Hamburg, Germany Genealogy

Germany

Hamburg

Guide to Hamburg ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Hamburg, German Empire Wiki Topics
Beginning Research
Finding Town of Origin Finding Aids For German Records Research Strategies Record Finder
Major Record Types
Church Records	Civil Registration
Reading the Records
German Word List Latin Word List French Word List	Handwriting Languages Feast Days Script Tutorial
Additional Hamburg Record Types
The Hamburg Passenger Lists Cemeteries Court Records Directories	Emigration and Immigration Jewish Records Military Records Online Records
Hamburg Background
Church History Gazetteers Historical Geography History	Jurisdictions Language and Handwriting Maps
Ethnic Groups
Minorities
Local Research Resources
Archives and Libraries Societies Family History Centers
Germany Record Types
Cemeteries Census Church Records Civil Registration Court Records Emigration and Immigration Genealogy Jewish Records Land & Property Local Records Manumission	Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Newspapers Obituaries Occupations Online Records Town Genealogies Periodicals Probate Records Religious Records School Records
Germany Background
Biography Church Directories Church History Former German Areas Funerary Customs Cultural Areas Gazetteers	Handwriting Historical Geography History Jurisdictions Letter Writing Guide Maps Names Personal Nobility Websites
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History

• Hamburg, (officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, was a fully sovereign city state before the 1871 unification of Germany.

• Before 1919,Hamburg formed a civic republic, headed constitutionally by a class of hereditary grand burghers or Hanseaten.

• Hamburg was briefly annexed by Napoleon I to the First French Empire (1804–1814/1815). Russian forces finally freed the city in 1814. Hamburg re-assumed its pre-1811 status as a city-state in 1814.

• The Vienna Congress of 1815 confirmed Hamburg's independence and it became one of 39 sovereign states of the German Confederation (1815–1866).

• Hamburg became a member of the North German Confederation (1866–1871) and of the German Empire (1871–1918), and maintained its self-ruling status during the Weimar Republic (1919–1933).

• Hamburg was a "Gau" (a region within a country, often a former or actual province) from 1934 until 1945.

• Hamburg surrendered to British Forces on 3 May 1945. After the Second World War, Hamburg formed part of the British Zone of Occupation; it became a state of the then Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. Wikipedia

Getting Started

Getting Started with Germany Research Links to articles on getting started with German research: "How to" Guides Germany Finding Town of Origin German Church and Civil Records German Research, BYU Independent Study, no cost. See More Research Strategies

Germany Research Tools Links to tools and websites that assist in German research: Meyers Gaz Online Gazetteer German Genealogical Word List Old German Script--Three parts German Script Tutorial German Letter Writing Guide See More Research Tools

Hamburg Online Genealogy Records

Germany Online Genealogy Records

Ask the Community

Research to Find the Town of Origin

If you do not yet know the name of the town of your ancestor's birth, there are well-known strategies for a thorough hunt for it.

• Use Germany Finding Town of Origin as a guide in finding evidence in United States records proving your ancestors' town of origin. Also see Germany Emigration and Immigration, especially for immigration to countries other than the United States.

Maps

Today's state of Hamburg was created in 1937-38 by uniting parts of the city of Hamburg with parts of Schleswig-Holstein and parts of Hannover. For exact localities included see 1937-1938 Boundary Changes of Hamburg Regional Gains and Territories Given Away.

Hamburg 1871-1938 For a larger map, click here.

Hamburg After 1938 Changes (Exchanges With Schleswig-Holstein) For a larger map, click here.

For a larger map, click here.

Germany was first unified as a nation in 1871. For German research prior to 1945, the Research Wiki, FamilySearch Catalog, and FamilySearch Historical Records are organized by the place names in use from 1871 to 1945. For research in that time period, use the Wiki links in the chart below:

• To find the 1871 duchy or province for your town, use Meyer's 1871 Gazetteer Online.

History of Hamburg in the German Empire	Geo-Political Differences Today	FamilySearch Catalog (organized by 1871 Meyer's Gazetteer)	Wiki Pages
Hamburg, officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg	1937-38: Exchanges of several small areas with Schleswig-Holstein (List and Map) 1987-8: the city Geesthacht, and the municipalities of Großhansdorf and Schmalenbeck merged to Schleswig-Holstein	Hamburg	Hamburg, Germany Genealogy (before 1945) Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Genealogy (after 19345)

Finding Civil Registration Records

After 1945, the main source for research will be civil registration. Civil registration records are records of births, marriages, and deaths kept by the government. In Brunswick (Braunschweig), they were started 1 January 1876. 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)

Melderegister

Since 1874, there is an official registration of residential addresses in Germany. These data were collected by the police stations. They are kept in the civil registration office. Some offices keep them historically from their start. Other offices destroyed records for people once they died.

These registration cards were available for each respective householder. Noted on the card were his wife and any children, dates of marriage or death, and a history of resident addresses. The value of these cards is their use to determine which civil registration office might hold birth, marriage, and death certificates for the family members.

Follow the German Letter Writing Guide, and use questions 16 and 17 to request these records.

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.

Civil registration records are records of births, marriages, and deaths kept by the government. In Hamburg, they were started in 1799. 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.

1. Online Records

• Hamburg, Germany, Deaths, 1874-1950, index and images, ($)

2. Writing for Civil Registration Certificates

For time periods more recent than the online or microfilm records, you will want to write for certificates.

Writing to a Local Registrar

• This pdf outlines the different localities in Hamburg, and gives the appropriate Standesamt office for that locality: Directory, 1876 to 1944, Hamburg Standesamts
• This Standesamt finder allows you to enter a street adress to determine the correct Standesamt: Hamburg Authority Finder
  • Some street addresses can be determined by consulting one of these directories, if the time period fits your research problem:
    • Hamburg Address Book (Hamburgisches Adress-Buch) für 1847, ($).
    • Business Directory of Hamburg, Altona und Ottensen, 1886
    • Hamburg Empire post office in Hamburg (Registration Fernsprechbuch for the Reichspost Direktionsbezirk Hamburg), ($). 1934.

Write a brief request in German to the proper office using this address as a guide, replacing the information in parentheses:

An das Standesamt

(Insert street address, if known.)

(Postal Code) (Name of Locality)

GERMANY

• Click here for postal code help for Germany.

Registrar General

In Hamburg there is the Registrar General through which one can search all Hamburg offices. You will be charged for search time in addition to document fees.

Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Standesamtliches General Register
Eiffestrasse 74
D- 20537 Hamburg
Germany

Phone: 040 / 42839-2688 Fax: 040/42839 - 4461

How to write a 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.

More Research Strategies and Tools

• Germany Online Classes and Tutorials
• Reading German Handwritten Records Practice exercises to build your skills and confidence.
• 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.
  
• Research Tips and Strategies

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.