Internet Resources for Finding 19th Century German Emigrants

Many lists of German emigrants listing towns of origin are found on the internet. Following is a list of useful websites. Additional material can be found by entering the German region plus the terms “emigrants, emigration” or their German equivalents: “Auswanderer, Auswanderung” in a search engine.

General Information

 * http://wiki-en.genealogy.net/wiki/Germans_to_America - German and American sources for German emigration to America
 * http://usgenweb.org/ - state and country sites often include links to indexed vital records, church information, naturalization records, county histories, and other resources
 * http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ - RootsWeb services include millions of submitted names and many mailing lists where you can post queries
 * http://www.google.de/ - search engine that looks for German-language articles first
 * http://www.dogpile.com/ - Meta search engine- useful for searching for a topic, such as “Auswanderer, Auswanderung, emigration ,immigration” etc. Good way to find little-known lists of emigrants
 * http://www.geocities.com/mppraetorius/ - “Palmer list of merchant vessels” – contains descriptions and pictures of European sailing vessels, including many earlier emigrant ships
 * http://www.dausa.de/ - Forschungsstelle deutscher Auswanderer in die USA, discusses the problems with “Germans to America” at length, has links to sites containing transcribed passenger lists, offers research services
 * http://www.deutsche-auswanderer-datenbank.de/ - “German Emigrant Data Base”, covers 1820-1939; main source of information base are the New York passenger lists beginning in 1820, supplemented by material found in Germany; inter-disciplinary, on-going project. It is not searcheable online at this time, but search requests can be sent to their volunteer group “for a small fee”
 * http://www.ancestorsonboard.com/- “ancestors on board – a journey of discovery”
 * http://www.ghi-dc.org/publications/ghipubs/rg/rg012/- Americana in German Archives

U.S. and German passenger lists and indexes

 * http://www.ellisisland.org - New York arrivals 1892-1924, limited search functionality, includes images
 * http://www.castlegarden.org – passenger arrivals in New York 1820-1913, currently not linked to images
 * http://www.stevemorse.org – improved search masks for the Ellis Island website and Castlegarden.org, which allows searches by various fields, with or without a complete name
 * http://www.ancestry.com includes an ever-increasing number of passenger list indexes and linked images, including New York 1851-1891 and several other major ports. Many major public libraries have the “library edition”
 * http://www.germanroots.com/ei.html - Emigration and immigration links
 * http://www.ingeneas.com/ - data base of emigrants coming through Canada
 * http://www.roots-in-germany.de/ - Routes to the Roots- the Emigrant experience on the Web, has good links to emigrant data bases arranged by geographical area
 * http://www.germanyroots.com - includes a data base of over 230,000 emigrants extracted by volunteers
 * http://www.routes.de/database.html links to several regional emigrant databases: DELAUS – Delmenhorst 1830-1930, CUXAUS Cuxhaven 1830-1930, CLAUS - Cloppenburg and Vechta areas 1830- abt. 1875, – Bad Laer - 19th Century emigration from Bad Laer near Osnabrueck
 * http://immigrantships.net/ - Immigrant Ships Transcribers’ Guild, contains transcriptions of various passenger lists
 * http://ghf.destinationnext.com/immigration/Search.aspx - free Galveston Immigration data base, over 130,000 entries
 * http://www.passagierlisten.de/ - Bremen passenger lists 1920-1939
 * http://www.telusplanet.net/public/mtoll/immigr.htm - links to passenger lists for various countries
 * http://www.frenchlines.com/passager_index_fr.php - lists of passengers on French ships
 * http://www.germanyroots.com/ships/ - transcribed passenger lists sent in by volunteers
 * http://home.foni.net/~adelsforschung1/auswand.htm - lists of emigrants from noble families

Regional Lists and Indexes of Emigrants
Baden


 * http://www.auswanderer-bw.de/auswanderer/ - data base of emigrants from Baden and Wuerttemberg, known as “Glatzle” collection
 * http://www.emigration-offenburg.de/english_code/isucheing_1.php - emigrants from the Offenburg area
 * http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~herz/ind/index.htm - links for towns Kuppenheim, Steinmauern, Oetigheim, Stein am Kocher, Herbolzheim, Kochertürn, Neckarsulm, Binswangen, Dahenfeld, and Schefflenz include lists of emigrants from each locality

Bayern/Bavaria


 * http://www.emigration-research.de.vu/ - list of emigrants from Oberbayern –obtain town o origin from compiler for a fee

Braunschweig/Brunswick


 * http://www.thomas-erbe.de/ahnen/buch/001.htm - every-name index to: Fritz Gruhne, Auswandererlisten des ehemaligen Herzogtums Braunschweig 1846-1871. The book is available at the Family History Library, call # 943.59 W29g, [Int’l Reference], on microfilm 1045468 Item 10

Hannover/Hanover


 * http://aidaonline.niedersachsen.de/ - Niedersachsen State archives searcheable archive inventory online, which includes a list of emigrants from the areas covered by the various state archives. Follow these steps:

- Click on “Auswanderersuche” to the right of the “Suchen”[search] field

- Enter surname in field labeled “Suchbegriffe” and click on “Weiter”

- The next screen displays the record groups selected for the search. Click “suchen”

- The list of hits is displayed next. If nothing was found, it may say “keine Treffer” [no hits]

- Click “erneute Suche” if you want to search again


 * http://www.nordfriiskinstituut.de/datenbank.html - Emigrants from Northern Friesland-data base
 * http://www.routes.de/linksammlung/004NS.htm - emigration sources for the modern state of Niedersachsen, includes material for Oldenburg
 * http://www.pohlw.de/vor_ort/emigration_whs/index.htm - emigration from the former county of Wildeshausen
 * http://hapag-halle-cuxhaven.de/auswandererdatenbank/ - data base of emigrants who left from the port of Cuxhaven
 * http://www.german-immigrants.com/english/index.html - 15,000 emigrants from the Emsland and Grafschaft Bentheim regions [Hannover]
 * http://www.dialogos-studies.com/bisemigrants.htm - emigrants from the Grafschaft of Bentheim

Hessen/Hesse


 * http://www.hadis.hessen.de – Online inventory system for the Hessen State archives. Enter the surname in the box labeled „Schnellsuche“ . Emigrants specifically are found under the heading „Auswanderer-Nachweise“, but can be found under other topics as well. Click on the topic for a detailed list of entries
 * http://rheingau-genealogie.de/seite16.htm - Auswanderung aus dem Rheingau

Lippe-Detmold


 * http://www.lippe-auswanderer.de/htm/auswanderer-usa-eng.htm - data base of emigrants from Lippe-Detmold

Mecklenburg-Schwerin


 * http://www.imar-mv.com/ind_eng.htm- Institute for migration and ancestral research in Mecklenburg - has large data base they will search upon request (25,000 names)
 * http://www.griesegegend-online.de/datenbank.htm -various lists of emigrants; some list only names, other extensive personal information

Mecklenburg-Strelitz


 * http://www.emecklenburg.de/MFP/database/auswanderer.php - data base of emigrants

Oldenburg


 * http://www.genealogienetz.de/vereine/OGF/auswanderer/auswanderer.html - list of emigrants from Oldenburg [Oldenburg Genealogical Society]
 * http://www.honkomp.de/damme auswanderung/ - Emigrants from the old district of Damme, Oldenburg
 * http://www.honkomp.de/damme-auswanderung/chapter0.htm - emigrants from Amt Damme, from the book by Ostendorp
 * http://www.familie-bloemer.de/gene/ - lists of emigrants from the Southern part of Oldenburg, known as ‘Oldenburger Muensterland’ (predominantly Catholic)
 * http://www.auswanderungdelmenhorst.de/ - Emigrants from the district of Delmenhorst
 * http://www.honkomp.de/damme-auswanderung/ - history of emigration from the for district of Damme

Rheinland/Rhineland


 * http://www.koblenz.de/bilder/K06/K06_Auswanderung.pdf - About emigration from the Koblenz area - on the City Archive web site, gives contact address, in German
 * http://www2.genealogy.net/vereine/ArGeWe/englisch/index-e.htm - emigrants from the Westerwald region
 * http://www.genealogienetz.de/vereine/wgff/trier/index.html - emigrants from the former Regierungsbezirk Trier 1700-1900
 * www.kreis-ahrweiler.de/kvar/VT/hjb1961/hjb1961.28.htm - Auswanderer nach Amerika aus dem Kreise Ahrweiler - includes the names of emigrants who left towns in Kreis Ahrweiler in the years 1837, 1839-1844, 1870-1873, 1875-1876, and 1879-1894

Sachsen/Saxony


 * http://www.beepworld.de/members81/saxonforefathers/index.htm - lists names and date of emigration, but not town of origin. Further information can be requested from site owner

Schaumburg-Lippe


 * http://www.blume-gen.de/ - click on “Schaumburger Auswanderer” on the right for a list of emigrants from Schaumburg-Lippe

Schleswig-Holstein


 * http://www.rootdigger.de/Emi.htm - emigrants from Schleswig-Holstein [commercial, searching of list is free, emigrant’s place of origin provided by compiler upon fee payment]
 * http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ccho/fohr/wc_toc.htm - emigrants and genealogy of the island of Foehr

Thüringen/Thuringia


 * http://www.mogenweb.org/cooper/ - This website includes separate data bases for emigrants from Sachsen-Coburg, Sachsen-Kronach, and Sachsen-Meiningen. Click on “Cooper County in the left-side menu bar and go to “immigration”

Westfalen/Westphalia


 * http://www.routes.de/linksammlung/004NW.htm - links to lists of emigrants from the area of modern-day Nordrhein-Westfalen - a good collection
 * http://www.amerikanetz.de/ - resources for emigration from Westfalen, includes various articles, links to sources on CD-Rom, and books

Wittgenstein


 * http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/NRHE-WFA/Wittgenstein/emigration/auswandererlistenemigrantlists/index.php -webpages with lists of emigrants from the Wittgenstein principalities, history of emigration, an other resources
 * http://www.herbert-klose.de/Auswanderer.html - emigrants from Wittgenstein - link collection

Wuerttemberg


 * http://www.auswanderer-bw.de/auswanderer/ - data base of emigrants from Baden and Wuerttemberg, known as “Glatzle” collection

Lists of emigrants from individual towns

 * Alfter, Rheingau: http://www.wgrichter.de/Genea/ausalf.html
 * Borgholz and Burgsteinfurt, Muensterland, Westfalen: http://www.stenvorde.de/auswanderer_02_inhaltsverzeichnis.html
 * Buer, Westfalen: http://www.buer-us.de/
 * Daverden, northern Germany: http://www.daverden.de/auswanderer_liste.php
 * Gechingen, Wuerttemberg: http://www.appeleshof.de/Inhalt/auswand/index.htm
 * Neuhausen ob Eck: http://www.lang-germany.de/Archiv/Auswanderer_/auswanderer_.htm
 * Rheine, Westfalen: http://www.rheineahnen.de/listdoc/auswand.htm
 * Ridelingsdorf: http://members.aon.at/mgvriedlingsdorf/awverz.htm
 * Rommelshausen, OA Cannstadt, Wuerttemberg: http://www.thomas-scharnowski.de/rommelshausen/auswanderer_rommelshausen.htm
 * Selzen: http://selzen.de/geschichte/g_amerika.htm
 * Taben-Rodt, Trier region, Rheinland: http://www.taben-rodt.de/Auswanderer/auswanderer.html
 * Venne parish, Osnabrück: http://biggislist.genealogy.net/cgi-bin//redirect.cgi/http://www.venne-families.de/
 * Weisweil (Rhein): http://www.weisweil.de/freizeit_kultur/geschichte/auswanderer/f_auswand.html
 * Wuesten, Germany before 1900: http://www.woiste.de/W-Auf-AW.html

Germans to Latin America

 * http://www.rootsweb.com/~brawgw/alemanha/historia_petropolis_imi1859.htm lists of Germans immigrating to Brazil [in Portuguese]
 * http://www.pilleux.cl/genealogia/Alemanes/ - German immigrants to Chile

last updated 4 Feb 2009