German Genealogy
German Municipal Records
Records for some towns in Germany begin in the 11th century. Much
of this information is similar to court records. Many of the towns
had imperial charters and as a result conducted their affairs
independently from surrounding principalities. There were 83 such
free cities - some no more than villages. The Ratsrechnungen
(municipal accounting records) are useful for the genealogical
researcher. They includes the tax lists, records for welfare
payments (alms) made to emigrants, and numerous payments for
transporting indigents and convicts to America. These materials are
usually not indexed. (Smith, Clifford. Encyclopedia of
German-American Genealogical Research).