Germany, Baden, Church Book Duplicates - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Deutschland, Badische Kirchenbücherduplikaten, 1810-1869

Record Description
This collection of church book duplicates currently covers the locality of Bondorf for most of the period of the Grand Duchy, from 1810 to 1869.

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.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found in most baptismal records are:




 * Names of the child, parents, and witnesses or godparents
 * Dates and places of birth and baptism
 * Residence and religion of the parents
 * Occupation of the father
 * Whether the child was legitimate or illegitimate

The key genealogical facts found in most marriage records are:




 * Names of the bride, groom, their parents (usually the fathers), and witnesses
 * Date and place of marriage and marriage proclamations or banns
 * Ages of bride and groom (sometimes date and place of birth)
 * Residences of the bride, groom, and their parents
 * Religion of the bride and groom
 * Occupation of groom and fathers

The key genealogical facts found in most deaths records are:




 * Names of the deceased, spouse, and parents
 * Date and place of death and burial
 * Age and residence of deceased and sometimes date and place of birth
 * Cause of death

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.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites
Germany, Baden Church Book Duplicates

Related Wiki Articles

 * Baden, Germany
 * Germany
 * Germany Church Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"Germany, Baden, Church Book Duplicates, 1810-1869." index and images, FamilySearch( accessed 21 April 2011). entry for Johanna Popp, born 15 September 1841; citing Birth Records, FHL microfilm 4,117,334; Staatsarchiv Freiburg, Baden, Germany.