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Contents:
Q1: Where is Baden?
Q2: What was Badens's recent history?
Q3: What were the administrative areas of Baden?
Q4: What were the court districts in Baden in 1890?
Q5: Are there maps available for Baden?
Q6: When were civil registers introduced?
Q7: Is there a listserv for Baden family researchers?
Q8: Any websites of interest to Baden researchers?
Q9: Where are Mennonite congregations in Baden?
Q10: How do I find out what church books are available for Baden
congregations?
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Q1: Where is Baden?
A1: Baden was a Grandduchy until 1918 when all monarchies in Germany
were abolished. Its area is located in Southwest Germany along the
border with France and Switzerland with Karlsruhe as capital. Baden today is part of Land Baden-W|rttemberg of the new Germany together with W|rttemberg and Hohenzollern-Hechingen.
Q2: What was Baden's recent history?
A2: Baden was part of the Napoleonic Rhine Federation (Rheinbund) in
1806-1813 which contributed a contingent to Napoleon's army. In 1815
it joined the German Federation as a Grandduchy.
Q3: What were the administrative areas of Baden?
A3: In 1890 Baden consisted of 4 districts and 11 Kreise (counties):
Distrikt of Konstanz with 3 Kreise:
Konstanz,Villingen,Waldshut.
Distrikt of Freiburg with 3 Kreise:
Freiburg,Loerrach,Offenburg.
Distrikt of Karlsruhe with 2 Kreise:
Baden,Karlsruhe.
Distrikt of Mannheim with 3 Kreise:
Mannheim,Heidelberg,Mosbach.
Its population was 36% Evangelical,62% Catholic,1.6% Jewish.
Q4: What were the court districts in 1890?
A4: The highest court in the Grandduchy of Baden was the
Oberlandesgericht in Karlsruhe.
The lower courts in Baden were:
Landgericht Freiburg with (10) Amtsgerichte:
Breisach,Emmendingen,Ettenheim,Freiburg,Kenzingen,Loerrach,
M|llheim,Neustadt,Staufen,Waldkirch.
Landgericht Karlsruhe with (11) Amtsgerichte:
Baden-Baden,Bretten,Bruchsal,Durlach,Eppingen,Ettlingen,Gernsbach,
Karlsruhe,Pforzheim,Philippsburg,Rastatt.
Landgericht Konstanz with (9) Amtsgerichte:
Donaueschingen,Engen,Konstanz,Messkirch,Pfullendorf,Radolfzell,
Stockach,Ueberlingen,Villingen.
Landgericht Mannheim with (6) Amtsgerichte:
Heidelberg,Mannheim,Schwetzingen,Sinsheim,Weinheim,Wiesloch.
Landgericht Mosbach with (9) Amtsgerichte:
Adelsheim,Boxberg,Buchen,Eberbach,Mosbach,Neckarbischofsheim,
Tauberbischofsheim,Walld|rn,Wertheim.
Landgericht Offenburg with (9) Amtsgerichte:
Achern,B|hl,Gengenbach,Kehl,Lahr,Oberkirch,Offenbaach,Triberg,
Wolfach.
Landgericht Waldhut with (6) Amtsgerichte:
Bonndorf,Saeckingen,Schoenau,Schopfheim,St.Blasien,Waldshut.
Of special interest are the land deed records with no published survey known todate.
Q5: Are there maps available for Baden?
A5: There is LDS microfilm #068814 available of
Karte des Deutschen Reiches, scale 1:100000, 1km = 1cm
which may be loaned thru the LDS Family History Centers.
It covers Germany for 1914-1917.
Topographical maps (Messtischblaetter 1:25000) may be
purchased from
Landesvermessungsamt Baden-W|rttemberg
Buechsenstr. 54
Postfach 10 29 62
D-70025 Stuttgart
(Ask for their map catalog or Kartenverzeichnis)
Q6: When were civil registers introduced?
A6: Civil registers of births,marriages,deaths were introduced in
Baden by the French in 1792.
The Civil registry office is called Standesamt.
Q7: Is there a listserv for Baden family researchers?
A7: There is a mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest
in Baden, W|rttemberg and Hohenzollern.
Mailing address for postings is
BADEN-WURTTEMBERG@rmgate.pop.indiana.edu.
To subscribe, send the following message to
maiser@rmgate.pop.indiana.edu:
Help or SUB BADEN-WURTTEMBERG
Q8: Any websites of interest to Baden researchers?
A8: http://www.genealogy.com/gene/reg/rindex.htm
http://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/gene/reg/rindex.htm
http://www.ziplink.net/~hagen/badwue.html*
http://genealogy.com/gene/www/emig/GermansToAmerica.html
Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe.
Archivbestand des ehemaligen Auswanderungsamtes.
http://www.bawue.de/~hanacek/info/karlsr01.htm
Surviving records of the Auswanderungsamt, including
extensive indexes, are deposited here (1866-1911).
Microfilm copies of the indexes, but not the records themselves, are
in the Family History Library (FHL), in Salt Lake City. Some of
these indexes have been abstracted in Cornelia
Schrader-Muggenthaler, The Baden Emigration Index (Apollo,
Pennsylvania: Closson Press, 1992). In addition, Friedrich R.
Wollmershduser (Herrengasse 8-10, D-89610 Oberdischingen,
Germany), a private researcher, has compiled an extensive index of
emigrants from Baden, using the records in the Generallandesarchiv
in Karlsruhe, as well as other manuscript and published records
not located in the Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe.
For details see also:
Learned, Marion Dexter, 1857-1917:
Guide to the manuscript materials relating to American history
in the German state archives, Washington, D.C.,
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Publication no. 150 , 1912, 352 p.:
-also Kraus reprints NY 1965-
p.229-237 Karlsruhe
Q9: Where are Mennonite congregations in Baden?
A9: Here are some statistics for the Mennonite congregations in Baden:
(selected from Mennonitisches Lexikon I,106-107)
Grandduchy of Baden:
1821:1512 ; 1830:1414 ; 1842:1358 ; 1852:1466 ; 1861:1221
1871:1356 ; 1880:1252 ; 1890:1194 ; 1900:1008 ; 1910:1151
In 1915 there were the congregations of
Adelsheim (79 souls), Durlach(45),Duehren(100),Hasselbach(126), Heimbronnerhof(45), Moenchzell(35), Neuhof(35), Rappenau(49), Sinsheim(80), Ueberlingen(130), Woessingen(100).
Q10: How do I find out what church books are available for Baden
congregations?
A10: There are no printed inventories of Mennonite church books
available for South Germany, nor are there microfilms available
in the LDS films collection.
This is a field that someone should take up. If anyone can answer this question or provide a listing of South German Mennonite genealogical sources, please say so.