Luxembourg genealogy research recently became much easier, thanks to large numbers of records being made available online. The bulk of Luxembourg birth records come in two different types: civil registration records (zivilstandsregisters) and Catholic church records. Because of these records, my wife’s family has finally been able to trace their Luxembourgish-American ancestor, Mathias Groos, back several generations beyond his immigration to the United States. Continue reading to learn more about Luxembourg Civil Birth Registers.
Luxembourg Civil Birth Registers
Overview
Civil birth records begin in 1796, after the invasion of Luxembourg by French forces following the French Revolution. When the French took control, they forced Luxembourg to maintain civil birth, marriage and death records. This record-keeping continued well after the French left. Today, civil birth records from 1796-1923 are available free on FamilySearch.
During French control, in the earlier years of this record set, recorders often write dates in the Republican Calendar. Napoleon.org’s handy Republican Calendar converter may help you understand and convert these dates to the modern calendar used today. Use of this calendar ends in 1806, when Napoleon I decreed the end of the calendar’s use in its fourteenth year. French control also had an effect on the language in which birth records were written in Luxembourg. At first, these recorders wrote in French, but they transitioned to German in 1840, after an 1839 treaty caused Luxembourg to lose much of its francophone territory.
Indexes
Some, but not all, of Luxembourg’s birth registers have been put into a searchable online index on FamilySearch. It is worth looking there first. Many records, however, are only available in image form, and are not searchable in a database. Thankfully, Luxembourg’s birth registers feature a handwritten index, organized alphabetically by last name, at the beginning or end of each year’s register. Recorders also maintained handwritten ten-year indexes (tables décennales) of civil registers, also organized alphabetically by last name.
What You’ll Find
Typically, each of these birth registers includes the following information:
- Date, time, and place of registration
- Official position of registrar
- Name and gender of child
- Date, time, and place of birth (often given as a specific address)
- Name, age, residence, and occupation of the father
- Maiden name and age of the mother
- Names, ages, residences, and occupations of witnesses
This information can prove very helpful in tracing your family further back, or even in finding the exact house they were born in in Luxembourg.
Finding Your Ancestor in the Register
Here’s how to find an ancestor in the Luxembourg civil birth registry online. I’ll use my wife’s ancestor, Mathias Groos, as an example. Let’s say I don’t know much more than that he was born in the capital city sometime in the 1830s. Typically, I would type his information into the searchable index to see if he was there. He is, but in order to better show how to navigate these records if your ancestor isn’t in the searchable database, I’ll begin with the ten-year index (tables décennales) for the city of Luxembourg, 1802-1862.
Scrolling through this image set, I locate the index for 1833-1843. Each book of indexes begins with births (naissances), then marriages (mariages), then deaths (décès). Having located the births, I start looking for the “G” section. From here, I look down this alphabetical list for “Groos,” where I quickly find an entry for Mathias Groos, born 12 December 1835.
Armed with this birthdate information, I open FamilySearch‘s image set for “1835 register index. When I find his name on the alphabetical listing, I see that his is record number 481.
From there, it is a simple matter of finding that number in the margin earlier in the book (which is listed in numerical order by said number). Here is his record:
The record tells me (in French) the following about my wife’s ancestor, who later immigrated to Iowa:
- His birth was registered in Luxembourg Commune, Luxembourg Canton, Luxembourg on 12 December 1835. The time of the registry was about two in the afternoon
- His father is George Groos, age 38, resident of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, who works as a voiturier, or driver.
- He was born in house number 90, Pfaffenthal Quarter, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg on 10 December 1835 at about ten in the evening.
- His mother is Marguerite Thill, age 30.
- Witnesses are Mathias Christnach, age 32, voiturier and Jean Wolff, age 24, residents of the same commune.