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Alsace-Lorraine
1.   Alsace-Lorraine was bordered by Switzerland, Germany, France, Luxembourg, and Belgium.  
2.   Although considered a part of Germany Alsace was granted to France in 1648. Lorraine became part of France in 1766.  
3.   In 1871 almost all of Alsace and the northeastern part of Lorraine became part of the German Empire.  
4.   Following World War I Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France.  
5.   In Alsace-Lorraine the Roman Catholic Church is the main religion, although most towns are Protestant.  
6.   The Family History Library has microfilmed the church records.  
 
Anhalt
1.   Anhalt is a small state surrounded almost entirely by Saxony.  
2.   The majority of the people were Lutheran.  
3.   Anhalt remained independent until 1871 when it joined the German Empire.  
 
Emigration
1.   Freedom of religion was the reason many emigrants gave for leaving Germany.  
2.   Freedom from wars and military service was a big reason for people leaving Germany because military service was mandatory.  
3.   There was a lack of land in areas where farms had been divided many times among surviving children. The small plots of land could not support a family.  
4.   Dreams of a united, democratic Germany never seemed to come about.  
5.   People were invited to come to American and settle on its frontiers and work in its factories.  
6.   As the steamships shortened the crossing time more people traveled.  
7.   The letters from others who made the trip were full of reasons why other family members should join them.  
8.   Between 1830 and 1845 rising prices, revolutions, and the cholera epidemic were reasons for people to leave Germany.  
9.   Between 1850 and 1855 it became easier to emigrate because railroad and ship lines’ fares were cheaper.  
10.   In the 1860’s the news spread to Germany about the Homestead Act of 1862.  
 
German Civil Registration
1.   The Protestant and Catholic churches were ordered to keep records of the new babies, marriages and deaths which they faithfully did from the 1600s to the present.  
2.   Baptisms, marriages and burial services were performed by church officials, and that is what was recorded.  
3.   Civil Registration in Germany started in: 1792 in Lorraine.  
4.   Civil Registration in Germany started in: 1798 in Alsace, Palatinate and Rhineland.  
5.   Civil Registration in Germany started in: 1793 in Hesse and Waldeck.  
6.   Civil Registration in Germany started in: 1808 in Westphalia.  
7.   Civil Registration in Germany started in: 1809 in Hanover.  
8.   Civil Registration in Germany started in: 1810 in Baden.  
9.   Civil Registration in Germany started in: 1811 in Bremen, Lubeck and Oldenburg.  
10.   Civil Registration in Germany started in: 1866 in Hamburg.  
11.   Civil Registration in Germany started in: 1874 in Bradenburg, East Prussia, Holstein, Pomerania, Posen, Saxony (Province), Schleswig, Silesia and West Prussia.  
12.   Civil Registration in Germany started in: 1876 in Anhalt, Bavaria, Brunswick, Lippe, Mecklenburg, Saxony (Kingdom), Thuringia and Wuerttemberg.  
 
German Foods
1.   For breakfast (Früstuck) there are fresh rolls with butter, cheese, or jam; or bread with butter, sausage, cheese or ham. This is served with coffee or tea. Children drink milk. For weekends and special occasions there may be a special pastry or soft-boiled egg.  
2.   For a mid morning snack (Brotzeit – bread trim) there will be a slice of bread or a fresh roll with butter and cheese. Sometimes a cucumber, radish or sausage may be added along with coffee, tea or fruit juice.  
3.   The largest meal (Mittagessen) of the day is served between noon and 2 P.M. A soup, salad, fish or meat dish, vegetable and maybe, dessert are served. Beverages include beer wine, fruit juice or mineral water without ice.  
4.   Late afternoon is time for coffee and cake or tore (Kaffee und Kuchen or Torten). Strong coffee is sometimes served with cream or whipped cream. German cakes are varied and may include cheesecakes, or a fancy torte such as Black Forest Cherry Cake.  
5.   The evening meal (Abendessen) is usually a simple, at home meal with bread, butter, cheese, sausage or other meat, a salad or fruit with beer, wine, coffee, tea, fruit juice or mineral water.  
 
German Names
1.   It was not until the 1100’s that surnames were added to further distinguish all those with the same first name.  
2.   Germans were fond of using double names like Johann Heinrich, Johann Christian, Anna Christine, or Anna Margaretha. Only the third name was different because that is the name they used every day. For example: Wilhelm Fredrich Gottlieb, Wilhelm Fredrich Martin, Wilhelm Fredrich Christian, or Wilhelm Fredrich Carl.  
3.   The first son was named for the father’s father. The second son for the mother’s father. The third son for the father’s paternal grandfather. The fourth son for the father’s maternal grandfather. The fifth son for the mother’s paternal grandfather. The sixth son for the maternal grandfather. The first daughter for the father’s father. The second daughter for the mother’s father. The third daughter for the father’s paternal grandfather. The fourth daughter for the father’s maternal grandfather. The fifth daughter for the mother’s paternal grandfather. The sixth daughter for the mother’s maternal grandfather.  
4.   Some regions named the baby after the godparents, which were chosen very carefully. Take special note of the godparents, which were usually close relatives.  
5.   Germans often used abbreviations or spelling variations for names. Examples are: Johannes, Johann, Johan, Joh., Hannes, or Hans. To save space some names were abbreviated as A. for Anna, J. for Johann, M. for Maria, and W. for Wilhelm.  
6.   Biblical or Saint names were always the most popular. The names of the ruling king or duke and his family were also popular.  
7.   Male forenames did not end with an “-a.” Names ending with “-us” are the Latin form indicating a possible Catholic connection. The beginning letters K and C are interchangeable and could be used both ways.  
 
German Social Classes
1.   German Social Classes - The kings, bishops and nobility were at the top of the list of three classes in Germany in the 17th and 18 centuries.  
2.   German Social Classes - The second class was the shopkeepers, artisans and servants that worked in the towns or cities  
3.   German Social Classes - The bottom class was the goat and swine herders, shepherds, ploughmen, milkmaids, common peasants and the serfs. They had no surnames and made up the largest percentage of the population.  
4.   German Social Classes - Peasant uprisings were common and attempts to improve conditions were tried in 1476, 1493, 1502, 1513, 1514, 1517 and 1524. They were all defeated.  
 
How To
1.   Use timelines to find holes in your research.  
2.   Maps of all kinds are important to your family research.  
3.   An emigrant is a person who leaves a country to reside in another counry.  
4.   Check home sources, e.g. old letters, post cards, family Bibles, for clues to your immigrant ancestor.  
5.   Contact relatives looking for family documents, letters, diaries, etc. to aid in your research.  
6.   Purchase a German-English dictionary for your German genealogy reference library.  
7.   Consult original records. Look for records kept at the local or national leve in the U.S. which may reveal your immigrant ancestor's hometown.  
8.   Research your ancestor's hometown on a map and determine the juristiction where records were kept.  
9.   Search church records from your ancestor's hometown.  
10.   Before you try to "cross the pond" you must know the name of the specific place (city town, village) where your immigrant lived.  
11.   Familiarize yourself with resources available for German genealogy from the nearest Family History Center or by using the Library Catalog on their website (www.familysearch.org).  
12.   Seek out German genealogy societies in the United States. Many have excellent information available and their membership is usually quite inexpensive.  
13.   Exhaust all U.S. records before you try to "cross the pond."  
14.   Research U.S. birth, marriage and death records for important information.  
15.   Research church records in the are where your family lived in the U.S. for Baptisms/Christenings, Marriages, Death and Burial records for important information.  
16.   Check the U.S. Federeal Census for 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. There is information about immigration there!  
17.   Probate records provide a wealth of information for listing heirs (spouse and children) and determining family relationships.  
18.   Land and property records give you a peek into your ancestor's life.  
19.   German church records are almost the only primary source of records before 1875.  
20.   Remember... there was no "Germany" as we know it until 1871. Before that, there were small kingdoms, duchies, dukedoms, etc.  
21.   Catholic Church records were written in Latin until the early 19th century.  
22.   Church registers began between 1530 and 1750 to record religious events associated with baptisms, marriages and burials of persons living in its respective parishes.  
 
Medical Practices
1.   The life expectancy of Prussian male in 1816 was 26.5 years, a woman 28.7 years. By 1865 – 1867 the figures were 32.4 for men and 34.9 for women.  
2.   In some areas one third of the babies died before their first birthday and about one third of the children died before their tenth birthday.  
 
Pomerania
1.   The former duchy of Pomerania is along the Baltic coast. It has been fought over and claimed by several major players.  
2.   Germanic people from the west and south, Slavic people from the east and Scandinavians from the north have settled Pomerania.  
3.   The majority of Pomerania is now in Poland with only the far western part, west of the Oder River, in Germany.  
4.   The Pomeranians emigrated as whole families or groups. They traveled together and settled together keeping their language and culture wherever they went.  
 
Ports
1.   In the early 1800’s the popular departure ports for southern Germans were Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Le Havre.  
2.   In 1852 Bremen replaced Le Havre as the port of choice for German people.  
3.   Many family members sailed from the same port previous family members sailed from.  
4.   Bremen started departure lists in 1832 but after 1874 any list over 2 years old was destroyed. Some lists have been reconstructed. They cover the years: 1847 – 1854, 1855 – 1862, 1863 – 1867, and 1868 – 1871. They only include emigrants where a specific place of origin was given.  
5.   Hamburg’s police and port authorities kept lists of ship passengers from 1850 – 1913. These lists are arranged by direct and indirect lists.  
 
Posen
1.   Posen is bordered by West Prussia, Brandenburg, Silesia and on the east by Russian Poland.  
2.   Following World War II Poland was restored by combining land east of the Oder river which once was Posen, West Prussia, Silesia, eastern Pomerania, most of East Prussia, and the eastern tip of Silesia and Brandenburg.  
3.   If the Family History Library does not have your church records then try the Archdiocesan Archive in Poznan, which has a collection of vital church records, mostly from the 1700 and 1800s for over 300 parishes.  
4.   The Pomeranian Evangelical Church Archives (Pommerische Evangelische Kirche – PEK) has church records for 97 Pomeranian parishes. They have not been filmed by the Family History Library.  
5.   The cities accepted the Protestant religion and kept their German cultural influence.  
 
Prussia
1.   Prussia existed from 1701 to 1947. It will not appear on a modern map.  
2.   Prussia was between France and the Netherlands on the west and Poland and Hungary on the east.  
3.   Prussia was made up of 2,000 independent countries of various sizes. They all had their own laws, government, and military.  
4.   Prussia was as if they formed a network of states like in America with Prussia being the USA which was broken into smaller units.  
5.   Prussia at its largest was smaller than California.  
 
Prussia - East and West
1.   East and West Prussia are along the Baltic Sea. They border Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Posen and Pomerania.  
2.   The Reformation had no effect in the rural areas of West Prussia and remained Catholic.  
3.   Lutheran church records were kept from 1815 – 1874 or in a special Dissidenten-Register from 1847 – 1874. Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths were started in October 1874 at the civil registration office (Standesamt).  
4.   Over 7,000 church registers from over 500 Lutheran parishes have survived and were filmed by the LDS church. These parishes were in Prussia, Pomerania, Silesia and Posen.  
5.   New German Law: Birth records will be available if they are one hundred ten years old, which means records through 1899. Marriage records must be eighty years old (though 1929). Death records must be thirty years old (through 1979). They have been sent to appropriate state archives.  
 
Rhineland
1.   The term Rhineland today refers to the Prussian province plus Rhenish and Southwestern Hesse, Rhenish Palatinate and Northwest Baden.  
2.   Napoleon invaded the left bank of the Rhine in 1792 and by 1794, the French troops occupied the region.  
3.   The right bank of the Rhine had no problems being part of Prussia, but the left bank had strong anti-Prussian feelings. This came from Prussia being Protestant while the left bank was strongly Catholic.  
4.   Civil registration started in 1792 in the Rhineland thanks to Napoleon which also meant from 1792 to 1805 they were written in French.  
 
Schleswig-Holstein
1.   Schleswig-Holstein is located on the Jutland peninsula between Denmark and Germany.  
2.   Schleswig was a Danish duchy from the 11th century until annexed to Prussia in 1864.  
3.   Holstein was a German county with ties to the Danish duchy of Schleswig since 1386.  
4.   In 1476 a treaty decided that Schleswig and Holstein never should be divided.  
5.   After the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 Austria gave up Holstein which allowed Schleswig and Holstein to be combined as one unit into Prussia.  
6.   Following World War I, in 1920, the northern part of Schleswig was returned to Denmark until Hitler claimed North Schleswig during the Second World War. It was returned to Denmark after Hitler’s defeat.  
7.   Schleswig turned Protestant in 1533 and Holstein in 1542. Starting in 1646 the churches were required to record births, marriages and deaths. The Family History Library has not been able to film these books.  
 
Thuringia
1.   Thuringia was a name given to a group of eight independent duchies and principalities in 1920. The area is in central Germany and is mainly Saxon descent  
2.   Thuringia is surrounded by Bavaria, Saxony, and Hesse-Kassel  
3.   The LDS does not have very many records of Thuringia.  
4.   In Thuringia, the majority of the people were Lutherans although there were areas of Catholics in the southeast.  
5.   In Thuringia during the Communist rule (1946-1989), it was not popular to be a member of a church. If a family did not belong to or attend a church that meant the usual events recorded in church books would not be there.  
 
Württemberg
1.   Roman Catholics in Württemberg were mainly in the south and in the north. The Evangelische Landeskirche (German Evangelical Church) was the predominate religion in Württemberg.  
2.   The Württemberg Emigration Inde by Trudy Schenk, Salt Lake City, UY, 1986-2002. These eight volumes do not contain ALL emigrants. It has about 20% of all emigrations. It includes name, date and place of birth, date of immigration, and place left from.  
3.   The Family History Library has many sources available on Württemberg on microfilm, microfiche and in books, maps and atlases. In FamilySearch.org there is a list of 1,980 towns and cities in Württemberg for which the FHL has holdings in its collection.  
4.   Württemberg is one of the areas to have a large number of Ortsippenbicher/Dorfsippenbicher.  
 
Westphalia
1.   Westphalia is bordered by the Netherlands to the northwest, Hanover to the north, Rhineland to the southwest and Schaumburg-Lippe to the east.  
2.   In 1895 the population of Westphalia was about 51% Catholic and 49% Evangelical.  
3.   Peak years of emigration from Westphalia to the U.S. were from 1833 to the 1850s and from 1880 to 1885.