R E S E A R C H   G U I D A N C E

Germany
Research Outline
   

Table of Contents
Introduction
German Search Strategies
Records At The Family History Library
Familysearch™
The Family History Library Catalog
Archives And Libraries
Biography
Cemeteries
Census
Church Directories
Church History
Church Records
     General Historical Background
     Information Recorded In Church Records
     Locating Church Records
     Search Strategies
Civil Registration
     General Historical Background
     Regional Differences
     Information Recorded In Civil Registers
     Locating Civil Registration Records
Court Records
Directories
Dwellings
Emigration And Immigration
     Finding The Emigrant's Town Of Origin
     Emigration From Germany
     Records Of German Emigrants In Their Destination Countries
Gazetteers
Genealogy
Handwriting
Heraldry
Historical Geography
History
Jewish Records
Land And Property
Language And Languages
Maps
Military Records
     Types Of Military Records
     Foreign Military Service
     Locating Military Records
     Military History
Names, Personal
Naturalization And Citizenship
Newspapers
Nobility
Obituaries
Occupations
Periodicals
Population
Probate Records
Schools
Societies
Other Records
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions

HISTORYLook this term up in the glossary.

Effective family research requires some understanding of the historical events that may have affected your family and the records about them. Learning about wars, governments, laws, migrations, and religious trends may help you understand political boundaries, family movements, and settlement patterns. These events may have led to the creation of records that mention your ancestors, such as land or military documents. Your ancestors will become more interesting to you if you learn about the events that shaped their lives. For example, by using a history you might learn about the events that occurred in the year your great-grandparents were married.

Below are some key dates and events in German history:

1517

Protestant ReformationLook this term up in the glossary.. The first significant non-Catholic religions begin in Germany.

1524

Protestant church records begin in Nürnberg.

1563

Council of TrentLook this term up in the glossary.. Catholic priests are ordered to start keeping baptism and marriage records.

1583

Catholic areas begin using the Gregorian calendarLook this term up in the glossary..

1618-48

Thirty Years' WarLook this term up in the glossary.. Many records are burned.

1622

The Pfalz suffers great destruction in the war.

1683

The first permanent German settlement in the United States is founded at Germantown, Pennsylvania.

1700

The last German Protestant areas finally switch to the Gregorian calendar.

1709

Large numbers of emigrants, called Palatines [Pfälzer], leave the Pfalz region of Germany for England and America.

1722

Austro-Hungarian monarchs begin inviting Germans to settle parts of their empire.

1763

Catherine the Great begins inviting Germans to settle in Russia.

1792

France starts civil registration west of the Rhein. Some church records are interrupted.

1814

Napoleon weakens. German states begin to reorganize under the leadership of Preußen.

1828

Patronymic namingLook this term up in the glossary. is abolished in Schleswig-Holstein (then part of Denmark).

1848

German RevolutionLook this term up in the glossary.. Emigration to the United States increases.

1850

The Hamburg passenger lists begin to document the origins or places of residence of Europeans leaving for the Americas, Africa, and Australia.

1864

Preußen conquers Schleswig-Holstein.

1871

Franco-Prussian War. Elsaß- Lothringen comes under German rule.

1874

Preußen introduces civil registration

1876

Civil registration is required throughout Germany and begins wherever it is not already in effect.

1914-18

World War ILook this term up in the glossary.. Elsaß- Lothringen is returned to France. Northern Schleswig-Holstein returned to Denmark. Posen and parts of Schlesien and Westpreußen are ceded to Poland. Northern tip of Ostpreußen goes to Lithuania.

1939-45

World War IILook this term up in the glossary.. Ostpreußen divided between Poland and Russia. Most of Pommern, Westpreußen, Brandenburg, and Schlesien come under Polish administration.

The Family History Library has many published national, regional, provincial, and local histories for Germany. You can find histories in the Family History Library Catalog under:

EUROPE - HISTORYGERMANY - HISTORYGERMANY, [STATE] - HISTORYGERMANY, [STATE], [TOWN] - HISTORY

The following are only a few of the many historical sources that are available:

Historical Background Affecting Genealogical Research in Germany and Austria. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1977. (FHL book 929.1 G286gs ser. C no. 19; fiche 6000035; computer number 327119.) This work emphasizes religious minorities and emigration.

Detwiler, Donald S. Germany: A Short History. 2nd ed. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1989. (FHL book 943 H2dds; computer number 557580.)

Reinhardt, Kurt Frank. Germany: 2000 Years. Rev. ed. 2 vols. New York: F. Ungar, 1989. (FHL book 943 H2rk; computer number 283736.)


Local HistoriesLook this term up in the glossary.

Local histories describe the settlement of an area and the founding of churches, schools, and businesses in that area. They may contain information about families. Some county and town histories include separate sections or volumes containing biographical information. Even if your ancestor is not listed in a history, information on other relatives may be included and may provide important clues for finding the ancestor. A local history may also suggest other records to search.

A special type of local history book with extensive genealogical information, called a village lineage book [OrtssippenbuchLook this term up in the glossary.], is available for many towns in Germany. For more information about these books, see the “Genealogy” section of this outline.

In addition, local histories should be studied and enjoyed for the background information they can provide about your ancestors' lifestyle and the community and environment in which they lived. The Family History Library has some local histories for towns in Germany, and similar histories are often available at major public and university libraries and archives.

Bibliographies that list local histories are available for most states and provinces of Germany. These are listed in the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

GERMANY - BIBLIOGRAPHYGERMANY, [STATE] - BIBLIOGRAPHYGERMANY - HISTORY - BIBLIOGRAPHYGERMANY, [STATE] - HISTORY - BIBLIOGRAPHY


Calendar Changes

The Gregorian calendarLook this term up in the glossary. is the calendar in common use in the world today. It is a correction of the Julian calendarLook this term up in the glossary. that had been in use since a.d. 46. Leap years were miscalculated in the Julian calendar, so that by 1582 the calendar was ten days behind the solar year.

In 1582 Germany was a collection of small principalities, duchies, city-states, and feudal estates. The new calendar was officially adopted by the Catholic dioceses and states in Germany between 1582 and 1585, but many Protestant states did not accept the new calendar until the 1600s. As a result, there were two different dating systems used in various areas of Germany throughout this time period. In some cases, Catholic and Protestant congregations in the same city may have used different calendars at the same time.

The Gregorian calendar was finally accepted throughout Germany in 1700, when the Protestant commission adopted the new calendar. In that year, 18 February was followed by 1 March.

Feast DatesLook this term up in the glossary.. Date calculation tables are available to convert church feast dates to days of the month (see p. 15 of this outline), but there are separate tables for calculating dates in Julian and in Gregorian years. It is, therefore, important to know the year in which the calendar changed in the area you are searching. You can find a list of over 30 German territories showing exactly when they officially shifted to the Gregorian calendar on pages 317 to 318 of Ribbe's Taschenbuch für Familiengeschichtsforschung (see the “For Further Reading” section of this outline). Individual parishes or villages in a region may have lagged behind the rest of the region in making the change.

Double DatingLook this term up in the glossary.. When an area changed from Julian to Gregorian calendars, the first day of the year changed to 1 January. Before the change, the first day of the year was 25 March. Prechange dates may be confusing. For example, before the change, 24 March 1565 was followed by 25 March 1566. Many researchers record dates between 1 January and 24 March with two years, using a technique called double dating. An example of a prechange date using double dating is 16 February 1573/1574.

French Republican CalendarLook this term up in the glossary.. From 1793 to 1805, many parts of Germany under French control used the French Republican calendar. This calendar was based on the founding of the French Republic, and its days and months were unrelated to the Gregorian calendar. For details see the Family History Library publication French Republican Calendar Research Outline (34046).

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