As an enthusiast from childhood, I have worked on my family’s ancestry for many years.I come from a family of miners, the WATTIER family, which can be found written as WATHIER around 1745 in Bernissart (Belgium – Hainaut province). Like a lot of families at that time who travelled to find work, they followed the coal seams: from Belgium, they went to live first in the Valenciennes area, then near Douai and finally in the region of Bruay en Artois.
In 1993, before setting up as a professional genealogist, I trained with a professional who initiated me in the research of family histories. This enabled me to discover the workings and the wealth of archives.
I have been visiting archive deposits for a number of years (French Departmental, city and library archives), which means I have good knowledge of the research possibilities in each Department.
Although I specialise in research north of Paris: Nord (59), Pas de Calais (62), Oise (60), Somme (80), Aisne (02), Marne (51), Ardenne (08) and Seine Maritime (76), I also carry out investigations in the whole of France on request.
Living close to Belgium, my research very often takes me across the border: Tournai, Ghent, Mons, Brussels, Courtrai, Bruges, Namur, Liège, etc…. And I translate the certificates into Flemish.
My office opened in 2007 and, with my knowledge of the archives as well as local and regional history, I am at your disposal to answer all your questions of a genealogical or historical nature.
I am member of Chambre des Généalogistes Professionnels (CGP – Paris) since 2011 : http://www.cgpro.org
I am member of Association of Professional Gesnealogists : APG https://www.apgen.org