Archives of Paris civil law notaries (minutes of deeds and client files)

At its Paris site, the Archives nationales holds all the archives of Paris notaries that have been deposited from the end of the 15th century to the middle of the 20th century. This represents millions of documents, classified by notarial study (122 historical studies) and then, within each study, chronologically. A finding aid corresponds to the practice of a notary in the study in question. The records identified so far are largely the result of the research campaigns that have been carried out over the last 50 years. These may be thematic or exhaustive for certain years (1551, 1751, 1761 and 1851). There have been no records relating specifically to women. Their appearance in the records depends on their legal status. They appear when they marry (marriage contract), when they die (will, inventory after death and notarisation), or if they go before a notary once they are widowed. In the modern era, contracts of association or engagements for actresses or musicians are worth mentioning.Powers of attorney, drawn up for family members or confidants who remained abroad, are important documents for identifying migrant women.
The profession mentioned is based on the declaration made to the notary. The statement « without profession » probably does not reflect the social reality, as in many trades (particularly commerce) the wife participated in the development and running of the husband’s business.