Barnim, Germany, Births, 1874-1906

About this collection

This collection contains birth records from present and past civil registry offices in the district of Barnim. The modern offices of Bernau and Joachimsthal are not included. The collections covers the years 1874 to 1906.

The District of Barnim lies northeast of Berlin in the modern German state of Brandenburg. The region belonged to the Prussian province of Brandenburg until its dissolution in 1947. In 1952, the district of Bernau was created from the eastern portion of the old Niederbarnim district and from some communities in Oberbarnim. At the same time, cities from the previous district of Angermünde and Oberbarnim, along with the city of Eberswalde (which was an independent city from 1911 to 1950), were combined to create the district of Eberswalde. During the district reform of 1993, the administrative district of Barnim was formed from the districts of Bernau and Eberswalde, (excluding Bölkendorf, and the municipalities of Tiefensee and Hohensaaten formerly in Bad Freienwalde district). The administrative center is the city of Eberswalde.

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 civil registry districts 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

Birth 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: Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Spouse, Denomination, Residence/Address
• Child: Birth Date, Time of Birth, Sex, Given Names
• Signatures

Depending on the form used, the name directories are arranged alphabetically by child's last name and then chronologically within the first letter of the last name. They are generally bound as separate volumes covering several years each. They contain the following details:

• Last Name and Given Names of the Child (sometimes including Birthdate and Parents' Details)
• Cross-reference to birth register

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 often a midwife or the child's father. Entries for Address often include placenames and house numbers. Street names were not common in smaller communities.

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