Jewish Genealogical Research in Lorraine
Moselle (57), Meurthe-et-Moselle (54), Meuse (55)
By Annie & Gérard Lévy
Historical background
In order to successfully carry out Jewish genealogical research in Lorraine, it is essential to have some concept of the history of this area, by example the establishment of the Jews starting from the middle of XVI century.
 Lorraine just before French Revolution To see this map bigger, click on it |
Until the Revolution, almost all of the current Lorraine area was divided into two, which frequently overlapped (map, essential).
In fact there was a third area albeit very small, the County of Créhange, which formed part of the "Terres d'Empire" and included,
Pontpierre, Denting and Niedervisse (partly). After the Revolution, Lorraine was divided into 4 departments, the Moselle, Meurthe,
the Meuse and the Vosges, (only the first three will be discussed here). |
After 1914-1918 war, parts of Lorraine which had been annexed (belonged to the ancient County of Créhange) became once again French and formed the new (and current) department of the Moselle. Consequences for the genealogists: during the annexation, the civil acts were written in German (sometimes even in Gothic, and very difficult to decipher), and consist of manually supplemented printed paper form; they provide less information than the majority of the French acts and are signed only by the officer.
It should be noted that each of the three current departments comprise of zones which were located in the Duchy of Lorraine and others which formed part of the Trois-Evêchés. As will be seen, a certain number of genealogical sources relate to only one of these two entities.
 Synagogue of Metz |
The return of Jews to Metz, after several centuries of absence, going back to 1567, the Jewish people return thanks to the presence of the French troops. From this time on the community develops until the middle of the XVIII century, a large community (more than 500 households in 1740). The installation of the Jews in certain lowland villages of Metz dates from the beginning of the XVII century, but it becomes really perennial only starting from the middle of this same century; one notes a score of establishments in 1702. These establishments multiply towards the end of the XVIII century, there are 49 in 1785. |
With regard to the Duchy of Lorraine, after their expulsion in 1477, a very small number of Jews settles in Nancy from 1636 following the French occupation (provisional), but they are frequently expelled later on. Others, settle there starting from the end of the XVII century. In 1721, 73 households only (indicated by name) are authorized to reside in the Duchy, in 24 localities (families in theory already present in 1680, the others having been expelled), but it is the beginning of a more stable community. In the survey of 1753 the number increases to 180 households, in 52 localities.
For more details on the general history of the Jews in Lorraine, see the bibliography references (1) to (12). For information on the Jews in various particular communes, see references (24) to (49).
Names of the Jews
Before the decree of 1808, the Jews of France often had ‘surnames’ (their origin was nicknames) passed down from the father. Apart from the descendants of the former sacerdotal castes, who carried the name of Cahen (or Cayen, or...) or of Lévy, these names often recalled the place of origin. Thus for Metz, the majority of people bore a name "of hereditary family".
 Synagogue of Insming |
However, the name of Cahen or Lévy was often omitted in certain acts. In addition, the same lineage hesitates sometimes between two surnames, in particular in Metz (for example,: Emmerich and Gomperz); without dealing with the various alternatives used for the same name. This habit of hereditary nicknames was less widespread in the small communes of Lorraine, where many Jews were known only by their first name followed by their father’s first name. It was common for two individuals to bear the same name in the same locality, whether they belonged to two different families or not. Upon the death of a father, common practise was that his son gave his father’s first name to his first son immediately after the death, for example, someone called Isaac Abraham would call his son Abraham Isaac; however, the civil officer sometimes reversed the names and called the new-born baby Isaac Abraham, exactly the same name as his father. |
Also female first names frequently vary between certificates or acts but it is a widely spread phenomenon, another problem concerning the first names which was also widespread in Moselle, the act of "translation" of the Hebraic first name: for example, Nephtali could be Cerf in Metz or Hirtz, Hertzel... in the German-speaking part of the Moselle. Generally one of the two will appear in different acts which can be a source of confusion.
It should be noted that some of these phenomena continued after 1808, an individual could be designated, according to the acts, by his old or his new name, or even by a mixture of both. More information on this topic is available in the works (9) and (44).
Sources for the genealogist
The majority of original documents, generally handwritten, have been used by various authors. The works and articles or reviews which result from this are the basic tools of Jewish genealogy in Lorraine (see below and the bibliography).
However, to obtain fundamental research information, like the many lists of names, one has to consult the original document, generally handwritten (or a photocopy). Almost all these documents are quoted in the work of Gildas Bernard (13): ): the sources are classified by department and indexed by commune. One will find mentioned the place where each document is deposited (departmental records or communal, libraries...) and the reference allowing you to consult it.
Because of the past history of Lorraine, some interesting documents for the old department of Meurthe currently in the Moselle are found in AD 54. Also, even if the most of the files of the district of Briey (M.-and-M.) are deposited within AD 54, some are also in AD 55 (this district belonged formerly to the Duchy of Bar), others within AD 57 (it formed part of the department of Moselle before 1871).
A – Sources for the period covered by civil records
in France, the essential source for creating a tree up to the Revolution are civil records, which exists, in theory, in two specimens (commune and AD). In many cases, the communal specimen was deposited with the AD. In AD 57, much of registers are reproduced on microfilms, but it is often possible to consult the original paper. With AD 54, this last possibility does not exist, all of them are on microfilms but with free access. In addition, there are the various lists drawn from the civil records created by GenAmi to assist the genealogists.
The civil records often allow you to completely reassemble a tree up to the Revolution, and even beyond that. But sometimes, that is not the case. By example not know the commune of origin of a wife or the name of her parents, or be unaware of the place, therefore the date, for an ancestor’s death. Various works and documents often make it possible to fill these gaps:
- the genealogical circles of Moselle carried out, starting from the civil records and notarial acts:
- a statement of all the inhabitants of a certain common to certain dates, ,
- a statement of the marriages in the majority of the communes of this department. .
These documents are consultable with the AD 57. - Another, the Union of the Lorraine Genealogical Circles, began in 1990 data basing civil acts and intend to put them all on Minitel (3617 GENLOR) its data base contains at the present time 5 million acts (births, marriages, death).
- J.L. Calbat is the author of a study of Jewish marriages in Moselle from 1792 to 1892, starting from the decennial tables of the civil records (16). By commune and for each spouse the date of the marriage is indicated, which makes it possible to find the act in the civil register. A totally alphabetical index makes it possible to find the commune where the marriage took place.
- P. Katz created a collection of the name declarations of 1808 for the current departments of Moselle and
Meurthe-et-Moselle (20). This work makes it possible to locate people on this date
and to establish the link between the old and new name of an individual. Nearly 130 communes are in the register of these
declarations, but, because of a fire in 1944, many of the original registers for the Moselle region (at least around fifty)
are no longer available. Those still available were reproduced by P. Katz, 57 registers for Moselle and 19 for Meurthe-et-Moselle.
The list for Metz, was destroyed, but a re-constructed one was published by GenAmi (19).
In 1808, only 8 Jewish communities existed in Meuse, a collection of these declarations has not yet been carried out; however they can be consulted at the local town hall or within AD 55 in Bar-le-Duc which has some of these lists, at least those of Bar-le-Duc, Verdun and Vaucouleurs. - • J.P. Bernard studied tomb inscriptions for all the Jewish cemeteries of Moselle (more than 40), comprising of nearly 15 000
names (14). A general alphabetical index makes it possible to determine the place where
the person is buried and, while referring to it, to obtain the inscription (even if the tomb does not have an inscription its
site is indicated) inscriptions often give genealogists information which can not be found anywhere else.
It should be noted that the recent work of J.P. Bernard and P. Faustini on Vantoux (26) comprises of the Hebraic inscription translations of the Jewish cemetery of this commune.
In this same field, a work of F and S. Job (41) relate to the Jewish cemetery of Lunéville.
In these works are a certain number of information relating to the period of before the Revolution (especially dates of birth). - "Role of the Jews in the removal of the debt of the old Jewish community of Metz". These lists were in GenAmi (19). On a genealogical level, they make it possible to connect certain individuals who did not live in Metz in the XIX century with members of the community before the Revolution.
- A certain number of lists concerning the Jews were established after the Revolution. They deal with certain communes of the three departments. They are contained in the work of Gildas Bernard (13). It is also interesting to consult the censuses and even the land register.
- If you ‘lose’ track of an individual in Moselle in the XIX century, it is a good idea to consult the work of M.J. Marchal (7), which comprises of lists of more than 10,000 natives of the Moselle region who left to try their luck in America, of which many were Jews.
B - Sources before the Revolution
For Metz there are specific sources often making it possible to go back a generation to the beginning of the XVIII century and sometimes back even further. The sources for the other Jewish communities of Lorraine are limited in numbers and in some cases limited in accessibility.
- The only Jewish community that kept civil records from XVIII century is Metz. But the original registers are far from easy to consult as there is no index of the acts. P.A. Meyer fortunately mitigated this gap by publishing "Tables of the register of civil records of the Jewish community of Metz 1717-1792" (22). It acts as an incomparable source of information for the genealogists. It should be noted however that a rather significant number of births and deaths of young children were not recorded. Moreover, the acts are not as detailed as those in parochial registers or the civil records after the Revolution.
- Still in Metz, the "Memorbuch". It acts as a memorial of the "brotherhood of the last duty" (grave-diggers). It contains the obituaries (2088) members of the community (but they do not all appear in it, in particular children), reporting their merits. But these notes also contain information comparable to civil death certificates. The oldest part, which goes theoretically from the end of XVI century (in fact, 1610) to 1724, was translated by S. Schwarzfuchs (23). The continuation, which goes up to 1849, was created by J.C. Bouvat-Martin, which includes information from civil records contained in the individual notes (15).
- Another extremely important work, which makes it possible to go back than the civil records in Metz, sometimes back as far as the Jews return to this city is that of P. Faustini on the Jewish families messines of 1565 to 1665 (17). The trees and the history of the principal families are reconstituted thanks to various sources, in particular: notarial acts (of which the most important are reproduced), Memorbuch, various successive lists of Jews, lists deaths at the time of the plague epidemic of 1636. The author specifies his sources in each case and justifies in a very descriptive any assumptions made.
- For the whole of the Moselle, a ‘must have’ source is the work of J Fleury which lists the 2021
Jewish marriage contracts in Moselle before 1792 (18).
This book is the result of researching solicitors’ records. In particular it indicates not only the name of those married
and the place where they live, but also the names of their parents and if they were still alive, as well as the references
of the act, thus allowing you to consulate the appropriate record in AD 57. For Metz, these contracts make it possible to
supplement the civil records of the community because, on the one hand some are prior to that, and on the other hand the
contents are much more detailed.
It is however important to note that, if the majority of marriages of the residents of Metz were the subject of an authenticated contract, it was far from being the same in many of the smaller communities. - The Jews of Metz were subjected from 1715 to the "Brancas tax" (precise information in the reference (19), p. 101). This tax allowed the publication of lists of the taxpayers between 1742 and 1777. These lists form part of the files of the Jewish consistory of Moselle which were deposited in AD 57 (dimension 17 J). The work of Gildas Bernard (13) provides a reference to these lists. It should be noted that they are incomplete (from the genealogical point of view), it is probable that not all of the Jewish inhabitants of the various communes appear there.
- General information for Généralité of Metz (City of Metz excluded), there exists an important document: Etat des Juifs qui sont dans l'étendue du département de Metz sans compter ceux de la ville de Metz, 1702, that P.A. Meyer structured and formatted to make it easier to consult (21).
- In year XI (1802-1803) took place (or should have taken place) in each commune of Moselle the "declaration of birth before 1793 for non-catholics". People went to their local town hall to declare their birth date and birthplace (not on all the lists), and those of their children if born before 1793, and often they signed the declaration. It acts as invaluable source of information, but unfortunately it only exists for a limited number of communes: Boulay, Courcelles-Chaussy, Denting, Ennery, Frauenberg, Guinglange, Longeville-lès-Metz, Marly, Morhange, Mill-lès-Metz, Thionville, Créhange, Welferding. These documents are generally joined to the civil records for the year XI. Some of them are incomplete.
- For the communes of the old Duchy of Lorraine, we have two lists of Jews authorized to reside there (see higher the historical background), classified by commune: those of 1721 and 1753. It should be noted that only the heads of household are stated. Also that the list of 1753 is incomplete; thereafter it corresponds less and less to reality, because the departure or the extinction of a family (11), and on the other hand because of tolerances or exemptions. Of the 52 localities in the list of 1753, 41 are located within the current limits of the department of Moselle and one in Meuse. These lists, which are in AD 54 and 57, can be consulted at GenAmi library.
- Other lists of names of Jews were published on various dates:
- with regard to the County of Créhange, lists of heads of household in 1776, classified by commune (AD 57). Lists also exist for 1737 to 1739 G, but they are difficult to decipher,
- list of the heads of Jewish households established in the "bailliage of Germany" of the Duchy of Lorraine from before the treaty of Ryswick (1697) to about 1706 (AD 54) (the bailliage of Germany was part of N.E. of the Duchy).
These communes, are mainly in the current department of the Moselle.
- lists (censuses, taxes..) concerning either one, or the other, of the two Lorraine areas. In addition to the town of Metz, for which there are many lists (for example, the census of the Jews in 1739 (19)), these relate to about fifteen communes. Reference is in the work of Gildas Bernard (13). - As everywhere in France, the solicitors records constitute an important source of information: on the one hand to
consult the Jewish marriage contracts (source exploited for Moselle (18), cf higher),
but also to determine, thanks to various types of contracts (sale, loan, succession...), the presence of a person in a given
place, also by deciphering the Hebraic signature you can discover the first name of the father. The solicitors’ records of
Moselle were deposited with the AD of the department, whereas for Meurthe-et-Moselle this deposit is far from complete for
the period of Ancien Régime.
However, even if one selects only the notaries frequently used by Jews, researching these requires a lot of patience. It is often possible to shorten research, for the Moselle at least, by consulting the summary registers of the acts which summarizes the acts of several notaries as well as the acts carried out under private signature, which is an additional advantage. - Lastly, additional information could possibly be found in AD 57 in the series "Justice" (series B), in particular in the ‘plaids annaux’ of the Duchy of Lorraine (which sometimes comprises of lists of names); or even, especially for Metz, hospital files (series H deposit). The deposit of the Jewish consistory of Moselle (dimension 17 J), contains some interesting information for example the lists of names, (although many parts were written in Yiddish) which were indexed in the work of Gildas Bernard (13).
C – Monographs Works
As well as many articles, Some of them are an important part of genealogy and reconstitution of families; these are in particular the works of J.P. Bernard and P. Faustini on Vantoux (26) and of that of P. Faustini on Hellimer (33). Others do not contain precise information on the genealogical level; the researcher being interested in the locality concerned should however read them to know the framework around their ancestors’ life. The non-exhaustive list of the most important of these documents appears in the bibliography attached (references (24) to (49). Some of the monographs can be consulted in the relevant AD.
Additionally, a great number of trees of Lorraine families were also published, in particular those carried out by the members of GenAmi (3 volumes).
Bibliography
(non exhaustive)
Bibliographie générale concernant l'histoire des Juifs en Lorraine
(1) BLUMENKRANZ B., 1967. Les Juifs en Lorraine. Annales de l'Est, 199-215.
(2) CAHEN G., 1972. Les Juifs dans la région Lorraine des origines à nos jours. Le pays lorrain, n° 2, 55-83.
(3) CAHEN G., 1972. La région lorraine. In dir. Blumenkranz B. Histoire des Juifs en France, Toulouse, 77-136.Histoire des Juifs en France
(4) CAHEN G., 1990. Les Juifs lorrains. Du ghetto à la nation (1721-1871). Catalogue de l'exposition (Metz 30/6-24/9). Association mosellane pour la conservation du patrimoine juif, 134 p.
(5) DALTROFF J., 1995. L'histoire des communautés juives rurales de Moselle, 16 p.
(6) JOB F., 2003. Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse. In Schumann H. Mémoire des communautés juives Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Vosges. Editions Serpenoise, 9-38.
(7) MARCHAL M.J., 1993. Viva America. Emigration mosellane vers les Etats-Unis. Chez l’auteur, Corny-sur-Moselle.
(8) MENDEL P., 1950. Les noms des Juifs français modernes. Revue des études juives, CX, 32-63.
(9) MEYER P.A., 1999. Présentation historique. In Schumann H. Mémoire des communautés juives Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Vosges. Editions Serpenoise, 9-33.
(10) ROSENFELD C. et LANG J.B., 2001. Histoire des Juifs en Moselle. Editions Serpenoise, 455 p.
(11) VANSON L., 1934-35. Curieuses requêtes de Juifs tendant à faire partie, au fur et à mesure des places disponibles, des cent quatre-vingts familles juives tolérées, en Lorraine, dans l'Ancien Régime. Revue juive de Lorraine, X p. 175, 197, 225, 257, 291, 319, et XI p. 11, 38, 64, 98, 126, 155, 187.
(12) WEILL G., 1966. Les Juifs dans le Barrois et la Meuse du Moyen-Age à nos jours. Revue d'études juives, 125, 287-301.
Bibliographie de base pour la généalogie juive en Lorraine
(13) BERNARD Gildas (sous la dir. de), 1990. Les familles juives en France XVIe siècle-1815. Guide des recherches biographiques et généalogiques, Archives nationales, 281 p.
(14) BERNARD J.P., 2001. Les cimetières israélites de Moselle. Relevé des tombes. Cercle de Généalogie Juive, 2 tomes, 396 et 373 p.
(15) BOUVAT-MARTIN J.C., 2001. Tables du Memorbuch de Metz (1720-1849). Cercle de Généalogie Juive, 114 p.
(16) CALBAT Jean-Louis, 2001. Les mariages juifs en Moselle (1792-1892). Cercle de Généalogie Juive, 217 p.
(17) FAUSTINI P., 2001. La communauté juive de Metz et ses familles (1565-1665). Chez l'auteur, Thionville, 282 p.
(18) FLEURY J., 1999. Contrats de mariage juifs en Moselle avant 1792. Recensement à usage généalogique de 2021 contrats de mariage notariés. Cercle de Généalogie Juive, 3e édition, 254 p.
(19) GENAMI éditeur, 2004. Metz. Recensement de 1739. Les familles juives de Metz en 1808. Recouvrement de la dette de l'ancienne communauté juive, listes de 1811 et de 1853, 189 p.
(20) KATZ Pierre, 1999. Recueil des déclarations de prise de nom patronymique des Juifs de Lorraine en 1808. Cercle de Généalogie Juive, non paginé.
(21) MEYER P.A., 1991. Les Juifs de la Province des Trois Evêchés en 1702. Revue des études juives, janvier-juin, 5- 69
(22) MEYER P.A., 1998. Tables du registre d'état civil de la communauté juive de Metz, 1717-1792. Cercle de Généalogie Juive, 462 p.
(23) SCHWARZFUCHS S. (traduit par), 1971. Un obituaire israélite, le "Memorbuch" de Metz (vers 1575-1724). Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de la Lorraine, 117 p.
Principales monographies sur les Juifs en Lorraine
(24) ANONYME, 1999. La synagogue et la communauté de Phalsbourg. Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Lorraine, 19 p.
(25) BAJETTI P., 1986. La communauté israélite de Boulay. Les cahiers des pays de la Nied, 5, 24-35.
(26) BERNARD J.P. et FAUSTINI P., 2005. Vantoux, Vallières, Méy et Grimont. Une communauté juive aux portes de Metz du 17e au 20e siècle. Histoire, Généalogie, Cimetière. Cercle de Généalogie Juive, 277 p.
(27) BOUR J. et GAERTNER L., 1999. Les familles juives d'Insming, Nelling, Rening, Grening. Chez J. Bour, 130 p.
(28) CAHEN G., 1959. Les Juifs de Sierck avant la Révolution. Almanach-calendrier des communautés israélites de la Moselle, 88-94 (aux AD 57).
(29) DALTROFF J., 1992. Les juifs de Niedervisse, 215 p.
(30) DALTROFF J., 1999. Les Juifs de Delme aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècles. Entre traditions et mutations. Les cahiers lorrains, 3, 323-353.
(31) DEUTSCH D. Les premières communautés juives de Forbach. Les cahiers forbachois, Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de la Lorraine, chier n° 1, 6-15.
(32) ENGELBREIT R., 1993. La communauté juive de Forbach. 176 p.
(33) FAUSTINI P. 2004. La communauté juive de Hellimer. Documents 1700-1850. chez l'auteur, Thionville, 294 p.
(34) FLAUS P., 1984. Comté et comtes de Créhange du XVIIe au XVIIIe siècle. Mémoire de maîtrise, Université de Metz. Sur les Juifs : p. 85-91)
(35) GEUDEVERT C., 1995. Les Juifs à Bliesbrück (1793- 1917), 76 p.
(36) GINSBURGER E., 1903. Les Juifs de Frauenberg. Revue d'études juives, 47, 87-122.
(37) GINSBURGER M., 1905. Les Juifs de Metz sous l'Ancien Régime. Revue des études juives, L, 112-128 et 238-260.
(38) HEMMERT D., 2000. Les familles juives de la vallée inférieure de la Blies de la fin du XVIIe au début du XVIIIe siècle. Les Cahiers Lorrains, n° 3, 413-428.
(39) JOB F., 1989. Les juifs à Lunéville aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècles. Presses universitaires de Nancy, 324 p.
(40) JOB F., 1991. Les Juifs de Nancy. Presses universitaires de Nancy, 170 p.
(41) JOB F. et S., FREUND C., 1999. Le cimetière israélite régional de Lunéville (1759-1998). Cercle de Généalogie Juive, 2e édition, 80 p.
(42) KERNER S., 1979, 1984. La vie quotidienne de la communauté juive de Metz au XVIIIe siècle (à partir du Pinkas (registre) inédit de cette communauté). Thèse (inédite). Université de Paris VIII 1979, version revue 1984, 258 p. + LXXIV p.
(43) MENDEL P., 1995. Les Juifs de Bionville en pays messin (du XVIIe siècle à nos jours). Association mosellane pour la conservation du patrimoine juif, 62 p.
(44) MEYER P.A., 1993. La communauté juive de Metz au XVIIIe siècle. Histoire et démographie. Presses universitaires de Nancy et Editions Serpenoise, 325 p.
(45) MEYER P.A., 1984. Notables juifs à Nancy : une lignée au XVIIIe siècle. Archives juives, 20, n°1-2, 13-24.
(46) NETTER N., 1995 (réimpression de l'édition de 1938). Metz et son grand passé. Vingt siècles d'histoire d'une communauté juive. Editions Jeanne Laffitte, 534 p.
(47) PERISSE R., 1995. La communauté juive de Fénétrange. Essai historique. 124 p.
(48) ROOS P., 1992-1997. Histoire des Juifs à Thionville. 22 p.
(49) WILLIGSECKER A., 1994. La communauté israélite de Grosbliederstroff aux 18e et 19e siècles, 46 p.
Il existe également d'autres monographies sur certaines des localités citées ci-dessus, ainsi que des monographies pour de nombreuses autres localités, dont Augny, Ennery, Freyming, Hayange, Imling, Insming, Louvigny, Marly, Morsbach, Rouhling, Sarreguemines, Uckange, Waldwisse.
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