Table of Contents

• Ancestral Research in Germany
• Information in the USA
• German Computer Genealogists
• Please read before writing us
• Mailing address and further information

Ancestral Research in Germany

There are a number of private societies of hobby-genealogists, each working in a region within its historic lines of demarcation (a country, province, town). These societies know the genealogical literature and location of archives of their region and can give competent information on facts at hand and recommendations. But they cannot do any research work for you. In many cases they can get you in contact with a professional genealogist, archives or another suitable institution. To pay their fees would be up to you.

Basically, records are those on birth (child and parents), marriages (couple and sometimes their parents), and death. Records are kept only at municipal civil registrar's offices (Standesamt), working in general since 1876, in Württemberg since 1816. Also in parochial Protestant/Lutheran and Catholic archives. These records of christening, marriages and burrials, often going back to the year 1600, are written in script - one must know how to decipher. The systems are decentralized and in exact chronological order. Their facts and data being in no computer, one must know where the events took place and their confession to be able to locate and evaluate documents. In principle there will be no answer to questions on an ancestor without quoting his place of origin, birth or marriage and confession. General indications, such as "Germany", "Württemberg", "the region of Stuttgart" will not do. (By the way: "Baden" or "Hannover" means in general the state of Baden or Hannover rather than the city of Baden-Baden or Hannover, respectively.)

The place of origin of an emigrant, if there is no other source, may be found in the rather incomplete records of emigration (especially in the 19th century) of the countries of Baden, Bayern, Hessen-Darmstadt, Pfalz and Württemberg. Or from the harbour of Hamburg.

Emigration of Baden and Wuerttemberg

Emigration site of the Landesarchivdirektion Baden-Württemberg

Passenger-lists from the harbour of Hamburg

Historic Emmigration Office, Postfach 10 22 49, D-20015 Hamburg

Projekt "Link to your roots"

Staatsarchiv Hamburg

Passenger-lists from other harbours are not available. Positive results on any research work cannot be guaranteed and still fees are involved.

See also tips on researching German emigrants to the USA.

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Information in the USA

Before starting a wild search here in Germany, try to obtain advice and information at home by contacting a local association which you can find in Meyer's Directory of Genealogical Societies in the USA and Canada, published by Paul M. Harrod Company, Baltimore, Maryland 31234.

See also this page of General Help on German Genealogy.

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German Computer Genealogists

The German computer genealogists maintain a common web site where for most German genealogical associations contributes to. This German genealogical net is available at http://www.genealogy.net.

One big database are the one Forscherkontakte. More than 2,500 researchers have sent in the surnames they have researched. You can buy parts of the database on a floppy disc or printed in books. The parts are sorted regionally. We call them "Regionallisten". For our research area it is the Regionalliste Baden-Württemberg, Ausgabe 1994. In the meantime the Forscherkontakte and further data bases are online.

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Please read before writing us

Our society is a private, non-sponsored genealogical society of hobby-genealogists. Although the assistants in our office (mainly seniors between 65 and 85) are volunteers, including the translators, we incur a lot of expenses in maintaining our office, our library and for the very expensive German mail. Therefore we are not in a position to act on inquiries unless we get some money. For this reason we charge the following fees:

1. Members doesnot pay fees for the consultation of our office, but for our expenses for photostatic copies and mail.

2. Non-members pay for each request Euro 10,- (or US-$ 10,-), also plus expenses for photostatic copies and mail. In case the necessary work spread, we will write to the applicant before starting the research and ask him, if he is willing to accept the additional costs.

Payment: Cash (Euro or US-Dollar). Cheques cannot be accepted (because of the bank fees), except for cheques drawn on a bank in Germany.

We receive hundreds of inquiries every year, 60% from the USA, most of them written in English, many without adding money, but include US stamps instead, which of course are not accepted by our German post-poffices.

Generally all inquirers are asked to use a typewriter and to print names of persons and places. Note: good English is understood better than insufficient German.

With kind regards and good luck for your undertaking!

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Mail address and further information

Mail address

All letters and shipments for the society should be addressed to:

Geschäftsstelle des Vereins für Familien- und Wappenkunde in Baden-Württemberg e.V.
Postfach 10 54 41
D-70047 Stuttgart
Germany
Email: wappen@wlb-stuttgart.de

Further information
( in German language) on the Verein für Familien- and Wappenkunde in Baden-Württemberg

• Addresses
• Publications
• Catalogue of the society library
• Calendar of events
• Articles of association

Membership fee

Since 2002 the memebership fee amounts to EUR 20,00.

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