Research Services

Genealogical research services relies on various sources: church records (baptism, marriage, death), vital records (birth, death, marriage, divorce), census records, military and conscription records, court records, tombstones, cemetery records, obituaries, etc.

I offer research in the area of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire (especially Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia). Research in outlying regions of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (e.g. Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) will be performed by colleagues from my Eastern Europe genealogy network.

Johann Hammer

Military Records

In the Austrian War Archives, I conduct extensive research on soldiers of the k.k. Army. This does not only concern soldiers in the officer rank but also the “simple” soldiers.

With its approximately 180,000 file boxes and 60,000 account books on about 50 shelf kilometers, the Vienna War Archives is the most important military archive in Central Europe.

The most important archive holdings for us are the personnel records on officers, non-commissioned officers, soldiers of all ranks and civil servants from about 1740 to 1918.

Transcription - Translation

Austria-Hungary was a multi-ethnic empire where 13 officially recognized languages were spoken. Accordingly, geographical names are sometimes spelled differently. This also applies to surnames and given names. To overcome language and spelling challenges, I cooperate with genealogists across the various regions.

The majority of records is in old German handwriting (German script, Kurrent, SĂĽtterlin). The older ones are in Latin.

It is first necessary to transcribe these records to make them readable by the lay person. Then, records can be interpreted and translated into plain English.

Transcription and Translation
Putting Pieces Together

Family History - Heir Search - Company History

Within the course of probate cases I carry out genealogical research to determine persons entitled to inherit. This also includes the search for possible relatives of persons who may have emigrated from Austria generations ago.

I carry out research projects on the origin and history of companies. From often only handed down data and names, a comprehensive picture of the founders, their fates and the development of a company over decades or centuries is thereby created.