Daily Ancestortémoins
Témoins means "witnesses" in French (témoin, one witness); they are the people named as present at a marriage, burial or civil record.
The Council of Trent required the priest to write down the names and homes of the marriage witnesses. Burial entries also list witnesses. Older scribes often wrote tesmoins, with an s.
From 1736 French law required witnesses to sign, make a cross, or state that they could not sign. A witness who signed shows literacy; one who could not usually appears with qui ont déclaré ne savoir signer.
As seen in a recordMarriage entry in a Catholic parish register, Quebec, 1860s
Témoins: Jérôme Lagrandeur, frère, et Narcisse Tremblaye, ami de l'époux, lesquels ont signé
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How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "témoins." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/french/temoins. Last checked 2026-10-28.