Bob Marhenke schrieb:
Mr Albers,
Is it possible that the parish records from Marienhagen/Deinsen are in
the hands of professionals and one must deal with them to research? I
say this because a cousin of mine actually visited Marienhagen and was
directed to a persons home where it appeared to them he had the record.
Others I know have also personally visited Marienhagen and were directed
to the same place. This would be fine with me except I can not get an
answer from this person as to what it takes to have him research.
This is why I was hoping to connect with someone who might already have
researched and would be willing to share. Still hoping---Bob Marhenke
Dear Bob Marhenke,
the situation with the original documents is complicated and often of different
organisation in point of access. Actual master of allowance to directly access is
the pastor of parish, sometimes the leading cuncil of the parish has made con-
clusion about that. As you cannot in normal case use this old and worthy books
without obeyance, the priest in smaller parishes with few payed servants had to
sit with you and wait till you have finished your research. Priests haven't
usually got the time for just watching nothing will happen to the books. So this
duty is often delegated to someone out of the parish, who is skilled enough to
reda the books and give an answer to everyone who asks for answers, instead of
watching the people trying to read the handwriting they are not accustomed to.
Which kind of access is practised is just in the hand of the local parish. Those
people, who are charged with giving information do that theirself normally on a
honorary base, the fee you pay goes usually to the parish. As they do this work
in their leisure-time it might last until they come to your request.
If the parish gives the parish-book to such a person's home, I haven't heard a-
bout, as these parish-books are stored mostly in treisures, but might be. If the
access is delegated in this way to a special person, you depend in anway on his
cooperation. I don't know the reason, why you don't get an answer. One may be,
that no English is spoken. Translation would be helpful in every case. If you
haven't got answer after a long time - that means 5 month or more - you should
write to the guidance of the parish , means the pastor, and do a friendly
reminding about the long time. What you can try to get cleared by this priest or
his bureau at any time is of course the question, if the Staatsarchive Hannover
or maybe G�ttingen, which is also quite near have already got a filmed copy of
the parish-books. In that way, you can go there yourself or give an order to a
willing professional researcher. I cannot say which parish-books are already
filmed and which not, but a request at the Staatsarchive Hannover and G�ttingen
would also be able to clear that question for Marienhagen. Some one on the list
has the website- and E-mail-address, I can't find in the moment.
If not, you depend unfortunately on the given access possibilties by the parish.
Some parishes see their determination not in genealogical researches, but more in
actual life and ministerial work, others have found a welcomed way of financial
help by fees in genealogical answers, and in some you are welcomed as a student
of local history. As all men are different, it is in the circumstances you find
in the different parishes. Also being of often public interest, the original
parish book remain private property of the parishes, respectively the greater
religous community, which includes the absence of general rights of access for
everybody.
On the other hand there is normally no evil-willing with the book-keepers, to
exclude someone from the informations of the parish-books. So, if you haven't
done yet, write a kindly letter not to the official researcher, but the priests
bureau. In case of language difficulties in communication, I could try to help as
a translator.
Sincerely Hans Peter Albers
