German: Reading the Records

Note: This course requires compulsory materials to be ordered. The book is available at GenealogyStore.com

1. Minert, Roger P., Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents: Analyzing German, Latin, and French in Vital Records Written in Germany (Woods Cross, Utah: GRT Publications, 2001).

Optional Print Course Material:German: Reading the Records

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

The primary and often only significant original records for German research are the registers of the local churches where German ancestors lived. This is the case wherever, and whenever, Germans lived, and wherever you are conducting research on German families. Within the bounds of modern Germany, the old German Empire, or in the dozens of other countries where ethnic Germans settled, successful research requires the careful, and sometimes creative, use of church registers. 

However, those church registers are almost invariably written not only in the German language, but also in a style of handwriting foreign to most researchers. Although a different course discussed the German language, it is also crucial to be able to read the handwriting in which the records were made. 

Indeed, prior to the late 1800s, and often even later, any original records in German-speaking areas will be written in the older style handwriting. Therefore, to successfully use the records, researchers, regardless of how well they know the German language, must also be able to read the old German handwriting. 

This course provides a detailed discussion and explanation of the old style of German handwriting, called the Gothic script. Through numerous illustrations, researchers will learn not only the regular appearance of the Gothic letters, but also common variations of those letters and numbers. Assignments to practice writing the letters and key words, and to even transcribe sample documents, will teach you how to succeed with your own research in German records. The addition of various strategies and tactics for reading the records will further prepare you to face the real records. 

Course Length: 7 weeks