Germany, Baden, Church Book Duplicates - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection is an index to the civil transcripts of church books from Baden-Württemberg, Germany for the years from 1804 to 1877. The records are of baptisms, marriages, and deaths. Currently the index records from over 50 localities in Baden and additional records are being added as they become available. For a complete list of localities included, see the coverage table in the Wiki article. The Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg hold the original records, which are located in the Staatsarchiv Freiburg and the Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe. The images for the entire collection have been made available on the websites of the Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg.

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.

Reading These Records
These records are written in German. For help reading these records see:
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * Germany Handwriting
 * Brigham Young University Script Tutorial : The German Documents

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Christening
 * Date and place of birth
 * Baptismal date and place
 * Name and gender of child
 * Legitimacy of child
 * Parents' names
 * Parents' residence
 * Witnesses' names or godparents

Marriage
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Groom's name
 * Date and birth place of groom
 * Groom's residence
 * Groom's parents' names
 * Bride's name
 * Date and birth place of bride
 * Bride's residence
 * Bride's parents' names
 * Witness' name

Collection Content
For more information about these records see Germany, Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records.

Coverage Table
A list of places included in this collection can be found at Germany, Baden Church Book Duplicates, Coverage Table.

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

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.

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

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the information to find your ancestors in Censuses. These can help you find additional family members
 * Use the age in the record to find an approximate birth year, which will help you find a birth or death record.  Sometimes a person is buried in a city or town in which they did not die so it is not always accurate to assume that a burial place is the same as a death place
 * 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?

 * Switch to a different record collection. Depending on the time period, either German Civil Registration records or German Church records may be more useful
 * While searching, it is helpful to know such information as the ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as an ancestor and that the ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times
 * Keep in mind that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * 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. Pay special attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try variations on the pronunciation
 * Search the indexes and records of local genealogical societies

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in Germany.
 * Germany Research Tips and Strategies
 * Germany Record Finder

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

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.

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