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German Ancestors - can anyone help?

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Helen

Helen Report 14 Aug 2007 19:18

Hi, I have come accross a german family who moved to Middlesbrough around 1870, is there any way of tracing further back into Germany( for a non german speaker!)? Or is this a brick wall? Many thanks Helen.

Karen

Karen Report 14 Aug 2007 19:33

Helen, I've bumped up an old thread for you about naturalisation papers that could be worth a shot, altho it didn't help me. Like you, I have German ancestors & have got absolutely nowhere with them, even tho I have a degree in German! If anyone has any bright ideas, I shall be glad to hear them too.

HeatherofOz

HeatherofOz Report 14 Aug 2007 19:43

Helen, I have been tracing my husband's german ancestors. The problem I have found is that the records are kept by the parishes and not a central archive. Civic Registration started at different years for the different areas. 1792 in Rheinland, 1803 in Hessen-Nassau, 1808 in Westfalen, 1809 in Hannover, Oct 1874 in Prussia, and Jan 1876 for all other parts of Germany. Good Luck with your search. Regards, Heather

Helen

Helen Report 14 Aug 2007 19:45

Thanks Karen, I have found what could be the naturalization papers - I'm doing it for a friend so will have to check back with her about ordering anything. Could only find the husband tho'...were women not naturalized if their husband was? Many thanks Helen.

Karen

Karen Report 14 Aug 2007 19:55

Heather, have you found any way of tracing people if, like me, you don't know which part of Germany they were born in?

HeatherofOz

HeatherofOz Report 14 Aug 2007 19:59

Helen, I was lucky and found them on a shipping list that listed where they were from. Try Ancestry or findmypast or google the shipping lists. Also the LDS has transcripts on the german records. Try your local centre. Unfortunately Germany is difficult to search as most of the records were destroyed in the blitz at the end of WW2. Sorry. I'm stuck at 1772 in Prussia as the records no longer exist.Heather