Obtaining German Birth Certificate 1837

[Jamesk10]

I wish to obtain if possible the birth certificate of a ancestor who was born in Grumbach, Germany in about 1837 (I have a christening date and latter UK census records (he emigrated to England) which I am basing the estimated date of birth on).

I have no idea how to go about this so any advice and assistance will be much appreciated.

[Faye567]

Tracking down German records can be tricky. It took a while to find my ancestors. You have a leg up because you know exactly where your ancestor was born. Grumbach will probably have a church record office or town hall/library. If you are able to track down a email for a record office, they will usually have a geneologist that will find the records for you and send them via email. You will have to pay a fee for that. But, it's not too expensive (I paid about 30 euros). Alternatively, you could employ a professional German genealogist who works in the area you want. They  would track down the right archives and records for you. However,that is  more expensive than contacting an archive directly.  Hope this helps in some way.

[Peonie]

Hi JamesK,

there are a few places in Germany called Grumbach. The first thing would be to establish which region your ancestor came from.

Regards Peonie

[Jamesk10]

More information now I have to hand my notes. The Grumbach is the one in Rhineland-Palatinate. I have what I believe to be his date of birth and his parents, which I hope to confirm by obtaining his birth certificate.

I have Googled but I haven't yet been able to find anywhere to contact, I'll keep looking. Perhaps someone can point me in the right direction.

[Rudolf H B]

Hi JamesK,

- you should use Wikipedia and "google" there:
 en: Grumbach & Palatinate   or
 de: Grumbach & Pfalz

Result (en): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumbach
"Grumbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Lauterecken, whose seat is in the like-named town."

- click on the link: "Verbandsgemeinde of Lauterecken"
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauterecken_(Verbandsgemeinde) - A stub, but the official website is linked!
- Mail to:  Standesamt

The registers on the western banks of the river rhine are starting around 1798 - the parents birth might be in the same book! It might be written in French, before 1814!

A birth certificate without official stamps (Beglaubigung) is cheaper and they can send it also by scan & e-mail

In Germany you can check 858.000 living places (June 2013) in the GOV (Genealogisches Orts-Verzeichnis).
- http://gov.genealogy.net/search/index
- http://gov.genealogy.net/item/show/GRUACHJN39SP Grumbach with link to
- http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/GOV:GRUACHJN39SP Grumbach (Glan) in the GenWiki.

Good luck & best regards
Rudolf H. Boettcher