Lübeck, German Empire Genealogy

Guide to Lübeck, German Empire ancestry, family history, and genealogy before 1945: birth records, marriage records, death records, both church and civil registration, compiled family history, and finding aids.

Historical Background

 * The Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck was a city-state from 1226 to 1937, in what is now the German states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
 * From 1811 to 1813, Lübeck was formally annexed as part of the First French Empire. Lübeck reassumed its pre-1811 status in 1813.
 * The 1815 Congress of Vienna reconfirmed Lübeck's independence and it became one of 39 sovereign states of the German Confederation.
 * Lübeck joined the North German Confederation in 1867.
 * In 1871 Lübeck became an autonomous component state within the newly founded German Empire.
 * In 1937, Hamburg was expanded to include towns that had formerly belonged to Schleswig-Holstein. To compensate Prussia for these losses, the 711-year-long statehood of Lübeck came to an end and almost all its territory was incorporated into Schleswig-Holstein. (Wikipedia)

Finding Birth, Marriage, and Death Records for Lübeck
'''Most of the information you need to identify you ancestors and their families will be found in two major record groups: civil registration and church records. To locate these records, follow the instructions in these Wiki articles.'''

1. Find the name of your ancestor's town in family history records.
Records were kept on the local level. You must know the town where your ancestor lived. If your ancestor was a United States Immigrant, use the information in the Wiki article Germany Finding Town of Origin to find evidence of the name of the town where your ancestors lived in Germany.
 * Emigration out of Schleswig-Holstein, 19th century, index.
 * Das Nordfriesische Auswanderer-Archiv (North Friesland Emigrants), Images and no index.
 * Dithmarschen Emigration
 * Schleswig-Holstein Immigrants in New Amsterdam/New York,1636 - 1667.

2. Use gazetteers and/or parish register inventories to learn more important details.
Your ancestor's town might have been too small to have its own parish church or civil registration office. Find the location of the Catholic or Lutheran (Evangelical) parish that served your ancestor's locality. Find the name of the civil registration office (Standesamt) that serves your ancestor's locality. Use the Wiki article Finding Aids For German Records for step-by-step instructions.

Germany was first unified as a nation in 1871. An important gazetteer, Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-lexikon des deutschen Reichs, "Meyer's Gazetter" for short, details the place names of villages, towns, counties (kreise), and higher jurisdictions used at that time. In the Research Wiki, FamilySearch Catalog, and FamilySearch Historical Records, the records of Germany are organized using those place names.

At the end of both World Wars, the boundaries of the states were changed dramatically, as areas of Germany were distributed among the Allied nations. Eventually, after re-unification in 1990, the states of Germany settled into what they are today. It is also necessary to understand Germany by this system, as it affects the locations of civil registration offices, archives, and mailing addresses used in correspondence searches.

3. Use census records as clues to finding family members in church and civil registration records.
You can find probable families in census records, then use church and civil registration records to determine if the family is a match, find additional information on the family, and document your family accurately. Church and civil registration records are primary sources and everything you find in a census record should be proven in primary sources.

Follow the instructions in Lübeck, German Empire Census.

4. For birth, marriage, and death records from 1811-1815 and after 1 January 1876, use civil registration.
Follow the instructions in Lübeck, German Empire Civil Registration.

5. For baptism, marriage, and death records, use church records or parish registers.
Follow the instructions in  Lübeck, German Empire Church Records.

More Research Strategies and Tools

 * Germany Online Classes and Tutorials
 * Reading German Handwritten Records  Practice exercises to build your skills and confidence.
 * Old German Script Transcriber (alte deutsche Handschriften): See your family names in the script of the era. Type your name or other word into the font generator tool. Click on the 8 different fonts. Save the image to your computer and use it as you work with old Germanic records.
 * Finding Aids for German Records
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * German Research, BYU Independent Study, no cost.


 * These printable handouts can be used for ready reference when reading German Handwriting.
 * Letters:


 * [[Media:Kurrent Letters.pdf|Kurrent Letters handout]]
 * [[Media:Kurrent Font Help Wiki.pdf|Additional Kurrent Letters handout]]


 * Vocabulary found on Specific Records:


 * [[Media:Birth Record Vocabulary-Kurrent-german.pdf|Birth Records Vocabulary handout]]
 * [[Media:Marriage Record Vocabulary-Kurrent-german.pdf|Marriage Records Vocabulary handout]]
 * [[Media:German marriage handout templated jan 2017.pdf|Overview of Marriage Laws and Customs (handout)]]
 * [[Media:Death Record Vocabulary-Kurrent german.pdf|Death Records Vocabulary handout]]


 * Dates, Numbers, Abbreviations:


 * [[Media:Days and Months Vocabulary-Kurrent-German.pdf|Days and Months handout]]
 * [[Media:Numbers Vocabulary.pdf|Numbers Vocabulary handout]]
 * [[Media:Kurrent Script Dates, Numbers, etc.pdf|Script Dates and Numbers handout]]
 * [[Media:Common Abbreviations-Kurrent-german.pdf|Common Abbreviations handout]]
 * [[Media:Common Symbols - Kurrent-german.pdf|Common Symbols handout]]


 * Miscellaneous Vocabulary:


 * [[Media:German Occupations Vocabulary.pdf|German Occupations Vocabulary handout]]
 * [[Media:Illnesses Vocabulary-Kurrent-german.pdf|Illnesses Vocabulary handout]]


 * Fraktur:


 * [[Media:Fraktur Font help - Wiki.pdf|Fraktur Font]] -- Many forms and books are printed in this font.


 * German Given Names:
 * List of Names in Old German Script -- A comprehensive list of German given names,  written in old script, with possible variations.