Westphalia (Westfalen) Court Records

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Verdicts against witches
To bring an indictment against witches was much more common in Protestant Germany than it was among Catholics. Court regulations concerning torture were closely observed. Witchcraft was supposed to be punished with penance to make amends for actual damages. However, in Protestant regions such guidelines were intensified because witchcraft was viewed as collaboration with the devil and such acts were always worthy of death. Mainly women were involved, but men and children were not spared. The accused was to confess under torture and show remorse and was to denounce accomplices. The following procedure was to be ensued: See http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexenverfolgung (the text is in German. By hi lighting the URL and putting it into Google language tools, translate a website (choosing German to English) a rough translation is provided by Wikipedia.

There are some records available on procedures against witches in Westfalen. www.familysearch.org Family History Library Catalog, International film 1945963 shows some Ratsprotokolle (city records) of Rüthen (Möhne).

Heiratskonsens
All those who were able to get a Konsens (consensus) from their manor lord or the corresponding authorities in the city (city administration, magistrate, guilds etc.) were able to marry. The reason for such restrictive measures was mainly to assure the support of a family. Not everyone was allowed to marry. If Konsens was denied, there could be problems with marrying beneath ones standing, as was often the case with officers, administrators or members of the nobility, there could be relationship issues, religious differences. People had to apply for Konsens when one partner came from out of town.

There are some applications filmed for the city of Iserlohn.The records are on International film number 2390049. The film can be ordered through the FamilySearch support system at local Family History Centers.

Kataster (cadastre)
In the early development of cities (1000-1600) there also evolved the representation of properties on maps and in registers. The mapping and registration of land was of great importance in the colonization and administration efforts of newly conquered territories. In 1150 Charlemagne introduced property taxes. First, these contributions were non monetary and were estimated according to gross profits. Property taxes changed in the middle of the 17th century and was now measured according to yield and had to be paid with money. Taxes were to be more just. Therefore, the exact worth of each property and each taxpayer had to be known. For this reason, the creation of a “Steuerstock” was ordered. At the base of this tax was the surveying of land. In Brandenburg the Schoß- and Hufenregister was created. In Frankfurt occurred the first allotment surveying. This constituted not only the base for a levy, but also assured the legal safeguarding of properties. By the end of the 18th century, there was still not a Kataster as we know it today with exact measurements. Taxation occurred still by arbitrariness. For instance, in Prussia existed 33 different systems for property taxes. The aim was to streamline the distribution of taxes. Until 1872 the cadastre of Prussia was purely tax driven, then the additional function of the cadastre was to serve ownership rights. By 1900there existed in the German Reich the Eigentumskataster /Mehrzweckkataster. The cadastre became the official index for the Grundbuch (land register), served the requirements for taxes, official statistics, economics and planning and became the base for topographical maps.

Source: http://www.vermessungkrause.de/uploads/media/Geschichte_des_Katasters_Auszug_.pdf

Familysearch has in its collection the Bördekataster von 1685 in which all owners, houses, acreage and yield are listed. The area in question is the Nieder and Oberbörde (fertile lands around the city of Soest in Westphalia). The book lists 48 villages and has three registers, featuring an index by topics, an index of family names and farms and an index of field names and bodies of water. The book can be located in the Family History Library Catalog, call number 943.56/S2 R29k

Prussia-Westfalen: Court Records