Prussian BLUES
Many things are said to be a “state of mind.” For genealogists seeking 19th-and early 20th-century ancestry in what was then the largest German Empire state of Prussia, “Prussian” is a kind of a state of mind. The term’s meaning differed greatly during the half-millennium in which the Hohenzollern family wielded power in Central Europe, many of its members crowned “Kings of Prussia.”
For researchers with German ancestry, the word “Prussia” can be a stumper—and the fact that there’s no such political unit with that name in present-day Europe is just the conundrum’s starting point. Like the First
Wave of German immigrants to Colonial America (who were often lumped together as “Palatines”), the Second Wave of German immigrants may have been grouped together as the overly broad term “Prussians.” The misleading label may belie their actual identities: Pomeranians, Rhinelanders, Hanoverians and more.
However, an “attitude adjustment” will help you solve your Prussia problems. This guide goes through the kingdom’s complicated history and shifting boundaries, plus the best Prussian genealogy records and a rundown of the kingdom’s provinces that may help you pinpoint your ancestors’ origins.
UNDERSTANDING PRUSSIAN HISTORY
Throughout history, “Prussia” could refer to several states of varying sizes and levels of autonomy. Let’s take a quick walk through the state’s history to better understand what Prussia was and what lands may have been considered part of it.
The name “Prussia” itself originated in the Middle Ages when pagan tribes inhabited the area adjoining the Baltic Sea between Pomerania and Lithuania. These tribes were conquered by the
