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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
Determining accurate dates is an important aspect of genealogical research, but confusion can result if you do not understand the various dating systems that were used in Germany.
Depending on the area of research and on the time period, you can encounter several different methods of dating.
The earliest one used in Germany that we need to be concerned about was the Julian calendar, established by the Roman emperor, Julius Caesar, in 46 B.C. it was this calendar that established 12 months in the year, with three years of 365 days and a leap year with 366 days. The problem was that the calendar year was longer than the solar year. By the year 1500 this had resulted in 10 days too many.
In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII established the Gregorian calendar. This calendar dropped the 10 extra days, retained every fourth year as a leap year and in the case of century years (1700, 1800, etc.), he made each of them leap years except those that were divisible by 400, and these were just regular years. In this way the extra days were prevented from accumulating as they had in the Julian calendar.
The Catholics were about the only ones that accepted the Gregorian calendar when it was first established. The majority of the Protestants did not accept it until the 1600s and 1700s. Because of this, there were two different dating systems throughout Germany at that time. In some areas you may find double dates being recorded or find one system being used in one type of record and another system being used in a different type of record in doing research, you should try to determine when the change from the Julian to the Gregorian took place. This should be done according to the geographical area and whether they were Catholics or Protestants.
Fig. 17A shows the time periods in the individual German lands when the Gregorian calendar was established.
One problem associated with determining exact dates had to do with what was regarded as the first of the year. In some areas December 25 or Christmas was used. Many areas used January 1 or the circumcision of Jesus, but most areas used March 25 or the annunciation as the first of the year.
Some problems that you may encounter are dates such as the following:
The Romans established the names for the months as we have them today, but in the 800s Charlemagne established Germanic names for the months. In many areas of Germany, these names were used throughout the 1600s and 1700s. Fig. 17B is a list of these names.
Charlemagne was not the only one to change names of months. During the French revolution, Napoleon established the French calendar, which not only changed the names of the months but changed the whole year also, at the end of 1805 Napoleon abolished this calendar. Fig. 17C is a copy of the French calendar. This calendar was divided up into 12 months of 30 days each. The remaining 5 or 6 days were called complimentary days and were added to the end of the year.
Ostfriesland (western part of Hannover) was under Dutch rule at the time of napoleon. During the time of the French calendar, the Dutch would not use the French names for the months. Instead, they established their own names as given in Fig. 17D. Because of the Dutch rule over the Ostfriesland area of Germany, it is possible to find records in which this dating system was used.
There were two types of feast days:
1. Fixed Feast Days = those that occurred on the same date each year
2. Movable Feast Days = those that occurred on the same day of the week, usually Sunday, so that each year the date changed.
Figures 17E and 17F show some examples of the different types of feast days. A complete listing of fixed and movable feast days is the following book:
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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 17 Feast Days and Calendars
Fig. 17A
Augsburg
13-24 February 1583
Baden
16-27 November 1583
Bayern
5-16 October 1582
Cleve (Duchy)
17-28 November 1582
Danzig
1582
Eichstatt
5 - 16 October 1583
Freiburg
11 - 22 January 1584
Friesland
31 December 1700 - 12 January 1701
Hildesheim
15 - 26 March 1631
Koln
3 - 14 November 1583
Lausitz
12 - 23 November 1584
Lothringen
9 - 20 December 1582
Mainz
11 - 22 November 1583
Minden
1630
Munster
17 - 28 November 1583
Osnabruck
1624
Paderborn
16- 27 June 1585
Pfalz-Neuburg
13 - 24 December 1615
Preussen
22 August - 2 September 1612
Regensburg
5 - 16 October 1583
Strassburg (Diocese)
16 - 27 November 1583
Strassburg (City)
5 - 16 February 1632
Trier
4- 15 October 1583
Westfalen (Duchy)
1 - 12 July 1584
Worzburg
4 - 15 November 1583
First of the Year
These two dates are not in July or August but rather September and October. September means seventh and when March was considered the first month, the seventh month was September. In like manner Octo means eighth, Novem means ninth, and Decem means tenth. The last two months of the year were January and February. Eventually, however, the areas changed and January was made the first month.
23 7bris or 14 viiibris
Names for Months
Fig. 17B
January - Hartung
July - Heuert
February - Hornung
August -Ernting
March- Lenzing
September - Scheidling
April- Ostermond
October - Gilbhard
May - Maien
November - Nnebelung
June - BrachetMay -Maien
December- Chrjstmond
Fig. 17C
Converting from French to Gregorian
French Republic date
= 19 Nivose An (YEAR) VI
1 Nivose
= 21 December 1797
Counting the 21 As1 add
+ 18
39
Less days in December
- 31
Gregorian date
= 8 January 1798
Dutch Calendar Months
Fig. 17D
Louwmaand
-January
Hooimaand
- July
Sprokkelmaand
-February
Oogstmaand
- August
Lentemaand
- March
Herfstmaand
- September
Grasmaand
- April
Wijnmaand
- October
Bloeimaand
- May
Slachtmaand
- November
Zomermaand
- June
Wintermaand
- December
Feast Days
Bennett, Archibald F. A Guide For Genealogical Research. 2nd ed. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints, 1956. (929.1 B439g) (Film no. 599,650 Item 2)
This book has tables on pages 326 to 334 which can be used to convert dates from the Julian to the Gregorian calendars and for converting feast dates into calendar dates.
Fixed Feast Days
Fig. 17E
Circumcision of Jesus
1 January
Annunciation of Mary
25 March
Transfiguration of Jesus
6 August
Assumption of Mary
15 August
All Saints
1 November
Christmas
25 December
Movable Feast Days
Fig. 17F
Ash Wednesday
seventh Wednesday before Easter
Easter Sunday
first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21.
Pentecost
seventh Sunday after Easter
Trinity
first Sunday after Pentecost
[FamilySearchTM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 6/7/2001]
