While researching some ancestors who lived in Alscace, France circa 1800, I struggled to make out the date on several of the online archive records.
Well, it seems that during the early days of the French Rebellion, the new order decided to implement a radical new weights and measures system totally divorced from royalty and religion. This was essentially the decimalization of France which eventually led to the metric system that dominates the world measurement systems today.
For the calendar, they devised a system that had four seasons, each with three months. Each month had three weeks of ten days each. And, they all had different names! According to the committee, the beginning of time began with the revolution. And, of course, Paris was the center of the universe!
In my case, one date was written as “The 10 Prairial of the Year IX of the French Republic”. This translates to May 30, 1801. Who knew?
So, if you are researching old French records, beware of these strange date designations. The good news is that the Republic only used this calendar for 12 years from 1793 to 1805. You can find all the details of this old dating system online. So ends your history lesson for today.
For more information like this, consider joining your local genealogy society. Here you will find all manner of support and assistance for such things as data sources, software, technology, education, etc. And, you will hear of some of the most amazing journeys of discovery.
Ron Gilmore
Email: rvg3@me.com
Website: https://rgenealogy.ca