Erfurt, Germany, House Lists, 1859-1872

About this collection

This collection contains House Lists, which are registers of the heads of households, from Erfurt covering the years 1859 up to and including 1872. Erfurt is the capital of the German state of Thüringen and is situated approximately at Germany's geographic center. The city was first mentioned in documents from 742. During the time period of this collection it was part of Prussia. Notable landmarks in Erfurt include the medieval Krämerbrücke covered footbridge, the Erfurt Cathedral, and the university that Martin Luther attended, founded in 1392.

The purpose of House Lists was to record the civil status of heads of household in Erfurt. They contain detailed information about owners and inhabitants of each residence. As a result, this collection is a valuable source of historical and biographical information in addition to local birth, marriage and death registries.

What you can find in the records

The House Lists were created using preprinted forms and are organized by house number and street. They contain the names of respective owners and residents in chronological order. Generally the following details may be found:

• Sequential Number
• Declaration Date
• Last Name, Maiden Name, Given Names of the homeowners and residents
• Birthdate and Birthplace
• Occupation
• Denomination
• Family Members (Parents, Spouse, Children)
• Notes, e.g. Deceased, Moved

More about using this collection

Each House List consists of two pages. Under "Browse this collection,” you may select the desired street name from an alphabetical listing. At the beginning of each House List, you may find a table that gives, per street, cross references to common house numbers and former street names which may have been in use before the creation of House Lists. In the Lists themselves, only the then current house numbers and street names appear.