Identifying Place Names in German documents: Difference between revisions

Researchers should ask these questions:

Answering these questions will help you determine the spelling of a given name so you can locate the place name on modern maps and in modern gazetteers. Luckily, modern resources, like "reverse-sort indexes" and gazetteers available on the Internet, can help simplyfy the search.

     German research is first of all "locality" research, then surname research. To begin genealogical research in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and other German-speaking areas, it is necessary to know the exact place of origin. A search in an incorrect locality for someone with the same surname will produce a pedigree of incorrect lineage!  Verify the location, search for complete family units, analyze the names of associates and witnesses of your ancestor, search specific time periods, and search all available records pertinent to your research question to build a correct pedigree.  

     The patron was looking for a place in Germany by the name of "Viceneck." When the reference consultant looked at the given spelling of this place name, he knew immediately that this was a phonetic spelling. He was sure that a place with such spelling would not be listed in any of the German gazetteers, but he checked the gazetteers anyway to satisfy the patron.  

     After the gazetteers had been searched without success, the reference consultant began to analyze the problem to determine what the German spelling for this place could be. Viceneck is not a Germany spelling but a phonetic American spelling. The German spelling could be Weisneck, Weissneck, Weisnek, Weissnek, Weisseneck, Weissenek, Weisnick, Weissnick, Weisnik, Weissnik, Weisnich, Weissnich, etc.  

     None of these spellings were found in the gazetteers. After some questioning, he was informed that the name of the place was given by word of mouth by a living relative from Germany who did not speak English too well.  When the patron asked this relative where his ancestor was born, the answer given was: "Weiss nicht." Of course, "Weiss nicht" translated into English means "I don't know." The patron thought that "Weiss nicht" was the place where the ancestor was born, which he phonetically spelled as "''Viceneck''."  

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Phonetic spellings of place names is only one of several difficulties in trying to determine correct spellings for places of origin for ancestors from Europe. Another difficulty is that there are sometimes several places by the same spelling in the same province or canton of a German-speaking country. More often there are places by the same spelling found in different provinces or cantons of a certain country. It is also possible that the place name could refer to a place name in a German-speaking area outside of Germany. Problems of this nature are often difficult but not uncommon. <br>The gazetteer of the 1871 Empire of Germany is titled {{FHL|325694|title-id|disp=Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs- Lexikon}}. This gazetteer lists:  

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In a recent article in the German periodical ''Saarländische Familienkunde ''Bernd Gölzer discusses some of the common errors that can occur in family history research. Focusing on place names he identifies some of the problems that have occurred in the compilation of local family books and family histories when the wrong assumptions have been made by the authors. He illustrates with the place name "Brücken," denoting the word "bridge." He notes that in the church books of Niederkirchen, "Brücken" stands for "Osterbrücken," in the church registers of Mimbach, it stands for "Ohmbachbrücken," and in the court records of Blieskastel, it stands for "Bliesbrücken." He also questions why researchers only search records of Kutzenhausen by Augsburg or Herbitzheim an der Blies when they find these names listed in a family book, when the same place names can be found in the bordering areas of France. He suggests that authors compiling local family books and family histories should clearly identify small localities, such as mills and farms to make searching easier for other researchers.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In another example from this same article Gölzer mentions the entry of the marriage of Georg Pitz of Biernbach and Anna Gitinger from Kirkel. The author of one town family book has assumed Biernbach is the same as Birnbach im Rottal. This false assumption has misled many researchers. He explains that "Biernbach" is generally known as "Bierbach bei Blieskastel," and there the marriage entry Bietz-Gutdücken will be found, noting the spelling variation of the surnames.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In "Place Names in German-Speaking countries", Gerhard Jeske gives this research example:  

In addition to these three possibilities in Germany, there are two more possibilities, one in Switzerland and one in Austria.  

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Did your ancestor come from ''Schweindorf ''[Hog village]; Black Cat [''Schwarze Katze'', Pomerania]; ''Sumatra ''[in Brandenburg]; Over-seas [''Übersee'', Bavaria]; White Flea [''Weisse Floh'']; Yorkstown [Brandenburg]; ''Pommern ''[in Rhineland]; To the Seven Electors [''zu den sieben Kurfürsten'', Silesia]; or did he live in one of the 20 places in Germany called ''Amerika''? These are just a few of the unusual place names found in German gazetteers. <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A "gazetteer" is a geographic dictionary. Genealogists use gazetteers to obtain information such as, where, in a certain country, their research is centered, where a given place is found, how its name is spelled, or, if the place is small, where, in a nearly town or village, parish, court, or civil records can be located.5 Place name dictionaries provide examples from documents showing the evolution of a place name and its many spelling variations. <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When an exact place of origin is known and the researcher wants to find it, gazetteers must be checked. Gerhard Jeske identifies some of the important gazetteers for Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and German settlements in other European countries . Many others are available in print and also on the internet.  

'''Gazetteers - Germany'''<br>''Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs- Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs ''[FHL 943 E5mo; Film 496,640 and 496,641; fiche 6000001 to 6000029).<br>''Müllers Grosses Deutsches Ortsbuch ''[FHL 943 E5m]<br>''Gemeinde und Ortslexikon des Deutschen Reichs ''[FHL 599,563].<br>''Amtliches Gemeinde- und Ortsnamenverzeichnis der Deutschen Ostgebiete under fremder Verwaltung ''[FHL 943.8 E5b; film 824,243].<br>''Kleiner historischer Städtenamen-Schlüssel für Deutschland und die ehemaligen deutschen Gebiete ''[FHL 943 E5ve].  

• Germany - General:<br>Förstemann, E.''Altdeutsches Namenbuch, II Die Ortsnamen'', 3 Aufl. Bonn 1913-16.