In a message dated 8/29/02 5:02:57 AM Central Daylight Time,
mecklenburg-l-request@genealogy.net writes:
<< [M-L] A general research question >>
I have had good luck writing to the Standesamt office of various cities in
Germany for information after 1874. I use the letter writing guide the LDS
church has, along with help from a friend, since I don't speak German. A lot
of cities have web sites (just type the name of the city with .de after)
where you can get the address, but as long as you track down a zip code, it
usually gets there. Some have English versions of their web sites, some not.
I have also gotten addresses from asking on the list. The problem comes
with paying. Some have charged, some not.
One thing I have learned is to ask for a photo copy of the original document.
Although they type the main information onto a standard form, the original
document (especially before about 1960) has so much more. I have
gg-grandparents signatures on marriage certificates, and if their parent was
a witness, a signature from a generation back. Also, some write other
information around the edges, such as marriage or death dates on the birth
certificate, which sometimes is not transferred to the "official" form. The
original is written in old german script usually, but after the first couple,
you can figure that out easily enough.
Another thing I have learned is not to ask for too much at one time. Be
specific about a person and what you want, not just "any information about
this family".
Good luck!
Rea