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mcdonald0517
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:06 pm Post subject: Help understanding Prussian record columns

Hello,

I am in uncharted waters now. I ordered and received LDS films for Dobrzyn which was part of Prussian Poland in Parish of Thurau (Turowo)The records are in German script in columnar format. Can anyone help me understand the column titles so I have some idea what I am looking at? Or, perhaps point me to some helpful resources?

These films are difficult to decipher. They are negatives (white writing on black page). I think they are duplicates of parish records held at a civil archive. They have no index and no year marking the end of one book and beginning of another.

Any help or hints would be greatly appreciated. I am attaching a sample image of the column headers.

Thanks,
Cynthia

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Sophia
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:48 pm Post subject:

Hi,
Wish I could actually read this old German handwriting. Even though I cannot, I still want to point out that at the top of the page next to "B2199" it says "Doppelseite" which means double-sided and after the number 00031 it says "links" which means you are looking at the left-hand page of a record that extends across two pages. You need to find the same page number with something like "rechts" to see the right-hand side. Sometimes when these were microfilmed they filmed all the left pages and then all the right. Not sure if you already knew this....
The last column is definitely giving info about the mother because I see the word "Mutter" in the column heading and I see in the first entry "Elisabeth geb." which stands for Elisabeth, geboren (born) which means that what follows is her maiden surname. Two columns to the left of that, the column heading ends in the word "Geburt" which is birth, so there I think you are getting a date and possibly also time of birth. Were you expecting this to be baptism records?
Best,
Sophia

mcdonald0517
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:02 pm Post subject:

Thank you, Sophia! Those were very helpful pieces. If you or anyone else can make out other words here and there, please let me know.

Yes, I knew it was a birth record, but couldn't make out the format. Also, I knew it was double sided, but couldn't figure out how to pair up the pages - so your comments were very helpful.

Thank you!
Cynthia

Magroski49
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:08 pm Post subject:

Cynthia,
I have these information below about birth records (typed and image attached):
Column
German
English

1
Zahl aller Gebornen und Getauften
Count of Birth and Baptism

2
Zahl der
Söhne Töchter
Ehelich Unehelich Ehelich Unehelich
Count of
Sons daughters
Legal illegal legal illegal

3
Tag der Taufe
(mit Ziffern und Buch-
Staben)
Day of baptism
(with numerals and letters)

4
Taufname
des
Kindes
Baptismal name
Of
The child

5
Tag und
Stunde der Ge-
burt (mit Ziffern
Und Buchstaben)
day and
hour of birth
(with numeral and
Letters)

6
Namen, Stand
und Confession
des Vaters
name, status
and confession
of the father

7
Namen, Stand
und Confession
der Mutter
name, status
and confession
of the mother

8
Wohnort
des Vaters (bei
unehelichen Kindern
der Mutter.)
residence
of the father (for
illegal children of
the mother.)

9
Namen, Stand und
Wohnort
der
Tauf-Pathen.
Name, status and
Residence
of godfathers

10
Namen und
Charakter des
Geistlichen, wel-
cher die Taufe
vollzogen hat.
name and
charcter of the
priest, who
fulfill the christening

11
Bemerkungen
remarks

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Sophia
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:09 pm Post subject:

Hi Cynthia,
Alright, so if we are for sure looking at a birth record, you can expect certain things to be there. There are columns on the left which are like check boxes, these are usually arranged as male/female and legitimate/illegitimate and sometimes a column for whether catholic or protestant. You may be able to deduce, by looking at the entries, what you are seeing from these check type columns. There is usually a column for date and time of birth and date of baptism, and if I had to guess here it looks like that info has been split into two distinct columns, with a column between them giving the name of the child being baptized. If you follow me! Then a column of info on the father, followed by a column of info on the mother. When you find a right-side to this record, you will get the names and sometimes signatures of the godparents. Helpful?
Good luck in your search,
Sophia

mcdonald0517
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:05 pm Post subject:

Sophia, Thank you again. Yes, helpful. I see what you mean by the split birth/baptism columns. Gilberto, thank you for the column headings. Finally, with both of your help, I have a map for my journey into these German records! Next stop: the family research center near me...

Feeling more confident,
Cynthia Cool

Sophia
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:49 pm Post subject:

OK one more detail!
Handwritten at top right of the page is 18. I bet that is going to match up with a two digit number when you find the right side of this document, giving you the year, say 1854 or whatever.
Best,
Sophia

mcdonald0517
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 7:01 pm Post subject:

Great find, Sophia!! I was wondering where the year was printed! I will search for the right side of the document and see if your theory is correct!
Thank you,
Cynthia

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