German Trip Observations

German Trip Observations

1) Vital Records for German citizens have no central depository system as we have in America on the STATE or FEDERAL level. To find these types of records, you must know the local municipality the person lived in, their full name, and the approximate time they lived in an area. The indexes you see for German records at the LDS Library, were created by the Mormons. Anytime a person moves, they must register with the civil administration for the municipality in question. Germany has no equivalent of the American term "UNINCORPORATED" area.

2) Church records covering the years prior to 1933 are the easiest to access. The people are usually more helpful and are willing to assist you much more than civil servants. Many church officials speak English. If you've been able to do some preliminary research and can provide some basic time related information, they can be very helpful.

3) Most records for the period of 1933-1945 have been destroyed. The only localities with records for this period tend to be in rural areas which were ignored by the allied bombing raids, especially during the latter stages of WW2. The allies concentrated their bombing on industrial and urban centers. Most German children (during the World War II era) were shipped off to relatives or friends who lived outside the cities for this same reason. Records for urban and industrial cities like Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Essen, Cologne, Frankfurt, Dresden, Munich, Nuremberg, and Berlin are sketchy at best.

4) Prior to Germany becoming an organized country in the 1870's, the records kept by churches tend to be the most complete and accurate and accessible. In many cases, the churches were the primary social and political organization within a community through the end of WW1. Civil registration became more organized after 1900.

5) As WW2 progressed and allied bombers began to attack Germany, most children were evacuated from cities and raised in rural areas with grandparents or relatives. In several instances, these children ended up being adopted by the grandparents or relatives for a variety of reasons (many of the fathers served in the armed forces and were killed or imprisoned after the war, leaving many woman alone).

6) Germans arrived in America during 3 broadly-drawn periods:
1683-1820. This emigration was largely caused by religious persecutions following from the changes resulting from the 30 years war, and by economic hardship. Many were Protestants from the Palatinate area of Germany.
1820-1871. Economic hardships, including those caused by unemployment, crop failures, and starvation, was the primary cause of emigration during this period, in combination with wars and military service. Most of the emigrants during this period came from Alsace-Lorraine,
Baden, Hessen. Rheinland, and Wurttenberg.
1871-1914. Emigration became more affordable during this period, as well as much more common. All areas of Germany were effected, including Prussia.

7) It should be noted that not all Germans immigrated to America. The first significant immigration was towards the east. A number of different tribes formed the German race more than a thousand years ago-Franks, Bavarians, Saxons and Swabians, to mention only a few. Germanic tribes were pushing eastward as early as the 911 under the Duke of Franconia. These Germanic tribes would eventually overrun most of what was the original Roman Empire as far east as the Elbe. Around 1150, various tribes aligned themselves with the King of Hungary in various disputes. During the early 1300's, the Order of Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were extending German power into the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These Knights were also recruited to assist in the crusades. After the First Partition of Poland in 1772, Frederick The Great, of Prussia (1740-1786) settled the West Prussia region. In the middle of the 18th century, the empress Catherine The Great of Russia (1762-1796) invited all foreigners who possessed skills of some kind to come to Russia as settlers and colonists. Although this proclamation was distributed throughout the wealthy countries of Europe, the only major response came from Germans. Between 1804 and 1842, over 72,000 people emigrated to Russia. Some insist the figure was much higher (as much as 250,000). For a century Germanic peoples poured into Russia and established themselves in fairly close settlements in the Volga region, Black Sea Area, and the Caucasus. This drive to the east continued throughout early Germanic history until the disaster of Adolf Hitler. Many researchers also forget that Germany also had colonial properties: Tanganyika, South-West Africa, Cameroon, and Western Samoa.

8) The Immigration Route Out of Germany: Before they could leave Germany, your ancestors had to endure many steps in the process. 1) Most had to apply to the city or state (in Germany) for a passport or permission to emigrate. 2) Once they received permission and reached the port city, their names had to be added to a ship passenger list. 3) Each ship had its own list, if the ship was over-booked, they would have to find another ship and get on the waiting list. Ports of embarkation for Germans included many of the ports along the Rhine River which flows north, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Antwerp in Belgium, Le Harve in France, and Copenhagen in Denmark. In Germany itself, Hamburg has the greatest reputation as the port of embarkation (30%), it was actually Bremen that had the largest number of people leave (41%).

9) The majority of German immigrants arrived in New York City as their port of entry. If your ancestors settled in the upper mid-west or north eastern states, the New York records would likely be your best starting point. For ancestors who settled along the east coast from Philadelphia southward, you should try the ports for the region around Philadelphia and Baltimore. For immigrants settling in the South and Southwestern states, the ports of New Orleans and Galveston would be primary possibilities. If your ancestors settled in the Mississippi River basin, even as far north as Minnesota, both New York and New Orleans should be considered as strong possibilities. (New York would still likely be the first choice). New Orleans would still be a strong candidate, because the Mississippi River afforded easy access to mid-western locations. The journey by boat was longer, but was easier and safer than the overland trek. An example of one group of people who took this route were the Saxons who eventually settled Missouri. Of the four vessels that carried this group of people, three landed at New Orleans, one chose to land at New York.

Some Germans landed on the West Coast, attracted by the 1849 gold rush. The port of entry for these people tended to be San Francisco. Due to a fire, almost nothing remains of these records.

10) Definition of a Palatine. This term which is connected with German speaking peoples is often misunderstood. Generally speaking, a "Palatine" is someone who came from the region of Germany called the Palatine. The nature of this area can be confusing because prior to 1871, the area we now call Germany was a number of separate nation states such as Wurttemberg, Prussia, Bavaria, etc., whose boundaries changed frequently as a result of countless wars. The Palatine was one of these states, and was located along the Rhine River where modern day Rhineland-Pfalz is located.

The original lands which constituted the Palatinate were lands held by the Count Palatine, a title held by a leading secular prince of the Holy Roman Empire. Geographically, the Palatinate was divided between two small territorial clusters: the Rhenish, or Lower Palatinate, and the Upper Palatinate. The Rhenish Palatinate included lands on both sides of the Middle Rhine River between its main and Neckar tributaries. Its capital until the 18th century was Heidelberg. The Upper Palatinate was located in northern Bavaria, on both sides of the Naab River as it flows south towards the Danube, and extended eastward to the Bohemia Forest. The boundaries of the Palatinate varied with the political and dynastic fortunes of the Counts Palatine.

During the War of the Grand Alliance (1689-1697), the troops of the French Monarch Louis XIV ravaged the Rhenish Palatinate, causing many Germans to emigrate. Many of the early German settlers to America (the Pennsylvania Dutch) were refugees from the Palatinate. During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the Palatinate's land on the west bank of the Rhine were incorporated into France, while its eastern lands were divided largely between the neighboring nation states of Baden and Hesse. After the defeat of Napoleon (1814-1815), the Congress of Vienna gave the east-bank lands to Bavaria. These lands, together with some surrounding territories, again took the name of Palatinate in 1838.

In the 18th and 19th century, the term "Palatine" was used in the United States to describe immigrants from the original Palatinate state and adjoining areas. Finding an American reference to someone from the "Palatinate" may not point to any one specific place or origin, but rather an approximate location in southern or western Germany. To some Americans, the modern definition of Palatines refers to German speaking immigrants who came to America regardless of where they originated from.

11) Definition of a German Immigrant. Many of the German speaking immigrants who settled in America came from countries other than present day Germany, since before Germany became a organized country in 1871, it was a collection of small states, duchies, kingdoms and principalities. Each had its own customs, language dialects, and governmental structure. These lands. When doing "German" research, your search could encompass the following territorial boundaries: much of north-central Europe stretching from the North Sea to the Nieman River near Kaunas, Lithuania. In modern geographic terms, this would include parts of Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the eastern part of Russia. Today, German is the mother tongue of more than 100 million people.

12) From 1816 to 1914, roughly 5 million Germans immigrated to the United States. In 1900, 10% of the population of the U.S. was of German descent. 29 of the 48 states had more residents with German descent than any other nationality. The 29 states were: NY, NJ, PA, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, IO, NE, KS, DE, MD, VA, WV, NC, SC, GA, AL, MS, TN, KY, MS, AR, TX, OK, CO, CA, OR. In 1990, 28% or 52 million Americans are of German descent. From 1880-1891, 1.5 million people left Germany. In 1891, the national census taken in Germany claimed 49 million people. In 1891, 115,392 people emigrated from Germany, roughly 100,000 of whom came to the USA. From 1850 to 1860, 950,000 people left Germany, roughly 850,000 of whom came to the United States. From 1946 to 1961, 780,000 people left Germany, of whom almost 400,000 came to the United States.

13) Statistically, Germans were the largest individual population group to become part of the American melting pot. By 1900, almost 25% of the population of the United States was identified as being part German. In 1986, census bureau statistics indicated that German ancestry had replaced British ancestry as the leading ancestral background of American citizenry.

14) Many Germans "Americanized" their names upon arrival in America. In many cases, this resulted in a shortening of their name, or changing the spelling to fit the American version of the name. When searching for the original meanings of German surnames, your best tool can often be found in a German-English Dictionary.

15.) Handouts: They are divided into ten sections: 1) German Immigration-Historical Overview. A brief history of German immigration which will give you an overview of important dates and highlights which have impacted the field of German research. 2) German Genealogical Research Sources. This section covers resources available both in the United States and Germany. The LDS library System has the largest concentration of German Immigration records available in the U.S. and Europe. Mormon records are indexed and in better condition than many in Germany itself due to damage in WW2. The National Archives has the largest collection of surviving immigration records. Resources unique to Germany are also described in this section. 3) German Genealogical Societies. Names and addresses of societies are provided. This list includes organizations both in the United States and Germany. 4) German Internet Sources. Includes websites addresses, and brief description of services offered for each site. 5) Current holdings of materials related to German Genealogical Research at Fort Myers-Lee County Library. 6) German Umlauts & Genealogical Symbols. 7) Basic German Genealogical Vocabulary. 8) Listing of German City, State, Parish, and Family Archives in Germany. Copied from In Search Of Your German Roots by Angus Baxter. 9) Sample of German Genealogical Form Letters & Phrases copied from A Genealogical Handbook Of German Research by Larry D. Jensen. 10) Sample Genealogy Letters for Germany, Poland, and Italy: courtesy of Donna's Genealogy Home Page.