German Record Sources

Eastern European Research Workshop Salt Lake City, UT Milan Pohontsch, AG

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German Record Sources

Sources for Localities (2 nd hour workshop) Sources for Ancestral Records German Record Types Language-Related Sources Miscellaneous Sources 2

Sources for Ancestral Records

FamilySearch / Family Tree Microfilm / microfiche Publications Societies Private websites Parishes Archives German newspaper obituaries – not useful for genealogy 3

FamilySearch (Family Tree) 4

New FamilySearch (Family Tree) 5

Microfilm / microfiche through catalog of FamilySearch.org

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Publications Family History Library Local libraries / archives FirstSearch WorldCat – get it through Inter Library Loan Universities Amazon.com

Societies 7

Ortsfamilienbücher = Village lineage books (one-place studies) 8

Geschlechterbücher = Lineage books 9

Biographies / Biographical indexes 10

Der Schlüssel [= The Key] Contains an index of all in Germany published genealogical periodicals since 1950, including titles, subject index, town name index, and family name index (only family names mentioned in titles) Lists the libraries that own these individual Periodicals Vol. 9 includes indexes for specific periodicals back to 1866 • • A problem solver when searching a specific area Only available in German and for areas in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland Familiengeschichtliche Quellen [= Family History Sources] 11

Societies Regional information sources 12

Private websites (English and German) 13

Archives in Germany Church archives and repositories Parishes Catholic archives Lutheran archives Archives of religious communities State archives and repositories Public archives Staatsarchiv Staatsfilialarchiv Civil registry offices Municipal offices Online archives (German records in Czech archives) Many archives in Poland have also German records – not online 14

Parishes in Germany 15

Church archives and repositories List of church archives (Lutheran and catholic) under http://forum.genealogy.net

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State archives and repositories 17

Civil registry offices and municipal offices 18

German Record Types

Types in German

Parish records Parish transcripts Civil registry records Kirchenbücher Kirchenbuchduplikate Standesamtunterlagen

start about

1500 1500 1874 Birth certificates Census records Certificates of residence Citizenship records City directories City records Civil records Court and police matters Death certificates Emigration / Immigration Geburtsbriefe Volkszählungen Heimatschein Bürgerbücher Hauslisten Stadtbücher Amtsbücher Gerichts- u. Polizeisachen Todesscheine Auswanderungs- / Einwanderungssachen 1800 1600 1700 1300 1600 1200 1200 1400 1800 1600 19

German Record Types

Types

(cont.)

in German

Employment matters Guild records Land records Marriage certificates Military records Move in/out registers Newspapers Passenger lists Arbeitssachen Zunftbücher Grundbücher Heiratsurkunden Militärurkunden Umzugsmeldungen Zeitungen Passagierlisten Probate, testament, inheritance Testamente School records Schulverzeichnis Serf records Tax records Untertanenurkunde Steuern Vaccination records Welfare matters Impflisten Armen und Wohltätigkeitssachen And many more ..…

start about

1800 1300 1400 1700 1400 1700 1730 1850 1200 1600 1600 1200 1800 1600 20

Example of a sale of recently inherited goods from a wife to her husband and her two sons for the token price of 16 Groschen (today abt. $ 200) Page 1 of 3 Page 2 of 3 21

Language-Related Sources

Dictionaries German - English – German Latin – English Local dialects – German Google Translate German thesaurus (Deutsches Wörterbuch) Wikipedia Search engines 22

Dictionaries German-English–German via http://dict.leo.org/ Latin–English via http://archives.nd.edu/latgramm.htm

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Google Translate Includes some older German terms (but not all), via http://translate.google.com/ 24

German thesaurus = Deutsches Wörterbuch / Synonymwörterbuch Free online version via http://woerterbuchnetz.de/DWB/ Based on a thesaurus created by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Largest German thesaurus (33 vols.) 25

Wikipedia in German via http://www.wikipedia.de/ 26

German search engines vs. U.S. based search engines 27

Miscellaneous Sources

Weights and measures Name databases German letter writing guide Word lists (German, Latin) Numbers, symbols 28

Weights and measures 1 Prussian cubit = 2 ft., 2 inch 1 Prussian Morgen = 150.894 sq.ft.

1 Malter 1 Zentner = 32.995 gal.

= 110.23 pound 29

Name databases German first names via http://www.firstname.de/html/index.html

German surnames via http://christoph.stoepel.net/ geogen/en/Default.aspx

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German letter writing guide 31

Word lists for German and Latin (for ecclesiastical and civil sources) acc.

accepi, acceptus aff.

affinis a.m. ante meridiem ak.

ba.

bapt.

Bez.

b.m.

baptizatus beatae memoriae ca.

Cat.

ca.

cop.

c.a.e.d

Catastro circa copulate civil act eodem die den.

eod.

denatus eodem angenommen verwandt vormittag, früh altkatholisch baptistisch getauft Bezirk seligen Angedenkens calvinistisch Verzeichnis etwa verheiratet standesamtliche Trauung am selben Tag gestorben derselbe accepted (paternity) related morning Old Catholic Baptist baptized canton, region, area in glorified memory of Calvinistic (Reformed) register, index circa, approximately married civil marriage on the same day dies the same (date, person) 32

Additional Sources for Words Extensive German words without abbreviations see: https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/German_Word_List 33

Word lists for old German professions

Trades: Leather

Kürschner; Furriers distinguished from tanners through their knowledge of special techniques they used for preservation and beauty of furs Belzner, Pelser, Pelzer, Pelzner, Pelzmacher, Pilsmeker, Pilzer, Pölter, Pelzer, Bältzer, Pelzhändler, Corsener, Girschner, Gurschner, Kierschner, Kirschner, Kirsner, Körschner, Körsenwerchte, Körsenwerte, Körsenwerte, Korssenmeister, Körtzener, Körzener, Kürsner, Kürsener, Kurschner, Kursener, Bondmacher, Bontfoderer, Bontmecker, Bundmacher, Bundfutter, Bundfutterer, Buntfutterer, Buntfoder, Buntfoderer, Buntmacher, Buntmaker, Buntmützer, Buntschneider, Buntsnider, Buntwerker, Buntwörter, Fellbereiter, Feller, Fellhauer, Fellwerkbereiter, Fellhändler; other terms including Latin terms: Fechner, Kulitze, Pellifex, Pellificator, Pellio, Wildwerker 34

Numbers in German Numerical numbers 1 2 eins zwei, zwo, zwa 3 drei … … … … … … 2000 zweitausend Ordinal numbers erste (-r, -s) zweite (-r, -s) dritte (-r, -s) … … zweitausendste (-r, -s) Eighteen hundred and thirty [and] five Am 3. Dezember des Jahres achtzehnhundertundfünfunddreißig wurde das dritte Kind zweiter Ehe des Georg Mayer getauft ……… On the 3 rd December 1835 was baptized the 3 rd of Georg Mayer …..

child of the 2 nd marriage 35

Numbers in Latin Numerical numbers 1 2 I II 3 III … … … … 2000 MM unus, una, unum duo, duae tres … … duo millia Ordinal numbers primus, prima, primum secundus (-a, -um), alter tretius (-a, -um) … … bis millesimus 1648 = MDCXLVIII 1722 = MDCCXXII Conversion program via http://www.novaroma.org/via_romana/numbers.html

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Weekday symbols (planetary symbols) Sunday

(Sun)

Thursday

(Jupiter)

Monday Friday

(Moon) (Venus)

Tuesday

(Mars)

Saturday

(Saturn)

Wednesday

(Mercury) 37

Birth Baptism

General symbols

Death Marriage Burial 38

Former German calendar names English January February March April May June July August September October November December German (15 th -18 th century) Jänner (still used) Hornung Lenzing, Lenzmonat Ostermonat Wonnemonat Brachmonat Heumonat Erntemonat Herbstmonat Weinmonat Wintermonat Christmonat, Julmonat German (9 th -15 th century) Wintermanoth Hornung Lenzinmanoth Ostarmanoth Wunnimanoth Brachmanoth Hewimanoth Aranmanoth Witumanoth Windumanoth Herbistmanoth Heilagmanoth Charlemayene Hartung Hornung Lenzing Ostermond Wonnemond Brachmond (Brachet) Heuert Ernting Scheiding Gilbhard Nebelung Christmond 39

Conversion from Julian to Gregorian calendar

Subtract 11 days the 4 th Oct. 1583 was followed by the 15 th Oct. 1583.

Which calendar was used depends on the area and on the religion Alsace and Lorraine switched back and forth five times in history Poland was the first one (Oct. 4, 1582), Russia last (in some remote areas as late as 1920) In Germany switched every duchy and principality between 1582 and 1760 Calculator via http://www.csgnetwork.com/ julianmanycalconv.html 40

Conversion from Julian to Gregorian calendar

(cont.) Contains: Julian and Gregorian calendars (incl. calendar indexes) Church calendar Roman calendar French Republican calendar Quaker calendar Dating by year of reign 41

Any last

Questions?

for today

Questions are guaranteed in life; answers aren’t.

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