Genealogical Research in the Province of Hannover, Germany
Last updated December 2005

Hannover is a German city. But this project deals with the larger area which is presently a province in Lower Saxony  (Niedersachsen), Germany. This area was the Kingdom of Hannover in the early 1800's. It became a province of Prussia in 1866 and then part of Germany after unification of Germany in 1871. The history and geography of this area are included in some of the referenced web sites.

Any comments and additions to this list would be welcome!  E-mail to:  arnielang@att.net

HANNOVER WEB SITES

Please Note:  Since this page was first published, many of the web sites have closed down or changed their URL.   For those sites, I have removed the link.  I am  trying to locate the new address or an equivalent site.  Please let me know if you have any recommendations.  Thank you!

German Genealogy Home Page: Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen)
http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/NSAC/nsac.html

Contents include:
  • General Information
  • Genealogical and Historical Societies
  • Genealogical and Historical Records
  • Gazetteers and Maps
  • Bibliography
  • Archives and Libraries
  • Miscellaneous Subjects (Professional researchers, emigration)
  • Other Internet Resources
  • Predecessor States, Historical- and Geographic Regions

  • <>Hannover, Germany Genealogy Home Page (FEEFHS page)
    This site is a good starting point. It describes what information is available and the approaches and problems in doing genealogical research in Hannover

    Lutheran Church Archives in Hannover
    http://www.evlka.de/archiv/index.html
    (Note that the LDS has microfilmed very few Hannover Lutheran church records)

    A message that was posted to the Hannover mailing list said that the following  archive will research the church registers for a fee.  The church registers of all parishes of the Landeskirche Hannovers are kept here.  If you send an enquiry they will charge you 60,-DM per hour of research.  The place to contact would be:

    Kirchenbuchamt des Ev.-luth.
    Stadtkirchenverbands
    Hildesheimer Str. 165/167
    30173 Hannover

    Information about North German Genealogy Research information and  research services by Jens Müller-Koppe for the following:
        Parish Registers of the "Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Hannover"
        http://www.hist.de/KB-hannover.htm

        Parish Registers of the "Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche- Oldenberg
        http://www.hist.de/KB-oldenburg.htm

        Parish Registers of the "Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche in Nordwestdeutschland"
        http://www.hist.de/KB-eastfrisia.htm

        Historical Maps of Bremen and Lower Saxony
        http://www.hist.de/maps.htm

        Hannover 1852 census and other resources  Information and publications available for the 1852 census (including searchable index).
        http://www.hist.de/edition-hist(e).html

    Hannover Research List - (FEEFHS page)You can post messages for Hannover research on this site. A look at the archived messages and responses may help in your research.   This page does not appear to be active at the present time.
    http://feefhs.org/de/han/hanrl.html

    Genealogy.net - The number one source in German Genealogy
    http://www.genealogienetz.de/genealogy.html

    Genealogy.net - Regional resources
    http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/regio.htm#deutschland

    German Migration Resource Center - A source for German emigrants and immigrants.  Includes a search features with free query searches by surname, ship name, immigration years, places of origin,destinations and more.
    http://www.germanmigration.com.

    Excerpts from The Hannover Chronicle can be found at
    http://www.germanmigration.com/chronicle/hannover.htm.

    Die Ahnenstammkartei des Deutschen
    - (FEEFHS page)  Describes the background and History of Die Ahnenstammkartei. This is the 1221 Reels of the "Leipzig Films" which can be researched at the LDS Family History Library. It is estimated that it includes 2.7 million or more individual names. These are the Ahnentafels that span the entire German Empire of the last several centuries and not just the Leipzig region. It has been estimated that 17% East German, 30% North German, 14% West German, 15% South German and 22% Middle German are included in these records. This may be a place to start if you do not know the city or village that your ancestors came from.
    http://www.feefhs.org/DE/astaka/ahnstamm.html

    Hannover "Findbuch"- This site now  has a searchable database of the Hannopver Passenger lists for 1890 and 1902 complete.  Other years are in process.  Searching for the name of an ancestor is free.  Payment of about $20.00 (USD) is required to receive full details.  (You may also find the microfilm copies of these lists at the LDS FHL)
    http://www.hamburg.de/fhh/behoerden/staatsarchiv/link_to_your_roots/english/

    Niedersachsen GenWeb
    GenWEb Site for Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) - includes links to related Internet sties

    Town of Hannover
    Description and History of the town and Kingdom of Hannover

    Hessen Web Site This may not be a Hannover site, but it has an awesome number of links to German sites of general interest
    http://go.to/hessen

    Oldenburg Society for Family Research  Includes an emigrants data base. The file now contains thousands of names of emigrants who left Oldenburg. Go to the following URLL and click on Auswanderer/Emigrants at the left sidebar.
    http://www.familienforschung-oldenburg.de

    Research and Search engines in German speaking countries  Lots of links to How-to research sites in different regions in Germany and other German speaking countries   http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/regio.htm
    http://www.genealogienatz.de/genealogy.html

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Soc.genealogy.german Frequently Asked Questions List  -  This comprehensive set of FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list was written to help genealogists who are interested in German and German-American genealogy. It is oriented to those who are getting started, either with genealogy or with the Internet. "German" here means the German language, so this list should be useful for researchers of German, German-American, Austrian, Swiss, Alsatian, Luxembourger, Liechtensteiner, and Eastern European German genealogy

     http://www2.genealogy.net/gene/faqs/sgg.html
     

    HANNOVER MAILING LISTS & NEWSGROUPS

    HANNOVER-L. A mailing list for those interested in sharing and exchanging information on genealogy and history which has a connection to the former Kingdom of Hannover. This is an English-German multi-lingual list. Mailing address for postings is hannover-l@genealogy.net. To subscribe, send the following in the body of your message to majordomo@genealogy.net: subscribe HANNOVER-L

    NIEDERSACHSEN. A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the German Province of Niedersachsen. Mailing address for postings is niedersachsen-l@rootsweb.com. To subscribe send the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) as the only text in the body of a message to niedersachsen-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or niedersachsen-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode).

    PRUSSIA-ROOTS. A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in Brandenburg, Hannover (or Hanover), Ostpreussen (East Prussia), Pommern (Pomerania), Posen, Provinz Sachsen (Province of Saxony - northern Saxony), Schleswig-Holstein, Schlesien (Silesia), Westpreussen (West Prussia), Lubeck, Hamburg, and Bremen. You must be a subscriber to post to the list and posting instructions will be provided when you subscribe. To subscribe send the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) as the only text in the body of a message to prussia-roots-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or prussia-roots-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode).

    SURNAMES-GERMAN. Gatewayed with the soc.genealogy.surnames.german newsgroup for surname queries related to German speaking countries. Mailing address for postings is surnames-german-l@rootsweb.com. To subscribe send "subscribe" (without the quotes) as the only text in the body of a message to surnames-german-l-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode), surnames-german-m-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode), or surnames-german-i-request@rootsweb.com (index mode).

    GEN-DE. Gatewayed with the soc.genealogy.german newsgroup for the discussion of German genealogy. Mailing address for postings is gen-de-l@rootsweb.com. To subscribe send "subscribe" (without the quotes) as the only text in the body of a message to gen-de-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode), gen-de-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode), or gen-de-i-request@rootsweb.com (index mode).

    GENEALOGY SOCIETIES

    HANNOVER AREA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

    Niedersächsischer Landesverein für Familienkunde e.V.
    Am Bokemahle 14-16 (Stadtarchiv)
    D-39171 Hannover

    If you may want to write to this society, see the Translations section of the following web site for sample letters to send in other languages and how to get free help in translating your reply.

    German Genealogy: 

    http://www.genealogienetz.de/genealogy.html

    GENEALOGY SOCIETIES LOCATED IN THE UNITED STATES THAT HAVE GERMAN INTERESTS

    German Genealogy Group - GGG
    P.O. Box 1004
    Kngs Park, NY 11754
    http://www.GermanGenealogyGroup.com

    Germanic Genealogy Society - GGS

    P. O. Box 16312
    St. Paul, Minnesota 55116-0312
    http://feefhs.org/ger/frg-ggs.html

    Immigrant Genealogical Society - IGS 
    P. O. Box 7369
    Burbank, California 91510-7369
    http://feefhs.org/igs/frg-igs.html

    Palatines To America - a national genealogical society of persons researching German-speaking ancestry (not just the Palatinate), with emphasis on European migrations from the Germanic regions of Europe to North America
    Columbus, OH.
    http://palam.org

    Sacramento German Genealogy Society - SGGS -
    P. O. Box 660061
    Sacramento, CA 95866-0061
    http://feefhs.org/sggs/frg-sggs.html

    German Genealogical Society of America - GGSA -
    2125 Wright Avenue, Suite C-9
    La Verne, California 91750-5814
    http://feefhs.org/ggsa/frg-ggsa.html
     
    Emsland Heritage Society (USA)
    The mission of the society is to collect and distribute the genealogies and history of that territory of Germany known as Emsland. This region is located along the border of the Netherlands in the upper northwest. Osterfreisland is on top, then Emsland.
    http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/4018/

    Emslanders to the American Mid-West
    This webpage is devoted to the identification of 19th century German emigrants who came to the U.S. from that part of Hannover known today as Emsland, Niedersachsen, and settled in the mid-western states of Missouri & Illinois, mostly
    http://www.emslanders.com

    REFERENCES, MAPS, AND MORE

    Finding a German Place of Origin -

    http://feefhs.org/frl/de/placeorg.html

    The JewishGen ShtetlSeeker - Search the towns in Central and Eastern Europe, using exact spelling or the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex system. This search will display latitude and longitude for each location, as well as the distance to the country's capital city.
    http://www.jewishgen.org/ShtetlSeeker/ German Churchbooks - Their History - Contents - Deficiencies
    http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/German_Genealogy/churchbo.htm

    Hannover Census Records The census records that have been microfilmed and are available at the LDS Family History Library are listed on this page
    Hannover Census Records

    Translation Services

    One of the best translation sites is provided by www.systransoft.com. The company makes translation software, but their webpage includes the facility to translate both text that you type or paste into a box there or you can enter a Web address and have the entire webpage translated.

    AltaVista Translation Service - Translate German to English, etc.
    http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/translate

    Free Translation.com - automatically translate the English content of your Web site, e-mail, documents, etc. into French,
    Spanish, German, Italian, and Portuguese for free.
    http://www.freetranslation.com

    Go Translator - another site to translate the entire contents of a web site or individual text.
    http://translator.go.com/

    Translation Team - Send your German document to a free translation team.  Reports say that they were very pleased with the results, there was not a long wait, and they got an accurate translation.
    How to use the Translation Team Forwarder

    Telephone Books on-line - Germany

    http://www.teleauskunft.de

    For a worldwide search you can go to
    http://www.infobel.com/teldir


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