One of the hardest areas to research is Germany unless you have two key pieces of information.
1. Have the surname of the families as it was used in Germany.
2. A location within Germany- present or past, where the ancestor lived.
Surnames
In some cases when individuals left their native countries to immigrate to America, they changed their names. The reason varies by person. For some it was to help lessen confusion when people tried to pronounce their name. It should be noted that for most of history, words were spelled phonetically. That means people spelled the way how a words sounds, similar to a child learning to spell. An immigrant may have never intended to have their name changed, but after a while the name was spelled and pronounced differently then they were accustomed to. In every case, it is important to know what the ancestors name was in Germany. This can be found through naturalization records, ship manifests, and in family documents.
Location within Germany
Germany as we know of it today is relatively new. The current map is only 27 years old after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of East Germany and Germany. Before that the borders were different before WWII, before WWI, and before 1871 when the first unified Germany was present. There are parts of several countries such as Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Belgium, Russia, and France, which were all part of Germany at one time or another.
When the census was performed in the United States every ten years, census workers were required to ask where an individual was born and where their parents were born. They were to use the present name/country at the time of the census. At times you might see Germany listed and other times you may see Bayrn (Bavaria), Baden, or Prussia. This gives clues on where they lived in Germany.
Without an actual location, research is difficult. Because of the border changes and history of Germany, records are not housed at one central location but within various jurisdictions depending on where the person lived. This is why is it important to know a location. Other places where this information can be found is on naturalization and immigration records, family histories and documents, census records, and ship records.
Once these two vital pieces of information are found, a surname and a location in Germany, research in Germany can be started.
1. Have the surname of the families as it was used in Germany.
2. A location within Germany- present or past, where the ancestor lived.
Surnames
In some cases when individuals left their native countries to immigrate to America, they changed their names. The reason varies by person. For some it was to help lessen confusion when people tried to pronounce their name. It should be noted that for most of history, words were spelled phonetically. That means people spelled the way how a words sounds, similar to a child learning to spell. An immigrant may have never intended to have their name changed, but after a while the name was spelled and pronounced differently then they were accustomed to. In every case, it is important to know what the ancestors name was in Germany. This can be found through naturalization records, ship manifests, and in family documents.
Location within Germany
Germany as we know of it today is relatively new. The current map is only 27 years old after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of East Germany and Germany. Before that the borders were different before WWII, before WWI, and before 1871 when the first unified Germany was present. There are parts of several countries such as Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Belgium, Russia, and France, which were all part of Germany at one time or another.
When the census was performed in the United States every ten years, census workers were required to ask where an individual was born and where their parents were born. They were to use the present name/country at the time of the census. At times you might see Germany listed and other times you may see Bayrn (Bavaria), Baden, or Prussia. This gives clues on where they lived in Germany.
Without an actual location, research is difficult. Because of the border changes and history of Germany, records are not housed at one central location but within various jurisdictions depending on where the person lived. This is why is it important to know a location. Other places where this information can be found is on naturalization and immigration records, family histories and documents, census records, and ship records.
Once these two vital pieces of information are found, a surname and a location in Germany, research in Germany can be started.
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