GENEALOGY LINKS
Orientation, Tools and Links
http://www.roots-in-germany.de
Web site of Research and Travel, Germany. Compilation of resources and tools for emigration and historical biographical research in Germany. Many links to a variety of regional and local databases. Also links to German tourist organizations. Research and travel services are offered for fees.
http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/emigration.html
German Roots Web site. Compilation of German emigration online records, lists, resources. Useful links, orientation and explanations, hosted under above listed URL.
http://www.progenealogists.com/germanemigration.htm
Web site by ProGenealogist. Inc from Utah, detailed introduction, explanation of records, research strategies. ProGenealogist offers research services for fees which are likewise advertised on this site.
http://www.cyndislist.com/germany.htm
Cindi's List – Germany. A well-known list with numerous links including orientation on general resources. Well established in the genealogical community, constantly updated.
http://www.germancorner.com/
German corner: Extensive German-American links and information, well-known portal including also timelines, historic chapters, biographies.
http://csumc.wisc.edu/mki/Genealogy/1.GenealogyFrames.htm
Max Kade Institutes in the U.S. More than just a link list: German-Americans on Web-based resources and links, articles, resources, discussion, timeline, important issues of the German-American migration experience, links to academic institutions.
Passenger Manifests
The above-mentioned link-lists and research tools link to many passenger manifest resources. Not all of them allow access to digital images of the manifest and not all of them give information on places of origin or last residence of immigrants. Following is a list of the most popular and widely used resources on passenger list, some are free to use, others need registration, other require fees or subscriptions.
Port of embarkation: Hamburg
http://www.ancestry.de
The Hamburg departure lists. In cooperation with the Hamburg State Archive, its former project "Link to Your Roots" and the museum project Ballinstadt Ancestry.de hosts the Hamburg departure records 1850-1934. All lists are available online, a total of 3.5 million names are indexed, a help-index for not yet fully searchable years serves as an interims research tool. Fees required.
Port of embarkation: Bremen
http://www.passagierlisten.de
Passenger Lists 1920-1939 – online database. These are the only surviving departure lists for Bremen and Bremerhaven. A project by the Bremen Genealogical Society Maus in collaboration with the Bremen Chamber of Commerce.
Arrivals at U.S. Ports
http://www.ancestry.com
The U.S. Immigration Collections gives access to arrivals at New York, Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, Galveston, Philadelphia, California and some other places mainly 1820 to 1957 (varies for ports). Huge database, images of passenger manifests are online, requires fees.
http://www.immigrantships.net/index2.html
The Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild (ISTG) is a long-standing group of volunteers who transcribe various ship manifests. The index page lists manifest per year, ship name, port, etc. Especially important for ships prior to 1800. See also early list on the so called Palatine project: http://www.progenealogist.com/palproject. Another site presents early passenger manifests: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/7010/shiplists_palist.html
http://www.theshipslist.com/
TheShipsList is a collection of transcribed passenger manifests along with related information. Rich content and links.
Port of arrival: New York
http://www.castlegarden.org/
From 1855 to 1890, Castle Garden located at Manhattan's southern spot was America's first official immigration center. Online database for 10 million immigrants from 1830 through 1892. Free. No view or images of records.
http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/
Ellis Island – online database. Access to more than 22 million passengers who came through Ellis Island and the port of New York from 1892 to 1924. Registration then free.
Canadian ports of arrival
http://www.ingeneas.com/
The "inGeneas" Database contains passenger list records for immigrants who had arrived at Canadian ports between 1748 and 1873. By way of Canada also travel to the U.S. for many immigrants.
Pier21 – Canada's Historic Soul. Visitors may search electronically via links to the Library and Archives of Canada for the basic arrival information and country of residence of anyone who immigrated through a Canadian port between 1925 and 1935. Many of them continued to the U.S.
German Genealogy
http://www.ancestry.com
Ancestry.com (name change to The Generation Network) is a Utah-based private company with no religious affiliation. Most extensive online databases, more than 80 million images of records online, more then five billion names. Fees.
http://www.ancestry.de/
Ancestry/The Generation Network has launched its new German Web site in 2006 and is constantly adding data to it. Free access is to emigration indexes for Brandenburg, Württemberg, Baden, Meyers Orts und Verkehrslexikon and a variety of historic maps. Paid access is to Hamburg passenger lists, Mecklenburg census records, Bremen crew lists and more.
http://www.genealogienetz.de/
Portal of the German Verein für Computergenealogie, valuable links, resources. Important: this site links to the genealogical societies in the German federal countries (Bundesstaaten). Also helpful tools on this site and many local history sources.
http://www.familysearch.org/
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Well-known Web site of the Genealogical Society of Utah/Mormon church. Site links to the popular International Genealogical Index (IGI) which is their widely used collection of data, mainly from microfilmed church registers, many entries for Germany.
http://www.ahnenforschung.net/
Ahnenforschung.net is a directory for genealogists provided by Genealogie-Service de GmbH Germany. Links to online book shops, paid services as well as free resources.
http://www.feefhs.org/
The Federation of East European Family History Societies links to various databases which contain names in Eastern European regions including former German settlements, also genealogical aids, maps, link,s etc.
http://www.ahsgr.org
The American Historical Society of Germans from Russia Web site.
Jewish Heritage
http://www.jewishgen.org
Jewishgen hosts an extensive Web site with numerous links. Start your detailed search from here. Links to a special interest group for Germany: http://www.jewishgen.org/GerSIG/ which then refers to resources, databases, etc., valuable information.
http://routestoroots.com
This genealogical firm headed by Miriam Weiner specializes in research and documentation on Jewish heritage in Poland, Ukraine and Belarus.
German Archives
Records on emigration of archives usually relate to applications of passports, reports of public administration, correspondence or related matters. Only very few census records in Germany did survive. Some archives have duplicates of church books, some have civil registration records, however don't expect to find considerable name indexes for any of the collections.
From 1875 onwards civil registration and vital statistics were filed at the Standesämter (Civil registry offices). Adresses are available through the cities' public administration. Restrictions in use may apply.
Church archives keep church books or microfilm collections, thereof, as long as they are not with the local parishes. In some cases local genealogical societies did compile family history books from these records.
http://www.archivschule.de/content/23.html
German archives. This site is hosted by the Deutsche Archivschule at Marburg and lists addresses of archives in Germany. Mostly in German. Some archives have English Web sites.
http://www.staatsarchive.de
A private homepage gives access to Germanys state archive's addresses and general information, mostly in German.
http://www.ekd.de/archive/deutsch/index.htm
The Web site of the Evangelical Church in Germany lists the member archives which are listed by cities and regions. Please note that church records may not necessarily be kept in these centralized repositories but may be kept in local church offices.
http://www.dbk.de/bistum/index.html
Catholic church archives are listed on the Web sites of the respective Bistum, yet in an inconsistent way and mostly in German.
German States and Regions
Genealogical finding aids, Web sites, general information that covers the federal states ( Bundesländer ) or historic regions of Germany is provided by various genealogical societies. A list of these societies is displayed in cooperation with the Verein für Computergenealogie: http://wiki.genealogy.net/wiki/portal:Vereine
Web site addresses are displayed. Links to most of the societies.
The following list gives orientation on major ressources but can not display every single source. For more detailed listings of local databases, please refer to http://www.routes.de/linksammlung/004.htm
Baden-Württemberg
http://www.auswanderer-bw.de
Emigration from Southwestern Germany/Württemberg. Documentation of Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart – online database. More than 50.000 emigrant names from Württemberg and additional data concerning place of birth, destination, reasons for emigrating, year of emigration and number of accompanying relatives.
http://www.ancestry.de
Baden and Württemberg emigration indexes are available free here.
Bayern
http://www.hdbg.de/auswanderung
Web site of Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte at Munich. In 2004 and 2005 the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte did present an extensive exhibit Bye Bye Bayern – Grüß Gott Americ". Catalog may still be available.
http://www.gf-franken.de
The Franconian genealogical society has extensive material, several CDs, societies.
http://www.genealogienetz.de/vereine/BFL
The Bavarian genealogical society covers four regions in Bavaria. They also have emigration card files.
Brandenburg
http://www.ancestry.de
Brandenburg emigration indexes are available free here.
http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/BRG/neumark/auswande.htm
Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv. Excerpts of emigration files from the Regierungsbezirk Frankfurt/Oder.
Bremen and Bremerhaven
http://www.dah-bremerhaven.de
At the Deutsche Auswandererhaus/German Emigration Center at Bremerhaven your ticket to the exhibit includes use of the museums Forum Migration with access to extensive databases including the complete collections of ancestry.de and ancestry.com, familysearch.org and others.
http://www.passagierlisten.de/
Passenger Lists 1920-1939 – online database. These are the only surviving departure lists for Bremen and Bremerhaven. A project by the Bremen Genealogical Society Maus in collaboration with the Bremen Chamber of Commerce.
http://www.staatsarchiv.bremen.de/
The state archive of Bremen has put crew lists of 19th century ships online through the Web site of www.ancestry.de. These are only names of crew, but several of these list may serve as substitute to reconstruct sailings. Bremen departure lists with passenger names are lost except for some 1920-1939. Among the repositories of the archive (access only for visitors) are also files on displaced persons who emigrated through Bremerhaven between 1947 to 1952.
http://www.deutsche-auswanderer-datenbank.de/
Online database on emigrants who left Europe for the US between 1820 and 1939, primarily from German ports. Work in progress, the current data stock contains passenger manifests for the periods 1820-1833, 1840-1848, 1850-1891,1904 and 1907. Online search and search order available for visitors at the "Historisches Museum/Morgenstern-Museum" in Bremerhaven, Germany. Museum charges fees for search orders and for printouts of search results. Portions of data available at http://www.castlegarden.org and at http://www.ellisislandrecords.org.
Hamburg
http://www.ballinstadt.de
The Hamburg emigration museum Ballinstadt – Port of Dreams offers visitors free access to its research center including the complete ancestry.com and ancestry.de collections and, of course, access to the Hamburg departure lists 1850-1934.
http://fhh.hamburg.de/stadt/Aktuell/behoerden/staatsarchiv/start.html
The Hamburg State Archive is the curator for the Hamburg departure lists. Microfilms as well as access to the ancestry Web site are available for visitors. Online finding aids to other resources (Bestandsbeschreibungen) in PDF format are available on the archives Web site.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
http://www.ancestry.de
Mecklenburg Census for 1819 and 1867 (1910 to come) are available online for fees at ancestry's Web site. Data come from the Landeshauptarchiv at Schwerin http://www.landeshauptarchiv-schwerin.de. Visitors to this archive can use the data free of charge.
http://www.imar-mv.com/
IMAR is the Institute for Migration and Ancestral Research, an organization that deals with emigration to America from Mecklenburg. It has at its disposal a database with 25,000 emigrants. No online access to records.
Lower Saxony
http://www.staatsarchive.niedersachsen.de/master/C504_L20_D0.html
Lower Saxonian State Archives. Click on Auswandererquellen/Emigrant Data. This opens emigrant databases for Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel, Hannover and Osnabrück. Online research is possible, however findings are in the form of reference file numbers for archival holdings only, no detailed records are available online.
http://www.emigrantdatabase.de/
Regional Databases Northern Germany covers counties of Cloppenburg, Vechta, Cuxhaven, Delmenhorst, Bad Laer, total of 19,000 names, detailed, precise information, time covered varies by county 1830-1890. Access also via http://www.routes.de
http://www.genealogienetz.de/vereine/OGF/auswanderer/auswanderer.html
Emigrants from the former Grandduchy of Oldenburg compiled from various sources. Homepage of the Oldenburg Genealogical Society.
http://www.hapag-halle-cuxhaven.de/
Built between 1900-1902 and operated by the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG), the Hapag Terminal corresponds with the new Ballinstadt Museum at Hamburg. Actually, most of the Hamburg passengers started their journey from here after being transferred from Hamburg in special emigrant trains. A database contains emigrants from the surrounding county.
http://www.dausa.de/
At the University of Oldenburg the former Research Center German Emigrants in the U.S.A. has collected microfilms with passenger arrivals at U.S. ports (19th century). These copies from the National Archives, Washington, D.C., are available to the public in the library of the Oldenburg University. No online research, no complete indexes. Online research on same datapool available at http://www.ancestry.com. Portions of data available at http://www.castlegarden.org and at http://www.ellisislandrecords.org.
http://www.genealogienetz.de/vereine/UG
The Upstalsboom – Gesellschaft is organized in cooperation with the East Frisian Historical Society at Aurich. They are well known to researchers on genealogy in East Frisia and have at their disposal a vast collection of Ortssippenbücher (family and local history books) as well as other resources. They have limited opening hours.
http://www.ogsa.us
The Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America is a very active society and has compiled many links on East Frisian Heritage. Helpful navigation in English.
North Rhine-Westphalia
http://www.archive.nrw.de
Network of achives at Northrine Westfalia. Including links to two important genealogical archives – Personenstandsarchive at Brühl and Detmold.
http://www.migration.lvr.de/
Schöne Neue Welt - Rheinländer erobern Amerika. An exhibition of the Rhineland Open-Air Museum Kommern between spring of 2001 and fall of 2002 still available as an online presentation.
http://www.amerikanetz.de/
Network Westphalian Emigration to America since the 19th century. A loose yet comprehensive network of individuals combing their work on the Westphalian emigration. Many links; also access to databases.
Rhineland-Palatinate
http://www.bv-pfalz.de/04.kultur/04.InstitutGV/
Institute for Palatine History and Folklife Studies at Kaiserslautern. A widely known facility which has proved itself valuable to many researchers. 300,000 card files on Palatine emigrants, literature, resources, publications.
http://palam.org/
Palatines to America is a genealogical society dedicated to the study of ancestors from all German-speaking lands, not only just the Palatinate but they also have a special focus on the Palatinate.
http://www.auswanderermuseum.de/
The Museum displays the history of emigration from the Palatinate to America. Some reference literature and name lists. Limited opening hours.
Schleswig-Holstein
http://www.aggsh.de/german/
Homepage of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Genealogie Schleswig Holstein (Hans Peter Voß from Kiel). Their projects include an emigrant database and transcriptions of Schleswig Holstein Census records. Work in progress. Online access is possible, valuable information and data.
http://www.genealogy-sh.com/
Homepage of Hans Peter Voss from Steenfeld. Emigrant lists and other genealogical sources.
http://www.nordfriiskinstituut.de
The database of the Nordfriisk Institut at Bredstedt has data of about 5,000 overseas emigrants from North Frisia and the Northwest of the former Duchy of Schleswig, today Danish territory. Publications, literature.