Index of Voter Lists in Constantine (Algeria) and its District in 1880
Based on Document No. AL/CO-174 of
The Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
Mathilde A. Tagger
tagger @ actcom.co.il
France conquered Algeria in 1830. From an administrative point of view Algeria became integral part of France and was divided in 3 districts (departments): Oran, Algiers and Constantine. The Constantine District covered the north-eastern part of the country.
The Jews of Algeria got the French nationality including full civil rights with the promulgation of the Crémieux Decree in 1870. In view of elections to the French Government to be held on February,15 1880, the Jewish communities of Constantine and sixteen other localities of the District prepared lists of voters, all written in a single register found at the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) in Jerusalem, as a part of the Constantine Jewish community records. The localities for which voters' lists exist, are: Ain Beida, Ainsanna, Batna, Biskra, Bone (now called Annaba), Bordj-Bou-Arrerig, Bougie(now Bejaia), Guelma, La Calle (now El Kala), Oued Zenati, Philippevile (now Skikda), Saint Arnaud (now El Eulma), Sétif, Souk Ahras, Tebessa.
The 1780 voters are all men, except four widows. The alphabetical index is based on these lists and includes: the voters' surname and given name, sometimes their father's name, their age and occupation. According to the French law voters being at least 21 years old, one can assume that they all where family heads.
Remarks about the name spellings
1. The official language in Algeria being then French, OU is used instead of U and CH for SH.
2. Sometimes in the middle of the name, there is a double letter and sometimes not, like ALOUCHE and ALLOUCHE.
3. Some surnames beginning with H are found with or without H like: HALIMI and ALIMI.
4. Names beginning with the guttural sound KH that doesn't exist in French, are found with a KH or with only a K like KHAROUBY or KAROUBY.
5. A surname can be found as such but also with a prefix like A, Ben, Bou, El, Cohen, Le, Levy like ABOULKER or BOULKER, ADDA or COHEN ADDA etc.
