German Language Equivalent Notations
ä ≈ ae | ö ≈ oe | ü ≈ ue | ß ≈ ss (rarely sz)
Only in handwriting, not in printed format
n̅ ≈ nn (e.g. An̅a)
m̅ ≈ mm (e.g. Kam̅erer)
ŭ ≈ u (e.g. Baŭer)
ÿ ≈ y (e.g. Seÿfried)
German Language Variant Notations
i/y (e.g. Seifried/Seyfried)
c/k (e.g. Katharina/Catharina; Jakob/Jacob; Kramer/Cramer)
d/t (e.g. Schmidt/Schmitt)
tz/z (e.g. Schatz/Schaz)
Joh. Joes. Johannes Joannes Joan Johan Hans
Johan Bap. Bapt. Baptist
Johan Ev. Evang. Evangelist
Johan Nep. Nepo. Nepomuk
Mathias Matthaeus Matheus Matthias etc.
Kath. Katharina (may also mean Catholic)
M. Mar. Maria
A. Anna
Typefaces: Fraktur
Scripts: Old German Style, Kurrent, Sütterlin
Fraktur (typeface)
Typeface issues
A/U | B/P/V | M/W | C/E/G/S | I/J | R/K/N
f/k/l/s/t | h/y | b/d/p | r/x | g/q/z | c/e | i/j
Old German Style (script)
Script issues
R/K | M/W | N/St
e/n/u | f/s | g/p/q/y
English | German | Latin |
---|---|---|
birth / born | geburt / gebor(en) | nat(us) / nativitas (N.) |
baptism | taufe | baptism(us) / renatus (R.) |
name (of the child) | namen (des kind) | nomen (baptizati) / proles / infantus |
parents | eltern | parentes |
occupation | stand | occupatio |
residence | wohnung | locus |
godparents | taufpaten / taufzeugen | patrini |
minister / pastor | pfarrer | baptistae |
time (of birth) | zeit (der geburt) | tempus |
place | ort | locus |
day / month / year | tag / monat / jahr | dies / mensis / anno |
boy / girl | knable / mädchen | puer / puella |
son / daughter | sohn / tochter | filius / filia |
twins | zwilling | gemini / gemelli |
and | und (ŭ) | et |
from | von (v.) or aus | ex |
marriage | heiraten / ehe / trauung / copulation | matrimonium / copulation / nuptiae |
single / unmarried | ledig / unverheiratet | caelebs / innuptus |
bride / groom | braut / bräutigam | sponsus / sponsa |
spouse / husband / wife | gatte / gattin / ehemann / ehefrau | uxor / conjunx |
dead | tot / gestorben | mortuus / defunctus |
disease | krankheit | morbus |
buried | vergraben / beerdigen | sepultus |
widow / widower | witwe / witwer | vidua / viduus |
Prussia was a German kingdom originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Prussia shaped the history of Germany with its capital in Berlin after 1451. The German states united creating the German Empire in 1871 under Prussian leadership. Monarchies were abolished in 1918 and Prussia was effectively abolished in 1932, officially abolished in 1947.
In US Census records, the term Prussia is used frequently up until about 1871 when the creation of the Second Reich of Germany began. You will see Germany listed as a place of birth for those born before 1871 even though prior to then it was referred to as Prussia. REMEMBER - your family will not be "German" prior to 1871, it wasn't Germany until after that date.
A political subdivision/province in the nation-states of Prussia and Germany. It was ethnically cleansed of Germans by Poland, the Soviet Union, and the allies after World War II. All vestiges of German government and control were removed following WWII. Today the area that was West Prussia is North Central Poland and is largely populated by Polish peoples, many of whom were forcibly relocated in 1945-1947 from what is today's Ukraine.
There were a variety of reasons why Prussian/German immigrants settled in the US Midwest, especially Wisconsin. The east coast of Wisconsin along the Lake Michigan shore was heavily settled by German immigrants. Some of the reasons immigrants chose Wisconsin were:
Special thanks to Bob Danovich in the Facebook German Genealogy Group for some of the above information.
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