Translation Tuesday ~ Parlez-vous français?

Last week I posted death records for two ancestors named Nicolas Schmitt. Thanks to several members of the Alsace-Lorraine mailing list, the questions I had about some of the words have been answered. See the corrections in green here.

I thought I might share a bit of my process to (hopefully) help someone just starting out. And maybe someone reading will suggest a better way to get through the dozens of records I need to transcribe and translate.

After performing the Genealogy Happy Dance at the Family History Center when I locate a French record that belongs to me; I copy the image, the cover page, and the index to my flashdrive. At home I clean up the image with photo editing software.

Using a split screen to view both the image and Google language, I transcribe the record into Google translate. After correcting any obvious errors, I copy and paste the French and English versions in a Word document. Then I tweak the text using the French Genealogical word list from Family Search and the ever-growing list of words and phrases I have learned since I started researching my French ancestry.

FamilySearch also offers some wonderful ~ and free ~ courses for doing research in several countries including France here.

I was intimidated when I started working with French records, but that didn't last long. So if you are gingerly dipping your toes in the French pool, c'mon! Wade on in; l'eau de fines!

In memory of Nicolas Schmitt 09 Mar 1813

Nicolas Schmitt is my 3rd great-grandfather. He was born in Hellimer, Moselle, France on this day in 1813.

France was unchartered genealogical territory for me for decades. First because I believed what my family believed; we're Swedish and German. Then after coming to terms with my French DNA, I was intimidated by the enormous task of learning to research records that had been created in France.

But I was fascinated by Nicolas, who left his country of origin with his wife and seven children in 1854. The family settled in Cincinnati Ohio. Two more children were born in Ohio and sadly, Nicolas became a widower before 1870.

So little is known about this man. Schmitt, a common name with many spelling variations, isn't easy to trace. And Cincinnati experienced not one, but three courthouse fires.

So I started by learning about France. For example, when Nicolas was born, Napoleon Bonaparte was the Emperor of France. Nicolas and his children hailed from Moselle, a département (number 57 to be exact) in Lorraine named after the Moselle River. Lorraine is rich in coal and steel, commodities highly-desirable to bordering countries. Conflicts over who had the rights to these riches left the area war torn for many years.

Learning something new everyday keeps our minds sharp. I'm taking a free class in french genealogy, I signed up for a french blog, and I joined a french mailing list. France is a country rich in beauty, history, and genealogical treasures ~ ours for the taking. Vive la France!