Germanic Research for Beginners

Mindy Jacox

The three most common problems faced by all German researchers are: 1) spelling variations in names, 2) identifying the hometown in Germany, and 3) reading the records. Learning these basics will help as you begin researching ancestors in German speaking areas.

Spelling Variations

Spelling variations within German names occur frequently, and therefore we must be aware of how this impacts genealogical research. Spelling variations may be as simple as Schmidt to Schmitt or as complex as Eddinger to Öttiker. It is important to note that spelling variations are almost always natural, logical, and predictable. 1

Common Consonant Alternations

Common Vowel Alternations

Spelling Variations in Place names

Spelling Variations in German Names: Solving Family History Problems Through Applications of German and English Phonetics by Roger P. Minert is a helpful resource to use in order to understand spelling variations in German names and how this impacts genealogical research.

Identifying the German Hometown

Identifying German immigrant origins can be a challenge. The following list provides United States sources as well as German sources that may lead to locating the German hometown of your immigrant ancestor. This list does not represent all the sources that may provide information.

United States Records

Family Records: may include birth, marriage, and death certificates, as well as family bibles, hymn books, prayer books, old letters, postcards, family heirlooms, and interviews with older relatives.

1 Roger P. Minert, Spelling Variations in German Names: Solving Family History Problems Through

Applications of German and English Phoentics (Woods Cross: GRT Publications, 2000).

Church Records: are a valuable source for locating the German immigrant’s hometown. Christenings, marriages, deaths, and burials recorded in church records may provide the German place of origin. Check the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) for church records in the area where your ancestor settled.

German Immigrants in American Church Records edited by Roger P. Minert

This multi-volume collection contains the names of German, Austrian, and Swiss immigrants whose names are included in the records of German-languages churches in the United States; most have home towns in Europe.

Immigration Records: or ship passenger arrival records may provide your immigrant ancestor’s place of birth as well their last residence. Search the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) by U.S. port city to find records.

United States Germans to America Index, 1850-1897 found online at FamilySearch.org

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2110801

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 found online at Ancestry.com

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7488

Ellis Island Arrivals, 22.5 million names to New York between 1892-1924. http://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/passenger

Castle Garden, 10 million immigrants from 1830-1892. http://www.castlegarden.org/

U.S., Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959 found online at Ancestry.com

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8758

Death/Burial/Obituary: Death and burial records may provide information about birthplace, which could lead to the German hometown. Obituaries found in local German-language newspapers may provide information about the immigrant ancestors’ life in Germany, including their hometown. Look in the FHLC for records on the county and state levels.

Naturalization: Naturalization papers (declaration of intent, petition, and certificate) may provide information about German place of origin. Check the FHL catalog for naturalization records in the county your ancestor settled in.

Censuses: Federal census records show the immigrant’s country of birth starting in 1850. They also include the year of immigration in the 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses. State censuses usually provide information about birthplaces too. State and federal census records are available at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.

German Records

Passagierlisten (passenger lists): usually include place of last residence, which is usually the hometown.

Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 found online at Ancestry.com

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1068)

Auswandererlisten, Auswandererakten (emigration lists/records): usually provide the date and place of emigration as well as the place of residence. Search the FHLC by province in order to locate these records. Newspapers: may provide information about individuals moving to the United States, thus providing hometown information.

Historic German Newspapers Online by Ernest Thode lists over 2,000 online German

newspapers, most of which are fully searchable. This is a great resource to locate your German ancestor within Germany.

Reading the Records

Church Records

German church books (Kirchenbücher) contain records made by priests and pastors concerning births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials. Information can include lists of confirmations and family registers. Protestant church records began about 1524 and Catholic records began about 1540. They were kept everywhere in Germany by 1648.

Types of Church Records

Taufregister (christening/baptism registers) and Geburtsregister (birth register) These records include the child’s name and gender; baptism date and/or birthdate; name of mother; name and occupation of father; legitimacy status; names of witnesses or godparents.

Trauregister: marriage registers

These records usually include marriage date and place; residence/ occupation of groom; names of groom’s parents, their residence and fathers’ occupations; name of bride, her age, and names of her parents; occupation of her father; names of witnesses, their residences and occupations; and name of previous spouse if the bride or groom was widowed.

Sterberegister: death registers and Begräbnisse: burial registers

Included in these records is usually the name of the deceased, age at death, cause of death, occupation, date/place of death, and date/place of burial.2

Civil Records (Vital Records)

Civil records include birth, marriage, and death events. Public access is possible for birth records after 100 years, marriage after 80 years, and death after 30 years. Those restrictions do not apply to direct descendants of the person in question.

Key Dates in the History of the Civil Registry in Germany

1798: French Government introduces Civil registry system in the occupied territories.

1814: Most civil registry offices in Germany are closed (not in Rhineland).

1820s: Some counties in southern Germany introduce civil registry offices for marriages.

1840s: Many counties in Germany have civil registry offices for marriages.

1 October 1874: Civil registry offices in all of Prussia.

1 January 1876: Civil registry offices in all of the German Empire.

How to Access Records

Family History Library Catalog: The FHLC is a great resource for accessing German Church and Civil Records. Search the catalog by province, county, and town for available records. https://familysearch.org/catalog/search

Map guide to German parish registers by Kevan M. Hansen is a series that identifies the parish where an ancestor worshipped based on where they lived. It gives the FHL microfilm number for those church records. This series is published by Family Roots Publishing of Orting, WA.

Online Websites

Archion is a growing site that offers digitized church records online for certain German provinces. https://www.archion.de/

Many churches and civil registries now have their own websites, with instructions on how to access their records. To search for websites of civil registries type the name of the town, followed by Standesamt,

2 Shirley J. Riemer, Roger P. Minert, and Jennifer A. Anderson, The German Research Companion

(Sacramento: Lorelai Press, 2010), 322.

meaning “civil registration office”. To locate church websites, type the name of the town, followed by

Pfarramt, meaning “church office”.

Fraktur (typeset)

Gothic (handwritten)

Resources for Help

BYU Script Tutorials: This website offers interactive exercises and guidance in deciphering old handwriting styles and scripts, including Gothic and Fraktur.

http://script.byu.edu

German-English Genealogical Dictionary by Ernest Thode

The best resource for translations of genealogical words from German to English.

Meyers Gazetteer found online at http://meyersgaz.org

This gazetteer of the German Empire is used to locate place names in Germany. Meyer’s is crucial to locating records because it specifies the local civil registry office (look for StdA). It also indicates the existence of churches in the locality.

Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents by Roger P. Minert

This valuable resource serves as a guide to understanding and reading handwriting in German documents.

German genealogical societies: Consider joining a local German genealogical society in order to gain access to great literature as well as experts in the field. For a list of German genealogical societies visit

https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/German_Genealogical_Societies

Bibliography

Hansen, Kevan M. 2004. Map Guide to German Parish Registers. Ortig: Family Roots Publishing.

Minert, Roger P. 2013. Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents: Analyzing German, Latin and French in Historical

Manuscripts. Provo: GRT Publications.

—. 2000. Spelling Variations in German Names: Solving Family History Problems Through Applications of German and English

Phoentics. Woods Cross: GRT Publications.

Minert, Roger P., and Jennifer Anderson. 2004. "Recording German Place Names." Heritage Quest Magazine 20 (4): 56-68. Riemer, Shirley J., Roger P. Minert, and Jennifer A. Anderson. 2010. The German Research Companion. Sacramento: Lorelei Press. Thode, Ernest. 1992. German English Genealogical Dictionary. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company.

—. 2014. Historic German Newspapers Online. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company.