Being French

Have you ever looked back in your family history to see if you have French blood? I did before I went on study abroad to France and it made my experience abroad even more meaningful. It made me feel a little bit French. Walking through the medieval streets and seeing the great historic sights, I felt more attached. These things I saw weren't just part of textbook history. They were part of my history.

I remember sitting through college courses trying to memorize important figures in French history. Upon further exploring up and down my family tree, I found out that one of my ancestors was Phillipe le Bon, Duc de Bourgogne! (For those who don't know who that was, he was a major figure in the Hundred Years War.) From, there, my line connected back to people like Charlemagne! I also found out that my husband and I share a common ancestor who came to the U.S. from Bretagne in the 1600s. That was a little weird...

I found my French ancestry through new.familysearch.org. It's an awesome website that connects more than a hundred years of genealogy work. The site is run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but anybody can sign up for an account and it's completely free!

So, go find your French ancestors! Finding your connection to France makes studying its language and culture that much more amazing!