LAPLACE — “How to Research Your French Ancestors Online – For Free,” will be presented at the next meeting of the German-Acadian Historical and Genealogy Society at 7 p.m. Tuesday at LaPlace’s St. John the Baptist Parish Library, 2920 U.S. 51.

The program is free and open to the public.

Jay Schexnaydre will share his experience researching French church and civil records at the meeting. He is a tenth-generation native of St. James Parish, where his ancestors have lived for nearly 300 years. As a 16-year member of the GACHGS, he serves as a board member and webmaster.

He also serves as president of the Genealogical Research Society of New Orleans and holds membership in the Terrebonne Genealogical Society and St. James Parish Historical Society.

Researching his family genealogy since 1996, Schexnaydre has made six trips to Salt Lake City, Utah, to use the Family History Library associated with the LDS Church.

Since the Ordonnance de Villers-Cotterêts in 1539 the Catholic Church kept baptism and burial records, and soon after marriage records for their parishioners.

After the French Revolution in 1792, the civil registrations of all French citizens’ births, marriages and deaths have been recorded in the Mayor offices of every city, town and village in France.

“Many of the French records that were microfilmed by the Mormons have also been digitized by the various French departments and are made available on the Internet to the general public,” Schexnaydre said.

At the end of his presentation, refreshments will be served in celebration of the society’s anniversary. The GACHGS was organized in July 1979 with goals to preserve, compile, and publish records of genealogical or historical nature. Emphasis is given to the records of St. James, St. Charles and St. John Parishes.

Annual membership dues include a subscription to the Society’s quarterly publication, Les Voyageurs. For more information visit www.gachgs.com.