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Reading German ScriptPart III

Reading German ScriptPart III

Systematic learning and supportSystematic learning and support

Author Norbert Willmann, www.nw-service.at

Translated by Iris Luschin Fuchs

In parts I and II we showed ways to recognize – and then read – the script in church registers on the basis of known words.

This section deals with the research system in genealogical research.

We already used this system with the example in part II. Here we will present a more detailed explanation.

Basically there are two main approaches to research:

Researching only the direct line—keeping only the father and the mother and no siblings. Researching all the children who belong to a family, as well as the additional marriages of either parent.

The second option produces a much more complete picture of the ancestor--their social environment and includes the whole family.

It also fulfills the promise in Malachi: ‘And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,..’ Malachi 4:6.

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Reading German Script III

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1. Answer from http://wiki.familysearch.org/en ‘The great-great grandfather’

2. Answer from http://ghostworld.sky/en/namesindex/europa/germany

‘Martin Falkner, born February 18, 1845 in Dornstadt, Ulm, Germany, son of Johann Falkner und Magdalena Scheen, both from Dornstadt.’ Download of all ancestors and descendants (except for living people) as GEDCOM-Datei“

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This would be nice, but fortunately it is not possible.

When searching for ancestors, many would wish for the simple option of entering a single question into one of the many search engines to find their ancestor. This option would seem to produce the precise results we desire.

Reading German Script III

When starting a search, we need a specific name, birth-date (or at least a birth year) and/or the birth place with the correct country. (This may be the location of the parish).

With this we are able to start searching with a search engine-– as shown on the previous page’s hypothetical example.

Example:Search input: Justina Catharina GRUEBERENFirst result: www.nw-service.at/familiewi/dornstadt.ged

Apparently someone (actually myself) has already done this search and via the link at the website contact can be made with the other researcher.

This is an important basic principle: before starting any research, check to see whether someone has already done research on that ancestral line.

There are many data bases available on the internet where researchers make their research available.

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Reading German Script III

The largest worldwide database is found at www.familysearch.org with data for more than 2.5 billion deceased persons. A one-time, no charge registration is required in order to use all the features at this site. This and many other databases should be searched before starting one’s own research in original sources. FamilySearch has filmed copies of original parish records (registers) in their archives and available at family history centers. Also Matricula and other online-archives provide very up-to-date digitized texts.

CAUTION! In doing research, it is best to proceed chronologically backwards--this means from a person’s death to his marriage to his birth. Normally a person’s life is viewed starting with birth and going to death. This backward search method can at times be confusing.

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Reading German Script III

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Reading German Script III

Birth

Let’s try this effective system in searching for an ancestor.

We need:

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Reading German Script III

Birth

Let’s try this effective system in searching for an ancestor.

We need:

1) A genealogy program to enter and edit genealogical data e.g. PAF (which is very good but is no longer being maintained) or Ancestral Quest or another commercial option. Ancestral Quest has direct access and data exchange to the aforementioned data bases of family search. For MAC users, there is for example: MacFamilyTree 6.0.12 which can be downloaded from the internet.

Let’s try this effective system in searching for an ancestor.

We need:

1) A genealogy program to enter and edit genealogical data e.g. PAF (which is very good but is no longer being maintained) or Ancestral Quest or another commercial option. Ancestral Quest has direct access and data exchange to the aforementioned data bases of family search. For MAC users, there is for example: MacFamilyTree 6.0.12 which can be downloaded from the internet.

2) The specific details for the person with whom we want to start. If we have a birth date, we start searching in the birth register of the birth place.

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Reading German Script III

Birth

In the birth entry, the parents are identified. Now we could now look in the marriage register for the wedding of these parents.  The wedding is most commonly before the birth of the first child in a family. Thus we need to search for additional children who may have been born before the known ancestor. Children were commonly born about every two years. If we can find no additional children after searching about 5 years before the birth of the oldest child, we can start looking for a marriage date. The 5 year rule allows for the birth of stillborn children or children not born right after the wedding.

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Reading German Script III

Birth

In the birth entry, the parents are identified. Now we could now look in the marriage register for the wedding of these parents.  The wedding is most commonly before the birth of the first child in a family. Thus we need to search for additional children who may have been born before the known ancestor. Children were commonly born about every two years. If we can find no additional children after searching about 5 years before the birth of the oldest child, we can start looking for a marriage date. The 5 year rule allows for the birth of stillborn children or children not born right after the wedding.  Now you are trained in finding the births in a family going backward. You can now easily find the children born after the know ancestor. Here again, we try to find no more children (depending upon the age of the mother) for about 5 – 10 years. This allows for the birth of a child later in life.

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Reading German Script III

Birth

When searching in the parish registers, you don’t have to read all the entries on the page, but – as shown in part II – you need only look in the parent column for the parents’ first names, i.e. Andreas and Magdalena. When you find this, then check the surname and then last of all look at the location.

This minimizes the search effort and allows for quicker results.

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Reading German Script III

Birth

After all of the children have been found in the birth register, search for the wedding in the marriage register. It should be chronologically before the birth of the first child of the family.  One would assume it sufficient to search for the marriage nine months before the birth of the first child, but the woman could have been pregnant at the time of the wedding. It is therefore advisable to start searching shortly before the birth date.  The wedding also could have taken place some years prior. There could have been unregistered still-births or children not born right after the marriage.

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Reading German Script III

Marriages

Birth

Sometimes the parents of the couple and the ages of the bride and groom are specified in the marriage entry. In this case two sets of parents could be identified—one for both the groom and the bride. The parent’s names will be the basis for a further search in the birth register for the birth of the bride and groom.  If the age of the bride and groom are specified, you can find the birth entries in the birth register for that year. If there is no age given, search for the birth of the bride going back about 17 to 30 years and for the groom about 20 to 35 years. The search is conducted as described in Part II: you search in the birth register for the first name of the bride or groom and when found you search for the first names of the parents and lastly look at the family name.

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Reading German Script III

Marriages

Birth

The research system used with the known ancestor is now repeated.

Search for other children in the families of the bride and groom.

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Reading German Script III

Marriages

Birth

The research system used with the known ancestor is now repeated.

Search for other children in the families of the bride and groom. Search in the marriage register for the wedding of the parents of the couple chronologically before the respective first child in each family.

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Reading German Script III

Marriages

Birth

The research system used with the known ancestor is now repeated.

Search for other children in the families of the bride and groom. Search in the marriage register for the wedding of the parents of the couple chronologically before the respective first child in each family.Using the marriage register entries go back again to the birth register to find the four birth entries for the parents. This then gives the next generation.

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Reading German Script III

Marriages

Birth

The research system used with the known ancestor is now repeated.

Search for other children in the families of the bride and groom. Search in the marriage register for the wedding of the parents of the couple chronologically before the respective first child in each family.Using the marriage register entries go back again to the birth register to find the four birth entries for the parents. This then gives the next generation.Search for other children in each of the respective families.

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Birth

Marriages

Reading German Script III

The research system used with the known ancestor is now repeated.

Search for other children in the families of the bride and groom. Search in the marriage register for the wedding of the parents of the couple chronologically before the respective first child in each family.Using the marriage register entries go back again to the birth register to find the four birth entries for the parents. This then gives the next generation.Search for other children in each of the respective families....and so on and so forth.

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Reading German Script III

Marriages

Using this research method we were able to find 6 families with children in only 3 generations--which can be between 40 and 70 persons.

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Geburten

Reading German Script III

Marriages

Please note:In the birth registers, always search the parent’s column for the first name of father and mother and then when these are identified search for the family name and lastly search for the location. In wedding registers, the columns containing the bride and groom must be searched for the first names and then searched for the family name and lastly the location. In death registers, the preferred search is for the family name (with all its spelling variations such as Koler-Koller-Khöller) and when found then searching for the location. The age may also be extremely beneficial. This method permits a rapid search of parish registers.

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Reading German Script III

Let us illustrate once more this research principle using a single generation:

1) Search for a known person with a possible birth date and location.

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Geburten

Reading German Script III

Marriages

Let us illustrate once more this research principle using a single generation:

1) Search for a known person with a possible birth date and location.2) Search for other children of the same couple (via the first names) going backward.

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Geburten

Reading German Script III

Marriages

Let us illustrate once more the principle of research within a generation:

1) Search for known (birth date and place) person.2) Search for other children of the same couple (via the first names) going backward.3) Search for other children also going forward.

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Geburten

Reading German Script III

Marriages

Let us illustrate once more the principle of research within a generation:

1) Search for known (birth date and place) person.2) Search for other children of the same couple (via the first names) going backward.3) Search for other children also going forward.4) Search for the wedding date of the parents in the marriage register prior to the birth of the first child in the family .

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Geburten

Reading German Script III

Marriages

Let us illustrate once more the principle of research within a generation:

1) Search for known (birth date and place) person.2) Search for other children of the same couple (via the first names) going backward.3) Search for other children also going forward.4) Search for the wedding date of the parents in the marriage register prior to the birth of the first child in the family .5) Search for the birth of the father (20 to 35 years into the past) and the mother (17 to 30 years into the past) in the birth register.

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Geburten

Reading German Script III

Marriages

Let us illustrate once more the principle of research within a generation:

1) Search for known (birth date and place) person.2) Search for other children of the same couple (via the first names) going backward.3) Search for other children also going forward.4) Search for the wedding date of the parents in the marriage register prior to the birth of the first child in the family .5) Search for the birth of the father (20 to 35 years into the past) and the mother (17 to 30 years into the past) in the birth register.6) Return to item 2 and start the searching process for the parents of the bride and groom.

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Geburten

Reading German Script III

Marriages

Some notes on the children of a family:

When a first name occurs more than once in a family it may indicate, that children of the same first name have died previously. In the death register this can be easily found using the time span between the births. Many children died in their first year or in early childhood (up to about the age of 8), so that only about half of the children born ever reached adulthood. In the death registers we also find more cases of baby and small child deaths in the cold winter months.

When a child died, this was entered in the death register and at times also in the birth register by the birth entry--noted with a cross and the death date. Picture: On Nov 18, 1767 Paul (son) of Joseph Schaden, Edlprinz and Theres was born. He died in the year 1769.

Hence, research in the death register is important, but is only worthwhile and effective after all the children in a family have been found.

Using this method, the death register can be ‘paged through’ and you don’t have to switch between the birth and death registers.

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Reading German Script III

After this explanation of the research principles, if you return to presentation part II you will deepen your knowledge and better understand the research system.

Another important item is the recording of your data with suitable programs--Two of them were mentioned in slide 7.

Using FamilySearch it is possible to enter one’s own data online into that large data bank or to upload and work with existing data. This is especially convenient if parts of one’s own genealogy is already available in these data banks. Once again-- remember to make checking ‘mandatory’ before starting research to know whether someone else has already worked on an ancestral line.

It is importance that data be entered very completely and accurately. Estimated data can help in research but it can also lead to false conclusions. In each data set, in ‘notes’ you can enter important details or further intended research as a reminder for later on. You can also enter links to pictures, screens or further documents.

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Reading German Script III

In conclusion–below is a summary of the first names of couples in church books and proof of the effectiveness of this search method.

I have entered all the church book entries between 1748 and 1800 into a genealogy program.

For the 7343 Persons in this database these are the first names for the couples:

103 Johann und Maria (Joan, Johan, Anna Maria, Maria Anna und Eva Maria)74 Josef und Maria (Joseph, Anna Maria, Maria Anna und Eva Maria)19 Johann und Catharina (Joan, Katharina)14 Josef und Catharina (Joseph, Katharina)11Adam und Maria

Individual first names:641 Maria (Anna Maria und Maria Anna und Eva Maria)217 Josef (Joseph)182 Catharina (Katharina)119 Johann (Joan)38 Susanna

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Reading German Script III

Assistance when reading old script:

Schriftenspiegel (script sampler) to recognize letters by comparison

Orte-Austria - Program to search for towns when the name is only partially legible and to correlate parishes with communities.

Genealogielexikon (Genealogical Reference Program) to help clarify identification of persons and Latin terms in the registers, as well as identification of names when the name is only partially legible.

Telefonbuch Austria (Telephone directory) to recognize the surname by comparing it to present-day surnames in a certain location.

Anfragen (Queries) Used to submit register pages per email with existent transcription attempts.

Bildschirmübertragung (Screen sharing) using the CrossLoop-Program for joint transcription with simultaneous telephone connection (only in German).

30Norbert Willmann www.nw-service.at

Reading German Script III

End of Part III

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Author: Norbert Willmann www.nw-service.at info@nw-service.at Part I Part II Begin

Translated by Iris Luschin Fuchs, many thanks also to Bradford W. Harper for his assistance

End of Part III

Reading German Script III

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