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== General Historical Background == | |||
Church records (parish registers) are excellent sources of sufficiently accurate information on names, dates and places of birth / baptism, marriage and death / funeral. They are the most important source of genealogical information for Germany before 1876 most of the people who lived in Germany, were recorded in a church record. | |||
Church records are often called church books or churches books. They contain records of births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials. In addition, church records financial account books can contain (the record charges for toll bells, fees for masses for the dead, and so on), lists of confirmation, penance register communion lists, lists of members and the family register. | |||
Church records are essential for pre-1876 German research. Since civil authorities in various areas of Germany not begin registering vital statistics to 1876 are church records often the only source of family information before that date. Church records are kept even after the introduction of the civil registry, but not the Family History Library microfilm many post-1875 church books. See Germany civil registration for more information on post-1875 sources. | |||
The practice of keeping parish registers evolved slowly. The first surviving German Protestant records are from 1524 at St. Sebald in Nürnberg. Lutheran churches in general began requiring baptism, marriage, and burial records around 1540; Catholics began in 1563. By 1650 most Reformed parishes began keeping records. | The practice of keeping parish registers evolved slowly. The first surviving German Protestant records are from 1524 at St. Sebald in Nürnberg. Lutheran churches in general began requiring baptism, marriage, and burial records around 1540; Catholics began in 1563. By 1650 most Reformed parishes began keeping records. | ||
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