Extract from article in this issue:

German Funeral Sermons or Leichenpredigten.

"Who does not cherish the written word describing noble attributes in the lives of our ancestors.  When the words are centuries old, they become beacons for countless posterity.  Many of the timeless virtues of men and women can be found in the funeral sermons of the 16th and 17th centuries.  Funeral sermons were not merely held as memorial speeches, they were subsequently printed.  A recently microfilmed index to early funeral sermons will help individuals gain access to valuable genealogical data which predates many parish registers. . .

The primary genealogical value of the funeral sermon is found in the details given about the deceased and his family members.  Because the pastor usually gathered the historical family details from the immediate family of the deceased, the names of parents and grandparents are usually quite accurate.  Details relating to earlier ancestors may have come from oral family traditions and are in need of substantiation. . .

A sample index card [more than 50,000 entries] contains these items:

1.  Full name of the deceased

2.  Social order [occupation]

3.  Birth and/or christening date

4.  Death date

5.  Cause of death

6.  Burial date

7.  Name of father

8.  Name of mother . . .