Germany Vital Records Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
This collection includes the years 1558 through 1958.

Record Description
This index is an electronic database of information compiled from a variety of sources including the following: This index is not complete for any particular place or region.
 * Family Records
 * Church Records
 * Civil Registration

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found in birth or christening index entries may include:


 * Name of the child
 * Gender
 * Names of the parents
 * Birth date
 * Birthplace
 * Christening date (if the source is a church record)
 * Family History Library Microfilm and item numbers for the source materials

The key genealogical facts found in marriage index entries may include:


 * Name of bride and groom
 * Names of the parents
 * Marriage date
 * Marriage place
 * Family History Library Microfilm and item numbers for the source materials

The key genealogical facts found in death or burial index entries may include:


 * Name of the deceased
 * Gender
 * Names of the parents
 * Name of the spouse (if married)
 * Death or burial date
 * Death or burial place
 * Family History Library Microfilm and item numbers for the source materials

Coverage Table
This collection is a partial index of records for the localities listed below as of April 2010. The table below shows the number of records by locality. Localities not listed may not have any records in this collection.

Most of these records date from the time period indicated in the columns below; however, there may be records before and after these dates. Record counts where the locality information was incomplete are included below under the country name. Because of this, you may wish to search only by country.

As this is an index of records compiled from various sources, it is strongly recommended that you verify the information in original records. Due to privacy laws not all records may be displayed.

How to Use the Record
Use this index to help you learn more about your ancestors. The information could help you identify family relationships and lineages as well as direct you to original records of your ancestors, which may contain additional information.

In birth or christening records, if a surname is not listed for the child, the indexer often assigns the father’s surname to the child. This surname may not be correct. So if you are looking for a birth or christening, search by the given name of the child, adding parents' names and as much locality information as is permitted.

Record History
For over 30 years, volunteer indexers extracted this information from microfilm copies of the original records. In 2000, some of the entries were published on 8 CDs by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the “Western Europe Vital Records Index: Germany Region.” This index is an index of the births or christenings; marriages; and deaths or burials throughout Germany. The index is not necessarily complete for any particular place or region.

Why This Record Was Created
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsored the indexing of this collection to help individuals find information about their ancestors.

Record Reliability
Church records and civil registration were official records and are some of the most reliable sources of information available for those who were born, married, or died in Germany.

Related Web Sites
This section of the article is incomplete. You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying links to related websites here.

Related Wiki Articles
Germany Civil Registration

Know Issues With This Collection
B.A.: Place names containing the letters B.A., i.e. B.A. Germersheim and B.A. Kandel, were mislabled during extraction as coming from Bayern (Bavaria). B.A. is derived from the Bistrumsarchieve (BA) of Trier, Rheinland-Pfalz which housed this collection. Therefore Germersheim and Kandel are located in Rheinland-Pfalz and not Bavaria.

Sources of Information for This Collection
"Germany Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/). Index entries derived from digital copies of originals housed in various repositories throughout Germany.

"Germany Marriages, 1558-1929," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/). Index entries derived from digital copies of originals housed in various repositories throughout Germany.

"Germany Deaths and Burials, 1582-1958," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/). Index entries derived from digital copies of originals housed in various repositories throughout Germany.

Each entry in this index has a source listed. The index may be a compilation of records from a variety of sources, including the following:


 * Family Records
 * Church Records
 * Civil Registration

We welcome your assistance in adding source citation information for individual archives when collection data was collected from various sources or archives. The format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection:

 * Germany Births and Baptisms, 1559-1898. digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org): February 3,2011). Baptism of Maria Schultz, 19 March 1739, Katholisch, deislingen, schwarzwaldkreis, Wuerttemberg, Germany, film number 1043918.
 * Germany Marriages, 1558-1929. digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org): February 3, 2011). Marriage of Joannes Josephus Lebersorg and Annnae Mariae Riser, 21 January 1808, Cochem, Rheinland, Preuben, Germany. file number 532143.