Germany, Anhalt, Köthen, Miscellaneous City Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection consists of city records from Köthen for the years 1630-1921. It contains images of various documents related to city government and administration, including residence lists, city directories, citizen rolls, and registers of military recruits. The original records are held at the Stadtarchiv Köthen.

Reading These Records
These records are in German. For help reading them see:
 * German Language and Languages
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * Germany Handwriting
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * German Paleography Seminar

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Citizen Rolls
 * First and last name
 * Occupation of individual
 * Age of individual
 * Religion of individual

Military Recruit Registers
 * First and last name
 * Birthdate of individual
 * Religion of individual
 * Name and occupation of father
 * Name of mother
 * Observations

Address books
 * First and last name
 * Maiden name of married women
 * Street name and house number
 * Occupation of individual

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching, it is best to know the following information:
 * Name of the person
 * Date of the record

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * If available, check the image for additional information
 * Analyze the entry to see if it provides additional clues to find other records of the person or their family

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Consult the Germany Record Finder to find other records
 * When looking for an individual with a common name, look at all the search results before deciding which is the correct person. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of parents, to help with this decision. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records
 * Try variations of given names and surnames. An individual might appear under a different name in a record for a variety of reasons:
 * They might have been listed under a middle name, nickname, or abbreviation of their given name
 * Spelling was not standardized for much of the period of this collection, so names were often spelled as recorders heard them. Pay attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try spelling variations that could have that pronunciation
 * Some women returned to their maiden names after the death of their husbands
 * Vary the search terms. For example, expand the date range or search by either the given name or surname to return a broader list search results
 * Search the records of nearby locations. While a person in this period rarely ever lived more than about 20 miles from their place of birth, moves within this range were common

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in Germany.
 * Germany Research Tips and Strategies
 * Germany Record Finder

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

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