Welcome to Gefrance. Reconnect with your roots and secure your heritage through 30 years of expert archival research across Europe and former colonies.
Since 1995, Philippe Chapelin has been guiding descendants of French, Swiss, and European immigrants in their quest to rediscover their ancestry. As a professional genealogist, his work begins where digital databases end: by immersing himself in original French, Swiss, and Colombian archives to reconstruct family journeys over several centuries.
Our expertise covers a wide range of specialized services, including international heir searches, comprehensive family tree reconstruction, and property and real estate history research. Whether you are looking for lost family members or need to resolve a complex cross-border inheritance, we provide clear, thoroughly documented, and legally usable results for notaries and legal professionals worldwide.
Understanding why your ancestors emigrated or tracing the history of a family estate requires a deep cross-analysis of notary deeds, military records, and colonial civil status. At Gefrance, every project is handled with the same scientific rigor and personalized care, allowing you to reconnect with your heritage—wherever your family’s journey began.
Ready to uncover your family history?
Explore our services or contact us today for a free initial assessment of your project.
The purpose of this option is to carry out a complete study of a last name in France.
This option will allow you to locate a family if it is of French origin and if you don’t know from which region it comes.
This chapter is dedicated to the ancestry of French immigrants.
The genealogical search will be complemented by studies in more specialized sources.
We investigate the origin and history of a property or land for informational or business purposes.
Your company has a history, we help you rebuild it from its foundation.
Tracing Your German Ancestors: Emigration via Le Havre in 1832. Did your German ancestors immigrate to America in the 19th century? Many traveled through French ports like Le Havre. Discover the harsh realities of transatlantic emigration and how expert genealogical research in French administrative archives can uncover your family’s journey.
Explore the 170-year history of Balthazard & Cotte, a leader in lime production in Grenoble. Expert Philippe Chapelin reveals their industrial and family legacy through specialized archives.
Wyber: A Scottish Publisher in Paris (1816). Despite the Napoleonic wars, British entrepreneurs flourished in the French capital during the early 19th century. Discover the professional methodology (by Philippe Chapelin) used to trace John Lewthwaite Wyber’s journey from Edinburgh to the heart of the Parisian publishing world.
Each year, I personally handle many cases for families and legal professionals who wish to rediscover their roots or resolve complex cross-border successions.
My work keeps me in constant contact with notaries, lawyers and families across France, Switzerland and Colombia. What drives me is the ability to combine deep archival research with practical, concrete solutions.
— Philippe Chapelin —
