc. Eight pitched battles of the Wars of Religion were fought here between 1562 and 1595.

1598–1685 Kingdom of France - Vivarais after the Edict of Nantes Archives départementales de l'Ardèche · FamilySearch · Geneanet

The Edict of Nantes in 1598 ended the fighting; over 75 Protestant churches are recorded around that date. In 1629 the forces of Louis XIII burned Privas to the ground during a Protestant revolt, and about one-fifth of the Vivarais Protestant population then emigrated.

1685–1792 Kingdom of France - Vivarais after the Revocation Archives départementales de l'Ardèche · FamilySearch · Geneanet

The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 was followed by the Camisard revolt; peace was restored only in 1715.

1792–2026 France - department of Ardèche Archives départementales de l'Ardèche · Archives municipales d'Annonay · FamilySearch · Geneanet

The department of Ardèche was created on 4 March 1790 as one of the original 83 and corresponds to the former Vivarais. Civil registration by the municipalities followed from the decree of 20 September 1792.

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, 1000–2026, 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.

1 places on this ground

118 FamilySearch collections reach this ground

Ranked with the regional ones first — a collection for a province is usually a better lead than a national index, though the national index is often where a name is actually written down. A free account opens the images.

…and 58 more.

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