Surcuolm Parish, Graubünden, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Surcuolm / Neukirch bei Ilanz Parish, Graubünden, Switzerland, ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, parish census, civil census, family history, area history, and military records.



Geography
The village and former municipality of Surcuolm (German: Neukirch) is in the municipality of Mundaun in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The village is situated in the Lugnez sub-district of the Surselva district on the Obersaxen plateau and originally consisted of scattered farmhouses and hamlets with a small central village.

Surcuolm (as of 2006) has an area of 6.5 km² (2.5 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 67.1% - agricultural purposes
 * 21.7% - forested
 * 3.7% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 7.5% - non-productive

History
In the 18th Century, Surcuolm was first mentioned by the name of Neukirch which was the official name until 1943.

Surcuolm merged into the Mundaun municipality on 1 January 2009. Mundaun merged into Obersaxen Mundaun in 2016. Other municipalities merged include:
 * Flond

The population history of Surcuolm is: 1850 - 167 inhabitants 1900 - 55 inhabitants 1940 - 112 inhabitants 1950 - 83 inhabitants 1990 - 93 inhabitants 2000 - 130 inhabitants 2008 - 108 inhabitants

The Saint-Georges church, constructed in 1604, was until 1643 a subsidiary of Pleif. Surcuolm divided from Morissen around 1630; its grazing community remained until 1895.

Church Records
Original church records are held in the local municipal archive or civil registration office. Microfilm copies are available at the Graubünden State Archives.

Digital images of some church records are available on FamilySearch. These records have a restriction for use only at a FamilySearch center near you.

Catholic
The parish of Surcuolm was established in 1643, from the parish of Vella. Church records begin in 1659. See Vella for earlier records. The following volumes are available on FamilySearch:
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1659-1747
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1747-1826
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1826-1918

The following volumes are only available on microfilm at the Graubünden State Archives:
 * Baptisms 1838-1899; marriages 1838-1923; burials 1838-1903; confirmations 1844-1890

Census
(See here for information regarding Graubünden census records.)

The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Surcuolm:
 * 1835
 * 1838
 * 1848
 * 1850
 * 1850, form C

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in 1876.

Duplicate civil registration registers are located at the Graubünden State Archives. The following records are available:
 * Both A and B registers are available through 1916-1917 and are open without restriction.
 * Family registers are available from at latest 1860 through 1910; these records are viewable but require permission to access. For more information, contact the State Archive.

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Surcuolm prior to 1875:

Related sources
The town's website (in Romansh and German) can be found here.

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Graubünden

Societies
Rätische Vereinigung für Familienforschung (RVFF)

Società Genealogica della Svizzera italiana (SGSI)