Baden Grossherzogtum (grand duchy) Church Book DuplicatesEdit This Page
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Germany, Baden Church Book Duplicates
How To Use This Record
German church book duplicates are a back up source for parish registers, which are the best German records to identify individuals, parents, and spouses before the civil registration of vital events was created.
Why This Record Was Created
Church book duplicates were created for the use of civil authorities.
Inspired by the institution of civil registration in France in 1792, German states began creating church book duplicates. The German states required the clergy to create a transcript of their church books and turn them in annually to the state. The clergy recorded the vital events of births, marriages and deaths of people living within their jurisdiction regardless of their religion. For example, Catholic or Jewish people living in an area that did not have a Catholic church or Jewish synagogue were often recorded in the Lutheran records. The reverse was also true in Catholic areas, where Lutherans and Jews were recorded in Catholic records.
Handwritten records, both columnar and paragraph formats, kept in bound volumes.
The records begin in 1810 and continue into 1869. The duplicates cover the majority of the population for those years.
Key genealogical facts found in most baptismal records:
- Names of the child, parents and witnesses or godparents
- Date and place of birth and baptism
- Residence and religion of the parents
- Occupation of the father
- Whether the child was legitimate or illegitimate
Key genealogical facts found in most marriage records:
- Names of the bride, groom, their parents (usually the fathers) and witnesses
- Date and place of marriage and marriage proclamations or banns
- Age of bride and groom (sometimes date and place of birth)
- Residence of the bride, groom and their parents
- Religion of the bride and groom
Key genealogical facts found in most deaths records:
- Names of the deceased, spouse and parents
- Date and place of death and burial
- Age and residence of deceased and sometimes date and place of birth
- Cause of death
German church book duplicates, like the originals, are the most reliable and accurate family history source until 1876 when civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in all of Germany. Church book duplicates may differ slightly from the originals, because of transcription variations, however these records are often more legible than the originals.
- This page was last modified on 13 August 2009, at 05:51.
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