Canton Zug, Switzerland Genealogy

Guide to Canton Zug ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Getting Started
If you are new to Swiss research, you should watch this introductory course. Then study the articles on church records and civil registration, as almost all of your research will be in those two record groups.
 * Introduction to Swiss Research
 * Switzerland Civil Registration
 * Switzerland Church Records

History
During the turmoil of the Reformation, Zug remained on the Catholic side of central Switzerland and retained the old faith. During the Reformation, Zug clung to the old faith and was a member of the Christliche Vereinigung of 1529. In 1586, it became a member of the Golden League. The period up until 1798 was marked by internal political rivalries and turbulence but the invasion of the French troops marked the end of the old order, and with the Helvetic order came a radical political change. Zug became part of the canton Waldstätten, and the cantonal capital for a short time and in 1848, today’s federal government of Switzerland emerged. Zug was given its current cantonal structure. Zug is a German speaking canton.

Zug (Wikipedia)

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in Canton Zug in 1876. To understand the records available, read the Wiki article, Switzerland Civil Registration.
 * Addresses for Civil Registration (ZivilStandesamt) Offices (.pdf)
 * You will be able to write your request in German with the help of the German Letter Writing Guide.

Church Records
Most church records are only available onsite on microfilm at the Zug archive. A list of all microfilms can be found in this inventory; search for the word Pfarrarchiv to identify records for your parish. Due to limited space, be sure to make an appointment before viewing the records at the archive.

FamilySearch has church records for two parishes within Zug:
 * Baar
 * Cham

You will be able to write your request in German with the help of the German Letter Writing Guide.

For information on the coverage and content of church records, read Switzerland Church Records.

FamilySearch Microfilmed/Digitized Records
Several parish records have been microfilmed and are currently being digitized. Eventually, all of them will be digitized, so check back frequently. These records may have a restriction for use only at a Family History Center near you.

Instructions:
 * 1) Click on Switzerland, Zug FamilySearch Catalog.
 * 2) Open the list "Places within Switzerland, Zug". Select your town.
 * 3) A list of record categories will open up. Click on "Church records".
 * 4) A list of available records will appear. Click on the record title you are interested in searching.
 * 5) Scroll down to the list of microfilm numbers. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

Reading the Records

 * German Genealogical Word List
 * Swiss Dialect Genealogical Word List
 * Reading German Handwritten Records
 * Lesson 1: Kurrent Letters
 * Lesson 2: Making Words in Kurrent
 * Lesson 3: Reading Kurrent Documents
 * Old German Script
 * Part 1
 * Part 2
 * Part 3 (German Church and Civil Records)

Search Strategy
This search strategy will help you determine what to write for. Limit tour requests to just one of these steps at a time. Once you have established that the parish is cooperative and perhaps more willing to do more extensive research (for a fee), you might be able to ask them for more at a time.
 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected.
 * When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.