Now introducing the Pommern Database Person Search, a searchable index to records from Pomerania. This database takes a different approach, as the Pommerscher Greif and the PTG have created indexes to civil records. Our database focuses on records that are often overlooked, such as citizen registers, guild records, land and mortgage books, and user-submitted genealogies. This database is currently in development. Our Family Tree Search aims to help users connect with others searching for similar names, places, and relatives. Submit one name or an entire tree. Check back occasionally to see if someone else has submitted a name of interest.

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For search for books available by village or region, use the Pommerscher Greif’s Quellensuche. You can search for place listings, church books available online, an overview of church books that are both online or physically located in the archives, Standesamt (civil registry) books available online, and an overview of Standesamt books that are both online or held as a physical stock in the archives. The overview lists should be seen as a thorough—but not yet complete—index to archival stocks. If you cannot find the resource you are looking for here, try searching through one of the websites below. Our “Place” pages also contain more helpful websites specific to the region you might be searching in. (For example: Heimatkreis Neustettin contains a more thorough record of which documents survived for its Kreis.)

Going Beyond Ancestry and FamilySearch

While both websites are fantastic resources with a wealth of information, the basic search features of these sites are not always helpful when it comes to more problematic genealogy. However, there are a few hidden gems within each of these sites that are typically overlooked as they do not typically query results in the main search function. This is an attempt to broaden the scope of what each of these sites are capable of finding. Please note, for many features on FamilySearch.com, you will need to be logged in. You can set up a free account here.

Ancestry Public Member Trees This part of Ancestry does require a subscription. However, its pool of users is often different from those who use FamilySearch, providing you with an alternative set of data to compare entries for your family tree. Its functions are quite similar to the FamilySearch Genealogies and FamilySearch Tree Search sites listed below. While they share the same basic concept, Ancestry Public Member Trees is well worth the time to pull up a search query. Remember, it’s always free to search.

Ancestry Historical Person Search is a resource that may pull up information that cannot be found elsewhere. Occasionally, it yields results that can be helpful for connecting missing links. Be careful, however, as the source information used to create these entries cannot always be verified, and it is not uncommon to find errors in place names or other personal facts.

FamilySearch Records Search This section of FamilySearch looks for relatives based on census records, civil records, and other historical records. If you have exhausted your efforts with this search, see the section below. ↴

FamilySearch Genealogies Genealogies are trees submitted to FamilySearch that can help you fill out your family lines within Family Tree. Accuracy of the data in these genealogies varies from tree to tree; validation of all data is encouraged. If you have exhausted your efforts with this search, see the section below. ↴

FamilySearch Tree Search This section of FamilySearch can find relatives that are not included in the records search but can sometimes be found through the genealogies page. Use this section as a supplementation to FamilySearch Genealogies. It is also important to check the log of “Latest Changes” to ensure the information you are obtaining is correct. Sometimes, people edit an individual and merge incorrect information into the family tree. Every change is logged, so one can go back through the changes and recover the correct information. (Editor’s note: I have found family members through this search, but have not been able to find them on any other part of FamilySearch. This section is a worthwhile investment if all other avenues have been pursued.)

FamilySearch Catalog The catalog is useful for exploring possible content microfilmed by the LDS Church. While not as extensive as other Pomeranian archival groups, their library contains books and other microfilmed data that may not be readily available in other places. FamilySearch is currently working on digitizing their microfilm holdings, and there may be church books that have not yet been indexed but are available for viewing the scanned images.

FamilySearch Pomeranian Church Books This is a list of church books, some that can be read through but have not been indexed yet, that are not “locked” from the public.

Person Search, Address Books, Indexed Registers

There are quite a few searchable databases for family names with indexes ranging from parish registers, civil registry (Standesamt) documents, address books, and databanks of people searching for similar information.

The Pommerscher Greif’s Quellensuche is a great resource to look for churches and registry offices and discover whether records exist for the place of research. While it is not the complete authority on if records still exist, this is the first place to look to see if and where the records can be found.

PTG Pomeranian Genealogical Association The PTG has been hard at work indexing various civil records from both Kirchenbücher and Standesamt sources. While their current database is incomplete, they have a full list of what they intend to index. The search capabilities are quite extensive, covering birth, death, and marriage records with specific search criteria, such as: parent surnames, maiden names, parishes, registry offices, etc.

GREIF-INDEX (Personendatenbank GreifX) is the Pommerscher Greif’s official search for indexed records. It currently allows users to search through birth, marriage, and death indexes from church books and civil registers. These indexes correspond mostly to sources on Metryki.Genbaza.pl.

ZTG Zachodniopomorskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne is the Western Pomeranian Genealogical Society. Their very friendly searchable database allows advanced searching for people in its database. Use the % symbol to substitute for strings of letters that vary.

Ortsfamilienbücher and CompGen The metasearch allows users to quickly search through millions of entries from missing persons lists, address books, church book entries, family pedigrees, and countless other indexes. Please note that some information that is searchable in one database may not be shown in another. Metasearch does a wonderful job of searching, but will often pull up more results than can be displayed. Though rare, some of the other pages within CompGen may include information not listed in the meta search.

Kolberger Lande has a great search tool that is being updated frequently. Their group has indexed people mentioned in documents, books, memorials, and other resources, all of whom have a connection to Kreis Kolberg-Körlin. While entire registers have not been indexed for areas outside or Kolberg-Körlin, pages with information connected to Kolberg have been fully indexed. I have found this resource to be particularly useful for people who moved from Belgard to Kolberg-Körlin or vice-versa. They have also indexed a large number of citizens who were in Berlin.

Stolp Globalindex searches through indexed records from the Stolp research group. While most of its indexes pertain only to Stolp, relatives who migrated to other places can be found through their search. (For example, a worker in Belgard was mentioned to have been born in Stolp and was therefore included in the search.) Occasional errors in transcription are to be expected, and sometimes entries in church books have been overlooked. However, their search database has been of the utmost help to many researchers, including important information for those who seek the original church and civil registry pages. Documents can be requested through the Stolp-L mailing list. Sign-up here before sending an email to the group at [email protected]. (Editor’s note: if you believe there is a transcription error, please contact the group to make a correction. For more in-depth research if you suspect a hole in the index, you can always read through the church books when available. Please be sure to submit any missed entries to the group to help other researchers.)

The Rosentreter Foundation has millions of documents available for download, including Pommern, Posen, Schlesien, West Prussia, and numerous others.

State, Military, and Other Archives and Libraries

Metryki Genbaza is the official hosting site for church and Standesamt archival scans. For the State Archives in Koszalin, documents are photographed and indexed by the Pommerscher Greif and the PTG before they are allowed to be posted online. Genbaza has since expanded into land registers, emigration records, and other sources of genealogical information. (Editor’s note: correspondence with the Chief Director of State Archives from the Supreme Directorate of State Archives (NDAP) informs us that vital records are not copyrighted under Polish law.)

Indeksy is a Polish group that photographs and indexes archival records. Many of these are outside of the typical vital registers, providing alternate sources for genealogical information, such as land registers and notarial files. Click on “Pomorskie” in the left-hand column to expand the listings. Place names are shown in their current Polish equivalents, and additional records can be found be expanding them (Grundakten, etc.) Some records are organized by the Kreis or district level they belonged to (Grundbücher for Kołobrzeg, for example).

Archive Portals Europe indexes online holdings for various archives and institutions. It is by far the best resource to discover which archive holds the specific book or record you are looking for. One may need to search in German or Polish depending on the time frame.

Szukaj w Archiwach literally translates to “search the archives.” Record holdings for documents stored with the Polish government can be discovered through this archival search tool, some of which have been digitized. The Polish government is slowly adding new collections to be viewed online. Please note that sometimes it is necessary to search for both German names and Polish names to yield a higher number of relevant results.

Stadtbücher Explore the largest digital index of German-language city books.

State Archives in Stettin Now known as Szczecin, it contains older records older than 100 years from the region of Pomerania. Some documents have been digitized, others must be viewed at the physical archive location in Poland. Many records can be viewed online for free underneath their digitized materials. For a more thorough investigation, one can struggle through the language barrier to find documents outside of just church and civil registration, branching out into repatriation and transport lists from the flight and expulsion from Pomerania. To view the “Bestände,” or collections inventory, please visit http://www.bkge.de/archiv-stettin.php. Please note that BKGE’s site is in German, and for English speaking researchers, use of Google’s Translation Tool is recommended, or translate from within Google Chrome. Also see our Stettin Archive Guides – Using BKGE and Szukaj w Archiwach.

State Archives in Köslin Archives for what was once the Köslin, now known by its Polish name as Koszalin. The archives hold newer material less than 100 years old, but may have other documents of interest, such as land records and probate records. To view archive civil records holdings, visit the PRADZIAD online database. Scans of indexed church and civil records can be found online at the Genealodzy AP Koszalin website as .JPG images for both areas of Köslin and Stolp (today Słupsk).

The archives can be confusing to navigate; however, they have also provided a search tool, SEZAM, to help aid in searching from a higher level, allowing users to search for specific fonds and inventories of information. For inventories, users can also search using the IZA tool. To read more about the SEZAM database, please click here.  The ELA database allows users to search for population information, though as stated, “The database neither contains lists of names nor information on specific persons.” Most information about these databases can be understood, once again, at the SEZAM database.

Landesarchiv Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has several search tools exist to find books pertinent to research depending on the location. Ariadne is the recommended engine for searching through the entire holdings of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from the following collections: Kreisarchiv Nordwestmecklenburg, Kreisarchiv Rostock, Kreisarchiv Vorpommern-Rügen, Landesarchiv Greifswald, Landeshauptarchiv Schwerin, Landeskirchliches Archiv Schwerin und Kirchenkreisarchiv Mecklenburg, Stadtarchiv Barth, Stadtarchiv Greifswald, Stadtarchiv Rostock, Stadtarchiv Schwerin, Stadtarchiv Stralsund, Stadtarchiv Wismar, Universitätsarchiv Greifswald, and Universitätsarchiv Rostock. The Landeshauptarchiv Schwerin has a on online search tool as well. One can read published materials from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern archives here. Their inventory can also be found on Archives Portal Europe. An inventory of some of the books for Greifswald can also be seen at Stadtbücher.

It is also possible to search through their holdings on the whereabouts of the district party archives and the central party archive of the SED, the district trade union archives and the archive of the federal executive board of the FDGB as well as the tradition of the party and trade union organizations of the central government agencies of the DDR: Landesarchivs Greifswald and Landeshauptarchivs Schwerin. (Other resources for the surrounding areas can be found in the Bundesarchiv’s page on this topic.)

Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage This archive documents many hidden treasures from Prussia. It is somewhat difficult to search through, and visitors must schedule their time in the reading room ahead of time, but it is a gem for those who have the resources to travel to Berlin-Dahlem. This goes beyond the typical family history research and branches into broader historical documents, resident lists, and kingly orders. See the inventory here or use their keyword search. The archive has also begun posting digital copies of its holdings online. One can read more about their digitization process, the digital manifest with further links to online collections, or search through the State Archives of Berlin’s digitized online collections. (For those wishing to read items online, the last link will surely be the most helpful. For those looking to complete research in person, one should use the inventory.)

The Brandenburg Landeshauptarchiv holds documents relevant to Pomerania and its surrounding area. Some emigration records are housed here, especially for areas that were previously Brandenburg-Prussia, specifically those in the Frankfurt an der Oder Regierungsbezirk. The archive inventory can be searched here. It can also be helpful to browse through the archive’s plan as a collapsible tree.

Bundesarchiv The German Federal Archives are the National Archives of Germany. The collection today includes older documents from Germany’s imperial past, Nazi Germany, civilian and military records from East Germany (including East German political parties and mass organizations), and the documents inherited from West Germany’s Federal Archive. In addition to state records, the Archives also contain material from political parties, associations, and societies of national prominence as well as historical collections. Besides the text documents, the Archives also keeps photographs, films, maps, posters, and electronic data in its collection. A great resource for historical research, but very vast. If you are able to visit in person and know which collection you would like to view, you might have better luck in your search. For more information, search through the inventory.

The Bundesarchiv also has a collection of estates called the Zentrale Datenbank Nachlässe. Some of these cover Pomeranian territories.

Kirchlicher Suchdienst was a way for people to search for their families after the war. This tracing service was ended on September 30, 2016. Tracing cards of the Kirchlicher Suchdienst were received into the Lastenausgleichsarchiv in Bayreuth (part of the Bundesarchiv).

Landesarchiv Berlin The archive documents the entire history of Berlin from the oldest document from the year 1298 to the steady takeovers of the Senate administrations. In addition, there are extensive collections on international affairs that the Berlin and Prussian authorities have dealt with. The focus of the materials is in the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition to the magistrate, the archive contains senate and judicial documents, the files of the GDR mass organizations and the state-controlled economy of the GDR, and the holdings of supra-regional importance including the archive of documents by the older German women’s movement. Judicial and financial files contain important information about persecution in the Nazi era, and the holdings of the municipal umbrella organizations document German local politics since the end of the 19th century. In only a few state archives with the exception of the Federal Archives is the political and social upheavals of the past century reflected as impressively as in the holdings of the Landesarchiv Berlin. Ancestry’s “Eastern Prussian Provinces” collection with obtained through the Landesarchiv as well. See the short inventory of content.

Deutsche Dienstelle (WASt) is based in Berlin and maintains records of members of the former German Wehrmacht who were killed in action, as well as official military records of all military personnel during the Second World War (ca. 18 million) as well as naval military records since 1871 and other war-related records. Formerly called the Wehrmachtsauskunftstelle (WASt), this agency also provides information about the fate of foreign and German soldiers as well as prisoners of war in Germany. Wikipedia has a great synopsis of its holdings. Don’t expect much due to privacy laws, but it’s always worth a shot. It is housed in the same building as the Landesarchiv Berlin.

International Tracing Service (ITS) in Bad Arolsen is an archive and a center for documenting National Socialist persecution and the liberated survivors. Former victims of Nazism and their families receive information regarding their incarceration, forced labor and post-war Allied assistance. The more than 30 million documents in the ITS archives also provide the basis for research and education.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Digital Library  This library contains a rich supply of historical works that cover more than just Vorpommern. Resources detailing Hinterpommern and other territories can also be found through their digital portal. (Please note that you may have to search for both words and their abbreviations. ex. Groß and Gr, Klein and Kl. Not all titles will contain the full version of the word, and sometimes only contain abbreviations.) The Ernst-Moritz-Arndt Unviersity Library in Greifswald holds thousands of titles from Pomerania, though many can only be accessed at the location. You can search through their holdings at the OPAC search. For more information about the Greifswald Library and the digitizing process, please see here. It is advised when accessing information in another language to use Google’s Chrome web browser, as web pages can be translated instantly.

ZBC Pomerania The West Pomeranian Digital Library „POMERANIA” and Central Catalogue of the Scattered Collections of the Libraries in Szczecin and the Region (RoK@Bi) constitute fundamental modules of the West Pomeranian Regional and Scientific Information System. They have been developed within the framework of the Digital Library project realized in the Pomeranian Library. The Project is financed entirely by the West Pomeranian Province self-government. It is a Regional Library based in Szczecin, Poland and is the largest humanities oriented library in the West Pomerania, with a focus on social sciences, Pomeranica, Scandinavian, German and Seamanship. This digital library is comprised of resources from the following places: the City Public Library in Szczecin, the Public Library in Koszalin, the City Public Library in Kołobrzeg, Maritime University, Pomeranian Medical University, University of Szczecin, West Pomeranian University of Technology – natural and technical collections, West Pomeranian Centre for Teachers’ Development, Koszalin Institute of Technology, and Seminary in Koszalin. To understand more, please read about how their project aims to integrate scattered collections of information.

Bałtycka Biblioteka Cyfrowa  The Baltic Digital Library, digital versions of books, magazines and iconographic, cartographic and social documents are made available. The task of the Baltic Digital Library is to provide access to materials related to Pomerania, to secure and share regional cultural heritage. This Polish library allows searching for various materials such as newspapers, journals, address books, etc. Many older German documents have been digitized and made available online.

Śląska Biblioteka Cyfrowa the Silesian Digital Library is similar to the Baltic Digital Library and contains other relevant materials that may contain references to Pomerania, including the Archiv für innere Kolonisation.

Wielkopolska Biblioteka Cyfrowa the digital library for Wielkopolska, including the Posen (Poznan) area.

POLONA Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006 and digitized its two millionth object, a casket of ashes of ancient prints burned in 1944, in 2017. All the works digitized in the project belong to the public domain, so they can be used for academic, educational, artistic and commercial purposes without any limitations. Resources are ever-increasing due to the “Patrimonium,” which is the digitization and release of Polish national heritage from the collections of the National and Jagiellonian libraries), a three-year (2017–2020) project of digitization whose main aim is to provide wide and free access to the most valuable and oldest Polish written sources from the two largest libraries in Poland (the National Library and the Jagiellonian Library).

Martin-Opitz-Bibliothek contains books on Pomerania, some which cannot be found elsewhere. However, some of the more important ones can only be viewed on-site due to copyright restrictions.

Zeitschriften Datenbank is one of the world’s largest databases for journals, newspapers, monographic series and other serial publications from all countries, in all languages, without time restrictions, in printed, electronic or digitised form. The participation is free of charge and open for all libraries and institutions. Currently more than 3.700 libraries in Germany and Austria catalogue serial titles and local holdings information in the ZDB. Title records already existing can be reused. It is a great resource to search for periodicals.

OMNI allows users to search through millions of collections from various institutions. This link should return items pertaining specifically to Pomeranian Heimat newspapers. According to their site: The world is full of cultural treasures. From high art to pop pleasures, there is something for everyone ready to be experienced in a gallery, museum, library or archive. But how do you find these gems and find out more about them? Whether you’re looking for a Rembrandt or Asterix, OMNIA lets you explore repositories such as Europeana or the Digital Public Library of America easily – by country, by provider, by map, by years or via the standard search. It also provides extra information such as biographies, maps and background data to put the object in context. Innovative tools such as the Image Wall or Time Slider let you visualize over sixty million objects in new and exciting ways. OMNIA is your own personal guidebook to the hotspots of global culture.

Places in Connection with Pomerania

State Archives in Danzig

State Archives in Landsberg an der Warthe

State Archives in Posen

Familienforschung in Westpreußen is a collection of information on West Prussian territories. The website links to their database of people and useful tools for determining which records have survived. The Einwohner Datenbank is an index for West Prussian people and families. Their Ortsverzeichnis can help search for places within West Prussia and return further information for research. Two searches for sources will prove most useful: their church book inventory and their civil registry inventory.

Familienforschung in der Neumark is a part of the Arbeitsgemeindschaft Ostdeutscher Familienforscher (AGOFF). Some areas in Neumark were eventually integrated into Pomerania. Their database contains indexed listings of immigration and residents and is helpful for “filling in the gaps” through their group’s dedicated work in collecting fragmentary information to build a more complete picture of the records that were destroyed during and following the war.

Genealogy in Archive is a great resource for searching through records of ancestors who moved to or lived in the Thorn area. Now known by the Polish name, Toruń, this city was a former German garrison. As such, much can be discovered from their archives if your ancestor moved through the military. Other neighboring communities include Graudenz and Bromberg. All place names must be searched for in Polish using the correct diacritics. More records have since come online, including vital records in Posen, such as the church books and civil registers for Schubin.

“The “source of voivodeship inhabitants genealogical Kuyavia and Pomerania” was co-financed by the European Union under the Regional Operational Programme Kujawsko-Pomorskie for 2007-2013 (Priority 4, Measure 4.2) This is a joint project of the genealogical State Archives in Torun and Bydgoszcz for the inhabitants of the voivodeship Kuyavia and Pomerania. Their goals are:

• The digitization of vital records and create a free, simplified access to them from anywhere in the world
• Ability to create your family tree by searching for the acts of births, marriages and deaths on the Internet
• A chance for active participation in the indexing of scanned vital records for all interested

State archives in Torun and Bydgoszcz jointly involved in a project called “sources of genealogical residents Kuyavia and Pomerania.” The project, implemented under the Regional Operational Programme Kuyavia and Pomerania in the field of development of services and applications for the population, it is the digitization of vital records that are in the resources of the state archives in Torun and Bydgoszcz and making them available on the Internet to allow free access to anyone interested in genealogy and the search for their roots. Implementation of the project will significantly facilitate access to the documents constituting the basis for the study of the history of families. “By the end of June 2015 it is planned to perform scans of about 1.8 million, which is a significant part of the vital records stored in both the state archives. The project partner is the Head Office of the State Archives. We invite all interested parties to become actively involved in the project for the establishment / filling index database of scanned documents. All you need is access to a computer with the Internet, and also some skill in reading old documents.

Poznan Project indexed marriages in the Posen area. This is a critically important project because innumerable books have not been indexed for births and deaths. By knowing the names of the brides and grooms, one can successfully locate places of origin for family members. The search can be limited to a 10 kilometer radius to narrow down results.

Silius Radicum is a Polish website for researching in Oberschlesien. They have metrical indexes to registry books. On 21 January 2015 the Upper Silesian Genealogical Society “Silesian Roots” signed an agreement with the State Archives in Katowice, under which members of the Society would digitize genealogical records in the State Archive. This is currently not being done within the scope of ongoing tasks of the National Archives. will gradually post digitized records from the registry books on their website, duplicates of parish records from 1800-1874 which were submitted to the court.

Skanoteka contains a base of scans that have genealogical value. This is in connection with the Polskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne. These include Roman Catholic church records and civil records from Poland as a whole.

Wielkopolskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne “Gniazdo” (WTG “Nest”) is the the Greater Poland Genealogical Society. Their website has an active forum and Facebook page dedicated to helping people search their ancestry.

Brandenburg Datenbank is a search for indexed areas of Brandenburg, Germany. Other resources include Ortsfamilienbücher, address books, citizen lists (Bürgerbücher), resident lists, cemeteries, colonists, emigrations, and information about serfs.

Portal Luteranos contains many records from the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil.

Church Book Archives

Archion is paid online service to access digital copies of Kirchenbücher. These church records span all of Germany, but users can also find records from Pomerania, Danzig, and East and West Prussia (Ost- und Westpreußen). You can search by keyword or browse their collection by church archive.

Landeskirchlicher Archiv Provincial Church Archives – Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. Contains information for Kiel, Schwerin, and Greifswald. No online database searchable, but may be able to provide services by contacting the diplomat at the archive.

Archiwum Diecezji Koszalińsko-Kołobrzeskiej is the church archives for Kolberg and Köslin areas. Their collections are somewhat limited, but their collections have not been made open to the public outside of their physical holdings. Some are still on microfilm and must be viewed in person.

Archiwum Diecezji Pelplińskiej is the Pelplin Diocese Archive in Poland. According to PolishRoots.org, “The Bishop of Pelplin wanted Poles abroad to have access to all the records of their ancestors, so someone has started photographing the records and they have been placed on CDs.” Contact Stanley Frymark with any questions regarding records from this diocese.

Matricula Online is a site with church registers from various European countries, including Germany, Austria, Poland, and Serbia. Of special interest for Pomerania are the Roman Catholic military church books. The collection houses records from Kolberg (under “Colberg”), Köslin, Peenemünde, Schneidemühl, Stargard and Stettin. Other books apply to the surrounding areas, such as Breslau, Bromberg, Danzig, and Thorn, to name a few. A word of caution: not every page is accessible due to European data privacy laws. Currently, books are only visible through 1899. (Editor’s note: while we strive to respect foreign laws, My Pomerania fundamentally disagrees with the gross overreach of current European privacy laws and the ripple effect it will cause to future historians, both in the genealogy community and for record keepers of world history. We look forward to the year 2065 when all sources concerning Pomerania no longer have these restrictions apply, as 120 years will have passed.)

Ancestry.com now also offers access to photographed church books for Pomerania. See the links below to access their current inventory. (Requires subscription)

Church Books and Civil Registry on Ancestry.com

• Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany [Poland], Selected Civil Vitals, 1874-1945
• Pomerania, Germany, Parish Register Transcripts, 1544-1883
• Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – Collections, History, and Genealogy Resources; Civil Records and Censuses
• Mecklenburg, Germany, Parish Register Transcripts, 1740-1918
• Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1971
• Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1518-1921
• Germany, Select Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898
• Germany, Select Marriages, 1558-1929
• Germany, Select Deaths, and Burials, 1582-1958
• Germany, Prussia, Brandenburg and Posen, Select Church Book Duplicates, 1794-1874
• Rhineland, Prussia, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1533-1950
• Angermünde, Germany, Births, 1874-1903
• Angermünde, Germany, Marriages, 1874-1923
• Angermünde, Germany, Deaths, 1874-1965
• Saxony, Prussia, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1890
• Saarland, Germany, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1776-1875

Immigration Records

Castle Gardens is the precursor to all records maintained by the U.S. Government at Ellis Island. Before Ellis Island was established as America’s main entry point for immigrants, many German passengers came through Castle Gardens–many from Pomerania. Using the wildcard * symbol is extraordinarily useful to search through a larger pool of possible name variations.

Ellis Island was the later and more well-known port of arrival for German immigrants. Using The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island foundation’s website can yield free access to passenger lists. In addition to each indexed page, passenger lists could be comprised of more pages with further information on each given immigrant, listing the previous place of residence, nationality, age, and other relatives. Be certain to read all pages. A wealth of knowledge can be gleaned from properly searching through all pages.

Helpful Ancestry.com Immigration Collections

Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 can be found on Ancestry.com. This search contains information about immigrants, such as birth, where the immigrant lived (place of origin), occupations, marital status, arrival and departure dates, ship names, and other important details necessary for accurately determining whether or not the immigrant is related to you.

Hamburg Passenger Lists, Handwritten Indexes, 1855-1934 is another index to immigrants who emigrated from German territories through the Port of Hamburg. (Ancestry.com)

New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 indexes arrivals in New York through both Castle Garden and Ellis Island. Other processing stations are included in this search as well. (Ancestry.com)

Baltimore, Passenger Lists, 1820-1964 details immigrants who entered through the port of Baltimore. (Ancestry.com)

U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Thousands of different records have been used to compile this index, everything from original passenger lists to personal diaries. The result is the only compilation of passenger lists this comprehensive — and the search goes on. The publishers provide yearly supplements as their research uncovers new immigration data. (Ancestry.com)

Maps and Geography

For maps of each Kreis, see our individual Kreis pages located underneath the “Place” tab in the top navigation. For further investigative research, visit the websites below. Our dedicated maps page contains more helpful links for your research.

Meyers Gazetteer is the most comprehensive searchable database of all Pomeranian places. According to their website:
This is the most important of all German gazetteers. The goal of the Meyer’s compilers was to list every place name in the German Empire (1871-1918). It gives the location, i.e. the state and other jurisdictions, where the civil registry office was and parishes if that town had them. It also gives lots of other information about each place. The only drawback to Meyer’s is that if a town did not have a parish, it does not tell where the parish was, making reference to other works necessary.
The advantage of this website over all others is its ability to include overlays of old German maps over Google Maps. One can search for a place and see the roads, buildings, and settlements as they once were. Meyers Gazetteer also lists all known information about belonging church parishes, civil registry offices, administrative districts, etc.

Kartenmeister An excellent source for finding names of places in German and Polish, and variations of the place names over time. GPS coordinates are given for each location in addition to civil registry offices, parishes, population information, and links to Google Maps.

Mapster This database allows users to search for maps in Pomerania. While it is a little difficult to navigate, it may prove useful for people looking for city (Stadt) plans. This is an extremely useful resource. Users may have to type in the Polish spelling of the city name, however.

Koszalin Archives Community Maps is a comprehensive mapping utility that shows plots of land, addresses, public works, and more. This is the perfect resource to view modern-day city plans within Koszalin’s administrative area. The site is in Polish, but it is not difficult to figure out.

Other Links

Zufallsfunde is a database of chance finds. Researchers are encouraged to submit their discoveries to help other researchers. Why are they chance finds? Imagine a person was born in Schlawe but dies in Itzehoe. Without knowing more information about the person, the trail grows cold and any logical leads are lost. However, by participating in this project, millions of users can be helped by submitting random or chance finds that stand out in any given church book, Standesamt, census, newspaper clipping, or book.

Geogen Deutschland is a website that can output the distribution of surnames in Germany. More information can be found here at the parent site.

BaSIA Database of Archival Indexing Systems allows for the search of a given surname from different indexing projects. At the time of this article, the site currently references the Poznan marriage indexing project.

Defunct Websites (Archived)

Hinterpommern.de

Die Provinz Pommern lists all cities and villages along with smaller communities in respect of their municipalities.

Pommerndatenbank Database of people indexed from Pomeranian address books. Many Pomeranian cities and counties printed address books before World War II (primarily the late 1890s and the early 1900s up to the 1940s). These books often listed the full names of the household with other information such as home address, all family members’ names, professions, house or land ownership, etc. The books also give clues of origins because of the frequency of a surname found in certain areas. Unfortunately these books are usually hard to find, and since they are rare they cannot often be loaned from libraries. There are presently 145 different address books included in the project.

Pommernkontakte Over 15,000 people have submitted names to the contact database so that researchers can connect with each other when researching their families. This database is a contact exchange – a place for Pomeranian family researchers to get in touch with each other. A researcher can submit database details within the localities in Pomerania where he has family names and then others can contact him with queries.

Ziburski.de

Pyritz.org

Digital Research Tools

Alte Deutsche Handschriften – Schrift Generator is a helpful tool for learning to read the old German cursive script and fraktur. Users can enter their own text and output eight different varieties of writing.

Google Chrome is a must-have to translate websites in-browser.

Google Translate is a useful app to translate text, images, and audio conversations.

YouTube has an auto-translate feature for closed-captioning. There’s no longer a reason to ignore videos that are not in your language. The translations are very close to accurate.

OCR.space converts printed images into text to save time with transcriptions.

RemoveLineBreaks is useful when copying text from a PDF. Sometimes, you will run into a problem where lines of text are split by formatting. This tool removes line breaks to restore legibility in paragraph format.