FAQ Marburg, Hessen State Archives, Marburg, Germany
_______
1. What is the Staatsarchiv Marburg? It is the public record office for northern and eastern parts of Hessen, which used to be the Electorate of Hessen-Kassel until 1866. The area included the district (county) of Hanau, the Bishopric of Fulda, and the principality of Waldeck until 1929.
2. What records are there? Historical, genealogical, private, communal,
and others. Access is governed by archive laws. Printed sources are the
genealogical lists published by the association of genealogical societies
in Hessen in their periodicals and studies. Each volume includes names, citizens
registers (23 volumes for Marburg and for Kassel). These are known as
"Ortssippenbuecher" (Town Registers).
Civil registers, maintained by each municipality since about 1874-76 (there
are exceptions as to the year), are still kept by local authorities. The
law restricts access to direct descendants or a compelling legal interest
if the information is 95 years old or less. Application must be filed with
the authority having jurisdiction: the local, municipal authorities.
Civil registers of the Kingdom of Westfalen (1807-1813), those of Prussia
1874-1875, and Jewish civil registers, are found at the State Archives.
For the period from the 16th century until 1874-76 the church registers are the principal sources Most of them are still kept in parish offices, but some are in the archives of the Diocese. Foreign researchers, see http://www.ekkw.de/archiv/ for Evangelical archives, and http://www.ekkw.de/archiv/familienforscher.html for the Catholic. Onsite visitors should consult record classes Ki and 315k at the State Archives for the same information. Most of it has been microfilmed and results are on file at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, and through various Family History Centers.
In order to acquire information from the archives you must know the place where your ancestor(s) was/were born, where their marriages took place, or where they died. It is impossible to trace ancestors in registers because no general index of names exists.
Ancestors in the Hessian Army may be traced in muster roles, known as "Grundbuecher" and "Mass- und Rangierbuecher" of the regiments. Officers are checked in the seniority rolls (Anciennitaetslisten), both found in record class 10. To trace privates and non-commissioned officers it is necessary to know their unit. You will find information for foreign researchers at ./soldiers.htm. There are also seven alphabetical registers known as HETRINA. To access them on the internet, go to http://google.com and type in hetrina. At the State Archives they are in "Findbuch 10c, Tabellen", if you write or E-Mail.
Emigrants from Hessen-Kassel and Hanau are presently being listed in alphabetical registers called HESAUS. You can find them at http://go.to/hessen or via http://google.com. There is also a list of emigrants from Hanau in the years 1821-1849 at the State Archive (Findbuch 180 Hanau, Anhang).
Ancestors who were in government or church offices are in the Staatshandbuch (State Handbook) which may be consulted on site (Benutzer-Info Nr. 3). Protestant clergymen are found in the Kurhessisch-Waldeckissches Pfarrerbuch (KurHessen-Waldeck Parish Register), 3 volumes. If there is an ancestor who studied at the University of Marburg the publication Universitaetsmatrikel should be consulted. Ask about it in your E-Mail or letter (in the German language).
Additional information will be found in the land registers (Kataster and Salbuecher), the contract and mortgage registers (Hypotheken- und Waehrschaftsprotokolle), and marriage contract registers (Konsistorialprotokolle). Many details about individuals will be found in the judicial records of law courts and prosector's offices (Gerichte and Saatsanwaltschaften), in the records of District Offices (Landratsaemter), and municipalities (Staedte and Gemeinden), and in the government records on local affairs (Ortsrepositur der Regierung Kassel). In all of these you cannot ask us to look if you do not have a name and place. It is strongly recommended that you master the skill of reading old German script. Do not ask the State Archives to do that for you. Clerks at the site will assist you in finding and ordering the proper records for your research, but they must have information to work with. They will not read records or search contents of books, films, and papers. They look for specific titles in specific places in the State Archive.
3. What about an E-Mail or letter in English? Don't expect the staff to handle English-language inquiries. They read and research in the German language.
4. Does it cost anything? Yes. It depends upon the type and length of research involved. Fees are set by the government. A minimal research fee deposit of Euro 40.00 plus postage of 3 Euro is strongly recommended. All inquiries, including E-Mail, must be in the German language and must include the home address of the person filing the request.
E-Mail: poststelle@stama.Hessen.de
Internet: http://www.staatsarchiv-marburg.Hessen.de
.