Von: carlah@earthlink.net (Carla)
  Datum: 04.08.98, 20:46:23
Betreff: Obtaining Birth & Other Vital Records from Germany

Dear Baden-Wuerttemberg List Friends,

Several people have written me privately to ask that I repost a letter I
sent to the list several weeks ago about writing to Germany to obtain
vital records.  I have copied the text of that letter below for those
may find the suggestions helpful.  Thanks for your interest! Carla
Heller

===============
Records of vital events of our ancestors' day are usually NOT stored in
*centralized* archives in Germany (like we Americans are accustomed to
finding in the United States, such as in a state capital).  You
ordinarily need to write directly to the exact location of the event in
Germany.  For an event date prior to 1876, this would mean writing to
the Catholic or Lutheran parish *church* attended by your ancestor, as
*civil* registration did not start in most of Germany until then (though
there are some exceptions for areas west of the Rhine---in Baden, for
example, you may find civil registration starting as early as 1792).
For events after 1876, you can write for records to either the church,
the "Standesamt" (local German civil registry office), or both.

Instead (or in addition), you can also check to see if the particular
denomination's church records for your ancestor's town (or whatever
parish served it, if it did not have its own parish) have been
microfilmed by the LDS (Mormon) Family History Library.  If so, copies
of the films can be loaned by the main branch in Salt Lake City to your
local branch of the LDS FHL, and rented by you for study for about $3.65
per roll for a minimum of 8 weeks. The information on the microfilms is
normally handwritten in German or Latin (and sometimes other languages,
depending on the area of Germany in question). The FHC branches have
printed research guides to help you read and understand the microfilms
of the records.  Utilizing microfilms (if the LDS has filmed the records
you seek) spares you the time, trouble and expense of corresponding with
Germany.

Note that if you write for records, you should compose your request in
German (or use a pre-translated German form letter, available at the Web
sites listed below), as not all German clergy or Standesamt staff are
sufficiently fluent in English to read and properly respond to an
English-language request.  Writing your request in English can actually
*delay* a response, if the recipient needs to have it translated first.

If you write, you also need to verify before writing *exactly where*
church or civil records for your ancestor's town or parish were kept.
Remember that not every village or town in Germany had its own churches
or Standesamt *within* that village or town.  They could easily be in a
neighboring parish or Standesamt (in which case you'd write to that
place instead).  You also want to confirm that the location you're
writing to is still known under the same name in German as it was in
your ancestor's day (many places have completely different modern
names).  You'll also need to look up the German postal code for the
location (available at the Web sites below) to insure that it goes to
the correct place in Germany (a number of places have identical or
similar names).  Also include the current name of the German "state" for
your ancestor's town (such as Baden-Wuerttemberg) in the address---make
sure you note whether *that* name has changed in modern times, too; many
have.  Above all, in addressing your letter, use the GERMAN language
names for places---if writing for records to the German state we call
"Bavaria," for example, use the correct German name of "Bayern" for that
state to insure that the German postal service will know what you mean.

Note that even if you write in German, it can sometimes take months or
longer to receive a response from Germany, and remember that a response
will usually be written in German as well.  Orders for copies of
microfilms usually take about 2-4 weeks to process by the LDS (depending
on the location of your LDS FHC branch and the loan status of the film
you seek), and you can keep and renew the films at the branch for
virtually as long as you need them.  If you find your family in the
microfilms of the church records, you also have the advantage of
researching several generations (if they are present), rather than just
learning about one or two ancestors via letter (realize that the church
or Standesamt staff will not usually perform extensive research).

For more information on writing to a German parish, Standesamt or
archive, see
the Web site at:

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

For more information about the Family History Library branches and their
locations, see the following Web sites:

http://www.lds.org/Family_History/How_Do_I_Begin.html
http://www.onlinegenealogy.com/begin/beg004.htm

For pre-translated German form letters, see:

http://www.puffin.com/puffin/tree/letters.htm
http://www.on-line.de/~karin.schoepke/Briefe.htm#englisch

For German postal codes, see:

http://plz.postconsult.de/
http://www.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/plz/plzrequest.uk.html

Hope this information is helpful to you!  Good luck!

Carla HELLER
Los Angeles