Last evening, my wife and I watched a documentary on Poland, it covered the Gdansk (Danzig)- Szczecin (Stettin) area in particular. Baltic Coasts – Hidden Treasures: Explore the coastline from Vistula Lagoon via Gdansk Bay to the sandy beaches and steep cliffs of Pomerania and West-Pomerania. The reason for this post involves what I learned from one of the featured individuals, a talented young Photographer; his name- Michal Szlaga. Looking at his name never made me think of German descent or Germanic heritage but then the announcer pronounced his name and it was Michael Schlaeger / Schläger (exactly). You can imagine my surprise.  I certainly would never have pronounced his…

German Genealogy is not much different from any other genealogy. You really need to have a plan as you begin your research, especially if you are unfamiliar with the region/ area or time period. Never assume that one locale looks like or offers information or data in the same as another. Each area, region or time frame offers its own unique idiosyncrasies, its own information. German research is really no different in this regard from other places; it is not the US or Canada and the available data is different from that commonly available in North America.  Having said all that, this posting is more of a concrete example on…

So where are the best places to find German Genealogy data? I hear this question, or something similar, often.  Perhaps it is because I am an American that I notice, but it seems most Americans I hear from expect to find German Genealogical record keeping and data ought to mirror that in the US. Unfortunately, they do not.  A number of historical factors impact the quality and type of genealogical records to be found in Germany today. What follows are a few points regarding German history that merit understanding: A number of fairly destructive wars ran over German lands.  These wars not only destroyed people and buildings, but also innumerable…

For those unfamiliar with, or simply wishing to learn more about, conducting German/ Prussian genealogical research this is my second posting in a series on the topic of German-Prussian Genealogy Pointers. One of the greatest difficulties people have with researching Germanic family members involves name spellings.  This is especially true for those English speakers.  Over the centuries, Germans who emigrated into English speaking lands have either tried to spell their names in ways that would be pronounced correctly or had assistance with their name spellings upon arrival or ‘later’ in Census takings.  This ‘help’ has lead to numerous challenges in finding the right folks in the old homeland (Heimatland). Here…

Recently, I have received numerous queries on how to get started or better conduct German genealogy research.  Rather than simply email folks one at a time, I thought a post on the subject might be useful. By way of background, I ought to state that almost everyone I hear from tells me that they are: German (of German descent) the neither read nor speak German (or just very little) few are aware of much German history fewer are aware of their family’s cultural background in Germany Having provided the little list above likely provides clues as to items researchers need to pay attention to: If you do not speak the…