Westphalia (Westfalen), German Empire Civil Registration

Civil registration records are records of births, marriages, and deaths kept by the government. In Westphalia (Westfalen), they were started 1 January 1876. Civil registration records were also kept between 1799 and 1811 due to being occupied by Napoleonic France. If your family had a birth, marriage or death recorded during that brief time period, it will contain great information, due to the high level of detail in French records. German terms for these records include Standesamtsregister, Zivilstandsregister, or Personenstandsregister. They are an excellent source for information on names and dates and places of births, marriages, and deaths. These records are kept by the civil registrar (Standesbeamte) at the civil registry office (Standesamt). Study these links to learn what information can be found in them:
 * Births (Geburtsregister)
 * Marriages (Heiraten, Ehen, or Trauungen)
 * Deaths (Sterberegister or Totenregister)

For a comprehensive understanding of civil registration, study the article Germany Civil Registration.

Determining the Location of a Civil Registration Office
Research your town name in MeyersGaz.org to find the location of the registry office (Standesamt). It is indicated by the abbreviation "StdA".

However, some of the offices were merged in 1970's, so the record location might be different than that listed in MeyersGaz.
 * For a small town within a larger municipality:
 * To find the current Standesamt, go to the German Wikipedia, and enter the name of the town in the search box. An article about the town will start with a first line such as: "Besse with about 3200 inhabitants is the largest district of the municipality Edermünde in Hessian Schwalm-Eder-Kreis ." It is probable that the Standesamt is now located in the municipality (in this example Edermünde).
 * To e-mail the municipality to verify that the civil registry for your town is there.
 * From the Wikipedia town article, click on the name of the municipality that links to that article.
 * There will usually be an infobox on the right side of page that lists the address and the website of the municipality.
 * Click on the website. Look for "Kontakt (Contact)" information, which should provide an e-mail address.
 * Send a message asking whether you have the correct office for your ancestors' home town. You can also use e-mail to request records and arrange payment.


 * For larger towns which constitute a municipality:
 * To find the current Standesamt, go to the German Wikipedia, and enter the name of the town in the search box.
 * This type of article will not state that the town belongs to another municipality, because it is itself a municipality.
 * The infobox that lists the address and the website of the municipality will appear directly on a this first page that comes up.
 * Follow the above instructions #2-4 above.

Privacy Laws
Since 2009, birth records have been public after 110 years, marriages after 80 years and deaths after 30 years. A direct relationship (direct descendants and direct ancestors) to the subject of the record sought will be required in cases where the required time period has not yet elapsed. Even then, the records may be accessible if it can be shown that all "participating parties" have died at least 30 years ago. Participating parties are both parents and the child in birth records, and both spouses in a marriage.

1. Online Records

 * 1574-1912 - at FamilySearch — index and images

2. Digital Copies of Civil Registration From FamilySearch
Try to find records in the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Many microfilms have been digitized for online viewing. Gradually, everything will be digitized, so check back occasionally. Some have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at the Family History Centers near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records:
 * a. Click on this link to the Records of Germany, Preussen, Westfalen. Open the link Places within Germany, Preussen, Westfalen.
 * b. Click on the "Civil registration" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * c. Choose the correct record type and time period for your ancestor. "Geburten" are births. Heiraten are marriages.  "Verstorbene" are deaths.
 * d. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

3. Writing for Civil Registration Certificates
Civil registration records for Germany can be obtained by writing to the local civil registry (Standesamt) or the district archives. Records may have been lost at one location of the other, so you might end up checking both. The first office you contact might choose to forward your request to the other location if necessary.

Local Standesamt Addresses

 * Standesamt Addresses for North Rhine-Westphalia

Archives
ARCHIVES OF THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH OF WESTPHALIA (BIELEFELD) Bethelplatz 2 33617 Bielefeld Germany Tel .: 0521-594-164 Fax: 0521-594-267 E-Mail: archiv@lka.ekvw.de This archive has the civil registers for these towns: Alswede, Aplerbeck, Blasheim, Bockhorst, Börninghausen, Borgholzhausen, Brockhagen, Bruchhausen, Bünde, Burgsteinfurt, Dielingen, Dornberg, Enger, Exter, Fröndenberg, Gemen, Gohfeld, Gütersloh, Halle, Hamm, Haßlinghausen, Hausberge, Heepen, Herne, Hiddenhausen, Hille, Hörde, Hörste, Höxter, Holtrup, Holzhausen (Vlotho), Hüllhorst, Jöllenbeck, Klosterbauerschaft, Ladbergen, Lahde, Lerbeck, Levern, Lienen, Löhne, Lohne, Lotte, Lübbecke, Lütgendortmund, Mennighüffen, Paderborn, Petershagen, Preußisch Oldendorf, Stift Quernheim, Rehme, Rheda, Rödinghausen, Schildesche, Schnathorst, Schwelm, Spenge, Sprockhövel, Unna, Valdorf, Veltheim, Versmold, Vlotho, Volmerdingsen, Wallenbrück, Wehdem, Wengern, Werther, Westerkappeln, Witten. Stadtarchiv and the Landesgeschichteliche Bibliothek Postal address: 33597 Bielefeld Delivery address: Kavalleriestr. 17 33602 Bielefeld, Germany Visiting entrance: Neumarkt 1 Tel. 0521 51-2471 Fax 0521 51-6844 E-Mail: stadtarchiv@bielefeld.de Stadtarchiv Bielefeld took over 1,590 volumes of civil registration at the end of January / beginning of February 2009. These are the birth books 1874 to 1898, the books of marriage 1874 to 1928 and the death books 1874 to 1978. These are now available for evaluation according to archival legislation. They can be viewed free of charge, requested searches, copies or certified copies are calculated according to time and number.
 * Website
 * Website
 * Holdings

How to Write the Letter
Detailed instruction for what to include in the letter, plus German translations of the questions and sentences most frequently used are in the German Letter Writing Guide.

Town Genealogies (Ortssippenbuch or Ortsfamilienbuch )
See the class and the Wiki article, Germany Town Genealogies and Parish Register Inventories on the Internet. Published town genealogies, Ortssippenbuch (town lineage book) or Ortsfamilienbuch (town family book), generally include birth, marriage, and death data for all persons found in the local records during a specified time period, compiled into families based on the opinion of the author. 'If one is available, it should only be used as an index or guide'' to finding the original records. They usually contain errors. Always verify their information in original records.

Finding an OFB

 * OFB's for North Rhine-Westphalia
 * Click here to see OFBs at GenWiki. These are indexed and searchable. OFB Instructions.
 * A bibliography of OFBs held by the Central Office for Person and Family History, and available in their archive in Frankfurt am Main-Höchst, is listed here. You can arrange for copied pages to be sent to you for a fee or donation. Use the "Find" function on your keyboard to search the bibliographies, as they are not alphabetical.

German Records

 * It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French and German to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately.  Here are some resources for learning to read German records.
 * German Genealogical Word List


 * These video webinars will teach you to read German handwriting:
 * Old German Script Part 1
 * Old German Script Part 2
 * Old German Script (German Church and Civil Records) Part 3
 * German Script Tutorial


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

Search Strategy

 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find their birth record, search for the births of their brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of their parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * The marriage certificate will show the birth date, birth place, and parents of the bride and the groom.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.