FAQ: Rheinhessen

Contents
December 1998

 
Contents: 
 
Q1: Where was Rheinhessen? 
Q2: What was Rheinhessens's recent history? 
Q3: What were the administrative areas of Rheinhessen? 
Q4: What were the court districts in Rheinhessen in 1890? 
Q5: How do I find locations and maps for Rheinhessen? 
Q6: When were civil registers introduced? 
Q7: Is there a listserv for Hessen family researchers? 
Q8: Any websites of interest to Hessen researchers? 
Q9: Where are Mennonite congregations in Rheinhessen? 
Q10: Are there emigration records available? 
 
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Q1: Where was Rheinhessen? 
 
A1: Rheinhessen was one of the three provinces of the Grandduchy of  
    Hessen, the other two being Starkenburg and Oberhessen.  
    Its capital was Mainz located West of the Rhine river. 
    Today Rheinhessen is a district of Land Rheinland-Pfalz of the  
    new Germany together with Rheinpfalz and the (formerly Prussian)    
    districts of Koblenz, Trier and Montabaur. 
 
Q2: What was Rheinhessen's recent history? 
 
A2: France annexed the area in 1802. After Napoleon's defeat, Rheinhessen 
    was given to the Grandduchy of Hessen in 1815 and became known as 
    Rheinhessen. 
 
Q3: What were the administrative areas of Rheinhessen? 
 
A3: In 1890 Rheinhessen had the following (5) Kreise (counties): 
    Alzey,Bingen,Mainz,Oppenheim,Worms. 
    Its population was 46.3% Evangelical,49.3% Catholic,0.3% Jewish. 
 
Q4: What were the court districts in 1890? 
 
A4: The highest court in the Grandduchy of Hessen was the 
    Oberlandesgericht in Darmstadt. 
     
The provincial court for Rheinhessen was Landgericht Mainz with  
    (11) Amtsgerichte: 
    Alzey,Bingen,Mainz,Niederolm,Oberingelheim,Oppenheim,Osthofen, 
    Pfeddersheim,Woellstein,Woerrstadt,Worms. 
 
Of special interest are the land deed records with no published   survey known todate. 
 
Q5: How do I find locations and maps for Rheinhessen? 
 
A5: The best German gazetteer is 
  Meyers Orts- and Verkehrslexikon des Deutschen Reiches,1912 edition, 
   which is available on microfiche in the LDS Family History Centers. 
 
 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) as well as 
   historical maps may be purchased from 
 
       Hessisches Landesvermessungsamt 
       Schaperstr. 16 
       Postfach 32 49 
       D-65022 Wiesbaden 
 
   (Ask for their map catalog or Kartenverzeichnis) 
 
Q6: When were civil registers introduced? 
 
A6: Civil registers of births,marriages,deaths were introduced in 
    Rheinhessen by the French in 1792.  
    The Civil registry office is called Standesamt. 
 
Q7: Is there a listserv for Rheinhessen family researchers? 
 
A7: There is presently no mailing list for anyone with a  
    genealogical interest in RheinHessen. 
 
Q8: Any websites of interest to Rheinhessen researchers? 
 
A8:  http://www.genealogy.net/gene/reg/rindex.htm 
     http://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/gene/reg/rindex.htm 
 
If you have no access to the Web (www), you can direct web files to  your email box by sending a request to 
 
    getweb@usa.healthnet.org 
 
        or to 
 
    getweb@unganisha.idrc.ca 
 
with the message HELP or 
    get http://..... 
      
Q9: Where are Mennonite congregations in Rheinhessen? 
 
A9: Here are statistics for the Mennonite congregations in Rheinhessen: 
    (data from Mennonitisches Lexikon III) 
 
                   1857   1887   1914   1934   1954 
                   -------------------------------- 
Uffhofen             45     72     62     53     62 
Ibersheim           300    233    160    156    185 
Monsheim            180    280    260    230    286 
--------------------------------------------------- 
total               525    585    482    439    533 
 
 
Q10: Are there emigration records available? 
 
A10: The state archives have many emigration records. 
 
 http://www.bawue.de/~hanacek/info/darmst01.htm 
 http://www.qrz.com/gene/reg/RHE-PFA/rhein-p.html 
 
For details see: 
     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.275-277:Darmstadt archives