Meinersen, Germany, Deaths, 1874-1974

About this collection

This collection contains death records and name directories from Meinersen covering the years 1874 up to and including 1974. This municipality is located near the confluence of the Oker and Aller rivers in the district of Gifhorn about 19 miles northwest of Brunswick and about 22 miles west of Wolfsburg in what is now Lower Saxony. Meinersen was first mentioned in a document from the year 1154. Until the 14th century it was the family seat of the house of Meinersen. During the time period of this collection, until 1918, Meinersen belonged to the Duchy of Brunswick. This collection also includes records from the communities of Hilerse, Leiferde and Müden (including Flettmar and Dieckhorst), as well as from the modern districts of Ahnsen, Päse and Seershausen. The records cover varying time periods.

Beginning on October 1, 1874, local registry offices were made responsible for creating birth, marriage and death records in the former Prussian provinces. The collected records are arranged chronologically and usually in bound yearbook form which are collectively referred to as "civil registers." For some of the communities included in the collection, corresponding directories of names were also 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

Death records were created using preprinted forms that were filled in by hand by the registrar. In each record the date of death 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
• Informant: Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Occupation, Residence/Address, Denomination
• Deceased: Occupation, Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Age, Denomination, Residence/Address, Place/Date of Birth, Spouse/Parents, Place/Date of Death, Time of Death
• Beginning in 1938, the records may also cross reference to corresponding birth and/or marriage registers
• From 1938 to 1957, the Cause of Death is often included
• Signatures

Depending on the form used, the name directories are generally grouped alphabetically according to the last name of the deceased with entries chronological by year. They are bound in chronological volumes separately or with several years combined. They contain the following details:

• Sequential number
• Last Names and Given Names of the deceased
• Cross-reference to death register

More about using this collection

Each record comprises one page. Additional events from the life of the deceased 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. The “Informant” was usually a relative of the deceased. These records also document casualties (Kriegssterbefälle) from the First and Second World Wars. Occasionally, records for some of the WWII dead were also later made available by the "German Office for the Notification of Next-of-Kin of Members of the Former German Armed Forces who were Killed in Action" (WASt) in Berlin.

Under "Browse this collection,” select the Civil Registration Office and Year Range of the register desired. When name directories (Namensverzeichnis) are available for a registry office, they are separately displayed and selectable.