Records for the Colmar area prior to WWI.

by Mary
(Lander, Wyoming, United States)

According to family history my Great Grandfather had a home in the Colmar area prior to WWI. How would I research this? Land records, census records or both? Any help will be appreciated.

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Searching for land records
by: Suzele

Hi Mary,

I haven't helped much with records in Colmar specifically. But I have helped with finding the location or an address for other parts of Alsace.

Mostly rural areas.

So Colmar is a town of over 50,000 people. Not quite the same thing as a small village.

Although you might have access to more resources. And usually I'm looking for something that existed at least 200+ years ago.

So World War One and the early 1900s isn't as big a challenge for you hopefully ;-)

You can find addresses in birth, marriage and death records sometimes. I've definitely found them here. And so have the people I do Ancestry tours with.

It's hit or miss on that one for older records like 150-200+ years ago.

Maybe for a more urban area like Colmar, it's different?

I would check anyone's records related to the family - brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, etc.

You never know what you'll find. And usually close relatives were witnesses for their family in records.

So for example, your great great great great grandfather may be mentioned in his brother's marriage record and an address is listed. It can happen.

Census records can have them. No guarantees.

Land records, cadastre records.

You can find a lot online. But I've personally find it better to talk to people in person.

No guarantees that they will speak English but they might in Colmar.

I've found locations of houses where we didn't have any written records by talking to people.

And I've gotten locals to show me where certain families lived too.

Sometimes a listed address doesn't make any sense because everything's changed over the centuries too.

It's a treasure hunt!

Happy hunting,
Suzele

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