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Partners and Sites: FamilySearch Ancestry MyHeritage | Websites: FS Wiki GenealogyLinks
Germany StatesGoal 3: Learn to use German church, religious, and cemetery records.
Choices
ALearn about German church records.
- Introduction: Learn about Germany church records in these articles.
FS—Wiki: Germany Church Records
MH Wiki—Church Records in Germany - Learn about German church records on FamilySearch.
German Church Records on FamilySearch—61:06 - 2019
FS—German Church Records and How to Use them on FamilySearch - 2019 - Records: Watch this video for tips on finding and using German church records.
AAC—Finding and Using German Church Records—7:10 - Explore the Churches section of the German Research Websites page for additional information.
- Learn about the research clues you can get from tracing godparents.
PR—Godparents Provide Clues in German Research - Archion.de: Learn about the Archion.de website and its Protestant church record resources.
FS—Archion—6:48 (German) - 2018
RT—Finding Your German Protestant Ancestors With Archion—16:43 - 2022
- Pomerania: Learn how to find church and civil records in the province of Pomerania.
FS—Searching for Pomerania (Pommern), Germany Church and Civil Records Using Pommerscher Greif—5:19
Parishes
- Learn how to find German parish records.
FS—Map Guide to German Parish Registers, Part 1 - 2016
FS—Map Guide to German Parish Registers, Part 2 - 2016 - Explore Protestant parish registers on the EZA site. For tips on getting started with parish research, click here.
- Explore the
Matricula Online site for locations of German parishes. - Church & Town: Learn about connections between German church and town records.
FS—German Church Records and Beyond—62:34 - 2017
German Ortsfamilienbücher (town family books)
Jewish
- Learn the basics of German Jewish research in these articles.
PR—German Jewish Research – Part 1
PR—German Jewish Research – Part 2 - Explore Jewish genealogy in Germany in this guide from the Center for Jewish History site.
- Explore the Jewish Genealogy Encyclopedia for Jewish resources in Germany.
- Explore the JewishGen Germany database.
Exercises
- * Good: Using the articles and videos in this Choice, write down key learnings for church records. Then use the learnings for searches for an ancestor.
- * Proficient: Same as above, for two or more ancestors.
Record Search Practice |
Caspar Wilhelm Smith was married in Germany in the 1800's. Use the "AC: Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, 1500-1971" QUIKLink below to answer these questions:
- How old was Caspar Wilhelm Smith when he got married?
- When was he married?
- Whom did he marry?
- Click the QUIKLink mentioned above.
- In the search screen, enter "Caspar Wilhelm" as the first name and "Smith" as the last name.
- In the search results screen, click View Record for Caspar Wilhelm Smith.
- Read the information in the center column.
- Similar Records links on the right of the page suggest that he may have a heritage in Denmark.
- Caspar was married at 36 years of age.
- He was married on 18 Aug 1847.
- He married Anna Marie Sophie Rohl.
(Contributed by Brent Bunker )
QUIKLinks
- AC: Ansbach, Germany, Lutheran Parish Register Extracts, 1526-1940 (in German)
- AC: Baden, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1502-1985 (in German)
- FS: Baden, Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau, Catholic Church Records, 1678–1930 (More)
- FS: Germany, Baden, Church Book Duplicates, 1804-1877 (More)
- FS: Bavaria, Diocese of Augsburg, Catholic Church Records, 1615–1939 (More)
- FS: Germany, Bavaria, Catholic Church Records, 1650-1875 (More)
- FS: Germany, Bavaria, Catholic and Lutheran Church Records, 1591-1963
- FS: Germany, Bavaria, Middle Franconia, Brenner Collection of Genealogical Records, 1550-1900 (More)
- AC: Berlin and Spandau, Germany, selected Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1758-1874 (in German)
- FS: Church Book Duplicates, Brandenburg & Posen (More)
- FS: Germany, Bremen, Catholic and Lutheran Church Records, 1746-1970
- AC: Elbe-Weser Triangle, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1574-1945 (in German)
- AC: Hannover, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1643-1887 (in German)
- FS: Hesse, Germany, Hessen-Nassau, Diocese of Limburg, Catholic Church Records, 1601-1919
- AC: Hesse, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1661-1957 (in German)
- AC: Mecklenburg, Germany, Parish Register Transcripts, 1740-1918 (in German)
- FS: Germany, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Catholic and Lutheran Church Records, 1639-1943
- AC: Ostholstein, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1597-1959 (in German)
- FS: Pomerania (Prussia) Church Records, 1544-1945 (More)
- FS: Germany, Prussia, Pomerania, Catholic and Lutheran Church Records, 1544-1966 (More)
- FS: Germany, Paderborn, Catholic Church Records, 1653-1875 (More)
- FS: Germany, Prussia, Brandenburg and Posen, Church Book Duplicates, 1794-1874 (More)
- AC: Prussian Provinces, Selected Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1661-1944 (in German)
- FS: Prussia, Posen, Catholic and Lutheran Church Records, 1430-1998
- FS: Germany, Prussia, East Prussia, Catholic and Lutheran Church Records, 1551-1992 (More)
- AC: Rhineland, Prussia, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1533-1950 (in German)
- AC: Rhineland, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1610-1925 (in German)
- FS: Rhineland, Diocese of Trier, Catholic Church Records, 1704-1957 (More)
- FS: Germany, Rhineland-Palatinate, Diocese of Mainz, Catholic Church Records, 1540-1952
- AC: Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1556-1973 (in German)
- AC: Saxony, Prussia, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1890 (in German)
- AC: Saxony, Prussia, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1921 (in German)
- AC: Saxony, Thuringia, and Hannover, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1557-1940 (in German)
- FS: Germany, Saxony-Anhalt, Diocese of Magdeburg, Catholic Church Records, 1608-1945 (More)
- FS: Germany, Saxony, Church Book Indexes, 1500-1900 (More)
- FS: Germany, Saxony, Diocese of Dresden-Meissen, Catholic Church Records, 1621-1976 (More)
- AC: Saxony and Thuringia, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1591-1875 (in German)
- AC: Schwäbisch Hall, Germany, Church Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1559-1829 (in German)
- AC: Thuringia, Germany, Selected Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1549-1876 (in German)
- MH: West Prussia Church Books
- AC: Württemberg, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1985 (in German)
- AC: Württemberg, Germany, Family Tables, 1550-1985 (in German)
BExplore Germany cemetery records.
- Learn about German cemeteries and graves.
MH Wiki—German Cemeteries and Graves
FS—Germany Cemeteries - Search the Find A Grave site for cemetery records.
- Search the BillionGraves site for cemetery records.
