Von: carlah@earthlink.net (Carla)
  Datum: 04.08.98, 19:45:42
Betreff: Writing to the right place for German vital records

Dear Kathi & Baden-Wuerttemberg List Friends,

Birth (and other vital) records in Germany are normally available from either the local
*churches* or *civil registration offices* which produced them.  The Generallandesarchiv
Karlsruhe does not normally archive these kinds of records.  Emigration records are
handled and archived separately.

If you know the specific name of the town or village (and present German state) your
ancestor is from in Germany, and have checked that it still exists under the same name
today, you have the option of either writing to Germany for records, or checking with the
LDS (Mormon) Family History Library branch nearest you to see if church or civil records
for that location in Germany have been microfilmed.  (The LDS has filmed a large portion
of German records.)  If there is film available, you can rent it and research it at your
local FHL branch.

Check the *church* records (Catholic or Lutheran) if the date of the event for which you
seek information is prior to 1876.  *Civil* registration (in the German civil registry
offices known as the Standesamts) did not begin *nationwide* in Germany until that year,
except for certain areas west of the Rhine river.  NOTE: If you are seeking civil records
from the former grand-duchy/now state of BADEN (but *not* the former kingdom of
Wuerttemberg), you *may* find them as early as 1792.  Church records throughout Germany
normally start much earlier.

For more specific information on writing to a church or civil registration office in
Germany, see the Web site at:

http://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/gene/faqs/sgg.html#letter

Hope this information is helpful.

Best wishes,
Carla HELLER
Los Angeles
===========================
srhf@ix.netcom.com wrote:

> Is this address for Emegration information only? What about birth records in Germany?
>
> Kathi