Erfde - Schleswig - Holstein
From Mike Kearney:
A lot of people in Clinton and Scott counties have ancestors who came from Schleswig-Holstein. The LDS film (#1198924) of the records of the parish of Erfde are nearly impossible to read not only because they are in German, but mainly because the script used is nearly impossible to get into letters that even the German speaking among us can read. Here is the text of those records. I think this is a real find for anyone with ancestors from that area.
Here are some key words that might help someone who does not read German to understand the Erfde parish register.
geb. = born
aus = from
Einwohner = resident
verheiratet = married
Stadt = city
Vater = father
Mutter = mother
Grossvater = grandfather
Grossmutter = grandmother
Frau = wife
Kinder = children
verstorben = died, deceased, dead
Seite = Page
Remember in German if a word in the middle of a sentence is capitalized, it is a noun.
In Europe dates are day/month/year not month/day/year as in the US.
The months in German are almost the same as in the English so there should be no problem there.
The only other words that I have not translated are the occupation of the men and place names. The names of occupations can be a bit confusing
for most Americans, The concept of a Hausmann or Knecht or Kaethner have to do with how much property they owned or did not own etc.
Mike
Erfde Cemetery: This is a very large text file. There is a pretty good translator at Dictionary.com that you may find helpful.