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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

CENSUSLook this term up in the glossary.

A census is a count and description of the population. A few censuses have been taken by the various German states, provinces, or cities and by some ecclesiastical officials. Censuses were taken primarily for taxation or military purposes.

German censuses may not be as helpful as censuses from other countries because better sources, such as church records and civil registration, are available for Germany.

Censuses were not taken nationally in Germany and therefore exist for only a limited number of places and times. Only the compiled statistical information that was gathered from the censuses is generally available. Census records of some towns and regions may be accessible at various archives, but most are presently not available to researchers.

Use census information carefully since accurate information may not have been given to or understood by the census taker.


Census Records at the Family History Library

The census records of several areas have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library. The 1819 census of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and various census records for Schleswig-Holstein are the most significant censuses available at the library.

Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The library has the 1819 census on 60 rolls of microfilm, but the 1860 census is not available. The 1819 census gives information about all those who lived in a particular household, including age, sex, birthplace, parish to which the birthplace belongs, marital status, and occupation. It also gives the length of residency and some additional comments. The census is arranged by district and city, and records are available for almost every town in Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

An index to the 1819 census is:

Schubert, Franz. Mecklenburg-Schwerin Volkszählung 1819: Register der Familiennamen. Berlin; Göttingen: Ditterich: Im Selbstverlag, 1981-1986. 2 vols. in 5. (FHL book 943.17 B4s ser. 4.) The indexes are bound at the back of each volume.

This census is listed in the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

GERMANY, MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN - CENSUS

Schleswig-Holstein. Denmark ruled all of Schleswig- Holstein, including Lübeck and parts of Hamburg and Oldenburg, until 1864. Denmark took several censuses of this area. The first census was made in 1769, and subsequent censuses were taken in 1801, 1803, 1834, 1835, 1840, 1845, 1850, 1855, and 1860. The censuses are written in either German or Danish, sometimes with both on the same page. The information contained in the censuses varies according to which year it was taken:

  • 1769. This census names the head of each household and the number of people in the house, grouped by age and sex.
  • 1801-1860. Censuses taken from 1801 to 1860 list each person's name, residence, position in the family, age, marital status, and occupation.
  • 1845 and later censuses. From 1845 on, each census also lists birthplace, the parish of the birthplace, and the length of residency at the census place.

These censuses are microfilmed but not indexed. They are arranged by district and city. These census records are listed in the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

GERMANY, PREUßEN, SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN - CENSUS

The Family History Library has some less significant census records from a number of other German states. These are listed in the Locality Search of the catalog under:

GERMANY, [STATE] - CENSUS


Searching Census Records

When searching census records, remember the following:

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