Ostfriesen Genealogy & Family History

If you've clicked on this site, you have ancestors who were most likely from the area of Germany known as Ostfriesland or East Friesland.  This area is in northern Germany bordered by the North Sea and The Netherlands. 

 

Make sure you document your ancestors' life in the USA.  You must go from what is known about them to find out where to go.  You cannot do research in Germany without the name of the village.  Start with their death and marriage records for the place of birth.  Another place that may list the place of birth is an obituary.  While these are detailed in smaller towns in the United States, they are much more limited in larger cities.  Obituaries in Germany have little information other than names of the survivors.

 

An increasing number of Ostfriesen research materials are being placed on-line or being published, however many of the resources are secondary sources rather than primary sources (the original records).  Secondary sources may contain transcription or translation errors made by researchers.  Primary records may also include errors but they were created soon after events occurred and people involved with the events generally contributed their knowledge to the records.  Researchers should always attempt to verify the reliability of information they encounter and try to verify it against original records if possible.  The internet has been a great resource for information sharing but fact checking what you find there is critical.  Seeing something quoted a thousand times does not prove it is correct... 

 

The OGSA has an extensive collection of primary and secondary sources in its collection which can be browsed on the Library holdings page.  Other popular resources are listed below and in our Links pages database.        

 

Kurt von Loh	Gene Janssen

Most villages are small and have only a single church that recorded the records of the community.  Many records were microfilmed and are stored at either the regional archive in Aurich or at the Upstalsboom-Gesellschaft (the Ostfriesland genealogical society), which is located in the Ostfriesische Landschaft Bibliothek (library) in Aurich.  If you wish to do original research on these records, you must call or write first to see what materials they have, what hours they are open, if you need an appointment - and if there is help available.  All of their records are in German and translation help may or may not be available.  

 

Ancestry.com has obtained the rights to provide many of the previously microfilmed records on-line using searchable indexes.  The International version of their service is required to access these records.  This can be added to a "standard" personal US access license or for free through many public libraries.  Ancestry has many church records on-line that can be used to track emigrants and their families after arrival in the US.
 

Ortssippenbücher / Ortsfamielienbücher (OSB/OFB)
These are community lineage books written about a specific church in one village.  A researcher compiles all the available data from the church, along with school data if available.  While the data is compiled from original records, data in an OSB/OFB is considered a secondary source and should be verified if possible.  A list of published OSB/OFB is located here.  While there are some privately published OFB, all of the OSB are published by the Upstalsboom-Gesellschaft in Aurich.  These OSB are compiled by volunteers, many of whom spend years working on them. 

 

These are a publication of the Upstalsboom-Gesellschaft.  Their issues started in the 1950’s and are still being published.  These are written in newsletter style and are, of course, in German.  Many of the issues contain genealogies of people who were willing to share their ancestry along with stories that can be translated.  Many emigration lists are included as well as historical data, village data and other valuable information.