A good starting point is the Association for Computer Genealogy (CompGen): there you will find not only digitized sources but also an extensive wiki on genealogy with many, many links and information about archives, etc., at GenWiki.
In Germany, family research usually begins with church records. Many of these are now available online in digital form (Protestant records at Archion, Catholic records at Matricula), although some are not yet available.
When it comes to former German territories such as East Prussia or Silesia, specialized genealogical associations are often a good starting point, as they have detailed knowledge of where specific archival materials can be found. For example, the Association for Family Research in East and West Prussia and others.
I can also highly recommend the CompGen Discourse forum: there are individual categories for specific regions. Link
It is important to know which religion your grandparents belonged to. As David has already mentioned, the Evangelical records are available for a fee through Archion.
Another source is FamilySearch.
You can register there for free and search the catalog by the town your grandparents came from. If you’re lucky, you’ll find your grandparents’ town there and can directly view the church books.
With a bit of luck, someone has already created a local family book. East Prussia was fiercely contested during World War II, and many church books were destroyed.
Ancestry and MyHeritage could also be helpful. They might lead you to a new lead. However, you should approach the data there with caution, as many family trees are hastily constructed. But they are sufficient for finding a lead.
A DNA test via MyHeritage (which has more European testers) could also help you find a direction.
If you’d like, I can assist you a bit with your research. Feel free to send me your grandparents’ data via private message.
a few days have past since I visited the forum the last time.
In the meantime I did some (attempts of) online research to find more about the background of my (maternal) grandparents.
My grandparents were roman-catholic and lived from 1950 (Recklinghausen Suderwich) to 1986 (Recklinghausen/Hervest Dorsten). My memory takes me back to 1950’s til there passing in 1986.
but there were no results coming out of this research.
I know about my grandparents:
day of birth of grandfather/grandmother
day of death of both.
they lived from approx. 1950 in Recklinghausen Suderwich and until their passing in 1986 in Recklinghausen Hervest Dorsten (St. Paul’s Parrish).
The date they moved from Re-Suderwich to Re-Hervest Dorsten in not known.
Their burial site was located at the Friedhof der Kirchengemeinde St. Paulus in Hervest Dorsten
The burial site was eingeebned at around 2008.
That’s all what I can remember about my grandparents.
The details where they were born, who their parents were and any possible siblings of them, are lying in the darkness of the past.
I thought the Parrish Archives could help me further but that hope didn’t bring any further results/findings.
I think my path into the past it’s ending here.
If someone has any further ideas I would appreciated if you would share them.
I imagine it will be difficult to find such recent records anywhere online because of privacy regulations. You mentioned the CompGen site; they have a Discourse site like this one, where you can post questions and maybe get some suggestions for how to proceed. (Maybe some of their members are your cousins!)
You could also try to find any Becker surname from one place name, by looking at some shared genealogical trees. That’s not specific to ‘nachforschung in Deutschland’, just one alternate way for finding any possible distant cousins with a common ancestor who lived in Germany.
e.g., some people are sharing data on geneanet. Also they also have a partnership with FamilySearch. So, you might also get some possible evidences or genealogical clues.
Since my first post, I’ve had a bit more success in my search.
I found the church register containing the marriage of my maternal grandparents here (entry #15).
However, I’m now facing the challenge of deciphering all the details of the entry.
Although I remember some details of the old German script, I’m a bit out of practice when it comes to reading everything.
But perhaps I’ll solve this problem with time.
Furthermore, I discovered that based on the “age data” in the entry, and taking into account my grandparents’ birthdays, it appears they were married on different days. Which, of course, can’t be right.
I’ve created a spreadsheet with the data, which I can upload if anyone is interested.
Yes, I’ll let you know about the costs. At least nothing was mentioned regarding them.
I would request copies of the birth certificates from Herne.
“Upon request, certified copies of civil status records can be produced as archival-safe reproductions from the civil status registers for a fee. A fee of 16 euros is charged per reproduction (including labor costs).”
Entries for the Philip family can be found from 1901 onwards, but not before. Perhaps the father’s place of origin is listed there.
