Leaving a paper trail – Other German sources besides church books and civil records

Due to the constantly growing offer of online accessible sources for German genealogical research, an important cornerstone of the actual research is more and more disregarded: the classical research in an archive. A good preparation facilitates the archive visit immensely and makes the search in the historical documents an experience that will never replace a research on the screen. Particularly if you intend to add “meat to the bones” and find more valuable information about your ancestors besides dates and places of birth, marriage and/or death. There are many individual records in German archives and it would be a shame never to look at these wonderful documents. A visit to a German archive can be rather intimidating. Besides language barriers, the archival structures are initially often difficult to understand. But help is near! This presentation will cover professional tips & tricks for research in a German Archive – from preparation over execution to follow-up, if applicable. If you are unfamiliar with a specific archive, it is already difficult as a German to make the most of an archival research visit. Particularly as archives do not offer to conduct complex research projects on your behalf, you have to be prepared to do it yourself.

Only since 1893, there is one time zone in Germany! However, in the sources relevant for genealogy there are also dates referring to the Julian and Gregorian calendars, as well as the French revolutionary calendar and the church calendar. Here the differences and conversion to today's dates are explained.

From historic documents you can learn first-hand the statistics behind a big business, the human tragedies as well tips on how to research your emigrant ancestors from German and other European States.

Im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert sind Millionen Menschen über die Häfen in Hamburg und Bremen in ferne Länder auf der anderen Seite des Atlantiks ausgewandert. Dieser Vortrag nennt neben einem geschichtlichen Abriss der deutschen Auswanderung auch die Gründe für diesen großen Schritt. Es werden entscheidende Aspekte der Auswanderung aufgezeigt...

Despite their reputation for being rooted to their localities, Germans do have a history of migration within their own country, especially after the onset of industrialization in the mid-19th century. In this presentation, we will explore the various patterns of internal migration, and offer guidance on how to navigate these movements to aid in your search for ancestors.

Ethnic Germans went to Ukraine for two major reasons: For economic opportunities and for the chance to practice their chosen religions. The Lutherans, Baptists and Mennonites who migrated east often followed different paths, but there are common factors in their history as well. This session reviews some of the most important sources that apply to all, as well as sources that are specific to each denomination.

Discover online records for German-speaking ancestors from Brandenburg, East Prussia, Pomerania, Posen, Silesia, and West Prussia. Despite some record loss for these geographic areas, hundreds of years of church and civil records can be found in archives in Poland, Germany, and the US, using the search strategies in this presentation.

German vital records can be goldmines of information for your ancestors. Learn how to search MyHeritage to find these records and how to decipher them once you do.

There are many stereotypes about the immigrants who came from German-speaking lands to America in the 1700s. This lecture uses the personal memoirs of the immigrants themselves to dispel the myths about why they came, what the voyage was like, and how they liked America.