Angermünde, Germany, Births, 1874-1903

About this collection

This collection contains birth records and name directories from Angermünde covering the years 1874 up to and including 1903. Angermünde is a city in the Uckermark District of the German state of Brandenburg. The city is located in a lake district about 50 miles northeast of Berlin close to the River Oder and the Polish border. The first documentary mention of Angermünde was in 1263. Notable landmarks include the medieval parish church of St. Mary as well as a Brick Gothic style former Franciscan monastery. During the time period of this collection, Angermünde belonged to the Prussian Province of Brandenburg. In addition to Angermünde, the collection includes records from another 11 communities. However, the records for most end before 1903. Only name directories are included for the community of Gellmersdorf.

Beginning on October 1, 1874, local registry offices were made responsible for creating birth, marriage and death records in the former Prussian provinces. The collected records are arranged chronologically and usually in bound yearbook form which are collectively referred to as "civil registers." Complementary alphabetical directories of names may also have been created. While churches continued to keep traditional records, the State also mandated that the personal or marital status of the entire population be recorded.

What you can find in the records

Birth records were created using preprinted forms that were filled in by hand by the registrar. In each record the date of a birth usually differs from the date it was registered. Depending on the individual form or on the formulations used by the registrar, you may find:

• Sequential or Certificate Number
• Registration Date
• Informant: Occupation, Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Residence/Address, Denomination
• Mother: Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Spouse, Denomination, Residence/Address
• Child: Birth Date, Time of Birth, Sex, Given Names
• Signatures

The name directories are arranged alphabetically according to the last name of the child. They are bound either as separate chronological volumes or together with their respective birth registers. They contain the following details:

• Sequential number
• Last Name and Given Names of the child
• Last Name and Given Names of the father (or for an illegitimate child, the mother)
• Reference to birth register

More about using this collection

Each record comprises one page. Additional events from the life of the child were sometimes recorded later on in the margins. These notes, sometimes referred to as "narration," can contain very useful information but they have not been indexed. As a result, information from the notes will not found via the search form. In cases where the child had not yet received a name at birth, the name was later added in the margin notes. The “Informant” was often a midwife or the child's father. Under "Browse this collection,” select the Civil Registration Office and then the time period for the register desired. When name directories are available for a registry office, they are displayed and selectable in the Year Range list. However, when a name directory forms part of a register itself, it can be accessed within that register by selecting the desired time period.