Sigla Explained

Original Records

The file name format for original records follows this example PET-B-1739a.adoc of a 3-letter location prefix, followed by a one-letter church event code, followed by a four-digit event year, followed by a, b, c, d, etc.--each separated by a dash.

  • The 3-letter location prefixes are shown in the table:

    3-letter Prefix Location Meaning

    BUC

    Buchholz

    Parish in Buchholz, "Germany"

    CIN

    Cincinnati

    Deutsche Evangelisch-Lutherische und Reformierte Kirche von Cincinnati (German Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed Church of Cincinnati)

    FRI

    Frille

    Parish in Frille, "Germany"

    PET

    Petzen

    Parish in Petzen, Schaumburg-Lippe

    DEC

    Decatur

    Immanuel Lutheran Church, Decatur, Indiana

    NDC

    Cincinnati

    Norddeutsche Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Cincinnati (North German Lutheran Church of Cincinnati)

    WAL

    Wallensen

    Wallsensen Parish, "Germany"

    WIN

    Windheim

    Windheim Parish, "Germany"

  • E—​is a one-letter church ceremony code gioven in the table below:

    Code Ceremony

    B

    Birth/Baptism

    C

    Confirmation

    M

    Marriage

    D

    Burial/Death

  • The four-didit year the ceremony YYYY folows next.

  • The last element is a,b,c, d, etc, representing separate indvidual ceremonies for the particulair parish within the same year.

Examples of Sigla-Format Filenames

The following illustrate how the sigla scheme appears in the actual filenames used for pages on this website. Each file name corresponds to one record and matches the LLL-E-YYYYx pattern described above.

Filename Example Meaning

PET-B-1739a.adoc

Baptism record from Petzen (PET), year 1739, first baptism identified for that surname in that year.

PET-C-1752a.adoc

Confirmation record from Petzen, 1752, first confirmation record in that year for the individual or surname cluster.

PET-M-1764a.adoc

Marriage record from Petzen, 1764, first marriage record in that year.

PET-D-1771a.adoc

Burial/death record from Petzen, 1771, first such record for the surname in that year.

FRI-B-1767b.adoc

Baptism from Frille (FRI), 1767, second baptismal entry distinguishable for that surname in that year.

DEC-B-1853a.adoc

Baptism record from Immanuel Lutheran Church, Decatur (DEC), 1853, first baptism record distinguishable in that year.

NDC-M-1849a.adoc

Marriage record from the Norddeutsche Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Cincinnati (NDC), 1849, first such entry.

Each filename corresponds one-to-one with a specific church-register entry. The filename serves as both an identifier and a cross-reference target, while the page itself contains the transcription, translation (if applicable), contextual notes, and full BCG-compliant citation.

Derived Records

So far we have only one sigla for derived church records, *FS-CHK*s:

Sigla Prefix for Records Derived from Church Records
Code Citation

FS-CHK

“Familienschein des Auswanderers Carl Heinrich Krückeberg,” derivative compilation of Petzen Lutheran parish church baptism, marriage, and children’s baptism and confirmation entries; creator and date unknown; copy held in the private collection of Kurt Krueckeberg, Fort Wayne, Indiana, received through family possession

What “Sigla” Means and Why They Are Used

A siglum (plural: sigla) is a short, standardized identifier used to refer to a specific record or group of records without repeating a full citation. In this project, sigla provide a concise label that uniquely designates a parish, a type of church event, a year, and (where needed) the sequence of multiple events within that year.

Sigla are useful because they:

  • avoid ambiguity when multiple records involve the same surname in the same parish,

  • allow consistent reference across pages, event tables, research notes, and family groupings,

  • support traceability to the exact original or derivative record,

  • provide a stable shorthand for cross-referencing within this website.

Use of Sigla in BCG-Compliant Citations

In keeping with standards recommended by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG), sigla in this project serve as a convenient shorthand within the narrative, while the full citation—containing all required elements—appears in the Citations section of each page. The siglum allows the text to flow clearly without repeating long source details, yet the reader can always trace the statement back to the exact record cited.

For example, within a discussion of a baptism, the narrative may read:

“Johann Hinrich Krückeberg’s baptism (PET-B-1739a) identifies his father as a resident of Berenbusch.”

Here, the siglum PET-B-1739a tells the reader exactly which record supports the statement. The complete citation—naming the parish register, repository or database, collection title, image identifier, and access date—appears in the Citations section at the end of the page. In this way, the siglum functions as an internal locator, while the citation fulfils the BCG requirements of accuracy, completeness, and reproducibility.

This approach allows:

  • clear narrative writing without repeated full citations,

  • consistent cross-referencing among related pages,

  • immediate recognition of the parish, event type, and year,

  • and full compliance with accepted genealogical citation standards.