----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Rothenbuhler <piepint@nbtx.com> To: <SWITZERLAND-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, March 12, 2000 11:11 AM Subject: [SWITZ] Census > Hi List, > > In the states, census information is available to > the public after 72 years, in the UK after 100 years. > When is it available to the public in Switzerland? > Can I request a census lookup on this list, and if so, > what info is required to do a lookup? Which > census years are indexed? > > Thanks for any info. > > robert rothenbuhler > new braunfels, texas > piepint@nbtx.com Robert - my understanding of the Swiss privacy laws is that the census data is restricted for 100 years (Wolf may correct me on this <g>). If you take a look at the LDS Familyhistory Library catalog, though, you will generally find that the last census available on microfilm through them is the 1850 one, and that only for part of the country. I am not aware of any general census index for Swiss censuses at all, though certain specific censuses for specific areas may have been indexed. Some censuses for towns in Graubünden have been put online, though the number is limited. There may be others. Likewise, I am not aware of any general scheme by the Swiss government or the cantonal archives for routinely microfilming and making available the censuses (akin to the U.S. National Archives setup of filming them, then releasing the films after the 72 year interval). I would certainly like to hear more about this from anyone with more detailed information. It would be good if the census data were more generally available, as there are still many towns were microfilms of the church records and/or civil registers are not available. [For my research, my ancestors showed remarkable foresight in choosing where to live <g>]. Regards, Mike Hobart