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Finding Aids For German Records: Difference between revisions
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==Studying Your German Locality for Important Details== | ==Studying Your German Locality for Important Details== | ||
*To begin using the records of Germany, knowing that your family came from Germany will not be enough to use the records of Germany. Records are kept on the local level, so you will have to know the town they lived in. Even when you know the town, the records for that town might be stored in the | *To begin using the records of Germany, knowing that your family came from Germany will not be enough to use the records of Germany. Records are kept on the '''local level''', so you will have to know '''the town they lived''' in. Even when you know the town, the records for that town might be stored in the '''records of a church in a nearby town'''. | ||
*Here are important details you must identify about your ancestors' town: | *Here are important details you must identify about your ancestors' town: | ||
**if you have only a village name, you will need the name of the larger municipality it was part of. | **if you have only a village name, you will need the name of the larger '''municipality''' it was part of. | ||
**the county (Kreis) | **the county (Kreis) snd the '''province or duchy''' governing that town, | ||
**where the civil registration office ("Standesamt") was and now is, | **where the '''civil registration office ("Standesamt")''' was and now is, | ||
**where the | **where the ''' Evangelical Lutheran or Catholic parish church''' overseeing that town was (depending on their religion), | ||
**Eventually, you might need to know the names of '''neighboring towns''' and the '''churches who served them. ''' When you come to a dead-end in your research, you will need to look at the records of near-by towns. People tended to not move very far away, and sometimes you will be able to pick up the research again in these towns. | |||
**Eventually, you might need to know the names of neighboring towns and the churches who served them. | |||
===Finding Evidence of Your Ancestors' Town in United States Records=== | ===Finding Evidence of Your Ancestors' Town in United States Records=== | ||
If you do not yet know the name of the town of your ancestor's birth, there are well-known strategies for a thorough hunt for it. | If you do not yet know the name of the town of your ancestor's birth, there are well-known strategies for a thorough hunt for it. | ||