HelPeR - BYU Idaho Special Collections and Family History

Germanic Research QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Using German
Parish Records
By Ga i l Bl a n k e n a u
A large number of Americans who engage in family
history research have at least one German ancestor.
For those with Pennsylvania German ancestry,
American records start mainly in the 1700s. Yet, the
largest group of Germans immigrated to the United
States from 1840 to 1900, so it doesn’t take long for
researchers to jump back to the “mother country.” For
these relatively recent groups, German parish records
can be a veritable gold mine for family historians.
Many of them are available on microfilm through
Family History Centers across the country.
As always in genealogy, the real-estate mantra “location,
location, location,” applies here. In the case
of my husband’s family, my mother-in-law supplied
the names of the ancestral villages using old funeral
cards that were in her possession.
I first used the familysearch.org database to find
out which churches might have been the home parish
for these people. For example, I knew that one
ancestor was Anton Lienen, and that he was from
Westphalia. The International Genealogical Index
(IGI) showed Anton Lienen, son of Friedr. Lienen and
Christina Siweke was christened 19 May 1871, as a
Roman Catholic, Roemisch-Katholisch, Stuken Brock,
Westfalen, Preussen. This matched the birthdate and
place that my mother-in-law had given me. I then
ordered the parish records for Stukenbrock parish
and the fun began.
Working in German
There is a limited vocabulary needed for research—
obviously words like “birth,” “marriage,” and “death.”
The further back you go, the more likely you are to encounter
Latin as well. With a dictionary, it is relatively
easy to figure out what the records say. A good list of
German genealogy-related words is on the familysearch.
org website under the tab “Research Guidance.”
The most difficult part of German research is reading
the handwriting and/or the quality of the microfilm.
Some recorders had a fine clear hand, and
others did not. The more recent records are in modern
script, but the further back you progress, you will
encounter the dreaded German script. A good chart
for interpreting German script can be found on the
Yale website: http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/fraktur.htm.
As with English records, you need to learn the idiosyncrasies
of the writer. Notice how the clerk wrote
the “E” or the “F” somewhere else on the page and
make yourself a note.
Always copy the siblings’ records as well—a
good practice for any genealogical problem. There
are sometimes little differences and usages that will
give you the clue to break through to the next generation.
Parents die, the widow remarries, all this
needs to be noted. For example, in one ancestral record,
the mother was Marg. Weimans, for the brother,
the mother was called Marg. Weggemans.
Instead of original parish records, many researchers
choose to order the “Kirchenbuch Duplikat.”
These are transcriptions of the records for a parish.
Obviously, this is easier to use, as someone else has
already done the hard work of reading the handwriting.
However, this is not considered as reliable.
Transcription errors happen. In addition, most of
these books stop around 1800 to 1815. To go back
further, you’ll need those original records after all.
You may want to use them in tandem, starting with
the easy-to-read Duplikat, then confirming the information
and working beyond them in the original
records.
The Research—A Case Study
Consider the birth and christening record for Anton
Lienen of Stukenbroeck parish in Westphalia, Germany.
At the top is the title, “Geborne und Getaufte
im Jahre 1871.” This means “Born and Baptized in the
year 1871”(See Figure 1). The facing page continues
the title, “im Monat,” meaning “in the month of,”
followed by the page number (See Figure 2).
On p. 151 of the births and baptisms, the record is
in columns. Column one is the Taufname—Christening
name. Next is the Tag (Day) and Stunde (hour)
of the (Geburt) Birth. Vor und Zunammen und Stand
des Vaters (first and last name and occupation of the
father).
On the facing page is the same information for the
mother (See Figure 2). “Wohnort” is the residence of
the parents, followed by the day of the christening
(which is usually one or two days after the birth).
Next, is the name of the Pastor and last is the name
of the godparents.
42 © Ev e r t o n’s Ge n e a l o g i c a l He l p e r Ja n ua ry/Fe b r u a r y 2009