Introduction to German Parish Records

Until the early 1900s, the majority of the population in the Germanic states was engaged in agriculture. Thus, most of us with Germanic heritage will have at least some ancestors engaged in farming. German farm customs were different from those in America and German farmers were tied to their land...

German parish registers are an indispensable resource in German genealogy. Yet, many of us hesitate because of the difficulties in reading these rich mines of information. Despite these challenges, you can train yourself to read and interpret enough of the records to make substantial progress on your genealogy. They are…

Continue your work in Germanic parish records, with examples and cases that will help you with an array of strategies and situations to help you learn how to bridge the gaps and build your Germanic lineage.

In 1762, Empress Catherine of Russia invited ethnic Germans to immigrate to Russia to develop the country's agriculture, allowing them to retain their language and culture. Thousands of Germans left their native land to settle in their own ethnic and religious groups. In the late 19th century some of Catherine's…

Despite their reputation for being rooted to their localities, Germans do have a history of migration within their own country, especially after the onset of industrialization in the mid-19th century. In this presentation, we will explore the various patterns of internal migration, and offer guidance on how to navigate these movements to aid in your search for ancestors.

Due to the constantly growing offer of online accessible sources for German genealogical research, an important cornerstone of the actual research is more and more disregarded: the classical research in an archive. A good preparation facilitates the archive visit immensely and makes the search in the historical documents an experience that will never replace a research on the screen. Particularly if you intend to add “meat to the bones” and find more valuable information about your ancestors besides dates and places of birth, marriage and/or death. There are many individual records in German archives and it would be a shame never to look at these wonderful documents. A visit to a German archive can be rather intimidating. Besides language barriers, the archival structures are initially often difficult to understand. But help is near! This presentation will cover professional tips & tricks for research in a German Archive – from preparation over execution to follow-up, if applicable. If you are unfamiliar with a specific archive, it is already difficult as a German to make the most of an archival research visit. Particularly as archives do not offer to conduct complex research projects on your behalf, you have to be prepared to do it yourself.

Ethnic Germans went to Ukraine for two major reasons: For economic opportunities and for the chance to practice their chosen religions. The Lutherans, Baptists and Mennonites who migrated east often followed different paths, but there are common factors in their history as well. This session reviews some of the most important sources that apply to all, as well as sources that are specific to each denomination.

Discover online records for German-speaking ancestors from Brandenburg, East Prussia, Pomerania, Posen, Silesia, and West Prussia. Despite some record loss for these geographic areas, hundreds of years of church and civil records can be found in archives in Poland, Germany, and the US, using the search strategies in this presentation.

German vital records can be goldmines of information for your ancestors. Learn how to search MyHeritage to find these records and how to decipher them once you do.