Book Review — The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy

Title: The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy Author: Blaine T. Bettinger Format: Paperback, Kindle Published: 2016 My Rating: The following review first appeared in the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine (Spring 2017); reprinted with permission. Blaine Bettinger has put together […]

52 Ancestors #5: Tracking Down the Germans

Week 5 Prompt: At the Library This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is “at the library.” Couldn’t have come at a better time since I’m heading to Salt Lake City next week and plan to spend a day researching at the Family History Library. I will […]

Book Review — German Census Records 1816–1916: The When, Where, and How of a Valuable Genealogical Resource

Title: German Census Records 1816–1916: The When, Where, and How of a Valuable Genealogical Resource Author: Roger P. Minert Format: Paperback Published: 2016 My Rating:   The following review first appeared in the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine (Winter 2016); reprinted with permission. Census […]

52 Ancestors #4: I’d Love to Meet…

Week 4 Prompt: I’d Like to Meet This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is “I’d like to meet.” There are certainly a lot of ancestors I’d love to meet, so I can ask them a ton of questions. But, I’m going to go with a living […]

Book Review — Map Guide to Luxembourg Parish Registers

Title: Map Guide to Luxembourg Parish Registers Author: Kevan M. Hansen Format: Paperback Published: 2016 My Rating: The following review first appeared in the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine (Winter 2016); reprinted with permission. Kevan Hansen has a spectacular series of books, Map Guide […]

52 Ancestors #3: German Surnames

Week 3 Prompt: Unusual Name This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is unusual names. I thought I’d focus on one of my German surnames for this theme. A few years ago, I attended the 2016 Jamboree live stream of Fritz Juengling’s lecture “German Names: Their Origins, […]

Book Review — Trace Your German Roots Online: A Complete Guide to German Genealogy Websites

Title: Trace Your German Roots Online: A Complete Guide to German Genealogy Websites Author: James M. Beidler Format: Paperback, Kindle Published: 2016 My Rating: The following review first appeared in the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine (Winter 2016); reprinted with permission. Trace Your German […]

52 Ancestors #2: Those Elusive Germans

Week 2 Prompt: Challenge This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is about challenges. Simple enough, I guess. But my challenge was figuring out which challenging ancestor to write about. I’ve decided to write about one ancestral couple, who I assumed would remain brick walls forever. Fortunately, […]