Ancestry, Archion, Matricula, Deutsche Auswanderer-Datenbank (German Emigrants Database), German Roots, US National Archives, Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives), and Grundbucharchive (Land Registry Archives). These websites provide access to crucial records such as civil and church records, emigration and immigration records, military records, and land records.
Records and documents are the fuel that drives your genealogy research and helps you quickly establish your heritage. Copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, military records, etc., can go a long way in unearthing your ancestry, especially for countries like Germany that have endured tumultuous history.
Luckily, most of these records are now readily available online thanks to efforts by the government, volunteers, and societies determined to enhance German genealogy research. With just a few clicks, you can access German civil records, church records, immigration records, military and land records, and more.
Below are some of the top websites to retrieve crucial records for your German family history research.
Civil and Church Records
Civil and church records are the priority for German researchers seeking to uncover crucial information about ancestors. In Germany, church records predate civil records, given the Roman Catholic dominance from the medieval period. By 962AD, the Holy Roman Empire had already established bishoprics and dioceses like the popular Archdioceses of Cologne and Mainz.
However, it was not until the 16th century, when cadasters were formed, that the Catholic Church improved its record preservation. The Protestants also popped up during the period after the Thirty Years of War and had a hard time for another century, affecting not only their practice but also record-keeping policies.
At the start of the 18th century, Napoleon Laws introduced a civil registry in Germany, among other reforms. These records provide not only full names but also ages, crucial dates, godparents, relatives, and location names. They can help you expand your family tree, authenticate findings, and maneuver brick walls.
The best German genealogy websites for ancestry records and documents are Ancestry, Archion, and Matricula. Ancestry has dedicated collections for German research. Select “German” under the “All Collections” tab to access everything German from communities, records, and additional tips. It lets you search civil and church records by name, record type, or location across the vast database.
Arhion.de focuses solely on German church records, mainly Protestant records from over 25 different archives. It lets you download most of them and collaborate with the community through its lively forum. These church records cover vital events, family connections, and social contexts unavailable in vital records. You can search your church records by year, parish, or name from the over 150,000 records available.
Like Archion.de, Matricula Online offers access to church records, but it goes a step further to cover all central European countries. You will find records dating back to the 1500s, indexed from about 200 scientific and academic institutions across over 30 European countries, the US, and Canada.
Emigration and Immigration Records
Emigration and immigration records are also crucial in German genealogy research as they help us understand our ancestors’ conditions, occupations, and places of residence. Events like the Thirty Years of War prompted mass emigration due to oppression and religious persecution. People immigrated to the American colonies, Britain, the Dutch Republic, Palestine, etc. to escape unfair edicts and seek greener pastures.
The 20th century also witnessed mass emigrations due to persecution by the Nazi regime and the subsequent World Wars. These events led to lost connections and fragmented records, which has impacted heritage search to date. Not to forget the East-to-West German migration in the 1950s that culminated in the construction of the Berlin Wall.
If you’re looking for emigration and immigration records for your German ancestry research, the top websites for you are Deutsche Auswanderer-Datenbank (German Emigrants Database), German Roots, and the US National Archives.
The German Emigrants Database is a searchable database with indexed names of German emigrants dating back to the early 19th century. The database lets you search by location and surname to find out which German region the emigrants originated from, their companions, and their reasons for departure.
German Roots provides a comprehensive list of all the German emigrants who left the German ports of Bremen and Hamburg (as well as other European ports). The records convey information such as surname, gender, residence, age, occupation, destination, and number of persons. The site also has links to other immigrant databases and a brief guide to help you read the German-language passenger lists.
Most importantly, consider checking the US National Archives for records of the over one million German immigrants who entered through various ports such as Ellis Island. In addition to names, these records offer passenger manifests and their destinations. The archives also provide naturalization documents that provide more personal and household information and reflect the continuation of life for these German ancestors after they settled.
Military and Land Records
Land records provide information about family wealth, property ownership, transfers, and economic activities. Besides recording names of household members and the landlords, these records can also reveal inheritance patterns and your ancestors’ traditions.
Church cadasters started land surveys from the 16th century to help solve land disputes and assess tax returns. However, Napoleon’s laws in the 19th century standardized land registration systems for transparency and efficiency. The Grundbucharchive (Land Registry Archives) is the best German website for land ownership records.
Military records are also invaluable in ancestry searches due to their better preservation methods and in-depth information on individuals’ names, ages, physical attributes, rank, activities, and social life. Pension records, medal rolls, and other service records have proven vital for researching military ancestors in Germany.
German military records are kept in the Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives). Similarly, online sites like Ancestry and Fold3 have integrated most of these military records and made them searchable by name or conflict.
Access German Records and Documents Online
The best websites for German ancestry records and documents include Ancestry, German Emigrants Database, German Roots, Fold3, Archion, Matricula, Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives), and the Grundbucharchive (Land Registry Archives). These sites provide crucial historical records like mmigration records, church records, civil records, and land records.
All you need is to find a direction for your research, identify the basic information, locate your German ancestor to a particular region in Germany, and leverage the resources highlighted in this guide to expand your family tree even further. The records and documents will not only help you learn about your ancestors’ relationships, age, and crucial events but also the history and heritage within which they lived.