Germany, Prussia, Pomerania Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Deutschland, Pommern Kirche Aufzeichnungen

Record Description
This collection includes birth, marriage, and death records from 1544-1945. These records come from Evangelical Lutheran and Roman Catholic church records, as well as transcripts for a portion of Pomerania now located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. These records are in German.

Record Content
Birth records may contain the following information:


 * Date of birth
 * Name of child
 * Parents’ names (including mother’s maiden name)
 * Gender
 * Witnesses or godparents

Marriage records may contain the following information:


 * Date of marriage
 * Name of bride and groom
 * Names of bride and groom’s parents
 * Age of bride and groom
 * Birth year of bride and groom

Death records may contain the following information:


 * Date of death
 * Name of deceased
 * Parents’ names
 * Spouse’s name (if married)
 * Occupation of deceased

How to Use the Record
To begin your search, it is helpful to know:
 * your ancestor’s full name
 * Some identifying information such as residence, estimated birth, marriage, or death year, and names of parents or spouse

Search the Collection
To search the collection by name fill in your ancestor’s name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person.

If you did not find the person you were looking for, you may need to search the collection by image. ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select "State or Province" category ⇒Select "District" category ⇒Select "Parish: Town" category ⇒Select "Record type, Year range, and volume" category which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

With either search keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in German. For help reading the records, see the following resources:


 * German Word List
 * German Language and Languages
 * German Script Tutorial

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth year.
 * Note if the record mentions a different place of residence, more records for the family may be located there.
 * Pay attention to the witnesses or godparents, these were often family members which will aid in research.
 * Search for the birth records of all the children in a family, not just the ancestor in question. Doing so will create a more accurate and complete understanding of the family and lead to more information.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * 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.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities. Be aware that boundary changes could have occurred and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring locality.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.
 * If searching for a marriage record, try searching for both the bride and groom’s names individually—perhaps one is indexed incorrectly.
 * If searching for a birth record, try searching only by the parents’ names rather than the child’s names. This may help by working around errors in the index.

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

 * German Genealogy: Pommern/Pomerania
 * Pomeranian Genealogical Association

Related Wiki Articles

 * Pommern Genealogy
 * Prussia-Pommern Church History
 * Prussia-Pommern Population
 * Germany Genealogy

Citations for This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation