Rostock, Germany, Births, 1876-1911

About this collection

This collection contains birth records and name directories from Rostock covering the years 1876 up to and including 1911.. The Hanseatic City of Rostock is an independent city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and is situated on both banks of the Warnow River up to the coast Baltic Sea. The Warnemünde district is a seaside resort on the Baltic and the largest cruise ship departure port in Germany. Rostock received its town charter in 1218 and was an important member of the Hanseatic League. Numerous Brick Gothic buildings attest to its rich history. During the time period of this collection Rostock was part of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In addition to Rostock, the collection includes records from another 10 communities. However, the records for most end before the 1890s.

Beginning on January 1, 1876, birth, marriage and death records in the former German Empire were created by local registry offices. The collected records are arranged chronologically and usually bound together in the form of yearbooks. These 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

Births 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: Occupation, 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
• Notes (for example, when a child died young, was stillborn, or was later made legitimate)

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 usually 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.