German Interest Group



GERMAN ONLINE RESOURCES (links current as of November 2015)(last updated Jun 2020)

German Interest Group (GIG) of Eastside Genealogical Society

Some sites may require translation. See the Translation Help links on the GIG website.

For additions or corrections, please to send an email with details to GIG at GermanInterestGroupEGS@

General Research:

Most-used genealogy data subscription site

  WIKI Wiki for site

FamilySearch The Family History Library website

Germany Genealogy

 The Family Search -  Germany research webpage Links to Learning courses, FamilySearch Wiki, Current Indexing Projects, Indexed Historical Records, Image-Only Historical records by collection, Catalog Material, etc. 

rootsweb. Rootsweb The oldest and largest free genealogical community

US GenWeb Information for almost every county in the US; content is highly variable

Cyndi's List Links for family history

One-Step Webpages Tools for finding and aiding a variety of record research

King County Library System Premium DBs under Learning & Research tab. Ancestry Library Edition available only on site. Other genealogical DBs accessible from home with card

Seattle Public Library With library card you can view some of their genealogy databases at home

 (in 14 languages) Wikipedia Free, collaboratively written online encyclopedia

ngw.nl  Heraldry of the world Civic heraldry only i.e. coats of arms of cities, states, municipalities, countries etc.

Family Tree Magazine 101 Best 2016 Websites

German Genealogy Websites

GenWiki German version has more info than the English one.

Ancestry research on the Internet

German Evangelical Church Records Online: Archion.de Blog article about Archion.de

German Immigrants in American Church Records GIACR series of extracted information about German immigrants from records of American churches

German Immigrants in American Church Records – Missouri Volumes 19-25 click links within this article to see lists of surnames in the various volumes.

German Genealogy Research Basics

From Here to There

Using Maps

Using Social Media

Where Do I Find Them?

6 Genealogy Sources to Find Your German Ancestor’s Place of Origin        

A Wealth of

German Records at Your Finger Tips About the  website & includes a video 

 plus the mention of a Presentation

at  

Germans to America 1850-1897 (article contains links to WIKI,

searchable databases, US Nat’l Archives FAQ & an article with reasons to not trust those 50 volumes.)

FamilySearch Lesson on German research

   Records and Resources for Germans in Hamilton County, Ohio 

 International German Genealogy Partnership links to many websites

 Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission land records, military records, birth & death records, PA trails of history, etc

Finding Your German Ancestors in Chicago Tips & tricks that can be used to find our German ancestors in almost any US city

Seven Years' War - summary of the "first world war" on a map Germans from Russia history

Lost Shoebox Tutorials

Family Tree German Genealogy Guide

The Ultimate List of Months in German Genealogy

Tracing German American Immigrants

Before You Cross the Pond: Five Places to Find Your Ancestor in America list of sources in US to find ancestors hometown & the success rate of each

German-American Genealogist Blog

Germany:

pgen.de CompGen (formerly ) Research, inform, communicate, cooperate and participate!

Milan Pohontsch Video on German Online Sources

Milan Pohontsch Syllabus to German Online Sources video (6 page syllabus is full of URLs & many may not be included in our URL lists)

Germanroots Resources for German Genealogy on the Internet

Germanroots Databases Online German Genealogy Records & DBs

Federation of East European Family History Societies (FEEFHS) Links to many helpful sources of information

Research Guides, Tips, Online Records See section on ‘German Genealogy Research’

Research Center for German Documents by Ancestry

FamilySearch Wiki Links to info on countries in Central Europe including Germany

 German Genealogy Resources

Municipalities from 1900 Community directory

•   If several towns have same name

WorldGenWeb World-wide genealogical and historical records and resources

Online local heritage books Info on church books, town history

German GenWiki Wiki for German genealogy, many links under multiple topics

German Costs $ to access records; only available in Germany

MyHeritage.de German version of

GenWeb Germany Links to websites

8 FamilySearch Features You’re Not Using

FamilySearch Wiki German Research Websites

Many Prussian/German Genealogy Help. Several hundred free help tools & advice. 

Many Guidance and access to more free help areas

Google books for German (or other) languages

Permission to Leave? Article on where you may find these records

Family Tree magazine (Jan 2008) article about records of German immigrants arriving through New Orleans & traveling north on the Mississippi. Available through KCLS courtesy of Beth Snyder of GIG.

Online local family books and family books created with Gen_Pluswin

Occupations for German Ancestors

Religion in Germany

Finding German Ancestors: Tips from James Beidler

Germany Town Genealogies and Parish Register Inventories on the Internet

Beginning German Research - Laurie Castillo

German Online Sources - Milan Pohontsch

Printed Sources for German Research - Milan Pohontsch

GlobalGenSearch Meta search engine for genealogical information

The Animated History of Germany & other countries

Beginning German Genealogy Research

German Resources (Whole website with URLs & downloadable files)

The Magic of German Church Books

German – Family History Guide

German Genealogy Guide: Free Records, Research Tips and Resources to Help You Find Your Ancestors

Germany "How to" Guides Lists available guides

Empty Branches German Genealogy Research Online

 Genealogy Aids – Guides, Indexes, Atlases, Gazetteers, Internet Sites

 Chronicling America’s Historic German Newspapers and the Growth of the American Ethnic Press

A Wealth of German Records at Your Finger Tips About Compgen.de, & contains video briefly explaining website

 Hanseatic League Cinematic documentation on history of League           

Don Heinrich Tolzmann German -American Collection at U of Cincinnati

 Germany "How to" Guides

 Schulden eines "Hexenmeisters" – Kirche kassiert seit 400 Jahren die Stadt Trier ab

Debt of a "sorcerer" - Church has been collecting the city of Trier for 400 years.

Ortssippenbucher: Important sources for German Genealogical Research

Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte-German admin history

eg finds village Jablone, Kreis Bornst

? Historical German American Newspapers Online

Understanding colonial-era German names in genealogy

My 5 Favorite Books for Deciphering German Records by Katherine Schober, translator & author

soc.genealogy.german

The Animated History of Germany | Part 1

German Genealogy: The Basics -

Ancestry Academy Classes are free for a limited period of time

Find Centuries of Ancestors in Germany’s Village Gen Books

Archives & Databases:

Meta search site for databases from the website



General German Collection

Ortssippenbücher Books for village specific genealogical registers

German website for searching some databases

Directory of German Archives Try the Staatliche Archive (Staatsarchive) and Kirchenarchive (Church archives) listed there.

Wiki German Genealogy Archives Links to: Archives, Family Archives, Church Archives, State Archives, and University Archives.

German Central Office for Genealogy

(FamilySearch_Historical_Records) Germany Births and Baptisms, Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records) Places & time periods for records in collection

Archion.de Archive for Germany's Protestant church books

article about German Church records & Archion.de

Archion biggest source for digitized German Protestant church records

Archion commercial in English

German Federal Archive military personnnel records, Personal papers & images

Civil Records at the German State Archive in Duisburg

GEDBAS This database of user-uploaded GERMAN genealogy files includes nearly 15 million individuals in a 5.4 million families.

German Discussion Boards / Forums / Mailing Lists:

geneal- Geneal-Forum Discussion board, Your own Genealogy Blog, Your own Genealogy Tree

German Genealogy Discussion Forums Choose which ones you want to read, as a foreign visitor, or you can register to subscribe to a list(s) and ask questions.

German Public Mailing Lists Public mailing lists on list..

Alberta Gen Soc Lists of websites for East European Records Online

Matricula online church registers DBs for Austria, Germany & Poland

FS Indexing – Zoning Pilot Project

Bibliothek des Brandenburgischen Landeshauptarchivs (Library of the Brandenburg Main Archives) library catalog is now online

domarchiv-berlin. Berlin cathedral community Christening & other registers digitally at Archion.

Civil Records at German State Archive Duisburg

church books from Austria, Germany & Poland. (link to records from Diocese Hildesheim, etc)

archion.de Archion German church books from many regions. Free to Browse; pay to look in a church book.

Zeitschriftendatenbank (Journal Database ZDB); points way to magazines, newspapers and databases in German and Austrian libraries, created in cooperation with 3,700 libraries.

Online Local: Family Books Online heritage books

refers to Sources of Online Information about Victims of National Socialism (Nazis)

German Minority Census,1939 (Holocaust recs)

German Evangelical Church

Records Online: Archion.de

 indexed Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, & Burials, 1500-1971

Old German Newspapers in Germany & aboard

Catholic Church records of the diocese of Münster in Germany now online until village name beginning with the letter “R“.

Historical German American Newspapers Online

German Newspaper Collections

  Online Ortsfamilienbücher Online heritage books 

Copies of the Dortmund Civil Registration Death Records online

     Finding German Church Records in Overseas Archives

 Catholic Diocesan Archives in Germany

Evangelisches Landeskirchliches Archiv in Berlin

Online Archive of the Arolsen Archives (formerly known as International Tracing Service); database contains a comprehensive collection of documents from concentration camps, including prisoner cards and death notices on over 2.2 million people persecuted by the Nazi Regime. 

Germany, Bavaria, Diocese of Augsburg, Catholic Church Records, 1615-1939

A short story of German census

Catholic records from Diocese of Osnabrück (Lower Saxony)

National German Grave Registration

Archiv des Katholischen Militärbischofs military church

Gräbersuche-Online German War Graves Commission Database

Germany, War Graves Index, 1902-1961

Proofs of ancestry (1933-1945)

Arolsen Archives International Center on Nazi Persecution database covers anyone who was documented by the German government & includes the Germans of the Volga, Bessarabia, Kazakhstan, etc



Ortssippenbücher / Familienbücher held by the History and Genealogy Department of St Louis County Library

Das Bundesarchiv (German National Archives)

German Emigration:

Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 Updated database with a gap from 1915 to 1919 due to World War I.

German Resource Spotlight: Hamburg Passenger Lists

dad-recherche.de German Emigrants Database (DAD) Database of European emigration to the United States. Information about people who left in the period 1820-1897, 1904 and partially in 1907 from mainly German ports. rootdigger.de/emi.htm Schleswig-Holstein Emigration Database 19th century emigrations

auswanderer-bw.de Emigration from Southwest Germany Emigration list from Baden-Württenberg

+ (Newsletter excerpt) Lists of books for Passenger Lists Rescued by Clifford Neal Smith – check Worldcat & Interlibrary Loan for them

Hamburg: European Rates of Fare Fares from the Interior of Germany, Austria & Switzerland to Hamburg & Havre in January 1885

German and American Sources for German Emigration This is an old site which has been migrated to GenWiki, but there is lots of good info on published books and online sources for finding emigration records.

German Emigrants to South Africa

“KARL STUMPP – The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763 to 1862” (book is pdf – 1500+ pgs of lists with names, etc)

Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society MAGS Database Search – mostly emigrants from Mittelfranken, Bavaria

Saginaw Genealogical Society (19th Century Emigrants from Central Franconia to North America)

German Genealogy Group (Bavaria & Pfalz Emigration Database)

  Germany Emigration and Immigration

Germany, Bavaria, Fürth, Emigration and City Directories, 1805-1913

Emigration and Immigration Records and Resources

Landesarchiv: Baden-Wurttemberg Emigration from Southwest-Germany

Amerikanetz America network: Network Westphalian America emigration since 19th century

Old Lutheran Emigration at the Middle of the 19th Century (book with family info)

German Immigration to America

Push and Pull factors of German Migration (plus

links for migration of other European countries)

 Jacob Lentz Speaks: Rescue From the Death Ship – 52 Ancestors #211

German Immigration Records

  

Emigrant’s Map & Guide for Routes to North America, 1853 – can download map

? Internet Resources for Finding 19th Century German Emigrants

"Friends of the Pribislaw" For more information about the research project contact: weissleder@pribislaw.de



German-American Connections as Part of an International Genealogical Exchange Article has a list of passenger surnames on the Mecklenburg bark Pribislaw. They are looking for descendants in America.

 The Leo House: a refuge for German immigrants – in late 19th century



 Auswanderer aus Ostbevern nach Nordamerika (1833-1899)

Emigrants from Ostbevern, Westphalia to America – majority headed to Cincinnati

Danube Swabians

Tracing German American Immigrants

Germany Simply inspiring emigration timeline & more

Baden Emigrants, up to 1911

Hessen Emmigrants, 1821+

auswanderer-oldenburg.de Oldenburg Emmigrants

lippe-auswanderer.de Lippe Emigrants

routes.de/datenbanken.html Northern German Emigrants

auswanderer-bw.de Southwest German Emigrants

German Handwriting:

BYU Script Tutorial Make sense of old handwriting

Omniglot:German Online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages

  Suetterlin Script All about Suetterlin script

Kurrentschrift See what your surname looks like in old script

Old German Font-Generator Tool

Germany Handwriting Old German gothic & Sütterlin Handwriting Examples and Tools including a Script Generator, Tutorials and Classes.

Tips for Deciphering Old German Handwriting

10 More Tips Deciphering Old German Writing

7 Websites for Deciphering Old German Script

Kurrent Wikipedia page for an old form of German handwriting

Font-generator Generates old German writing (Sütterlin and Kurrent scripts) from your input

Free Scanner App You Probably Already Have Installed see comment: Google Drive OCR works well with Fraktur font. 

Dealing with Characters in Foreign Alphabets in One Step

Converting bet old Germanic Print and Cursive in 1 Step

Reading German Marriage Certificates

Deciphering Old German Handwriting

Alte deutsche Handschriften (subpage) website that

with generate several types of handwriting for short (35 characters maximum) groups of words.

6 Websites for Old German Script

Deciphering Old German Script

Schreibübung enter text & convert to Kurrentschrift script

6 “Letter Swaps”

20 Tips for Deciphering Old German Handwriting

Ten Tips for Deciphering Old German Handwriting

Ten More Tips for Deciphering Old German Handwriting

German Word Lists (also see Language heading):

German Genealogical Word List German words with their English translations

Kartenmeister Terms and words used in their database showing equivalents in German-English-Polish.

GenWiki Portal encyclopedias Section with occupations and diseases

Glossary of German genealogical words

19 Common Abbreviations in German Gen

Der Familienstammbaum occupations list (in German)

abkuerzungen.de type German abbreviation to see German word

Abbreviations-in-church-records file

GenWiki’s Abkurzungen site Abbreviations

Type beginning or end of word, get list of all the possible German words with those exact beginnings or endings

Deutsches Worterbuch von Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm A great German-German dictionary for old-fashioned German words

German Genealogy Glossary

Words for Finding Your German Ancestor

German Abbreviations

German Abbreviations

Great dictionary for old-fashioned German words

 German Church Record Vocabulary

German Military Record Vocabulary: The Most Important Words

DWB – 19th century German Dictionary

German False Friends List words that SOUND like English

25 Milestone Words for Finding German Ancestor

Understanding Numbers in German Genealogy

Ultimate List of Months in German Genealogy

Germans have a funny way with words, part 1

Germans have a funny way with words, part 2

Jewish Research:

JewishGen Databases of Jewish surnames, towns, Holocaust victims, burials, family trees

Center for Jewish History, Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute Inventory of LDS Microfilms and Microfiche.

Routes to Roots Foundation Guide to Jewish/Civil records in East Europe

Pommerscher Greif e.V. New version of the database "Jews in the German Empire”

Latin Word Lists:  (when translating old Catholic church records)

FamilySearch Latin words

Kartenmeister Latin-German-English

 Tobias Weber – Genealogie help with Latin names of occupations

DeepL (language translation website, which will translate any language, was recommended by a German Genealogical Society)

15 Latin Words in your German Documents

Language (Translations, Dictionaries, Symbols, Dialect Map, Learning, Names):

Google Translate Free translator for words, phrases, documents, webpages

  Linguee Translation tool

BabelFish Enter word or phrase, translate into 14 languages or to English

   Words & doc(x), .ppt(x), .odt, .pdf & .txt up to 5MB file size

  Online Translation Aids Multi-lingual translation aids

  English-German dictionary Translation site & don’t need whole word

SYSTRANet Free online translator

  Many languages translated

  LEOs Online dictionaries Go to “English” & fill in Leo box

BEOLINGUS Online Dictionary

Online Dictionary

Linguee English-German Dictionary

German Language Translation tools & websites

joycep.myweb.port.ac.uk/pronounce Guide to German Pronunciation

Polish-English / English-Polish translations

 Slavic language dictionaries Slavic language dictionaries

German Dialect Map Excellent map of Germanic dialects & Wikipedia

article on the German language

German dialects Includes map of dialects spoken

Slow German Free podcast



Mango Languages Simple language and culture learning in over 70 languages

DuoLingo Learn a language

Learn German by Podcast Real-life German for everyday conversation

German language/surnames

Common German Names & Nicknames

German Naming Customs

German Names & Naming Patterns by James Beidler

German Names, Nicknames, and Origins

Deutsche Welle Free online course

Deutsche Welle Audiotrainer free podcast

Language Surfer Pass the German A1 Test

GenWiki How to Type German Umlaut Words and more Symbols

Hellenic Hist & Gen Assoc International Genealogical Symbols

German-English Dictionary with Sentence Examples

German Dictionary if You Don't Know the Entire Word

WordMine Play “hangman”; usedful site when trying to decipher foreign documents

Roman Numeral Helps convert roman numeral dates/years seen in church books

Meaning of German Abbreviations

Translating German Genealogy Records: 9 Top German Translation Websites

10 Hilarious Sausage Sayings



10 German Words You Won’t Find in a Dictionary

When to Use Google Translate for Genealogy–And Best Translation Websites for When You Don’t (for German)

Translating German Genealogy Records: 9 Top German Translation Websites

5 Secret Transcription Tips from a German Genealogy Translator

6 Need-to-Know “Letter Swaps”

When Deciphering Your German Documents contains links to other articles on deciphering German handwriting

German Language Insight for Genealogists

BabelTots – Toys that speak YOUR language

5 Transcription Tips for When Your’re Just Stuck

History of the German Language

Germanic Alphabet Chart

 German to English Online Dictionaries Leo 

German to English Online Dictionaries : 

German to English Online Dictionaries Langenscheidt: 

German to English Online Dictionaries Old-Fashioned Dictionary: 

Magic of German Churchbooks translated headings of Baptismal record

The Sound of the Old Prussian Language (Basal Epigram & The Lord’s Prayer)

6 fun facts about the German language

Maps & Town Locators:

Meyers Online Gazetteer See English translation for entered place names

MeyersGaz Update Gives German Researchers New Search Tool (sounds like)

Step by Step Video for using Meyersgaz

Meyers Orts Gazetteer of the German Empire Locate place names in German research. Includes all areas that were part of the pre-World War I (WWI) German Empire.

  article explains Meyers Orts Gazetteer abbreviations

 German Maps pre-WW II Germany so part of Poland too

  Historical GIS Germany navigate maps that track changes in boundaries 1820-1914  

germany/gazetteersmain.html German Gazetteers 

Landkartenarchiv – The Messtischblaetter

Virtuelles Kartenforum



FamilySearch guide to German abbreviations used in Meyers

5 Expert Tips for Using Meyers Gazetteer

Germany Gazetteers Includes Meyers Orts.

Kartenmeister Town locator, dictionaries, history

Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection Germany maps 800 to present.

FamilySearch Research Places

  PolanGenWeb Town locators for former German towns 

FEEFHS Go to Maps and Gazetteers section

JewishGen Gazetteer (formerly ShtetlSeeker) Town locator

Mapire

Magnificent Map/Location Resource

Atlas des Deutschen Reichs by Ludwig Ravenstein

Aids in tracing family origins in any part of the German empire from the late 19th century to early 20th century.

   Index of names of localities in Poland & Russia

Multi- Explore the earth with Google Earth Maps, Bing Maps and MapQuest.

germany.travel/en/index.html German National Tourist Board Best online modern-day maps

ViaMichelin Maps & Route Planner



Onlinestreet If you know at least some of the letters in your street name, this can help you recognize the correct transcription of the word

Article explains how Ancestry enters locations in some of their DB’s

German Railroad 1835 – 1885

Emigrant's Map and Guide for Routes to North America

Copies of Maps for German History

Topographic Maps of Central and Eastern Europe

Animated map shows how

World War I changed Europe's borders

Watch as 1000 years of European borders change time lapse map

Deutschlandkarte aus Meßtischblättern (English: Map

of Germany from measuring table sheets) Mapire is a Historical Map Portal.

Finding German Villages for Genealogy with James M. Beidler

Universitaet Greifswald, GeoGreif

BYU Harold B Lee Library Digital Collections

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency – GeoNames Search

Maplandia --  Google Maps World Gazetteer   

Global Gazetteer    (Directory of cities & towns in World)

Archives Portal Europe  

The Fuzzy Gazetteer   (- a great help when location may be misspelled  )

United Nations: Cartographic Section Maps and Geographic Information Resources   

Map History/History of Cartography (index to historical map websites, arranged by collection size, theme, and geographic location. A search engine is provided.

World Gazetteer    

Locate Country-Specific Atlases and Gazetteers Online

Landesarchiv Berlin - Civil registry query

  Landesarchiv Berlin has published a map showing the borders of the 20 civil registration offices in Berlin for the years 1874-1931.

  A Land Called

Hessen with many other maps of Germany links to historical maps of Germany/European areas, church maps, etc

 Historical Map of the Thirty Years War: Swedish Invasion 1630

 When Multiple German Towns Have Same Name  

 Prussia 1877 map

   Mapire – Historical Maps     

 Finding German Villages for Genealogy and Family History with James M. Beidler  

Street Finder

Script Generator

The CENTENNIA Historical Atlas video on country boundary changes & locating ancestors

German Gazetteers: What You Can Learn from Early Maps of Poland/Germany

German-born population in the USA 1870

Tips for Deciphering Town Names on German Records See for situations where the village had Prussian name & reverted to original name

Searching for Your German Ancestral Village

German Gazetteers: What You Can Learn from Early Maps

State Center for Political Education – Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania History of Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania in Maps

 

Phone Books:

Das Telefonbuch German telephone book* 

  Polish telephone book* 

*No street address details for either but useful to determine whether any people with a particular surname are still living in the ancestral village/area, etc.

Berlin Directory for the years 1799 to 1943



Schleswig-Holstein Address Book for the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein and the principality of Lübeck

Silesia ddress books, etc.

Preussen 1866 - Adressbuch des deutschen Handels, Fabrik und Gewerbestandes Preussen 1866 - Address book of the German trade, Factory and trade stand

The yellow pages of 1866 with the following provinces: Rhine Province, Westphalia, Pomeranian, Posen

 Berliner Adress-, Telefon- und Branchenbücher collection contains 250 million entries for Berlin residents, businesses, and agencies over past 300 yrs

How German Address Books at are Helping Bust Brick Walls

•

• Ancestry is not the only place to look for. CompGen has entries for more the 10.000 places in Germany on their free searchable address book database at: 

• A couple of cities have their own digital libraries, also free searchable like Bremen:



Photos:

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Photos from various locations; enter or select a place.

German photographers

Old postcards / Alte Ansichtskarten (maybe see old postcards for ancestral villages in Germany & other places in the world, including US)

Reference:

Deutschepost German Postal System’s website

FamilySearch Germany Letter Writing Guide



German Civil Registrations Guide

FamilySearch Video Learning (many subjects including 19 about Germany)

Think Like a German: Spelling Variations

Top German Words to Find Your Ancestor’s Home Town

Anatomy of a German Marriage Record

German Genealogy Book List

 What’s in

a Name: 10 Popular Boys’ and Girls’ Names in German Genealogy

German dictionary by Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm

Enter village name and the word Familienbuch, which means family book.



How German City Directories Helped Me Find My Great-Grandfather

Research in Different German Regions (see also Archives & Databases):

List of Online Family Register Books

Deutsch Lands History about some parts of Germany.

Baden Archives State Archive Freiburg. State and local records from 1806

More info at:

Badische Ortsfamilienbuch (available Baden Family Bks)

leo-gw.de +  http:/bit.ly/2cQSjmB Baden-Wurttemburg: List of Municipalities

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Town in Bavaria

Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern

Evangelisches Landeskirchliches Archiv in Berlin

Bavarian Cemetery Project Database contains data from 179,581 graves

Internet portal of Bavaria range of cultural assets such as documents and archival records, manuscripts, archaeological finds, paintings, graphics and photographs, city maps and charts, sculptures, castles/palaces, folk culture and an extensive collection of full-text searchable books on Bavaria.

Black Forest Website Genealogy site devoted to the Black Forest region.

Barnim, Germany, Births, 1874-1906 located in German state of Brandenburg

Bremen – the City of the World-Famous Fairytale Musicians

German Emigration Center in Bremerhaven

Brandenburg Datenbank Brandenburg Database project

Brandenburg - Database More BMD, tombstone, church book records added

Verzeichnis der online gestellten Microfilme Brandenburgischer Kirchenbuchduplikate Directory of online questions re Brandenburgischer church book microfilm duplicates   

The Huguenots, 16th & 17th century Religious Refugees

(Huguenots from France resettled in Brandenburg-Prussia area, plus other places in the world.



Digitale Sammlungen Darmstadt Old Cemetery books for Darmstadt, Germany

Eifel Birth and Marriage Data Tom Pick’s extensive database of the Eifel region.

fehmarn-  Fehmarn Genealogy Site Fehmarn is a small island off the coast of Schleswig Holstein.

North Frisian Emigrant-Archive

Lutheran Ancestors at Church Registry Office, Hanover

Hessen Archives Links for finding Evangelical and Catholic church registers, contact information and genealogical terms. Other miscellaneous information.

Hessian State Archives (Hessisches Landesarchiv) Explanatory video of Hessian State Archives

Archival information system Hessen

New German Ortsfamilienbuch: Lorsch (Hesse) plus surrounding towns

Familienbuch Eppertshausen (Hessen) 1603-1910

Hessen-L German-language genealogical mailing list for Family Research in Hesse and former Hessian areas

Hesse: Historical Gazetteer (Ortslexikon Hessen)

  A Land Called

Hessen with many other maps of Germany links to historical maps of Germany/European areas, church maps, etc

New village book for Cratzenbach in the Taunus region of Hessen

Provincial Archives of Southern Jutland

Archivschule Marburg



Archiv des Erzbistums Munchen und Freising Archives of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising records online. Click the + to the left of the yellow file folder labeled "Matrikeln (M), nach Orten bzw. Pfarreien gegliedert" to open an A to Z list of folders. Click on the file labeled with the first letter of the parish you are looking for to find a listing of the individual churches in the parish and their available digitized church books.

Ortsfamilienbuch for the town of Malchin in MecklenburgVorpommern

•

•

includes data from the church books for all persons who were born, married, or died in Malchin between 1631 and 1909

Catholic church records of the Münsterland area in Germany now digitized online available for free until parishes beginning with the letter „L“. More should follow.

akvz.de Arbeitskreis Volkszahl-Register Devoted to Northern Germany and Baltic Sea area (former duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg, the Principality of Luebeck and the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin).

Odessa Digital Library Digital library of cultural and family history of Germans who emigrated to Russia in the 1800s.

Genealogical research in Oldenburg

• Familienforschung in Oldenburg

• Mitglieder-Stammbäume

• Auswandererdatenbank

• Oldenburger in Napoleons Großer Armee

Historical Books Oldenburg

  Oldenburg Church Books Now Available on Matricula

short tutorial about using the database:    

The "Landesbibliothek Oldenburg" scanned and published some historical books.

original "Die Bauernhofe in Amte Vechta":

“The Land of Milk and Honey: Letters of Johann Bernard Meyer from America to Family in the Osnabrücker Nordland, 1835 and 1844”. A large number of German immigrants to Cincinnati came from what is known as the Osnabrücker Nordland 

“German Immigration to Cincinnati from the Osnabrücker Nordland in the Early 19th Century” in Hamilton County Gen Society newsletter

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America The genealogy website for those with ancestors from the Ostfriesland area of Germany.

Ostfriesen First Names Poem

Heimatmuseum in Leer (Ostfriesland) Virtual museum tour

Upstalsboom-Society Gravestones from Ostfriesland, Germany

Finding Palatine Ancestors Interesting article with links to many free websites with lists of names of people & ships, etc.

Human Geographies Within the Pale of Settlement

The 1709ers – German Palatinates

   Pommern Genealogy Useful links for Pommern Researchers

Researching Pommern Ancestors

Pommernfontakte (Pomeranian Research Database)

Pommerscher Greif e.V (Online Church books of Pomerania)

Maria Treptow’s Pomerania – Blog

MyPomerania

Visiting the State Archives in Koszalin (Pomerania)

Immigrant Genealogical Society “Di Pommerschen Leute” for descendants of Pomerania

Pomeranian Genealogy – maps, etc

Joint project genealogical State Archives in Torun and Bydgoszcz for the inhabitants of the voivodeship Kuyavia and Pomerania

Local family database Belgard-Schivelbein (Pomerania)

Map of Prussia 1877 

Familienbuch Euregio 15,000+ death register books from the Rhineland branch of the Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen for the period 1876 to 1938 now online.

Village family book for Framersheim in Rheinland-Palatinate

List of emigrants from village of Framersheim in Rheinland-Palatinate

Archiv Begleiter

Saxony: Historical Gazetteer (Orsverzeichnis von Sachsen) 

Historische adressbücher  (Saxony’s address books) 

•

•    article

genealogy- Genealogy- Genealogy in Schleswig-Holstein administered by Hans Peter Voss

State Archives of Schleswig-Holstein

rootdigger.de/emi.htm Schleswig-Holstein Emigration Database 19th century emigrations

SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN & DANISH RESOURCES

• this part of Germany had belonged to Denmark until 1864, when it was lost in a war with Germany (Prussia). Denmark took censuses and they have a couple back in the 1700’s and quite a few in the 1800’s.

• .

• On this site there looks to be an Emigrant database

• more info on doing Danish genealogy

Thuringia Emigrant Database

collections/land/wprussia/ West Prussian Land Records

westpreussen.de Familienforschung in Westprueussen (Family Research in West Prussia)

Einwohnerdatabank Westpreussen:

(Database of Western Prussian people & families)

Four Prussian Diseases (ca. 1880)

Remains Of A Day: East Prussia (Ostpreußen) Today also links to many WW II articles

First published church records of Catholic Archdiocese of

Paderborn in Northrhine-Westphalia

  Archive in Nordrhein-Westfalen Death certs from October 1874/January 1876 to June 1938.

Troisdorf City Archives with The Ancestry company offers access to the digitized documents; also Dresden, Nuremberg, Mönchengladbach, Menden, Minden and soon Bornheim, Troisdorf

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Info about Westphalian American emigration

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Landesarchiv NRW, Dept. Ostwestfalen-Lippe civil registration office of Hamm, Germany – death records 1874-1938

  Digitales Historisches – Ortsverzeichnis von Sachsen Historical Place Register of Saxony 

Germans from Russia

"We (Never) Don’t Forget: Germans from Russia in S America"

Germans from Russia Settlement Locations blog. Google maps of the locations of German settlements in the Russian and Austrian empires from 1763 into the early 20th century

  a Resource for Volga German Research  

Germans from Russia Heritage Collection spotlights the “Volga German”   

  American Historical Society of Germans from Russia mostly about ”Black Sea Germans”

Germans from Russia Settlement Locations Survey to collect information to be used as a "crowdsource" on a new map focusing on Germans from Russia in America.

Amerikanetz (America Network) Network Westphalian America emigration since 19th century

Münster, rk. Bistum The digitized catholic church records from the district of the Bistumsarchiv Münster, Westphalia, Germany, are online for free access on Matricula. Sorted by name of the parish and online until letter "G" now. The other parishes will follow.

  "Westfalenhöfe" Historical data about farms in Westphalia

wgff.de/ Westdeutsche Gesellschaft für Familienkunde eV

GERMAN – DUTCH

• Artland Resource Collection for History – This website contains transcribed church book records for some Northern German parishes and some Holland records among other things. When you click on the site, then click on To the Collections (right hand side) where the 30 pages are.

Surname Distribution:

worldnames/ Public Profiler World Names A world map that shows the distribution of surnames throughout the world, countries and localities, plus frequencies of the names

Map of the surname Surname search providing map with approximate number of individuals of that name in regions of Germany.  Options for other countries.

Surname Maps of Germany

Locate My Name  Find distribution of names across countries and regions

Historic Addressbooks Database. Search for surname and a map with areas in Germany where there are hits comes up.

Ken McCrea's GermanNames Maps of Surnames in Germany using Telephone Listings

Geogen Surname Mapping Surname Distribution Maps via phonebk listings

Geogen 4.0 Frequency of a last name in the different regions of Germany

christoph. christoph. GeoGen’s site of maps of German surname distribution

Genevolu Surname distribution based on 1942 & 1998 telephone directories

Facebook Group: Surname Distribution Maps

Genealoger Links to genealogy of German Names

Verwandt Surname distribution in Germany

Verwandt Surname distribution in Switzerland

Moikrewni Surname distribution in Poland

Forebears Meanings & Distribution of Surnames

 C F Kerchner & Associates Website 18th Century PA German Naming Customs, etc links

Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources aims to document all given names recorded in European sources written between 500 and 1600 & it’s a work in progress

Common German Last Names & Their Meanings

Behind the Name

Meaning-of- – Surnames

Digital Dictionary of Surnames in Germany

Websites for German genealogy societies:

GenWiki Portal:Clubs Genealogy societies in German-speaking countries

GenWiki Assoc: Genealogical societies abroad

(DAGV)/DAGV/Guide Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft Genealogischer Verbände (DAGV) Genealogical research in Germany. A large number of links to websites are included, some for the USA, some for Germany, some for the previous East Germany

Branches of the Genealogical Society “Red Eagle”

Rheinland-Pfalz See links to genealogy societies

ASF Genealogy society in Saarland

Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe Germans from Russian Poland and Volhynia

The Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe

Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe

Arbeitsgemeinschaft Ostdeutscher Familienforscher (Association of East German Family Researchers) Focus on former East Germany, along with parts of central & eastern Europe where many Germans lived

Anglo German Family History Society Most mbrs live in England; also Australia, NZ, US & Canda

WGFF.de  West German Society for Family Studies Society founded in 1913 in Cologne; now largest regional genealogical association in Germany

German Genealogy Society of MN

Pomeranian Society of Freistadt, WI

Association of German-speaking Professional Genealogists (in Germany)

German Genealogy Groups

War Records:

If your German ancestor went missing on the WWII Eastern Front, check these websites:

thelocal.de/20091117/23331 Germans convicted in Soviet War tribunals

russianpow.html German held in Russia-find Russian Archives contact info

drk-suchdienst.de/en/initiate-tracing-requests/online-tracing-request-second-world-war German Red Cross Tracing Service

drk-suchdienst.de/en/services/second-world-war Photos of missing civilians & Wehrmacht soldiers

dd-wast.de/de/startseite.html If ancestor served in Wehrmacht, contact Deutsche Dienststelle

bundesarchiv.de/EN/Navigation/Home/home.html For officers, try personnel files in Bundesarchiv at Friburg

volksbund.de/en/presse/volksbund.html Search cemetery records

Volksbund War Graves

research/captured-german-records/foreign-records-seized.html US National Archives Record Group 242- Collection of Foreign Records Seized

Finding German World War II Service Records Article contains weblinks along with explanations for records in both Germany & US:

German Federal Archive (Bundesarchiv)

Military Achives

US National Archives

Webinars & Videos:

BYU FHL Webinar Series Beginning German Research

  Beginning German Research - Laurie Castillo

? OR

Researching Immigrants to the United States – Joe Everett (German family example)

How to Use Social Media in Your German Genealogy Research

Top Tips for Beginning German Family History Research/Ancestry

The German Genealogy Girl’s Podcast

Journey into German Genealogy with Katherine Schober

Luther and the Reformation – video by Rick Steves

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Finding German Villages for Genealogy with James M. Beidler

 Journey into German Genealogy with German Genealogy

Translator Katherine Schober, SK Translations

Story of Fascism in Europe video by Rick Steves

Hiwwe wie Driwwe - Trailer USA Palatine, PA Dutch, etc

Finding German Ancestors: Tips from James Beidler (~ 8 min) 

? Genealogy Quick Start YouTube Channel

Miscellaneous:

dw-world.de DW Very up-to-date European news in English language. Also has free online language lessons.

Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) Current news, Regional Churches tab has short history and map

Transfer money online safely and easily around the world.



Six Charts To Help Americans Understand The Upcoming German Election

The 21 funniest German expressions

Share0Birthdays. Weddings. Funerals. While our German ancestors may have lived hundreds of years ago, the life milestones we deem important today held similar

3 Ways the War on German Language Impacts Genealogy Research

 5 German traditions listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

Quirks About Germans Americans Still Can’t Get Over

Quirks about Americans Germans Still Can’t Get Over

  German Nationality Law

 Wooden toys from Erzgebirge region

Where does my family come from? Did you have family that were re-located after the WWII? Guide describes researching ancestors

Upside-down Christmas trees and 4 more Pennsylvania German Christmas traditions

Traveller’s Guide Through Germany (1749)

 Best Time to Visit Germany

HAPPY BADGER DAY: WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN German immigrants brought this tradition of Groundhog Day to America

Deutsches Auswanderer Haus or Emigration Museum Bremerhaven Interesting museum & appears they have added more since 2008.

ColouriseSG  Colorize old black and white family pictures the easiest way

The German-Language Newspaper That Got the Scoop on American Independence

Map of Berlins in USA



Being Genetically German: Understanding the DNA Tests 

Why German bread is best in the world (opinion)

German Wedding Traditions/Customs 

é/a-49689654 Germans, socks and sandals: An exploration of the cliché

The Traditional Costumes of Peasant Women in Germany and Alsace

Guide to complaining about weather

Why We Celebrate Oktoberfest in Sept

? Restoration of German Citizenship

What not to do in Germany-Tips for Enjoying German Culture

What is German American Day?

Traditional German Tracht Show at German Fest, Milwaukee Regional German clothing

Were Your Ancestors Pork Butchers from Germany?

My Ancestor, The Serial Killer: A Story from Gary Haas Interesting story discovered from note in Church records

Cuckoo Clock history & how made

All About Cuckoo Clocks! A Symbol of the Black Forest

Heidi Girl of the Alps- From Switzerland to Japan to Germany

German Nursery Rhymes and Children’s Songs

Watch German Movies and German TV in the US

Der StruwwelPeter (in English)- How German Parents Kept Kids in Line

? Germany's bizarre May traditions

? German Way of Death and Funerals

“Gästebitter” of Münsterland region Westphalia

History of Hummel Figurines -How to Value Old Hummel Figurines

? What is Edelweiss?

? Why are the Pennsylvania Dutch called so when they're actually German?

Locally: 

OR

Genealogy Collection at Bellevue Regional Library - List of books purchased by Eastside Genealogical Society. Search for German & then Germany

Also the “German Immigrants in American Church Records, Vol #” books are in the Genealogy Section of the Auburn Library in addition to the Seattle Public Library. These books are wonderful way to quickly locate the dates of BMD so later the microfilms, etc can be viewed. I don’t know if these books can be InterLibrary Loaned to a local library.

Auswanderungskartei A-Z

Card file of emigrants leaving the government district of Frankfurt an der Oder, Brandenburg.

Int’l Fiche – Film# 6109219 at Bellevue Family History Center – behind our meeting site

 

 

 

 

 

 

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