Tag Archives: Location: Germany/Prussia

Title: The Magic of German Church Records: Finding the Key to Your Ancestor’s Past Author: Katherine Schober Format: Paperback Published: 2020 My Rating: The following review first appeared in the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine (Fall 2020); reprinted with permission. This post contains affiliate links. In The Magic of German Church Records, Katherine Schober provides a helpful process for deciphering German church records, along with other useful information. The book is written in an upbeat and cheerful tone, which lends to the encouragement of Schober that you can indeed use […]

Title: The Family Tree Historical Atlas of Germany Author: James M. Beidler Format: Paperback Published: 2019 My Rating: The following review first appeared in the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine (Winter 2019); reprinted with permission. This post contains affiliate links. The history of Germany is a complicated subject. But there are pieces of Germany’s history that are important to family history researchers. The Family Tree Historical Atlas of Germany tells the story of Germany’s evolution through maps, from ancient times to the present, and is a useful resource for genealogists. […]

Title: German Residential Records for Genealogists Author: Roger P. Minert, PhD Format: Paperback Published: 2018 My Rating: The following review first appeared in the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine (Fall 2019); reprinted with permission. Roger Minert, PhD, AG, has published yet another helpful reference book for those seeking their German roots. In German Residential Records for Genealogists, Minert introduces readers to little-known records that can be a goldmine for researching German ancestors. In the introduction, Minert presents a brief history of what are called residential records. These records basically […]

Title: In Their Words: A Genealogist’s Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents, Volume 4: German Author: William F. Hoffman & Jonathan D. Shea Format: Paperback Published: 2017 My Rating: The following review first appeared in the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine (Spring 2019); reprinted with permission. In Their Words: A Genealogist’s Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents is a series of four books designed to help genealogists and family historians with the daunting task of reading and deciphering documents in these different languages. […]

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 be focusing on two German branches. Unfortunately, these are records that are digitized, but I cannot access them even at a Family History Center, as only LDS members can view them. So microfilm it is. On tap are my Stoffel/Braun family (which I blogged about […]

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 records are a keystone for those researching ancestors in the United States, as well as Canada, England, and other European countries. But for those working on their German roots, census records aren’t more than a brief mention in most German genealogy how-to books, if at […]

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, Meanings and Distribution.” It was extremely fascinating and I got all sorts of ideas. Some of my German surnames are obvious: Müller = occupational surname for a miller Schwartz = descriptive surname, probably someone with black hair But other surnames are not so obvious. One […]

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 Roots Online: A Complete Guide to German Genealogy Websites by James M. Beidler can be considered a companion to Beidler’s earlier book The Family Tree German Genealogy Guide: How To Trace Your Germanic Ancestry in Europe (Family Tree Books, 2014). While there are a few […]