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Schleswig-Holstein Court Records: Difference between revisions
Schleswig-Holstein Court Records (view source)
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=== Where are the court records of yesteryear? === | === Where are the court records of yesteryear? === | ||
Most Schleswig-Holsteiner belonged to the land population. Their civil and criminal law cases were registered with the authorities presiding over them, i.e. the manor lords, the patrimonial courts, the bishops. The people of the cities registered with the magistrates. Higher jugdements were made by the Amt, the higher courts and the German Kanzley in Copenhagen. When Schleswig-Holstein came under Prussian rule, the entire legal system was reorganized. The Prussians established lower courts called Amtsgerichte. We find lower courts already in Eutin and Schwartau (both belonged to the Fürstentum Lübeck) in 1861. In 1867 eighty-six Amtsgerichte were established throughout Schleswig-Holstein. This number was reduced to 70 courts in 1879. Throughout the decades the number of lower courts in Schleswig-Holstein shrank to 30 in 1995. | Most Schleswig-Holsteiner belonged to the land population. Their civil and criminal law cases were registered with the authorities presiding over them, i.e. the manor lords, the patrimonial courts, the Amtmann or Hardesvogt,the bishops. The people of the cities registered with the magistrates. Higher jugdements were made by the Amt, the higher courts and the German Kanzley in Copenhagen. When Schleswig-Holstein came under Prussian rule, the entire legal system was reorganized. The Prussians established lower courts called Amtsgerichte. We find lower courts already in Eutin and Schwartau (both belonged to the Fürstentum Lübeck) in 1861. In 1867 eighty-six Amtsgerichte were established throughout Schleswig-Holstein. This number was reduced to 70 courts in 1879. Throughout the decades the number of lower courts in Schleswig-Holstein shrank to 30 in 1995. | ||
An Amtsgericht is typically responsible for civil and criminal law cases. Since we do not know if an ancestor was involved in prosecution, the researcher should pay attention particularly to the so called Schuld- und Pfandprotokolle, the precusor to the modern land record office (Grundbuchamt which now is a part of the Amtsgericht | An Amtsgericht is typically responsible for civil and criminal law cases. Since we do not know if an ancestor was involved in prosecution, the researcher should pay attention particularly to the so called Schuld- und Pfandprotokolle, the precusor of records belonging to the modern land record office (Grundbuchamt) which now is a part of the Amtsgericht. Every city, every cultural area, every Amt and each manor kept such a record, with one page for each owner. A copy of this record was kept as well, the Neben- und Kontraktbücher. They contain the complete text of each contract. We find sales, inheritances, retirement and now and then a marriage contract. Next to church book entries, this is where the genealogist will find pertinent information to trace his ancestors back to early times, since property usually was transferred to children. These records are found today in the Landesarchiv Schleswig-Holstein, stored in Abteilungen (departments) and searchable through Findbücher (archival indexes). The archive catalog is online at http://www.schleswig-holstein.de/LA/DE/Service/04 other Schleswig-Holstein archives and their catalogs are found under http://www.archive.schleswig-holstein.de/index2.html | ||
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