Germany, Baden, Church Book Duplicates - FamilySearch Historical Records

Germany Baden



Title in the Language of the Records
Deutschland, Badische Kirchenbücherduplikaten

Record Description
These records are written in German.

This collection is an index to the civil transcripts of church books from Baden, Germany for the years from 1800 to 1870. The records are of baptisms, marriages, and deaths. Currently the index records from over 50 localities in Baden and additional records are being added as they become available. For a complete list of localities included, see the coverage table in the Wiki article. The Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg hold the original records, which are located in the Staatsarchiv Freiburg and the Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe. The images for the entire collection have been made available on the websites of the Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg.

These church records are handwritten both in columnar format and in narrative style. Most records are in good condition to extract genealogical information. However, most of the earlier records are written in Gothic German script. These records were kept in bound volumes.

Inspired by the institution of civil registration in France in 1792, German states began creating church book duplicates. The German states required the clergy to create a transcript of their church books and turn them in annually to the state. The clergy recorded the vital events of births, marriages, and deaths of people living within their jurisdiction regardless of their religion. For example, Catholic or Jewish people living in an area that did not have a Catholic church or Jewish synagogue were often recorded in the Lutheran records. The reverse was also true in Catholic areas, where Lutherans and Jews were recorded in Catholic records. The duplicate books cover the majority of the population for those years in the Grand Duchy of Baden. Records may include entries from Kreis Neustadt, Amt Bonndorf, Gemeinde Bonndorf, and Ebnet.

Church book duplicates were created for the use of civil authorities.

German church book duplicates, like the originals, are the most reliable and accurate family history source until 1876 when civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths began in all of Germany. Church book duplicates may differ slightly from the originals because of transcription variations; however, these records are often more legible than the originals.

Coverage Table
A List of the cities and Parishes contained in this collection is found in the Germany, Baden Church Book Duplicates, Coverage Table(FamilySearch Historical Records) Coverage Table.

Record Content
These death records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of death
 * Name of deceased
 * Date and place of birth
 * Parents' names of the deceased
 * Name of spouse if married
 * Names of witnesses
 * Cause of death
 * Date and place of burial

How to Use the Records
German church book duplicates are a back up source for parish registers, which are the best German records to identify individuals, parents, and spouses before the civil registration of vital events was created in different regions of the country between 1792 and 1876. In order to find your ancestor, you need to know at least the village where the person lived and an approximate date of an event in his/her life. If not found in that locality, we suggest you search in nearby villages and also try several years before and after.

Search the Collection
To search the collection fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Continue to search the index and records to identify other relatives.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * You may need to compare the information of more than one person to determine which person is your ancestor.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.
 * This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in German. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:

German Word List Deciphering German Script (Kurrentschrift)

Related Websites
Baden State Archives

Learning Center Resources:


 * My Ancestors Are from Germany, and I Don't Speak German!
 * German Script Tutorial
 * Germany Beginning Research Series Lesson 1: Getting Started
 * Germany Beginning Research Series Lesson 2: Learn about Historical Background
 * Germany Beginning Research Series Lesson 3: Using Maps, Gazetteers and Websites
 * German Church and Civil Records

Related Wiki Articles

 * Germany Genealogy
 * Germany Church Records

Citations for This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):