Geographical Dictionaries, Maps, & Archival Guides
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.
Geographical Resources for 'Belguim' | ||||
Google Books | Belgium- Gazetteer Belgium; official standard names approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (familysearch.org) | Places in the World Places in Belgium - find information on all places in Belgium - Belgium.Places-in-the-world.com | ||
Geographical Resources for 'Benin' | |||
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) | Marineregions |
Geographical Resources for 'Burkina Faso' | ||||
Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Burkina Faso | Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)- Gazetteer | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Burundi' | ||||
Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Burundi | Burundi Gazetteer Burundi : official standard names approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (familysearch.org) | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Cameroon' | ||||
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) | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Canada' | ||||
Gazetteer of Canada | FamilySearch Wiki | FamilySearch | The Canadian Geographical Names Database About the Canadian Geographical Names Database (nrcan.gc.ca) | |
Geographical Resources for 'Chad' | ||||
Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Chad | Google Books Chad: Official Standard Names Approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Ivory Coast' | ||||
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 |
Geographical Resources for 'Democratic Republic of Congo' | ||||
Britannica Democratic Republic of the Congo | Culture, History, & People | Britannica | FamilySearch Map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Republic of the Congo- Gazetteer | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Djiboutie' | ||||
FamilySearch Map of Djiboutie | Google Books Gazetteer of Djibouti: Names Approved by the United States Board on ... - Google Books | Marineregions | ||
Geographical Resources for 'Equatorial Guinea' | ||||
Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Equatorial Guinea | Google Maps World Gazetteer Equatorial Guinea – Google Maps World Gazetteer & Google Driving Directions (worldrouteplanner.com) | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'France' | ||||
Online Resources | ||||
Conseil National De L'information Geographique | FamilySearch | Hathi Trust- Gazetteer Catalog Record: A gazetteer of France : containing every... | HathiTrust Digital Library | CommunesGenWeb-Gazetteer | 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 |
Suggested Print Resources | ||||
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. |
| 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 | ||||
| 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. | |
Ecclesiastical Directiories | ||||
| 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. | |
Geographical Resources for 'Haiti' | ||||
Britannica Haiti | History, Geography, Map, Population, & Culture | Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Equatorial Guinea | Haiti- Gazetteer | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Luxembourg' | ||||
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 | Maplandia Luxembourg Region Map: Capellen — Mersch | Luxembourg Google Satellite Maps (maplandia.com) | |
Geographical Resources for 'Madagascar' | ||||
Britannica Madagascar | History, Population, Languages, Map, & Facts | Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Madagascar | Madagascar- Gazetteer | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Mali' | ||||
Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Mali | Marineregions | ||
Geographical Resources for 'Monaco' | ||||
Britannica Monaco | History, Map, Flag, Population, Royal Family, & Facts | Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Monaco | Marine Gazeteer | World Historical Gazetteer | |
Geographical Resources for 'Niger' | ||||
Britannica Niger | Map, President, Population, Capital, Niamey, & Facts | Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Niger | Maplandia Niger Map: Agadez — Zinder | Niger Google Satellite Maps (maplandia.com) | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Rwanda' | ||||
Britannica Rwanda | Religion, Population, Language, & Capital | Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Rwanda | Rwanda- Gazetteer | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Senegal' | ||||
Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Senegal | Senegal- Gazetteer Gazetteer of Senegal: Names Approved by the United States Board on ... - Google Books | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Seychelles' | ||||
Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Seychelles | EarthWorks-Stanford Seychelles World Gazetteer Locations, 2006 in EarthWorks (stanford.edu) | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Switzerland' | ||||
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) | Toponymes.ch | |
Geographical Resources for 'Togo' | ||||
Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Togo | Fallingrain | Marineregions | |
Geographical Resources for 'Quebec' | ||||
FamilySearch Places | Canada, Quebec- Gazetteer | Britannica Quebec | History, Map, Flag, Population, & Facts | Britannica | Marineregions | World Historic Gazetteer |
Modern Atlases and Other Resources | ||||
| Geographic Names of Quebec | Canada Directory | Programme de Recherche en Démographie Historique A source for maps of 17th and 18th centuries parishes | |
Geographical Resources for 'Vanuata' | ||||
Britannica | FamilySearch Map of Vanuatu | Marineregions | ||
Geographical Resources for 'United States- Louisiana' | ||||
FamilySearch | Britannica Louisiana | History, Map, Population, Cities, & Facts | Britannica | Marineregions | HomeTownLocator Louisiana Gazetteer: Maps, Data for 1,613 locations (hometownlocator.com) | World Historical Gazetteer |
Geographical Resources for 'World' | ||||
Internet Archive | Fuzzy Gazetteer | FamilySearch Places Map | Marineregions | Britannica |