Waldeck and Pyrmont, German Empire Genealogy

Germany

Waldeck and Pyrmont

Guide to Waldeck and Pyrmont, German Empire ancestry, family history, and genealogy before 1945: birth records, marriage records, death records, both church and civil registration, compiled family history, and finding aids.

Waldeck and Pyrmont, German Empire Wiki Topics
Getting Started
Finding Town of Origin Finding Aids For German Records Research Strategies Record Finder
Major Waldeck and Pyrmont 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 Waldeck and Pyrmont Record Types
Emigration & Immigration Jewish Records Military Records	Online Genealogy Records Town Genealogies
Waldeck and Pyrmont Background
Gazetteers Maps Parish List
Local Research Resources
Archives & Libraries Societies FamilySearch Centers
Germany Record Types
Cemeteries Census Church Records Civil Registration Court Records Emigration & Immigration Genealogy Land & Property Population Records	Manumission Newspapers Obituaries Occupations Online Records Town Genealogies Periodicals Probate Records Religious Records School Records
Germany Background
Biography Church Directories Church History Funerary Customs Cultural Areas Gazetteers Handwriting	Historical Geography History Jurisdictions Letter Writing Guide Maps Names Personal Nobility Websites

Historical Background

• Waldeck was a county within the Holy Roman Empire from about 1200.
• In 1625, the small county of Pyrmont became part of the county through inheritance.
• The independence of the principality was confirmed in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, and Waldeck and Pyrmont became a member of the German Confederation.
• From 1868 onward, the principality was administered as part of Prussia, but retained its legislative sovereignty.
• In 1871, the principality became a constituent state of the new German Empire.
• Waldeck was formally absorbed into the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau in 1929, which is today in the modern state of Hesse (Hessen).
• The region of Bad Pyrmont became part of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen).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 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 Latin Genealogical Word List French Genealogical Word List Old German Script--Three parts German Script Tutorial German Letter Writing Guide See More Research Tools

Waldeck and Pyrmont Online Genealogy Records

Germany Online Genealogy Records

Ask the Community

Historical Geography

Waldeck and Pyrmont within the German Empire: Pyrmont is the very tiny red area north of Waldeck.

Waldeck and Pyrmont Within Hessen-Nassau and Westfalen For a larger map, click here. Then click with the magnifying glass.

Waldeck Today As Part of Waldeck-Frankenburg Kreis in Hesse (Hessen) For a larger map, click here.

History of Waldeck and Pyrmont in the German Empire	Geo-Political Differences Today	FamilySearch Catalog (organized by 1871 Meyer's Gazetteer)	Wiki Pages
Waldeck and Pyrmont	1929: Merged into Hesse-Nassau (Hessen-Nassau) 1946: Hessen-Nassau including Waldeck became part of the current state of Hesse. Pyrmont merged into current state of Lower Saxony	Waldeck	Waldeck and Pyrmont, German Empire Genealogy (before 1929) Waldeck: Hesse (Hessen), Germany Genealogy (after 1945) Pyrmont: Lower Saxony, Germany Genealogy (after 1945)

Finding Birth, Marriage, and Death Records for Waldeck and Pyrmont

Most of the information you need to identify you ancestors and their families will be found in two major record groups: civil registration and church records. To locate these records, follow the instructions in these Wiki articles.

1. Find the name of your ancestor's town in family history records.

Records were kept on the local level. You must know the town where your ancestor lived. If your ancestor was a United States Immigrant, use the information in the Wiki article Germany Finding Town of Origin to find evidence of the name of the town where your ancestors lived in Germany. Also, see:

• Auswanderer-Nachweise Hessen State Archives
• Die waldeckische Auswanderung zwischen 1829 und 1872 Die waldeckische Auswanderung zwischen 1829 und 1872, Book--see WorldCat

2. Use gazetteers and/or parish register inventories to learn more important details.

Your ancestor's town might have been too small to have its own parish church or civil registration office. Find the location of the Catholic or Lutheran (Evangelical) parish that served your ancestor's locality. Find the name of the civil registration office (Standesamt) that serves your ancestor's locality. Use the Wiki article Finding Aids For German Records for step-by-step instructions.

Germany was first unified as a nation in 1871. An important gazetteer, Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-lexikon des deutschen Reichs, "Meyer's Gazetter" for short, details the place names of villages, towns, counties (kreise), and higher jurisdictions used at that time. In the Research Wiki, FamilySearch Catalog, and FamilySearch Historical Records, the records of Germany are organized using those place names.

You can also consult Waldeck and Pyrmont Parish Record Inventories to learn the Lutheran or Catholic parish that would have kept records for your town.

At the end of both World Wars, the boundaries of the states were changed dramatically, as areas of Germany were distributed among the Allied nations. Eventually, after re-unification in 1990, the states of Germany settled into what they are today. It is also necessary to understand Germany by this system, as it affects the locations of civil registration offices, archives, and mailing addresses used in correspondence searches.

3. For birth, marriage, and death records after 1 January 1876, use civil registration.

Follow the instructions in Waldeck and Pyrmont, German Empire Civil Registration.

4. For baptism, marriage, and death records, use church records or parish registers.

Follow the instructions in Waldeck and Pyrmont. German Empire Church Records.

More Research Strategies and Tools

• Germany Online Classes and Tutorials
• German Paleography Seminar - Lessons on German Handwriting
• 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.
  
• Finding Aids for German Records
• Research Tips and Strategies

• These printable handouts can be used for ready reference when reading German Handwriting.
  

Letters:

• Kurrent Letters handout
• Additional Kurrent Letters handout

Vocabulary found on Specific Records:

• Birth Records Vocabulary handout
• Marriage Records Vocabulary handout
• Overview of Marriage Laws and Customs (handout)
• Death Records Vocabulary handout

Dates, Numbers, Abbreviations:

• Days and Months handout
• Numbers Vocabulary handout
• Script Dates and Numbers handout
• Common Abbreviations handout
• Common Symbols handout

Miscellaneous Vocabulary:

• German Occupations Vocabulary handout
• Illnesses Vocabulary handout

Fraktur:

• Fraktur Font -- Many forms and books are printed in this font.

German Given Names:

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