Mora, a local name. “When I was a child, I went on vacation to my grandparents in Dax, in the Gond district. Through my research, I even found distant cousins there. » Philippe Mora is 45 years old. Originally from the Rennes region, this mutual employee has research in his blood. A distant memory of his student years.
Research which led him to trace the history of his family – sometimes as far as Quebec – and to want to share his passion with everyone. In January 2024, he created Généalandogie (1), a participatory blog whose first mission is to provide the keys to getting off on the right foot in his genealogical research. Philippe Mora explains in particular how to get started when you don't know how the Departmental Archives work and gives some advice to avoid beginner's mistakes.
“The blog strives to popularize Landes genealogy, as well as the history of our ancestors. I explain how, for example, interarchive loan works. Few people know it, but the Departmental Archives can send microfilms to their counterparts in other departments. The objective of all this is to further democratize research and genealogy in general. There is also a part of collective projects: data sharing, collective tree…”
Witches and werewolves
With his nose in the documents, Philippe Mora seeks to dissect family stories. By trying to find more qualitative information, which provides information beyond simple identity. “What matters to me is how they lived, where, what their family structure was like? There is the civil status, of course, but there are also the military registers or that of mortgages which are mines of information. In the same way as notarial deeds or parish registers. »
Little by little, his research pushes him towards other horizons. The site, which was intended to apply to genealogy, ultimately goes further. And the little family stories give way, over time, to the great history of the Landes. “I am no longer the only author on the blog. We are trying to create a collective where everyone can share their data and information. There is in particular Marc Billard, a former retired history teacher, or Christian Baffoigne, whose family is at the origin of the construction of the Arengosse castle. »
Philippe Mora and his site which allows you to deepen your knowledge of the history of the Landes and Landes families.
P. M.
Their work, which they share on the blog, covers a broad period: witches and werewolves in the Landes, the corsairs of Port-de-Lanne, peasant life under the Ancien Régime, the life of Roger Ducos or Abbot Foix, who is a reference for genealogical research in the Landes. “I also worked on the history of the Jews in the Landes and, as I am interested in the margins of our history, I also wrote articles on women in the history of the department,” concludes Philippe Mora.
(1) genealandogie.wordpress.com
