Germanic Genealogy A Guide To Worldwide Sources And Migration Patterns, 3rd Edition

Researchers have long wondered the best way to group “Germans” as a people. The fact is, those identifying themselves, or their ancestors, as German actually come from so many different racial, cultural, geographical, and political backgrounds, there is little more than an language they share in common. Yet, language is more than enough reason for descendants of those whose ancestors speak or spoke German to be considered of Germanic descent.

In the preface of their book, Germanic Genealogy A Guide To Worldwide Sources And Migration Patterns, 3rd Edition, authors from the Germanic Genealogy Society acknowledge the diversity of those considered to be of Germanic origin and choose language as the basis for this research guide. Indeed, this book is “intended as a guide to help beginning and advanced genealogists search for their German-speaking ancestors throughout the world. Its emphasis is on the records of  the countries of origin.”

The guide is comprehensive, offering 658-pages of resources, including:

• Country by country guides to resources
• Religious history and sources
• Germanic history and geography
• Societies, publishers, booksellers, periodicals and archives
• German language genealogical terms
• How to get started on your genealogical research
• How to find your ancestor’s place of origin

For those familiar with previous editions of this guide, here is what is new in the third edition:

• Resources for Specific Regions of Germany
• New material for Eastern Europe
• Detailed Information for Specific Area of Canada
• How To Information for Major Steps
• Updated and New Maps
• Expanded and Revised Information for over 90 Countries
• Many Websites for Internet Research

Get your own copy of Germanic Genealogy A Guide To Worldwide Sources And Migration Patterns, 3rd Edition from Family Roots Publishing

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Acknowledgments and Credits

1. Beginning Your Search

• Important Acronyms and Abbreviations

2. Using United States Records to find Your Ancestor’s Place of Origin

• Finding the Place of Origin
• Using the Records
• Steps to Further Your Research
• Finding Professional Genealogists
• Checklist of Research Sources
  • Family Sources
  • Church and Other Private Records
  • Newspapers and Other Publications
  • Public Records

3. Computers and Genealogy

• Genealogy Software
• Genealogy CD-ROMs
• Online Services

4. Family History Library and Its Centers

5. Passenger Departure and Arrival Lists

• Passenger Departure Lists
• Passenger Arrival Lists
• Ships Used for Immigration

6. Personal and Place names

• Personal Names
  • German Surnames and Anglicized Versions
  • German Given Names
• Place Names
  • Finding the Locality
  • Misspelled or Changed Place Names
  • Gazetteers, Atlases and Maps

7. Political and Physical Geography

• The Changing Political Geography of Ancestral Homelands
• Physical Geography and Historic Designations

8. History of German-Speaking People in Europe

• The German Empire of 1871 to 1918
• The Austro-Hungarian Empire of 1867 to 1919
• The Russian Empire of 1815 to 1917
• Switzerland
• Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
• Principality of Liechtenstein
• The Ottoman Turkish Empire

9. History, Migration and Genealogy of Various Religious Denominations

• The Medieval church and Dissident Groups
• Early Reformation/Courtier-Reformation Ear, 1517-1648
• Persecution, Flight and Emigration After 1648
  • Flight and Emigration to and within Germanic Europe
  • Flight and Emigration From Germanic Europe
• Religious Demography of Germanic Countries in 1900
• Religious Demography of German-Americans in 1906
• Evolution of Churches to which German-American and German-Canadians Belonged
• Genealogical Resources for Particular Denominations
  • Roman Catholic Church
  • Lutheran Churches
  • Reformed Churches
  • Other Churches That Practice infant Baptism
  • Churches That Practice Adult Baptism
  • Churches that Do Not Perform Baptisms
  • Churches With Mixed Practices

10 Genealogical Resources for German Jewish Ancestry

• Jewish Names
• Communal Records
• Libraries and Archives
• Cemetery Records
• Family Histories
• Genealogical Societies and Periodicals
• Computer Genealogy
• Holocaust Research
• Yizkor Books
• Research in Austria and Switzerland

11. Germanic Migration to Non-European Countries

• Reasons for Germanic Emigration
• Germanic Migration to the United States
• Germanic Migration to Canada
• Germanic Migration to Latin America and the Caribbean
• Germanic Migration to Africa
• Germanic Migration to Asia
• Germanic Migration to the Southwest Pacific

12. Researching Germanic Ancestors in Canada

13. Researching Germanic Ancestors in Latin America and the Caribbean

14. Researching Germanic ancestors in Africa

• South Africa
• Former German Colonies and Protectorates in Africa
• Central Africa

15. Researching Germanic Ancestors in Asia

• China
• Palestine
• Turkey (Asia Minor)
• South Asia, Malay Peninsula, Malay Archipelago (East Indies or East India)

16. Researching Germanic Ancestors in Australia and the South Pacific

• Australia
• New Zealand
• Former German Colonies and Protectorates in the Southwest Pacific

17. Researching Germanic Ancestors in Europe

• Checklist of Records Used in Genealogical Research
• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Commonwealth of Independent States
  • Former Russian Empire
  • European Russia
  • Ukraine
  • Volhynia
  • The Caucasus (Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, South Russia)
  • Siberia and Non-Russian Republics
• Czechoslovakia: Successor States
  • The Czech Republic (Bohemia, Moravia)
  • The Slovak Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
  • General Records and Resources
    • Church Records
    • Multi-jurisdictional Church Archives
    • Civil Records
    • Civil Archives
    • Miscellaneous Resources
    • Records for Emigrants, Immigrants and Resettlers
    • Genealogical Societies and Resource Centers
  • Emigrants to Colonial America and the Early United States
    • The Earliest Immigrants to the Atlantic Coast, 1606-1683
    • Dissenters and Religious Refugees, 1683-1708
    • “Palatines,” “Swabians,” Swiss and others, 1709-1775
    • “Hessian Mercenaries”
    • Early Post-Colonial Immigrants, 1783-1820
  • Regional Resources for Former Eastern Prussian Provinces
  • The German Empire and Its Predecessors After 1815
    • Alsace-Lorraine
    • Anhalt
    • Baden
    • Bavaria
    • Berlin
    • Brandenburg
    • Bremen (City-State)
    • Brunswick
    • East Prussia
    • Frankfurt am Main (Free City, Duchy)
    • Hamburg (City-State)
    • Hanover
    • Hesse-Darmstadt
    • Hesse-Homburg
    • Hesse-Kassel
    • Hesse-Nassau
    • Hohenzollern
    • Lippe
    • Lübeck (City-State)
    • Lübeck (Principality)
    • Mecklenburg
    • Oldenburg
    • Paltinate
    • Poerania
    • Posen
    • Rhine Province (Rhineland)
    • Saxon Duchies
    • Saxony Kingdom
    • Saxony Province
    • Schaumburg-Lippe
    • Schleswig-Holstein
    • Silesia
    • Waldeck
    • West Prussia
    • Westphalia
    • Wuerttemberg
    • Interwar Regions within the Former German Empire
    • Danzig (Free City-State)
    • Grenzmark Posen-Westpreussen
    • States in Modern Germany
    • Baden-Württemberg
    • Bavaria (Bayern)
    • Berlin (City-State)
    • Brandenburg
    • Bremen (City-State)
    • Hamburg (City-State)
    • Hesse (Hessen)
    • Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen)
    • Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
    • Northrhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen)
    • Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz)
    • Saarland
    • Saxony (Sachsen)
    • Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt)
    • Schleswig-Holstein
    • Thuringia (Thüringen)
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• The Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland – By Maralyn A. Wellauer-Lenius
• Turkey
• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Vatican City
• Yugoslavia: Successor States
  • Bosnia-Herzegovina
  • Croatia
  • Slovenia
  • Serbia
• Miscellaneous Other European Countries

18. Corresponding with European Sources

• Language of Correspondence
• Spending Money to Foreign Countries
• Writing Letters to Germanic Countries
• Sample Letters
• Translations
• Family and Ancestor Charts

19. Reading the Records

• The Gothic Script
• German-Language Notes
• German Terms Found on Maps
• German Vocabulary Related to Genealogy
• Records in Other Languages
• Calendars and Date Problems

20. Annotated Bibliography

• Books
• Periodicals and Indexes to Periodicals

21. Useful Addresses

• Publishers and booksellers
• Map Sources
• Libraries and Information Centers
• Lending Libraries
• Special Resources In and Near Minnesota
• Genealogy-Related Germanic Societies
• Multi-Ethnic and Non-Germanic Societies of Importance to Germanic Research

Appendix A. Dateline of Germanic History

Appendix B. Maps

Index