Your Guide to Finding German Ancestors

Many German ancestors did not reside in present day Germany. German boundaries have fluctuated over time and the hardships associated with these power changes sometimes caused Germans to settle in non-Germanic neighboring countries.

Your first goal will be to identify the name of the town (Stadt), or at least the district/county (Kreis) from which your ancestor emigrated, then determine the family's church affiliation her faith [normally, Lutheran (Evangelisch/ Evangelical) or Catholic (Katholische/Catholic). You may also have to find a different family name, as the Americanized version may differ from that of the family in Germany.

There is a lot on the web for the German researcher, so it is going to take me awhile to complete this page! Keep checking back...

 
Books, articles, tapes... On the web...

Baxter. In Search of Your German Roots: a Complete Guide to Tracing Your Ancestors in Germany.
Bentz. If I Can You Can Decipher Germanic Records
Hansen. Finding Your German Ancestors: A Beginners Guide.
Map Guide to German Parish Registers.
Smith. German Church Books: Beyond the Basics by
Wright. Ancestors in German Archives: A Guide to Family History Sources.

The German Genealogical Digest, published 1985-2004 contains many informative and helpful articles. I don't believe you can purchase back issues, but when you find it in a library you will want to spend time examining the issues. You may also want to take a roll of quarters to make photocopies of articles!

Articles:

"Out of Bounds" Family Tree Magazine, December 2006 pp. 43-49 (discusses Germans who lived outside German boundaries)

German Roots: Trace Your Immigrant Ancestor in Six Easy Steps in Internet Genealogy July 2008

"Coming to Light" in Family Tree Magazine May 2007, pp. 8-9 discusses German ancestor charts filled out by those who wanted to join the SS or be employed by the by the federal, state or local governements.

Find out what is available from the Family History Library.

Research Advice

Resources Filmed

 

Maps

Germany 1871-1918

Modern Counties in Hessen

Comprehensive Sites

Genealogy.net: the German genealogy internet portal (many pages only in German)

FamilySearch Wiki Portal: Germany. Some portions of this Wiki will contain more information than others. A Wiki is constantly evolving; check it often to see if information you need has been updated.

 

 

German Genealogical Society of America (collection now combined with the Southern California Genealogical Society )

How to Use the Meyers Gazateer

 

Protestant Church Archives in Germany

Atlas of the German Empire

Passenger Lists:

Breman 1920-1939: First read the description of the project, which explains what will be include, then click the TO THE DATABASE button at the bottom.

Southwest German emigration database (English translation) This database includes only a portion of those who who emigrated from Baden, Württemberg or Hohenzollern in the last few centuries. To understand what is included, you will want to read about the history of the project.

A list of events leading to emigration from Germany

Translations and Transcriptions

FHL Handwriting Guide: German Gothic