Germany, Prussia, Westphalia, Minden, Miscellaneous Collections from the Municipal Archives - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Deutschland, Westfalen, Minden Bürgerrollen 1574-1902

Record Description
This collection of records from the city of Minden includes index and images of citizenship rolls, population registers, and census records that enumerated citizens over three centuries, 1574-1902. The information is handwritten horizontally through both pages of columns filling in the information as in a ledger type format.

To keep a record of their population, household heads were called to assemble at the local civil office, almost yearly, to provide their personal information, which was counted as a basic unit. This listing is called “volkszahlung”, local population census.

They also kept a similar register listing all the citizens that moved away to other localities. This register was called “abmeldungen”, relocation list of their citizens or cancellation list from the citizenship roll of that locality.

These procedures were not enforced, but head of households were admonished to do so. Therefore, these records may not cover the entire population.

The original records are preserved at the German State Archives in Schwerin. The Family History Library has copies on microfilm also.

For a list of records by date or locality currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

This collection of records from the city of Minden includes index and images of citizenship rolls and naturalization for the years 1574 to 1850, population registers for the years 1882-1902, and census records that enumerated citizens for the years 1880-1900.

The census was taken to assess military and taxation capacity, as well as for religious, occupational, and language background.

This census collection is a reliable source of information for genealogical purposes; however, it is dependent upon the knowledge of the informant and the way it was written by the civil officer.

Citations for This Collection
The following citations refer to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. They may include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found on most local population census lists are:






 * Address
 * Full name
 * Occupation
 * Birth date
 * Religion
 * Birth place
 * Nationality

How to Use the Record
Next to parish registers, census records provide good family information, which could be used to research in other vital records. You must know how to read German Gothic script. You also need to know at least the name of your ancestor and the approximate place of residence at the time of the census.

Related Wiki Articles

 * Germany
 * Germany Census
 * German Census Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
“Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-1981,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February, 2012), La Plata > San Ponciano > Matrimonios 1884-1886 >  image 71 of 389 images, Artemio Avendano and Clementina Peralta, 1884; citing Parroquia de San Ponciano en la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Matrimonios. San Ponciano, La Plata, Buenos Aires.