Austria, Upper Austria, Linz Citizen Rolls - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Österreich, Oberösterreich, Linz Bürgerbücher

What is in This Collection?
This collection of citizen records includes the years 1658 to 1937.

This collection of citizen records for the city of Linz may give the name, residence, age, occupation, and tax information for each citizen. The collection also includes citizen land registers (burgerkataster), tax invoices (rechnungen), orphan books (waisenbuch), lists of proprietors (hauserverzeichnis), and certificates of family origin (heimatschein).

The text is handwritten in German. Some documents are written in ledger type format, others in narrative style. For help with translating the documents, see the For Help Reading the Records section of this article.

This collection has a variety of legal records, all relating to citizen records of residence status, property, taxes, heirs, etc.

These records were created to track the identification, property, and taxes of all citizens and people applying for citizenship.

Citizen records are reliable, but keep in mind that these do not have as much information as church and civil records. Use these records when vital information can’t be found elsewhere.

Reading These Records
For help reading these German records see the following guides:
 * German Language and Languages
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * Germany Handwriting
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Reading German Handwritten Records

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The information in these records usually include the following:

Citizen lists


 * Date issued
 * Name of principal
 * Occupation
 * Marital status
 * Residence
 * Age
 * Physical description
 * Spoken language

Outstanding tax records


 * Name of person
 * Marital status
 * Place of residence

Citizenship and oath of allegiance lists


 * Name of person
 * Age or date of birth
 * Place of residence
 * Occupation
 * Signature of person swearing the oath
 * Name of representative (if any)

Inheritance tax


 * Name of the deceased person
 * Names of heirs
 * Taxes information

How Do I Search This Collection?
It is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's name
 * Residence
 * Age or birth date
 * Names of family members

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the 
 * 1) Select Item of Interest to view the images

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.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

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

 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date
 * Use the soldier's age and location of the military unit to find his family in census, church, and land records
 * Use the county code and the certificate number to obtain a copy of the original death certificate from the county
 * Use the parents’ places of origin to find former residences and establish a migration pattern for the family
 * Use the couple’s marriage date and place to find records of their children
 * Use the burial place to help you identify their migration pattern
 * Use the surname to compile baptism entries for each child and sort them into families based on the names of the parents
 * Use the titles as clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found to find more generations of the family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Consult the Austria Record Finder to find other record
 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc
 * Search the records of nearby localities (or military units, counties, parishes, etc.)
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Austria.
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Austria 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.