Part 1 - Who was Where
The notion of Germany as a Sovereign Nation is a fairly recent concept. Depending on when they came, German ancestors may have come from Germany, or they might have come from one of many entities that made up the German Language Area. As an example, at the close of the Napoleonic Wars, the German Confederation was made up of lots of pieces ranging from City States like Hamburg, to various Principalities and Duchies such as Saxe-Coburg, to Luxembourg (one of 6 Grand Duchies), Prussia (one of 6 Kingdoms), and Austria (Empire). All of this was under the leadership of the Austrian Emperor's delegate; sort of.
This mish mash lasted until Prussia went to war with Austria in 1866 and then proclaimed the German Empire in 1871 after defeating France in 1870. The main German language areas left out of the Confederation were the German-speaking areas of Switzerland, Alsace, and some areas owned by Prussia and Austria. On the other hand, the Confederation included areas that were NOT German speaking, such as Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). The whole lot operated mostly as a German European Union, but it also maintained an Army drawn from the various parts. These parts also maintained their own separate armies in some cases.
The territory of the German Confederation is shown in the map, below. You may notice that, besides Austria and what is now Germany, it also included areas now in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Italy, and Poland. Our member who expressed interest in hearing about Austria, Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium may be amazed that all of those places have territory that was once part of the German Confederation.
In my own family, we had ancestors that came from the Palatinate, from Prussia, and from German-speaking Alsace (which became part of the German Empire). As you might expect, the records are complicated by the various jurisdictions, and by the fact that some areas were Catholic while others were Lutheran. Fortunately, FamilySearch has a fairly good starting page, here. Some of these variations carried over to the US. For example, my wife's Great Great Grandfather stated he came from Prussia in one US Census, but from Germany in later censuses and my own stated he was from Alsace, and then later from either Germany or France. My personal family histories indicate that one wing of the family came from the Palatinate before the American Revolution. So, without further ado, "your mileage may vary." It is also why this post has been labeled as "Part 1."
Unfortunately, sometimes things are even more difficult for someone just getting started to look for a German ancestor. For example, going to the FamilySearch German starting page, there is nothing that looks remotely like "Palatinate." Scroll down to the regions of modern Germany and it appears in the map there. It can also be found via a search for "Palatinate." The Palatinate was also known as Pfalz. There's a good history of the Palatinate and how many of its residents emigrated to British North America in the 18th Century. While it may be subject for another post, these later became known as Pennsylvania Dutch, where they continued to speak Palatinate German for many years.
Regional and religious differences also continued after Germans arrived the US, where you can often guess at the origin simply by knowing what church the ancestors attended and even what cemetery the ancestor is buried in. I only recently became aware that Lutheran churches originally came in Norwegian, Swedish, and German versions, and sometimes Lutherans would attend the "wrong flavor" until their own version could be established. Ancestry recognizes some of these differences in its Card Catalog where there are separate collections for "Evangelical Lutheran" and for "Swedish Evangelical Lutheran." For the most part, German Lutheran churches in the US fall in the "Evangelical Lutheran" collection. These differences lessened as the 20th Century progressed, because the immigrants and their got children gradually became comfortable with English and no longer felt the need to attend services in their "home" language.
States of the German Confederation
A list of the states of the German Confederation follows, mostly from Wikipedia, which closes this post.
The notion of Germany as a Sovereign Nation is a fairly recent concept. Depending on when they came, German ancestors may have come from Germany, or they might have come from one of many entities that made up the German Language Area. As an example, at the close of the Napoleonic Wars, the German Confederation was made up of lots of pieces ranging from City States like Hamburg, to various Principalities and Duchies such as Saxe-Coburg, to Luxembourg (one of 6 Grand Duchies), Prussia (one of 6 Kingdoms), and Austria (Empire). All of this was under the leadership of the Austrian Emperor's delegate; sort of.
This mish mash lasted until Prussia went to war with Austria in 1866 and then proclaimed the German Empire in 1871 after defeating France in 1870. The main German language areas left out of the Confederation were the German-speaking areas of Switzerland, Alsace, and some areas owned by Prussia and Austria. On the other hand, the Confederation included areas that were NOT German speaking, such as Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). The whole lot operated mostly as a German European Union, but it also maintained an Army drawn from the various parts. These parts also maintained their own separate armies in some cases.
The territory of the German Confederation is shown in the map, below. You may notice that, besides Austria and what is now Germany, it also included areas now in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Italy, and Poland. Our member who expressed interest in hearing about Austria, Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium may be amazed that all of those places have territory that was once part of the German Confederation.
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| German Confederation - from Wikipedia |
In my own family, we had ancestors that came from the Palatinate, from Prussia, and from German-speaking Alsace (which became part of the German Empire). As you might expect, the records are complicated by the various jurisdictions, and by the fact that some areas were Catholic while others were Lutheran. Fortunately, FamilySearch has a fairly good starting page, here. Some of these variations carried over to the US. For example, my wife's Great Great Grandfather stated he came from Prussia in one US Census, but from Germany in later censuses and my own stated he was from Alsace, and then later from either Germany or France. My personal family histories indicate that one wing of the family came from the Palatinate before the American Revolution. So, without further ado, "your mileage may vary." It is also why this post has been labeled as "Part 1."
Unfortunately, sometimes things are even more difficult for someone just getting started to look for a German ancestor. For example, going to the FamilySearch German starting page, there is nothing that looks remotely like "Palatinate." Scroll down to the regions of modern Germany and it appears in the map there. It can also be found via a search for "Palatinate." The Palatinate was also known as Pfalz. There's a good history of the Palatinate and how many of its residents emigrated to British North America in the 18th Century. While it may be subject for another post, these later became known as Pennsylvania Dutch, where they continued to speak Palatinate German for many years.
Regional and religious differences also continued after Germans arrived the US, where you can often guess at the origin simply by knowing what church the ancestors attended and even what cemetery the ancestor is buried in. I only recently became aware that Lutheran churches originally came in Norwegian, Swedish, and German versions, and sometimes Lutherans would attend the "wrong flavor" until their own version could be established. Ancestry recognizes some of these differences in its Card Catalog where there are separate collections for "Evangelical Lutheran" and for "Swedish Evangelical Lutheran." For the most part, German Lutheran churches in the US fall in the "Evangelical Lutheran" collection. These differences lessened as the 20th Century progressed, because the immigrants and their got children gradually became comfortable with English and no longer felt the need to attend services in their "home" language.
States of the German Confederation
A list of the states of the German Confederation follows, mostly from Wikipedia, which closes this post.
- Austrian Empire, excluding Hungary, Transylvania, and Croatia, & some Italian bits
- Archduchy of Austria (split into Upper Austria and Lower Austria in 1849)
- Kingdom of Bohemia
- Margraviate of Moravia
- Grand Duchy of Salzburg
- Duchy of Carinthia
- Duchy of Carniola
- Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia
- Duchy of Styria
- Littoral (consisting of Gorizia and Gradisca, Istria and Trieste)
- County of Tyrol
- Vorarlberg
- Kingdom of Prussia (excluding Posen, East Prussia and West Prussia)
- Brandenburg
- Pomerania
- Rhine Province
- Saxony
- Silesia
- Westphalia
- Kingdom of Bavaria
- Upper Bavaria
- Upper Franconia
- Swabia
- Upper Palatinate
- Middle Franconia
- Lower Bavaria
- Lower Franconia
- Palatinate
- Kingdom of Saxony
- Kingdom of Hanover
- Kingdom of Württemberg
- Electorate of Hesse
- Grand Duchy of Baden
- Grand Duchy of Hesse
- Duchy of Holstein (in personal union with the Kingdom of Denmark)
- Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
- Duchy of Limburg
- Duchy of Brunswick (prior Brunswick-Lunenburgian Principality of Wolfenbüttel)
- Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- Duchy of Nassau
- Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
- Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (to 1825)
- Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (to 1826)
- Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (from 1826)
- Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen
- Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen (Saxe-Altenburg from 1826)
- Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
- Duchy of Oldenburg (Grand Duchy from 1829)
- Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau (Duchy of Anhalt from 1863)
- Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg (to 1863)
- Duchy of Anhalt-Köthen (to 1847)
- Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
- Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
- Principality of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (merged in Prussia in 1850)
- Principality of Liechtenstein
- Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (merged in Prussia in 1850)
- Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont
- Principality of Reuss
- Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe
- Principality of Lippe
- Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg (from 1817)
- Duchy of Lauenburg
- Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck
- Free City of Frankfurt upon Main
- Free Hanseatic City of Bremen
- Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
