Part 466jm – Smith Robertson Genealogy – New Online Gironde Archives - GAEL

Good day,

Spring has certainly taken over the Tampa Bay area. My first set of Amaryllis is blooming. And the pollen is silently blanketing the cars in the driveway and graciously coating my face and hair each time I exit the front door. “Achoo, achoo”, and Dragon Naturally Speaking keeps asking me to “Please say that again.”

And the day begins in my search and research of my genealogy and ancestry.

The Smith-related and Grenada Registers Indenture that I am currently working on and transcribing is 31 pages long. I have completed 21. The scribe has a tight penmanship and there are large smudges to boot. My goal is to finish it by Saturday.

I was pleasantly surprised when I checked my emails this morning.

Annie had sent me the announcement and connection to a new online database “Gironde Archives En Ligne” – “GAEL”. The Department of Gironde in France, has now provided a free database which we immediately found pertinent documents for gg-grandparents Jean Jacques Alfred and Catherine Cora (née Merle) July.

I have not surveyed all the capabilities of GAEL as yet. One topic – “Entrée thématique : Les passeports (1800-1889)” provides a number of hits for both surnames July and Merle.

One such document is the page of the 1860 “POLICE GÉNÉRALE. PASSE-PORT POUR L’INTÉRIEUR.” It is the Interior Passport for gg-grandmother Catherine Cora Merle and her two children, a two-year old son, (great-granduncle Pierre Gustave Henri July), and an eight-month old daughter, (great-grandaunt Marie Amélia Blanche (née July) Poupon). It was issued in Bordeaux the 1st of February 1860 for travel to Gorée in Sénégal. Here is the link to the said page.

Eleven months later, great-grandmother Catherine Marie Antoinette (née Merle) July was born.

Check out my previous Postings regarding the research and search of my great-grandmother Marie. You can search for previous Postings by entering her name in “Search This Blog” in the right-hand column.

And thank you to Annie for your assistance.

Enjoy,

Jim