Sources for Researching Families

Domstiftsarchiv Ratzeburg, Domhof 35, D-2418 Ratzeburg, Germany (about 2,400 church registration books, including those of Pomerania)
Landesarchiv Greifswald - Postfach 3323 D-17463 Greifswald, fax 03834/2552, which has:
- Generalmusterrollen (military enrollment) from 1791-1807)
- Hinterpommersche Hufenklassification - Protokolle fuer jedes Dorf von 1717/1719, mit Angaben zu den Besitzern - Tax paying owners
- Oberpraesidenten mit Auswanderern - Verwaltung der Kreise und Staedte (1815-1933) - Emigrants
- Kirchenbuecher - Church records - Temmen, an editor from Rostock edited in 1996 a book about these records
Staatsarchiv Hamburg, ABC Str. 19, D-2000 Hamburg 36 - Einschiffungs-register zur Auswanderung, with more than 5 million family names
Historic Emigration Office - Museum fuer Hamburgische Geschichte (1850-1914) - Holstenwall 24 - 2.000 Hamburg 36 - Phone 040 30 05 1250
Familienforschung - Ahnentafel - Wappenkunde, Falken - Verlag Gmbh, 6272, Niederhausen / TS
Famílias Brasileiras de Origem Germânica, Joinville, Brazil
Projeto Imigrantes, Cx. Postal 379 CEP 92 010-013 Canoas, RS, Brazil (Rudi wrote them and got names of passangers of seven sail ships)
Zentralstelle fuer Genealogie, Georgi-Dimitroff-Platz 1 PSF 947 Leipzig Phone 00 489 007 and 31 14 12 (this is a DDR address. Rudi made contact in 1990 and they informed him that they have Church books from the 1638-1768 period for Ruetzenhagen)
Unfruitful searches at: Heimatortskartei fuer Pommern, Luebeck (they have only the persons living in the region at the beginning of the war (1939); Staatsarchiv Schwerin - has no Braatz or Bratz in their emigrants lists; Staatsarchiv Greifswald informed that they do not have church books from Leckow, Ruetzenhagen, Wopersnow, Zeinicke, Schievelbein and Koeslin.

Internet Sites:

Pommeranian Sources Only
Deutschen Reichs Map, 1883. A trememdous resource to find old placenames and their locations
Mormon Church on line search
Pommern, The Land and Sea (In German)
Ancestry.com
Pomeranian Society of Freistadt
RootsWeb
Federation of East European Family History Societies
German Gen Web
Projeto Imigrantes (Brazil) Email:imigrantes@pro.via-rs.com.br
ShtetlSeeker While intended for Jewish Genealogy, it is great for anyone searching for towns in Central and Eastern Europe.

Research on Emigrants

At my request, we got the following text from Mrs. Sroka in Hamburg, Germany, which informs about a service I used to get information on a sailship which brought my family to Brazil in 1869 (the Catharina). I am sure it will be helpfull for other family members who need additional information on ancestors. Rudi Braatz, Brazil

Do your ancestors come from Europe? Were they perhaps one of the millions of emigrants who left the Old World all following their dream of a new life in North or South America, Australia, South Africa or in Canada? Did your ancestors emigrate from Europe by way of the port of Hamburg? If you know the EXACT year they emigerated and are looking for further emigration information such as the first names, occupations or the last village they lived in, then you should contact the Historic Emigration Office in Hamburg.
The passenger lists for all the ships departing Hamburg from 1850 - 1934 are on microfilm at this office. Here, Elizabeth Sroka, with 15 years of experience in using and translating these films, will process your individual request- from a historical records of nearly six million persons who left by ship via Hamburg.
Our basic research fees are U.S. $75 or DM 100,--. Some years and certain names take more time to research and will be charged on an hourly work-basis. Payment will also be required if our research is not successful. The more information you have, such as name of the ship or the exact departure or arrival date, the more the research fee can be reduced.
If you can name the exact emigration year, Mrs. Sroka should be able to complete your search and if she is successful, you will receive:
a stamped and sealed certificate on heavy paper of the original ship's list containing your ancestor's personal data, such as age, occupation, marital status and city of origin as well as the name of the ship, its destination and date of sailing.
The Historic Emigration Office is located at the main office of the Hamburg Tourist Board (Tourismus-Zentrale Hamburg) and is opened on Tuesdays and Thursdays and on other days if you make an appointment.
Elizabeth Sroka Historic Emigration Office Tourismus-Zentrale Hamburg Steinstrasse 7 (D) 20095 Hamburg, Germany Fax.: (49 40) 300 51 220 e-mail: sroka@hamburg-tourism.de The Historic Emigration Office
Tel.: (49 40) 300 51 282