Sometimes, deciphering a name of a place in an old handwritten document is not as easy. This could be due to boundary changes or places that no longer exist, the widespread use of abbreviations, or the difficulty in reading the handwriting. Use these tables of resources to assist you in interpreting or finding the names of locations mentioned in the documents. Unless stated, these are online resources of geographic nature. The Fuzzy Gazetteer may also be a resource; if a name can not be found with the spelling seen in the document, it will work to find suggestions for you to look through.
List of Geographical Dictionaries by Country |
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'Belguim' |
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EarthWorks-Stanford Belgium World Gazetteer Locations, 2006 in EarthWorks (stanford.edu) |
Google Books |
Belgium- Gazetteer Belgium; official standard names approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (familysearch.org) |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Places in the World Places in Belgium - find information on all places in Belgium - Belgium.Places-in-the-world.com |
'Benin' |
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Harvard Map of Benin |
FamilySearch Map of Benin |
Benin- Gazetteer Dahomey : official standard names approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (familysearch.org) |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Burkina Faso' |
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Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Burkina Faso |
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)- Gazetteer |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Burundi' |
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Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Burundi |
Burundi Gazetteer Burundi : official standard names approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (familysearch.org) |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Cameroon' |
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Nations Online Administrative Map of Cameroon 1200 pixel - Nations Online Project |
FamilySearch Map of Cameroon |
Cameroon- Gazetteer Cameroon : official standard names approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (familysearch.org) |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Canada' |
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Gazetteer of Canada |
FamilySearch Wiki |
FamilySearch |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
The Canadian Geographical Names Database About the Canadian Geographical Names Database (nrcan.gc.ca) |
'Chad' |
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Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Chad |
Google Books Chad: Official Standard Names Approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Ivory Coast' |
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Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Ivory Coast |
CIA Reading Room |
Falling Grain Directory of Cities and Towns in Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) (fallingrain.com) |
Marineregions |
'Democratic Republic of Congo' |
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Britannica Democratic Republic of the Congo | Culture, History, & People | Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Republic of the Congo- Gazetteer |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Djibouti' |
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FamilySearch Map of Djiboutie |
African Lii Journal Officiel de Djibouti | African Legal Information Institute (africanlii.org) |
Google Books Gazetteer of Djibouti: Names Approved by the United States Board on ... - Google Books |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Equatorial Guinea' |
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Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Equatorial Guinea |
Google Maps World Gazetteer Equatorial Guinea – Google Maps World Gazetteer & Google Driving Directions (worldrouteplanner.com) |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'France' |
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Online Resources |
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Conseil National De L'information Geographique |
FamilySearch |
Hathi Trust- Gazetteer Catalog Record: A gazetteer of France : containing every... | HathiTrust Digital Library |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
CommunesGenWeb-Gazetteer |
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Carte de France. Levee par ordre du Roy. (1750-1815), Cassini family; Cassini, Cesar-Francois, 1714-178, Paris,1750 - 1815 David Rumsey Historical Map Collection | Carte de France - The National Survey of France 1750 - 1815
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Suggested Print Resources |
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Bottin des communes: dictionnaire général des communes, principaux hameaux, écarts et lieux-dits; France métropolitan, Union Française d'Outre-Mer. Paris: Didot-Bottin, 1955, c1951. FHL 6053519 and 1440771. |
Doisy, M. Le Royaume de France et les états de Lorraine. Paris: N. Tilliard, 1753. FHL 6312180. |
Kintz, Jean-Pierre. Bas-Rhin: dictionnaire d'histoire administrative et démographique. Paris: CNRS, 1977. |
Oizon, René. Dictionnaire Géographique de la France. Paris: Librairie Larousse. |
Saugrain, l'ainé. Nouveau denombrement du Royaume, par généralitéz [sic], elections, paroisses et feux. Paris: [s.n.], 1720. FHL 0590385. |
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Atlas Historique de la France. Paris: Plon, c1985. |
Saugrain, l'ainé. Nouveau denombrement du Royaume, par généralitéz [sic], elections, paroisses et feux. Paris: [s.n.], 1720. FHL 0590385. |
Sinclair, Stéphane. Atlas de Geographie Historique de la France et de la Gaule de la Conquete Cesarienne a nos jours. Paris: Sedes, 1985. |
Mirot, Léon. Manuel de Géographie Historique de la France. Paris: Picard, 1980. |
Modern Atlases and Maps |
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Barbier, Jean and Nicole Boubounelle, and René Oizon. Atlas departemental / cartes concues et realisees par la Societé Française d'etudes et de realisations cartographiques. Paris: Larousse, c1983. |
Index Atlas de France. Oberthur. |
Michelin Tyre Company, ltd. Michelin Road Atlas of France. New York: Crown Publishers, c1987. |
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Ecclesiastical Directiories |
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Almanach Ecclésiastique de France, pour l'an MDCCCXII [1812]. Paris: Adrien Le Clere, 1812. FHL 0823897. |
Annuaire Catholique de France. Paris: Publicat, 1949-. |
La France Protestant. Valence, France: Imprimeries Réunies, 1970. |
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'Haiti' |
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Britannica Haiti | History, Geography, Map, Population, & Culture | Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Equatorial Guinea |
Haiti- Gazetteer |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Luxembourg' |
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Luxembourg Gazetteer |
EarthWorks-Stanford Luxembourg World Gazetteer Locations, 2006 in EarthWorks (stanford.edu) |
Google Books Preliminary Gazetteer: Luxembourg, Official Standard Names Approved by the ... - Google Books |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Maplandia Luxembourg Region Map: Capellen — Mersch | Luxembourg Google Satellite Maps (maplandia.com) |
'Madagascar' |
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Britannica Madagascar | History, Population, Languages, Map, & Facts | Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Madagascar |
Madagascar- Gazetteer |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Mali' |
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Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Mali |
EarthWorks-Stanford Mali World Gazetteer Locations, 2006 in EarthWorks (stanford.edu) |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Monaco' |
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Britannica Monaco | History, Map, Flag, Population, Royal Family, & Facts | Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Monaco |
VL History |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
World Historical Gazetteer |
'Niger' |
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Britannica Niger | Map, President, Population, Capital, Niamey, & Facts | Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Niger |
Maplandia Niger Map: Agadez — Zinder | Niger Google Satellite Maps (maplandia.com) |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Rwanda' |
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Britannica Rwanda | Religion, Population, Language, & Capital | Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Rwanda |
Rwanda- Gazetteer |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Senegal' |
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Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Senegal |
Senegal- Gazetteer Gazetteer of Senegal: Names Approved by the United States Board on ... - Google Books |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Seychelles' |
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Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Seychelles |
EarthWorks-Stanford Seychelles World Gazetteer Locations, 2006 in EarthWorks (stanford.edu) |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Switzerland' |
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Maplandia Switzerland Map: Espace Mittelland — Zurich | Switzerland Google Satellite Maps (maplandia.com) |
The Journey Through Time- Federal Office of Topography swisstopo Maps of Switzerland - Swiss Confederation - map.geo.admin.ch |
MIT GeoWeb Switzerland World Gazetteer Locations, 2006 - GeoWeb (mit.edu) |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri
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Toponymes.ch |
'Togo' |
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Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Togo |
Fallingrain |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'Quebec' |
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FamilySearch Places |
Canada, Quebec- Gazetteer |
Britannica Quebec | History, Map, Flag, Population, & Facts | Britannica |
Marineregions |
World Historic Gazetteer |
Modern Atlases and Other Resources |
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Geographic Names of Quebec |
Canada Directory |
Programme de Recherche en Démographie Historique A source for maps of 17th and 18th centuries parishes
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'Vanuatu' |
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Britannica |
FamilySearch Map of Vanuatu |
EarthWorks-Stanford Vanuatu World Gazetteer Locations, 2006 in EarthWorks (stanford.edu) |
World Fact Book 1994 University of Missouri |
Marineregions |
'United States-Louisiana' |
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FamilySearch |
Britannica Louisiana | History, Map, Population, Cities, & Facts | Britannica |
Marineregions |
HomeTownLocator Louisiana Gazetteer: Maps, Data for 1,613 locations (hometownlocator.com) |
World Historical Gazetteer |
'World' |
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Internet Archive |
Fuzzy Gazetteer |
FamilySearch Places Map |
Marineregions |
Britannica |