GENEALOGY	Back

When  one  wants to  use our archive  for  family  research, one  must  definitely  know  the  name of the town  in which his ancestors  lived. In  addition  to  the name  of  the town, one  must  also  know  the  province  and  county  to which the  town  belonged. This  is  because  many  town  names repeat themselves and occur in different provinces. The political  community  and  the  responsible  parish  are often not identical. In  large  cities  there were many parish- es, while smaller  towns were often  administered, as far as the  church  was  concerned, by a  large  city. If one knows only the town in which his ancestors  resided, but does not know  the  responsible  parish, we can generally assist you by using our reference works. In  the  former  eastern  provinces, the  organization  of the political  administration,  i.e.  province   and   county,  often changed with regards to  both state  and  church  affiliation. In the same way, over the course of  time, town names also

changed. It is essential to remember this when one is trying to identify the town from which his ancestors  came. Reference works  which identify changes  in  these administrative affiliations are available at our archive. Because we do not have a comprehensive database of our parish register entries, we are un- able to  conduct  any  searches  for individual  names. Concerning  the origin of family names, one should consult the appropriate literature. If one’s ancestors did  not  come  from  the former  eastern  provinces, the appropriate parish registers would be found  either in the present-day local  parish or in  the responsible  church archive. If one’s ancestors came from  the former eastern provinces bur were Roman Catholic, then one is  requested  to direct all  inquiries to  the  Bischöfliches Zentralarchiv, Regensburg, Postfach 110228, 93015 Regensburg.