Von: carlah@earthlink.net (Carla)
  Datum: 11.02.99, 00:58:58
Betreff: Answering Some Questions on the Baden Emigration Index LDS Microfilms

Dear Tom & Baden-Wuerttemberg List Friends,

Thomas W. Weingart wrote:

> Are there any alternatives if one does not find ancestors in the microfilmed 
> BEI [Baden Emigration Index]?

You *could* try writing directly to the Baden Generallandesarchiv
Karlsruhe, which holds the ORIGINAL Baden Emigration Index, and request
a search.  However, keep in mind that the LDS microfilmed this *exact
same index*, right *in* the Baden Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe itself
in the late 1970's, with the express permission of the German
authorities to make it publicly available for research.  Because the
microfilmed version created by the LDS is an *exact photographic copy*
of the ORIGINAL index, by researching it, you are virtually researching
the same original index still held by the Baden Generallandesarchiv
Karlsruhe.   If an ancestor is NOT included in the LDS MICROFILMED
version of the original records index, there is a good chance that no
emigration record for that person is included in the original.

Lack of an entry in the original or microfilmed BEI could mean many
things.  It may be that a record was never created for that person
within *Baden,* or that a previously existing record for that person was
lost or destroyed before the originals were microfilmed in the Baden
Generallandesarchiv in 1978; or that the person in question emigrated
*without* first applying for and obtaining the requisite official
permission (therefore never creating the type of record indexed in the
BEI); or that the person you seek *is* listed somewhere in the original
index/on the microfilms, but you have *incorrect* identifying
information (such as a different name or different spelling of a name)
for them.  (See the later paragraphs of this letter for more comments on
this subject.)

> Is there any estimated percent of emigrants that were recorded by the BEI?

I have not seen a *percentage* published on this, but the Baden
Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe itself describes the microfilmed BEI as
covering the *17th to 20th centuries,* through and inclusive of the year
1911.  The LDS microfilms are the ONLY published version of the BEI to
include coverage on this scale.  (The commonly used, 2-volume book
version by Cornelia Schrader-Muggenthaler, by comparison, includes only
*selected* emigrants from the *19th* century, and only a *portion* of
the full NUMBER of those 19th century emigrants included in the original
BEI.)

> Also, what is the accuracy of the BEI?  I've noticed that the accuracy 
> of the Germans to America is routinely criticized.  Could the same be 
> said of the BEI?

No, not if we compare the characteristics of the two sets of resources
and understand the considerable differences between them.  Please keep
in mind that the "Germans to America" series in its multiple volumes is
NOT a *photographic* copy of original records or indexes.  It is a
COMPILED index created by multiple human editors who were TRANSCRIBING,
TRANSLATING, and could selectively choose original records for
publication.  Because of its very nature, "Germans To America" is quite
notorious for extensive errors and omissions of data, as Tom notes.

On the other hand, the LDS microfilmed version of the BEI literally
PHOTOGRAPHICALLY DUPLICATES the existing original index.  Any
inaccuracies present in the microfilmed version were also present in the
*original*---but not as a result of transcription errors, omissions, or
selective edits on the part of an editor/compiler.  The same cannot be
said of "GTA," or the book version of the BEI.

> For instance my great-grandmother, Karolina KAISTER, and her brother, Emil
> KAISTER, were born in Nollingen, Baden (present day Rheinfelden) in 1859 and
> 1862 respectively.  Both left Nollingen.  Karolina was in New York City by
> May 1885 and Emil died in Nancy, Lothringen in 1884.  However, neither is
> listed in the BEI.  In fact, not one KAISTER appears in the BEI although a
> number of them lived around Nollingen.  But, I've seen the surname KAISER
> (as opposed to KaisTer) listed in the BEI.  It seems plausible to me that a
> KAISTER could easily be recorded as a KAISER.

If Emil died in Lothringen, I presume you are referring to the German
language name for the identical French region of "Lorraine."  It is at
least remotely possible that Karolina registered to emigrate in
*Lothringen* rather than *Baden*. which could explain her absence from
the BEI---and there *is* a *separate* emigration index for the region of
Alsace-Lorraine/Elsass-Lothringen.  If you can't find Karolina in the
BEI, you might want to check the ALSACE Emigration Index.  Cornelia
Schrader-Muggenthaler created a book version called "The Alsace
Emigration Book" which is available through the LDS Library, for one
possibility.

Tom makes an excellent point here about names which is important to
all.  It is advisable, if not imperative, that anyone researching ANY
version of a emigration index or other extensive record check ALL
conceivable versions/spellings of the surname in question.  (For
example, I too, have ancestors by the surname of KAISER----whom I
eventually found in their original church register records under the
spelling of KISER!  Had I confined my search to the KAISER spelling, I
would never have recognized the right family.)

It is also very important to note that the ENGLISH language versions of
a person's name ---especially FIRST names---are likely going to be shown
in their significantly different GERMAN forms in the Baden Emigration
Index, and any other records of German or European origin.  For example,
the male first names we commonly see in English of "Charles," "Henry,"
"Louis," "Frederick," and "Francis" would be most likely to appear in
any GERMAN-origin records (including the BEI) as "Karl," "Heinrich,"
"Ludwig," "Friedrich," and "Franz."  I have seen instances where a
researcher found a name in an emigration index or other large resource
which otherwise may have identified a potential ancestor, and passed it
by because the name "didn't match" the one they expected their ancestor
to have borne.

The same, of course, holds true for SURNAMES.  It is essential for all
researchers to understand that our ancestors, once in the United States,
may or MAY NOT have borne a surname which was identical or even similar
to the original surname of the family when they lived in Germany.  Many
immigrants from Europe changed their surnames at some point for ease of
pronunciation or out of a wish to "assimilate" easily into the new,
adopted American culture.  If you are researching a *German-origin* or
German language record such as the BEI for a surname form *as you know
it today,* there is a possibility that you may never find it---unless
you have first made every possible effort to determine that the name you
are researching is identical or very similar to the original.

For example, let's say you are seeking the surname of "FRELKURT"---the
way you know/believe the name to be spelled and pronounced in the USA.
If you haven't  given the matter some thought, or consulted a German
surname handbook (such as that available in English by Hans Bahlow), or
don't realize even a few basics about German pronunciation, you might
look under just that one spelling in a record somewhere, not find a
FRELKURT listed, and give up.  But if you realized that the Americanized
version of FRELKURT was possibly something like FREHLKERT or FROEHLKERT
in the original German, you would know to look under those spellings as
well.

I hope I have properly addressed Tom's specific and very intelligent
questions on the Baden Emigration Index on LDS microfilm.  To avoid
burdening of the mailing list membership, if anyone would like specific
details on accessing the LDS microfilms of the BEI, please visit my Web
page on this subject at:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Park/9485/

Please know that I do not purport to be an expert on the subject of the
BEI.  It is also not at all my intention to denigrate the
less-comprehensive *book* version of the BEI edited by Ms.
Schrader-Muggenthaler, which is the product of a great deal of effort by
her and a valuable resource in its own right.  I merely want to share
the information I have gathered to better acquaint other researchers
with the nature and scope of this resource on LDS microfilm.  Only the
individual can determine which, if any, versions of this material may be
of value in pinpointing their ancestral origins. :-)

Wishing you the very best research outcomes,
Carla HELLER
Los Angeles