Intro to German Genealogy: Practical Tips for Family History Research

Have you arrived at a place in your family history research where you need to learn about your German ancestors and how to find them? If they immigrated from Germany generations ago, where do you start, and what should you look for to make sure you build out an accurate family tree? 

Continue reading. We can help you get started with some tips for German genealogy!

• How To Find Your German Ancestor’s Home Town or Village
• Understanding Common German Naming Patterns 
• Is Google Translate a Reliable German Genealogy Research Tool?
• What Are the Best German Genealogy Websites?
• How To Plan A Successful German Heritage Tour 

HOW TO FIND YOUR GERMAN ANCESTOR’S HOME TOWN OR VILLAGE

This is one of the most important questions to answer about your German ancestor’s history–what was their Heimat–their home? 

Start by identifying your ancestor in every American census records during his or her lifetime. These may indicate which German state your ancestor came from–for example, Bavaria or Hamburg. Note every piece of information given there, including their approximate year of birth. Some censuses will indicate the year of immigration and indicate whether the person had naturalized, or became a U.S. citizen. Immigrants naturalized in order to be able to vote or own land.

If your ancestor naturalized, you need to look for their naturalization records. Naturalization law changed over time, but usually involved a petition for naturalization and a certificate of citizenship. These records may provide a lot of information, such as the dates and ports of embarkation and arrival, their hometown, age, place of birth, and sometimes their family members. Using the details gleaned there, try to find their name on a passenger list or ship register. Correlating distinguishing details from these records with American census records can help you verify that you have identified your own ancestor, and not someone else with the same name.

Watch our video here to learn more about the naturalization process in context of your German Genealogy research. 

UNDERSTANDING COMMON GERMAN NAMING PATTERNS

Every culture has its own naming nuances. What do you need to look for when you’re researching your German ancestors to ensure you’re on the right track? Be aware of some common German naming patterns:

• German babies typically have more than one name

It was common for German parents to give their child at least three names–sometimes even four or five! If your ancestor was a boy, there’s a good chance his first name might have been Johann. If your ancestor was a girl, her first name would likely be Anna; often Anna Maria, Anna Margareta, or Anna Magdalena.

• Names often got shortened and were spelled differently in the States

If your ancestors immigrated to the United States, their names would often have been translated, shortened, or spelled phonetically–in other words, “Americanized.” For example, Johann, German for John, would often have simply been replaced with John in the States. Germans sometimes shortened their own names, but not how you might expect. Unlike Americans, who typically cut off the end of the name, Germans often used the ending of the name as a nickname. For example, a German might shorten Nikolaus to Klaus where an American would typically shorten Nicholas to Nick. American spellings were often best-guess phonetic spellings. Since the same letters make different sounds in English and German, this can leave your German ancestor’s name almost unrecognizable. German spelling itself did not begin standardization until the 1870s, and even names were spelled differently by people within the same family.

• Importance of church records

German church records are the bread and butter of German research. If you are lucky enough to trace your immigrant ancestor to their German hometown and locate their parish, you will want to find their baptism record. Typically, it was the only record where their full name was recorded. When they emigrated, the ancestor may have identified themselves using just their first name, their Vorname, or they may have used their Rufname, the name they go by. If you only look for one of their names, you may miss them in both German and American records. 

• Medieval baptismal records

German church records, in some German speaking areas, go back into the 15th century. Beginning in medieval times, it was common for people to name their child after the baptismal sponsors or the godparents. In some German baptismal records, the baby’s name was not even recorded, because it was understood that the baby took the name of the sponsor. In later records, both the baby’s name and the parents’ names were recorded, sometimes even underlined. And coming forward in time, German records became increasingly more informative, often including the baby’s time of birth, the parents’ occupations, and the baby’s legitimacy status.

• How death records can help verify your ancestor’s name

If your German ancestor died in the United States, try to identify their American death record. It may identify the deceased persons’ parents and indicate where they were born. This information can lead to a German family table (Stammtafel), or a town lineage book Ortssippenbuch, records that will often have birth, marriage, and death information for an entire family generation.

IS GOOGLE TRANSLATE A RELIABLE GERMAN GENEALOGY RESEARCH TOOL?

Although Google Translate has drastically improved over the last few years, its usefulness for genealogy research is limited. Older German records may contain language and terms that have fallen out of use or be spelled differently in modern German. Also, using the Google Translate camera function to read a page of old German text will not work, as older German documents were recorded in a discontinued script that Google Translate doesn’t recognize–yet.

Familiarize yourself with German words that you’ll most likely see in German church records–such as marriage, baptism, and burial, son, daughter, or parent. Google translate is probably most valuable when communicating with German record keepers at archives and parishes, onsite.

WHAT ARE THE BEST GERMAN GENEALOGY WEBSITES?

Beyond FamilySearch, MyHeritage, and other well-known genealogy databases, there are some great online resources to help you as you research your German ancestry. Here are some of our favorites:

Archion.de

Gives you access to more than 150,000 church books and other historical documents.

Matricula-online.eu/en

Find church registers (mostly books of birth, marriage and death) from various European countries, including Austria, Germany, Poland, Serbia and Slovenia. 

Geogen.stoepel.net

Helps you identify where in Germany your family surname occurs most frequently–which can be a good clue to get your started.

HOW TO PLAN A SUCCESSFUL GERMAN HERITAGE TOUR

Before you go to Germany to see where your ancestors lived, make sure you really do your homework and have first exhausted all the U.S. genealogical sources. You’ll also want to know the ins and outs of the libraries and archives you want to visit. What are their hours? Do you need an appointment? How long will you need to be there? Will you need a translator? 

Would you like one-on-one help with your German genealogy research? Start with a 45-minute consultation with one of our German experts to help you on your way! Schedule your consultation here.