Posen, German Empire Civil Registration
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| Major Posen Record Types | |
| Reading the Records | |
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| Local Research Resources | |
| Germany Record Types | |
| Germany Background | |
Civil registration records are& records of births, marriages, and deaths kept by the government. In Posen, they were started 1 October 1874. German terms for these records include Standesamtsregister, Zivilstandsregister, or Personenstandsregister. They are an excellent source for information on names and dates and places of births, marriages, and deaths. These records are kept by the civil registrar (Standesbeamte) at the civil registry office (Standesamt). Study these links to learn what information can be found in them:
- Births (Geburtsregister)
- Marriages (Heiraten, Ehen, or Trauungen)
- Deaths (Sterberegister or Totenregister)
For a comprehensive understanding of civil registration, study the article Germany Civil Registration.
Privacy Laws
Since 2009, birth records have been public after 110 years, marriages after 80 years and deaths after 30 years. A direct relationship (direct descendants and direct ancestors) to the subject of the record sought will be required in cases where the required time period has not yet elapsed. Even then, the records may be accessible if it can be shown that all "participating parties" have died at least 30 years ago. Participating parties are both parents and the child in birth records, and both spouses in a marriage.
Finding Civil Registration Records
In this region, part of Germany which was lost to other countries after World War II, many records, both church/parish registers and civil registration records, were damaged, destroyed, or misplaced.
1. Online Records
Ancestry.com can be searched free of charge at your local FamilySearch Center.
- Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany (Poland), Selected Civil Vitals, 1874-1945, index & images, incomplete($). In the right sidebar under "Browse this collection", open the drop-down "Civil Rigistration Oiffice" list to see if your office is covered. Use the office from the time of the German Empire, as listed in the 1871 Meyer's Gazetteer.
Deaths of German Citizens Abroad
- 1939-1955 Germany, Deaths of German Citizens Abroad, Registers from Berlin Standesamt 1, 1939-1955 at Ancestry - Index and images ($)
2. Locating Records at the FamilySearch Library
Try to find records in the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Many microfilms have been digitized for online viewing. Gradually, everything will be digitized, so check back occasionally. Some have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at the FamilySearch Centers near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records:
- a. Click on the Places within Germany, Preussen, Posen drop-down menu and select your town.
- b. Click on the "Civil registration" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
- c. Choose the correct record type and time period for your ancestor. "Geburten" are births. Heiraten are marriages. "Verstorbene" are deaths.
- d. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record.
. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.
3. Archives
Several different archives have civil registration records. In fact they are "all over the place", literally. There are several "finding aids" that help with locating them.
Online Finding Aids and Databases
- The PRADZIAD Database
- Szukaj w Archiwach; Tutorial - The Polish Archives
- Genealogia w Archiwach: A joint effort by the Torun and Bydgoszcz State Archives with scans from 450 registry offices, mostly in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian area.
- Poznan Marriage Project(PMP)
- Posen Marriage Project Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- BaSIA: Database of Archival Indexing System: After locating a marriage in the Poznan Marriage Project, use this database to see the original record.
- Geneteka; Instructions
- GENBAZA; Instructions
Civil Registration information in Berlin and Poland
Standesamt I Berlin officially holds the civil registration information for the former areas of Germany.
Standesamt I Berlin
Rückerstrasse 9
10119 Berlin
Germany
- This civil registration office has at its disposal an index called "Standesregister und Personenstandsbücher der Ostgebiete im Standesamt I Berlin".
- Two more indexes called "Kirchenbücher und Personenstandregister in polnischen Staatsarchiven" (church books and civil registration indexes in Polish State Archives) and "Deutsche Personenstandsbücher und Personenstandseinträge von Deutschen in Polen" (Civil Registration records of Germans in Poland) give further information about ancestors who lived in Posen.
Holding Lists Provided by Archives
You can also consult holding lists and use search engines to search which records might be held at each archive. Brief inquiries by email about whether a record group for your locality and time period is available at that archive are generally honored..
DZfG Leipzig
German Central Office for Genealogy
State Archives Leipzig
Schongauerstraße 1
04328 Leipzig
Germany
Email: poststelle-l@sta.smi.sachsen.de
Telephone: 0341 / 255-5500
GStA Berlin
Secret State Archives Prussian
Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz
Cultural Heritage Archivstraße 12-14
14195 Berlin
Germany
Email: gsta.pk@gsta.spk-berlin.de
Phone: 030/266 44 75 00
Fax. 030/266 44 31 26
Poland
- Szukaj w Archiwach; Tutorial - The Polish Archives
Writing a Letter to Archives
How to write a letter: Detailed instruction for what to include in the letter, plus Polish translations of the questions and sentences most frequently used are in the Poland Letter Writing Guide.
In some cases, the records are held in archives in Germany. You can communicate with German archives in English.
Melderegister
Since 1874, there is an official registration of residential addresses in Germany. These data were collected by the police stations. They are kept in the civil registration office. Some offices keep them historically from their start. Other offices destroyed records for people once they died.
These registration cards were available for each respective householder. Noted on the card were his wife and any children, dates of marriage or death, and a history of resident addresses. The value of these cards is their use to determine which civil registration office might hold birth, marriage, and death certificates for the family members.
Follow the German Letter Writing Guide, and use questions 16 and 17 to request these records.
4. Compiled and Published Secondary Sources
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Compiled genealogies and published genealogies are secondary sources, not original or primary sources. As such, they are subject to human error through translation or transcription errors, mistaken interpretations, and opinion decisions of another researcher. You should make every effort to base your research on the actual, original records or their digitized images. |
Town Genealogies (Ortssippenbuch or Ortsfamilienbuch)
See the class Online Ortsfamilienbücher at Genealogy.net and the Wiki article, Germany Town Genealogies and Parish Register Inventories on the Internet. Published town genealogies, Ortssippenbuch (town lineage book) or Ortsfamilienbuch (town family book), generally include birth, marriage, and death data for all persons found in the local records during a specified time period, compiled into families based on the opinion of the author. If one is available, it should only be used as an index or guide to finding the original records. They usually contain errors. Always verify their information in original records.
Finding an OFB
- Click here to see OFBs at GenWiki. These are indexed and searchable. OFB Instructions.
- A bibliography of OFBs held by the Central Office for Person and Family History, and available in their archive in Frankfurt am Main-Höchst, is listed here. You can arrange for copied pages to be sent to you for a fee or donation. Use the "Find" function on your keyboard to search the bibliographies, as they are not alphabetical.
Reading the Records
German Records
- It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French and German to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately. Here are some resources for learning to read German records.
- These video webinars will teach you to read German handwriting:
- List of Names in Old German Script A comprehensive list of German given names, written in old script, with possible variations.
- Old German Script Transcriber (alte deutsche Handschriften): See your family names in the script of the era. Type your name or other word into the font generator tool. Click on the 8 different fonts. Save the image to your computer and use it as you work with old Germanic records.
Latin Records
Records of the Catholic church will usually be written in Latin:
Polish
Because Posen is now in Poland, some records might be in Polish.
Search Strategy
- Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find their birth record, search for the births of their brothers and sisters.
- Next, search for the marriage of their parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
- Search the death registers for all known family members.
- The marriage certificate will show the birth date, birth place, and parents of the bride and the groom.
- Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
- If earlier generations (parents, grandparents,