Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia, German Empire Genealogy

Guide to Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire ancestry, family history, and genealogy before 1945: birth records, marriage records, death records, family history, and military records.

Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire Topics

Getting Started
Finding Town of Origin Finding Aids For German Records Research Strategies Record Finder
Major Schleswig-Holstein Record Types
Census Church Records Civil Registration
Reading the Records
German Word List Latin Word List French Word List	Handwriting Languages Feast Days Script Tutorial
Additional Schleswig-Holstein Record Types
Biographies Directories Emigration & Immigration Newspapers Nobility Online Records	Periodicals Population Probate Records Schools and Education Records Taxation Town Genealogies
Schleswig-Holstein Background
Gazetteers History Historical Geography Jurisdictions Language and Handwriting	Maps Naming Customs Occupations Social Life & Customs Timeline Websites
Ethnicity
German or Danish
Local Research Resources
Archives and Libraries Societies FamilySearch Centers
Germany Record Types
Cemeteries Church Records Civil Registration Court Records Genealogy Jewish Records Land & Property Population Records	Manumission Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Obituaries Online Records Town Genealogies Religious Records
Germany Background
Church Directories Funerary Customs Cultural Areas	Letter Writing Guide Names Personal Websites

Historical Background[edit | edit source]

The Province of Schleswig-Holstein was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1946.
From the 1400s to 1866, the dukedoms of Schleswig and Holstein were ruled by the Danish Oldenburg royal family.
In 1865, the German Confederation, led by Prussia and Austria, defeated the Danes in the Second War of Schleswig. Prussia and Austria then assumed administration of Schleswig and Holstein respectively.
However, tensions between the two powers culminated in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. The victorious Prussians annexed both Schleswig and Holstein, creating the province of Schleswig-Holstein in 1867.
It also included the Duchy of Lauenburg in the extreme southeast region of what is now Schleswig-Holstein from 1876 onward.
During the decades of Prussian rule within the German Empire, authorities attempted a Germanization policy in the northern part of Schleswig, which remained predominantly Danish.
On 15 June 1920, Northern Schleswig officially returned to Danish rule after a vote by its citizens.
In 1937, the Free City of Lübeck became part of the current state of Schleswig-Holstein.
After World War II, the Prussian province Schleswig-Holstein came under British occupation. On 23 August 1946, the military government abolished the province and reconstituted it as the separate state of Schleswig-Holstein. Wikipedia

Getting Started[edit | edit source]

Getting Started with Germany Research

Links to articles on getting started with German research:

See More Research Strategies

Germany Research Tools

Links to tools and websites that assist in German research:

See More Research Tools

Schleswig-Holstein Online Genealogy Records

Germany Online Genealogy Records

Ask the
Community

Historical Geography[edit | edit source]

Schleswig-Holstein within the German Empire

Schleswig-Holstein 1871-1946

For a larger map, click here.

Modern Schleswig-Holstein

History of Schleswig-Holstein in the German Empire	Geo-Political Differences Today	FamilySearch Catalog (organized by 1871 Meyer's Gazetteer)	Wiki Pages
Schleswig-Holstein	Current state of Schleswig-Holstein (Map) Some areas lost to Hamburg in 1937-8 (see map) Northern counties of Apenrade, Hadersleben, Sonderburg, and Tondern ceded to Denmark	Preussen, Schleswig-Holstein	Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire Genealogy (before 1945) Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Genealogy (before 1945) Lübeck, German Empire Genealogy (before 1945) Hamburg, Germany Genealogy (after 1945) Åbenrå County, Denmark Genealogy (after 1945) Haderslev County, Denmark Genealogy (after 1945) Sønderborg County, Denmark Genealogy (after 1945) Tønder County, Denmark Genealogy (after 1945)

Finding Birth, Marriage, and Death Records for Schleswig-Holstein[edit | edit source]

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.[edit | edit source]

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:

Emigration out of Schleswig-Holstein, 19th century, index.
Das Nordfriesische Auswanderer-Archiv (North Friesland Emigrants), Images and no index.
Dithmarschen Emigration
Schleswig-Holstein Immigrants in New Amsterdam/New York,1636 - 1667.

2. Use gazetteers and/or parish register inventories to learn more important details.[edit | edit source]

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 Schleswig-Holstein Parish Record Inventories to learn the Lutheran or Catholic parish that would have kept records for your town.

See the Schleswig-Holstein Parish List for a list of parishes.

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 October 1874, use civil registration.[edit | edit source]

Follow the instructions in Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire Civil Registration.

4. For baptism, marriage, and death records, use church records or parish registers.[edit | edit source]

Follow the instructions in Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire Church Records.

5. Use census records as clues to finding family members in church and civil registration records.[edit | edit source]

You can find probable families in census records, then use church and civil registration records to determine if the family is a match, find additional information on the family, and document your family accurately. Church and civil registration records are primary sources and everything you find in a census record should be proven in primary sources.
Follow the instructions Schleswig-Holstein Censuses - Instruction

More Research Strategies and Tools[edit | edit source]

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:

Vocabulary found on Specific Records:

Dates, Numbers, Abbreviations:

Miscellaneous Vocabulary:

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.