Besse Parish, Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, German Empire Genealogy

Guide to Besse Parish, Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, Germany ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Jurisdictional Changes
Besse has belonged to the following independent countries or post-1871 German states:

Place Names
A very good gazetteer to begin with is Meyers Gazetteer. For more information, see the entry for Besse.

Another essential online gazetteer to check is the Historic Gazetteer from Compgen. For more information, see the entry for Besse.

Church Records
Church records for this part of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau are held at the Evangelical Church Archive of Kurhessen-Waldeck in Kassel, Germany. The following records have been digitized by the website Archion. Archion requires a subscription. You can learn how to use Archion by clicking here. There are no indexes to these records. More recent records may be restricted.

Lutheran
Church records begin in 1574.


 * 1574-1624 Church records 1574-1624 at Archion - images, ($); with gaps
 * 1625-1639 Church records 1625-1639 at Archion - images, ($); with gaps
 * 1640-1719 Church records 1640-1719 at Archion - images, ($); with gaps
 * 1719-1770 Church records 1719-1770 at Archion - images, ($); with gaps
 * 1770-1790 Church records 1770-1790 at Archion - images, ($); with gaps
 * 1791-1819 Church records 1791-1819 at Archion - images, ($); with gaps
 * 1820-1830 Church records 1820-1830 at Archion - images, ($); with gaps
 * 1830-1861 Baptisms 1830-1861 at Archion - images, ($)
 * 1862-1906 Baptisms 1862-1906 at Archion - images, ($)
 * 1906-1949 Baptisms 1906-1949 at Archion - images, ($)
 * 1831-1912 Confirmations 1831-1912 at Archion - images, ($)
 * 1913-1967 Confirmations 1913-1967 at Archion - images, ($)
 * 1830-1891 Marriages 1830-1891 at Archion - images, ($)
 * 1891-1933 Marriages 1891-1933 at Archion - images, ($)
 * 1933-1970 Marriages 1933-1970 at Archion - images, ($)
 * 1830-1867 Burials 1830-1867 at Archion - images, ($)
 * 1868-1919 Burials 1868-1919 at Archion - images, ($)
 * 1919-1974 Burials 1919-1974 at Archion - images, ($)

Civil Registration
Civil registration for Besse began in October 1874.

Town Genealogy (OFB or Ortsfamilienbuch)
For more information about compiled genealogies, see the article Germany Town Genealogies.

Societies and Libraries
Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck Family History Society for Nassau and Frankfurt Hessian Family History Association Hessian State Archives Society for Family Studies in Kurhessen and Waldeck