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A GENEALOGICAL HANDBOOK OF GERMAN RESEARCH |
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Acknowldegements
Chapter 1 Historical And Geographical
Chapter 2 Emigration Before 1800
Chapter 3 Emigration After 1800
Chapter 4 Determining The Place Of Origin L.d.s. Sources
Chapter 5 Determining The Place Of Origin U.S. Sources
Chapter 6 Determining The Place Of Origin European Sources
Chapter 7 Analyzing Surnames And Place Names
Chapter 8 Locating The Parish
Chapter 9 Determining The Present Name Of Localities
Chapter 10 Conducting An Area Search
Chapter 11 Record Repositories
Chapter 12 Naming Practices (patronymics And Occupational)
Chapter 13 Naming Practices (farm And Locality)
Chapter 14 Handwriting And Terminology Beginning
Chapter 15 Handwriting And Terminology Intermediate
Chapter 16 Handwriting And Terminology Advanced
Chapter 17 Feast Days And Calendars
Chapter 18 Finding A Birth Record
Chapter 19 Finding A Marriage Record
Chapter 20 Finding A Death Record
Chapter 21 Corresponding For Records
Chapter 22 German Genealogical And Family Organizations
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Appendix F
Index
Using the year 1800 as a division date is not done arbitrarily. This is a natural date to use because it marked the separation of two major immigration periods. Emigration out of Germany was on the decrease at this time. This was due primarily to the influence of revolutions in America, France, and other countries and the hope that it would carry over into Germany as well.
An understanding of the reasons for and the causes of the movements of the German people can be useful in determining the general or possibly the specific place that they came from. This was true regardless of whether they were migrating from one place to another within Germany or emigrating from Germany to another country such as England, America, or Russia.
The earliest known migration movements in Germany go back between the third and the eighth centuries. These concerned the movements of the Goths, Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Franks, Lombards and the Burgunds (see Fig. 2A), some scholars attribute this movement to what the Germans called “wanderlust.” Simply translated, it means a desire to travel or wander. However, there was actually more to it than just wanderlust. This westward movement of the Germanic tribes was primarily due to the conflicts with the Slavic tribes in the east. The Slavic tribes were making every effort to expand their kingdoms westward. This lasted until about the year 800 when Charlemagne stopped the westward movement of the Slavs and began an eastward expansion of his own kingdom.
Fig. 2A: Movements of the Goths, Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Franks, Lombards and the Burgunds
In the middle ages, the movement of Germans was somewhat limited to merchants and craftsmen who traveled the Hanseatic and trade routes. Many of these individuals settled in the foreign places and remained there for many generations.
The first actual attempt at establishing a settlement in America was in 1562 when Alsatian and Hessian Protestants settled in what is now South Carolina. This settlement lasted only until 1566 when it was destroyed by the Spanish Menendez. The first permanent German settlement did not come until 1683 when a group of pietists from the German Palatinate (Pfalz) area came to America on the ship “Concord” and settled Germantown, Pennsylvania.
The next major group of immigrants coming to America was in 1708 when another group from the Palatinate were led by a man by the name of Joshua von Kocherthal. This group went first to England and then to America. In America they settled the city of Neuberg on the Hudson. After this time hundreds of thousands of immigrants went into England and from there they were dispersed into England, Ireland, and Scotland; but the majority of them were sent on to America.
There were three primary reasons for the emigration out of Germany at this time:
Religious persecutions were carried out by both the church and the government. Fifty years after the beginning of the reformation, Lutheranism spread throughout Germany and it looked as though it might eliminate the Catholic church completely. During this time there were many conflicts between Catholics and the Protestants. In 1555 the religious peace of Augsburg was established between the Lutheran and the Catholic churches. This lasted until the Thirty Years' war broke out in 1618. From the mid-1550s on, the Catholic church began launching a counter reformation movement, it began by putting more pressure on the nobility to control heretics within their kingdoms and estates. Because of this, many people were punished, imprisoned, tortured and often killed if they tried to go against the Catholic church. After the Treaty of Westphalia which ended the Thirty Years' war, the Catholic, Lutheran and reformed Lutheran or Calvinist churches were the only churches officially recognized by the existing kingdoms. Others such as the Huguenots, Mennonites and Anabaptists were still persecuted; and this was often done by the recognized Protestant churches as well as the Catholic church.
In Germany there have always been economic problems due to the constant wars and the overcrowded conditions that existed. The worst war by far in regards to the amount of destruction of life, property, and records was the Thirty Years' War from 1618 to 1648. During this time, towns were continually being ravaged and plundered by German as well as foreign armies. In 1707, during the war of the Spanish Succession, the Pfalz area of Germany was destroyed for the fourth time. Many people in this area saw no end to the wars; therefore, they left the area for good. Many migrated to the main kingdom of Bavaria, and many more emigrated to England and America.
Climatic conditions also were factors, causing people to leave a particular area. Extremely cold winters and severe droughts and famines forced them to move to better areas or starve to death. It is no wonder that people did not hesitate to go to America, especially when they were told of the near paradisiacal conditions that existed there.
The political condition of Germany was the third reason for people emigrating. This was because of the despotic methods used by many of the rulers. Often the people were heavily taxed and oppressed in order to support the nobility and to provide for a military force. When enticing tales of the new world were spread around such as being able to worship freely, being free from the threats of war and oppression, and having as much land as they wanted, people could not leave soon enough; and they left by the thousands.
The major problem associated with emigration and immigration before 1800 is determining the exact place of origin in Germany of the emigrant ancestor.
Emigrants during the early to mid-1700s were commonly referred to as Palatines since many of them were from that area in southwest Germany. At this time this area belonged to the kingdom of Bayer (Bavaria) although it was not physically attached to it. Other emigrants, although they were called Palatines, were actually from Alsace-Lorraine, Switzerland, and other areas in southern Germany such as Baden, Rheinland, and Wurttemberg. The following procedures may be helpful in solving the problem of determining the place where the emigrant ancestor was from if he emigrated prior to 1800. (For other aids in determining a place of origin, see Chapters 4, 5 and 6).
Emigration before 1800 was typified by people from the same areas in Germany emigrating together in groups. Those traveling together would often settle in the same areas in America as well. If it is not possible to find some type of local church, civil, or other record in America that would indicate the immigrant's place of birth or origin, then the following suggestions may be of help:
First, your ancestor’s name must be located on a passenger list. There are several excellent sources for this time period. They are:
There are two things that are important about the last two lists. Number one, the lists give the names of those who emigrated to America with your ancestor. Number two, they also give the date of immigration into America.
After locating the name on the passenger list, you should copy the date given and the names of all the other passengers on the list. Again, the church, civil, and other record types in the area where your emigrant ancestor settled in America should be searched; however, this time the search should be made for those whose names were with your ancestor on the passenger list. The records may not have indicated the place where your ancestor was from, but they may give the exact place of one of those who emigrated from the same place in Germany with him.
If it is not possible to find any of those who emigrated with your ancestor in any of the local records or if the records do not give the place of origin for any of them, you should consider
Checking records possibly kept in Germany and made when individuals left the country.
One good example of this would be the manumission records. These records concerned the legal permission given to those desiring to emigrate. There were some who chose to ignore this formality and so these are not complete records of everyone who emigrated. These manumission records were usually kept by district officials within each kingdom. (See Chapter 6 for more detail.)
If your ancestors cannot be found in the manumission records, you may wish to try the German surname books. The surname books or surname etymology books usually trace names back to the time when they were first recorded, giving also the complete name of the person as found in the early record. These books list the place where the name appeared as well as references to variations of that surname. In many instances, German families remained in
The same areas and places for hundreds of years. The following are a few of these surname books:
If an exact place still cannot be determined but the general area or kingdom can be, then you may want to check with the main archives or genealogical societies for possible indexes.
Appendix A in the back of this book is a short bibliography of sources which also may help with this type of problem.
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Copyright 1996, by Larry O. Jensen. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be translated or reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the author. Printed in the U.S.A.
Chapter 2 Emigration Before 1800
Religious Persecutions
Economic and Environmental Conditions
Political Conditions
Yoder, Donald, ed. “Emigrants from Wüerttemberg; The Adolf Gerber lists.” The Pennsylvania German Folklore Society, vol. 10. Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1945. (974.8 C4fg)
Rupp, Israel Daniel. Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss Dutch, French and Other Immigrants in Pennsylvania From 1727 to 1776. 2nd rev. ed. Philadelphia: Leary, Stuart Co., 1927. (974.8 W2ra)
Strassburger, Ralph Beaver. Pennsylvania German Pioneers. Norristown, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934. (974.8 B4pg v. 42- 44)
Each of these works is completely indexed.
Bahlow, Hans. Deutsches Namenlexikon. Munich: Keysersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1967. (Ref 943 D4ba)
Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann. Deutsche Sippennamen. Gorlitz: Verlag fur Sippenforschung und Wappenkunde C.A. Starke, 1936. (Ref 943 d4br pt. 1-2) (Film no. 492,908)
Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann. Etymologisches Worterbuch der Deutschen Familiennamen. Limburg A.D. Lahn: C. A. Starke = Verlag, 1957. (Ref. 943 D4bj)
Using these surname books is only effective when the name is unusual or uncommon. If your ancestor's surname is neither of these, then return again to the passenger list and use those names that are unusual.
[FamilySearchTM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 6/7/2001]
