Salzhausen, Germany, Births, 1874-1904

About this collection

This collection contains birth records and name directories from Salzhausen covering the years 1874 up to and including 1904. Salzhausen is a community in the district of Harburg in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about 12 miles west of Lüneburg and about 31 miles south of Hamburg. The first documented mention of Salzhausen was in 1057. A few historic area farm buildings from the 13th century survive today. During the time period of this collection, this community belonged to the Prussian Province of Hanover.

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." Complementary alphabetical directories of names may also have been created for Salzhausen. 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

The name directories are arranged alphabetically according to the last name of the child. They are generally bound together with their respective birth registers as separate volumes covering several years each. They contain the following details:

• Last Name and Given Names of the child
• Cross-reference to birth register
• Event Place, District

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. Under "Browse this collection,” select the Year Range of the register desired. Name directories, where included, are part of the registers.