Elsass-Lothringen, German Empire Genealogy

Guide to Elsass-Lothringen, German Empire ancestry, family history, and genealogy before 1918: birth records, marriage records, death records, family history, and military records.

Historical Background

 * The Imperial Territory of ‘’’Elsass-Lothringen’’’ was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871, after it annexed ‘’’most of Alsace and the Moselle department of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War.


 * It was divided in three districts:
 * Oberlelsass (Upper Alsace), corresponds exactly to the current French department of Haut-Rhin
 * Unterelsass, (Lower Alsace), corresponds exactly to the current French department of Bas-Rhin
 * Lothringen, (Lorraine), corresponds exactly to the current French department of Moselle.


 * The modern history of Alsace-Lorraine was largely influenced by the rivalry between French and German nationalism. France long sought to attain and preserve its "natural boundaries", which were the Pyrenees to the southwest, the Alps to the southeast, and the Rhine River to the northeast. German nationalism sought to unify German-speaking populations. As various German dialects were spoken by most of the population of Alsace and northern Lorraine, these regions were viewed by German nationalists to be rightfully part of hoped-for united Germany in the future.


 * When the World War broke out in 1914, recovery of the two lost provinces became the top French war goal. French troops put the region under occupatio bellica and entered Strasbourg on November 21, 1918. The Nationalrat proclaimed the annexation of Alsace to France on December 5, even though this process did not gain international recognition until the signature of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Wikipedia

Finding Birth, Marriage, and Death Records for Elsass-Lothringen
'''Most of the information you need to identify you ancestors and their families will be found in two major record groups: civil registration and church records. To locate these records, follow the instructions in these Wiki articles.'''

1. Find the name of your ancestor's town in family history records.
Records were kept on the local level. You must know the town where your ancestor lived. If your ancestor was a United States Immigrant, use the information in the Wiki article Germany Finding Town of Origin to find evidence of the name of the town where your ancestors lived in Germany.

2. Use gazetteers and/or parish inventories to learn more important details.
Your ancestor's town might have been too small to have its own parish church or civil registration office. Find the location of the Catholic or Lutheran (Evangelical) parish that served your ancestor's locality. Find the name of the civil registration office (standesamt) that serves your ancestor's locality. Use the Wiki article Studying Your German Locality for step-by-step instructions.

Germany was first unified as a nation in 1871. An important gazetteer, Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-lexikon des deutschen Reichs, "Meyer's Gazetter" for short, details the place names of villages, towns, counties (kreise), and higher jurisdictions used at that time. In the Research Wiki, FamilySearch Catalog, and FamilySearch Historical Records, the records of Germany are organized using those place names.

At the end of both World Wars, the boundaries of the states were changed dramatically, as areas of Germany were distributed among the Allied nations. Eventually, after re-unification in 1990, the states of Germany settled into what they are today. It is also necessary to understand Germany by this system, as it affects the locations of civil registration offices, archives, and mailing addresses used in correspondence searches.

3. For birth, marriage, and death records after 1792, use civil registration.
Follow the instructions in Elsass-Lothringen, German Empire Civil Registration.

4. For baptism, marriage, and death records, use church records or parish registers.
Follow the instructions in  Elsass-Lothringen, German Empire Church Records.

More Research Strategies and Tools

 * Germany Online Classes and Tutorials
 * Reading German Handwritten Records  Practice exercises to build your skills and confidence.
 * Old German Script Transcriber (alte deutsche Handschriften): See your family names in the script of the era. Type your name or other word into the font generator tool. Click on the 8 different fonts. Save the image to your computer and use it as you work with old Germanic records.
 * Finding Aids for German Records
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Print these handouts for ready reference when reading German Handwriting:
 * Kurrent Letters Handout
 * Numbers Handout
 * Birth Records Handout
 * Marriage Records Handout
 * Death Records Handout
 * Days and Months Handout
 * Common Symbols Handout
 * Common Abbreviations Handout
 * List of Names in Old German Script A comprehensive list of German given names,  written in old script, with possible variations.
 * Fraktur Font--Many forms and books are printed in this font.
 * German Research, BYU Independent Study, no cost.