I am searching for information on Erna Besenbruch or her siblings (Mariana, Martha, Otto, Werner, or Freda). Erna (my grandmother) came to the U.S. in 1930 and Freda came to the U.S. in the 1920s. Any help with how to contact/obtain vital records from Germany would be greatly appreciated too. Thank you.

Leigh

Hello Leigh,
Barmen is belonging to the Evangelical Church of the Rhineland, you can reach their Archive with this e-mail address:
boppard_ekir@t-online.de
But it can be you will come in trouble with them about the date security, you said you would look for around 1920-1930.
I wish you very good luck,
Wilhelm

Thank you, Wilhelm

Hi !

It was a good idea to contact the church archiv in Boppard. But I gess they don´t send outside of germany, but in June I will visit the archiv to search for an american woman. Send me more info and I will try to find your ancesters.

Hi Leigh,
Barmen and Elberfeld belong to the city of Wuppertal. For the time frame you are searching we have the civil registration in Germany. You can ask for the certs at the Stadtarchiv in Wuppertal.

http://www.archive.nrw.de/Kommunalarchive/KommunalarchiveU-Z...

Stadtarchiv Wuppertal
Friedrich-Engels-Allee 89-91
D- 42285 Wuppertal
Telefon: +49(0202) 563-41 23
Telefax: +49(0202) 563-80 25

stadtarchiv@stadt.wuppertal.de

Hope this will help to get new information.
Regards from Germany
Petra

Hello Petra and Leigh,

Petra, you are right for the time before 1900. But Leigh is looking for infos from 1920-1930. He must contact the civil registry office, not the Stadtarchiv.

http://www.wuppertal.de/urkundenbestellung/

You can order the documents online, but therefor you have to write in german ;)

Regards from a Barmen-born,
Martin

Since January 2009, with the starting of the new data security law, the Stadtarchiv Wuppertal has the following certificates
Birth before 1898
Marriages before 1928
Death before 1978

Best regards from Mettmann
Petra

oh, ok. nehme alles zurück ;)
Ich war zwar schon paar mal da, suchte aber immer nur nach Geburten vor 1850.


@lmarquess08
I will be in the stadtarchiv wuppertal (Barmen, Elberfeld, Cronenberg,...) in the next days. I am there every feew weeks, searching for my own ancestors.
Give me all details you have and your eMail adress and I will look if I can help you.

ciao,
Martin

I also have ancestors from Barmen Elberfeld. Can you explain about the new data security law you mention in your posting?

At present I'm also doing research for ancestors from the Wuppertal area, mostly in the archive that keeps church and civil records of the Rhineland.
If you need help you can email me directly at byriga@aol.com

Gaby (Germany)