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Can anyone help me with where I could look for some record of my Grandfather.
His name was Otto Schwarz, he was german born 16-5-1867 and died 30-4-1953.
Other information -
Otto was married to Maria Grebenstein born 11-8-1885 died 6-8-1962
They had two sons Bernhard and Paul (my father)
My father mentioned that his father Otto, was from the North of Germany, I think.

Any help is so greatly appreciated. I am at a dead end and don't know where to from here.
Thanks in advance for any replies

did he live in england?

Otto Schwarz
England and Wales Census, 1891
Name Otto Schwarz
Event Type Census
Event Date 1891
County London
Parish Islington
Ecclesiastical Parish ALL SAINTS
Registration District Islington
Residence Note Caledonian Road
Gender Male
Age 24
Marital Status Single
Occupation Barbers Assistant
Relationship to Head of Household Servant
Birth Year (Estimated) 1867
Birthplace Germany
Page Number 25
Registration Number RG12
Piece/Folio 153/ 108
HOUSEHOLD

ROLE

GENDER

AGE

BIRTHPLACE

William P Tisler Head M 36 Nat British Subject
Frances Tisler Wife F 34 Berkshire, England
Frances L Tisler Daughter F 12 London, England
Lily E Tisler Daughter F 11 London, England
John Ayers Nephew M 15 Berkshire, England
William Matthew Servant M 19 London, England
Otto Schwarz Servant M 24 Germany

Hi, As far as I know he didn't leave Germany other than for WW1. My father recounted that Otto served in the Imperial German army at the Somme.

try looking on

familysearch.org

My paternal grandfather was German and I have found it very difficult to find info on the family

They came to the uk sometime in the 1890's as they had a son in 1889 in Yorkshire

The only two census they show on are the 1891 and 1901 and both say born Germany

German bmds are held locally so you would need to know where they were from to try and find any records . Lots too would have been lost in the wars due to bombings

Shipping records to are non existant as cross channel records weren't kept as folks came over as foot passengers

You could try the National archives at Kew to see if they became naturalised

Try having a look at this site

http://www.cyndislist.com/germany/bmd/

Comes up by googling - Although the link (below) no longer works, the information may still be current -

A couple of replies about German records from
http://forum.genealogy.net/index.php?page=Thread&postID=289722

**the German Church books and other registry office records are mostly not available online.
Germany has a different data protection law and all the documents are stored in the archives
which expect you to research on site.
The most archives charge a fee for a research carried out by one of their staff members
just in case you can't travel there yourself.
If you are using dates after 1874 you have to write to the registry office of the desired town
for every single document.
I know it's difficult
__________________
**Hi you both,

from my experiences of theState Archiv of Hamburg I can quote the following datas:

starting Spring 2012 the following Data Rules will be in force :

Birth before 1901=> State Archive; and Documents of the Record Books can be read an copied;
younger: will be in the Central Registration Office; access only with proofed Documents

Marriage before 1931 => State Archiv; and Dokuments of the Record books can be read and copied;
younger: will be in the Central Registration Office; access only with proofed Documents

Dead before 1981 => State Archiv; and Dokuments of the Record books can be read and copied;
younger: will be in the Central Registration Office; access only with proofed Documents

Hoping it helps a bit because I don't know within which Time-Range you are doing your researches
Liebe
____________
googling may find you other links

https://www.germany-service.com

https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Germany_Civil_Registration

Peter, do you know when your father came to England?

Although there are no UK arrivals available, there are Hamburg departures which include passages to the UK. It's a long shot but could look for you if you know roughly when. The departure lists usually show town of birth or residence.

Not seeing either of those deaths

Where did they live please ?
:-)

Hi Shirley,

My Grandfather never came to England as far as I know.I don't know his birth place but I know he lived in Gottingen Germany. Gottingen is the place that my father Paul Schwarz grew up till he was about 16. More than likely my grandfather died there also but I can't be sure.
In Germany a burial plot only lasts for 25 years unless a family member pays a fee to have the plot for a further 25 years and so on.

Regards Peter

The local town hall though should have the record of his death and possible where he is buried with the details

Have no experience of searching German records but did have a good friend ,who I met through genes ,who had German ancestors and spoke German, He used to go on research trips to Germany and did try to find records for me.

He told me he would go to the town hall of the area he was interested in and their records were usually extensive

OK thanks for the heads up. I will try that avenue next.