- Uncategorized
Luise Senger
- Uncategorized
Frieda (Recht) Senger Nachkriegzeit
- Uncategorized
Elbing in the 21st Century
- Uncategorized
Elbing Damals
For those who, like me, are interested in the old West Prussian City of Elbing (today Elbląg, Polska)… here is a link to amazing then & now images. The Many-Roads collection of Elbing area images follows immediately below:
- Uncategorized
Elbing’s Destruction- 1945
- Uncategorized
Elbing- Elbląg
This area of ManyRoads contains hundreds of images and photos of the city of Elbing, Westpreußen (now Elbląg, Poland) and its immediate environs. Images include Elbing’s past, the war, as well as comparison photos of yesterday & today. Elbing was the largest “nearby” town to the Senger family; it is where my mother Luise geboren Senger went to high school and college, while living weekdays with her Onkel Robert Senger and Tante Olga (geboren Döbel) in Elbing on 58 Wasserstraße (today: Wodna 58, Elbląg, Elblag, Polska) . In Elbing, she attended the Elbing Handelsschule. Robert & Olga Senger owned a small Gasthaus and store on the waterfront of the port…
- Uncategorized
Zeyer das Ende
Few images survive documenting the fall of the Zeyer area and the German Expulsions. The few images I have found are in this folder, other images are locally representative of what happened to the defeated population of West Prussia.
- Uncategorized
Gaede Familie Flucht
- Uncategorized
Vertreibung Fotos
Be advised, many of the photos in this collection are disturbing. The images in this album are exclusively non-family photographic images. Our photo collection represents more than 10 years of collection and is designed to provide a reasonable photographic journey through the years 1944-1950 from what was Eastern Germany (today largely Poland, Russia & the Czech Republic). Should you have additional photographic materials (Vertreibung Fotos- Expulsion Photos) you are willing to share with us and our readers, please contact us directly. All images are presented and available under U.S. Fair Use doctrine. (Any copyrights reside with the original owners.)
- Uncategorized
Flucht und Vertreibung
This area contains photos, documents, and texts of the Germans’ Expulsion from “the East”. Some of the images are disturbing and may not be well suited for young children. Should you notice any problems with respect to time, place, information or copyright with these photos, please inform me so that I may rectify things immediately. The following link describes a bit about why this topic appears on ManyRoads as well as our thoughts on Ethnic Cleansing & Expulsion: On the “Vertreibung”, Expulsions, and Hope Our Family History with Expulsion(s) Across the years, many of our ancestors (Rabideau & Henss alike) have been expelled, persecuted and “driven out or away” because…
- Uncategorized
Damals in Preußen
- Uncategorized
bei Pietzkendorf
- Uncategorized
Alte Heimat
- Uncategorized
Senger Family
This area contains links to all of our Senger-related photographic history. Our albums include family images, place images, and event related photographs. For more details, information, and writings regarding our Senger family, please visit the ManyRoads’ Genealogies page. Be advised we are always looking for new materials! Should you have photographic materials you are willing to share with us and our readers, please contact us directly.
- Uncategorized
Rabideau Family Graves
- Uncategorized
Senger Family Graves
- Uncategorized
Henss Family Graves
-
Shoah Research- Getting Started
Are you embarking on Shoah (Holocaust) research? Would you like a little coaching in this area of research? Although I can hardly claim to be a Shoah research expert, I am more than willing to share what I have learned. By way of providing some background, for the past nine months, or so, I have been helping folks attempt to unearth the stories behind their Jewish roots in Poland and Germany, trying to discover ‘lost’ family records, and more. It has been quite the adventure. Needless to say, the Shoah is an area of emotion, sadness, mystery, frustration, intrigue, and much more. I thought that perhaps others might benefit…
-
Prussian-German Genealogy Workshop
Do you have interest in attending a ‘distance’ Prussian-German Genealogy Working Group? By way of giving you some background, I currently hold a monthly Prussian-German Genealogy Workshop at my local Parker (Colorado) Family History Center (FHC). There are no charges for the current ‘in-person’ workshop(s). Recently, I received approval from my local FHC to host a remote session using their good offices. What I am attempting to assess is whether or not there are ‘potential attendees out there’ who are interested in adding a ‘distance’ workshop. If there are, then I need to determine: whether I should blending ‘distance’ attendance with our current sessions, or simply create a new ‘remote’…
-
Special characters
Do you struggle with your US keyboard in a vain attempt to type something in those “exotic tongues” such as: German French Norwegian Swedish Polish Do you find your ability to enter ß, ö, ä, ü, ø, etc. hampered? Well, I have stumbled on a few options that might help you out. Granted these work better with *nix based operating systems (Linux, Unix, Mac OS) than Windows but within these options you should be able to find, at least, one helpful approach/ tool. If you are seeking a “Desktop-wide’ solution, you can easily map a “compose” key to accomplish this function across your laptop/desktop (not all keyboards actually have one). …
- Uncategorized
Vertreibungs Karten (Expulsion Maps)
The historical maps (cartography) in this folder are of the areas and regions from which Ethnic Germans were expelled following World War 2. Cartographic Usage Guide Click (select) any map or cartographic image within a library folder to Preview & Scroll the entire folder content- images, maps, etc. From within the Preview & Scroll function, you may download an image by selecting the down-arrow at the bottom right of the image. Images may load and download slowly -these speeds are largely due to size and available network band-width. Use the left and right arrows at the bottom-right of the image to navigate through the folder. To exit the Image Preview…
-
Quakers, Mennonites, and the Church of the Brethren
Today whilst, reviewing my ‘multi-days’ old news feeds, I came across an interesting article with new ‘to me’ information and links. The article mentioned and provided a link to the Friends Collection and Earlham College Archives. The Friends Collection at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana includes the college’s books and periodicals on Quakerism, manuscripts related to Friends, and Earlham College historical materials. As good fortune would have it, the first page I selected on their website provided the following list of additional links. These links go beyond Quaker information to include information regarding Mennonites and Church of the Brethren. I have added all these links to the ManyRoads Links Library . …
- Uncategorized
Eastern German Records
Finding Genealogy Records from the former German East Over the years numerous people have asked, Where can I find Eastern German Genealogy data? Hopefully this document will help provide a reasonable response. It comes as no surprise, that there are ‘good places’ where you can search for genealogical source documentation that goes much beyond what I provide on ManyRoads. But keep in mind, conducting research in an area of the world, where neither the government nor peoples of a former land remain, is challenging. Do not despair! Hopefully, this page will provide you with some useful ‘new’ places to search, and succeed. To cut to the chase: In my experience, the most reliable sites…
- Uncategorized
Breslauer Adreßbücher – Breslau Address Books
Please be aware that none of these Breslau and environs Addressbooks reside on ManyRoads; we provide the links to their source locations in Poland/ Germany/ Google in hopes that our readership/ researchers will find the links to be helpful. BE ADVISED: many links on the Breslau Address Books ‘page’ have been down since early August 2015. I have no idea when they will return, if ever. (Note: The bandwidth for downloads and storage of these texts, where I have no known family, simply command too many resources for ManyRoads’ archival purposes.). Rechnungen Der Stadt Breslau Von 1299 Bis 1358 Breslauer Adreßbücher- Breslau Address Books
- Uncategorized
Königsberger Adreßbücher – Königsberg Address Books
Please be aware that none of these Königsberg and environs Addressbooks reside on ManyRoads; we provide the links to their source locations in Germany, Poland and Google in hopes that our readership/ researchers will find the links to be helpful. (Note: The bandwidth for downloads and storage of these texts, where I have no known family, simply command too many resources for ManyRoads’ archival purposes.). Königsberg Adreßbuch und den Vororten 1872 Königsberg Adreßbuch und den Vororten 1877 Königsberg Adreßbuch und den Vororten 1878 Königsberg Adreßbuch und den Vororten 1888 (Online Searchable) Königsberg Adreßbuch und den Vororten 1899 Königsberg Adreßbuch und den Vororten 1901 Königsberg Adreßbuch und den Vororten 1906 Königsberg Adreßbuch und den Vororten 1932…
- Uncategorized
Stolper Adreßbücher – Stolp Address Books
Please be aware that none of these Stolp and environs Addressbooks reside on ManyRoads; we provide the links to their source locations in Poland and Germany in hopes that our readership/ researchers will find the links to be helpful. (Note: The bandwidth for downloads and storage of these texts, where I have no known family, simply command too many resources for ManyRoads’ archival purposes.). Adreßbuch für Stolp i. Pom. 1914 Adreßbuch der Stadt Stolp i. P. 1920 Einwohnerbuch der Stadt Stolp in Pommern 1931 Stolp i Pom. Einwohnerbuch 1934 Adreßbuch Stolp 1936 Adressbuch Stolp 1938 Stolp Adreßbücher Ortsverzeichnisse und Kalender Online searchable Stolp Area Address Books The following Communities were formerly included/contained…
- Uncategorized
Stettiner Adreßbücher – Stettin Address Books (non-ManyRoads)
The following Stettin Texts are stored off-line. Adreßbuch für Stettin und Umgebung 1909-1926 Stettiner Adreßbuch 1943 : 700 Jahre Stettin (1243-1943) Niekammer’s Landwirtschaftliche Güteradreßbücher. Band I: Landwirtschaftliches Adreßbuch der Provinz Pommern
-
Why are so many records missing?
Why is it so hard to find genealogy information in the areas of Prussia, Poland, and Germany? Where did all the information go? Was the information moved to some safe place? I hear this type of question and discussion often. The answers to those questions are actually quite simple and brief; although achieving an appreciation and understanding of their response is often somewhat more elusive. Question: Where did all the information go? Answer: Much was destroyed or lost, never to be recovered. Question: Was the information moved to some safe place? Answer: The truth is there were few, if any safe places. Early ‘on the eve of destruction‘, many ‘crucial’ records/documents…
-
Olsztyn/ Allenstein State Archives
The Archiwum Państwowe w Olsztynie (State Archive in Olsztyn) are providing free access to genealogical records from many of the towns and villages of that area (formerly East Prussia). These records are largely in German (as well as Polish) and are freely available as scanned images on the archive’s website. If your Polish is a little shaky, you may wish to access this page using Chrome (using Google Translate) or similar. The following link will take you to the archives: Archiwum Państwowe w Olsztynie Additionally, many of these same records (approximately 362,650) are available in a digitally searchable format courtesy of Bernhard Ostrzinski. You may access his excellent work on the…
-
Using a Semantic Engine for Better Understanding
Suppose, for a moment, that you had a problem for which you had little understanding. Something that just made you to quote Winnie the Pooh: “Think, think, think”; but, for which you had no good answer. Perhaps you have several “puzzlers” like that in mind already, but if you do not, imagine for a minute that you might want to better understand: why did Germans leave in the 1850s what was the economic situation in Galicia in 1870 how were Mennonites treated in Prussia during the 1850s Now let’s imagine, we could construct a tool that would analyze data from across the Internet and promptly provide us with information related…
-
Genealogy: serendipity and good fortune
Did you ever wonder where all those interesting family stories and anecdotes came from? Were you just a little bit curious about how some lucky folks have such interesting stories to tell about their ancestors? I believe that serendipity certainly plays a part in the evolution of the stories… but so does good fortune and perseverance. Today, one of my RSS Feeds unearthed an article that provides a great example of why we should never throw our old stuff out… well maybe that is not quite right lesson. But we all know that really interesting things can be uncovered in odd, hidden places. As the late Paul Harvey would have said, here’s…
-
Oldenburger Adreßbücher online verfügbar
For those researching Oldenburg what follows is some good news. (Remember to ready your Google Translate functions, if your reading of German is weak). Adressbuch Oldenburg, 1940 Nach einem Gespräch zwischen Dierk Feye und Mitgliedern des Vereins für Computergenealogie hatte der Vorstand im letzten Jahr beschlossen, sich an der Veröffentlichung von Oldenburger Adreßbüchern zu beteiligen. Dierk Feye hat dazu zwei Adreßbücher digitalisiert und sie dem Verein für Computergenealogie zur weiteren Bearbeitung zur Verfügung […] Click here to view original web page at www.familienkunde-oldenburg.de English: The 1940 Address Book from Oldenburg: after a conversation last year [2014] between Dierk Feye and members of the Association for Computer #genealogy of Board [Germany] it…
- Uncategorized
Getting Started
Have you decided to trace your family history but are unsure where to begin or how to address challenges & difficulties you have encountered? Listen to this article’s “Life in the Past Lane” Podcast! Podcast Show Notes: Episode 04- Genealogy, Getting Started.pdf 66 KB Are you new to genealogy and wondering what to do next? Do want to learn how others approach genealogical research? Are you struggling looking for better clues? Are you getting too little support/ help? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, you are not alone! ManyRoads has gathered some Genealogy/ Family History courses (most are free) from groups such as FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, National…
-
Thiensdorf Nachfahrenliste- 2015
ManyRoads Related Materials ManyRoads Articles Cornelius Schepansky Family(ies) Hermann Schepansky Anna Heinrichs Family Hermann Schepansky Marie Claussen Family Source Documents Cornelius Schepansky Families Hermann Schepanski Anna Heinrichs Family Hermann Schepanski Marie Claussen Family credit for the following material belongs largely to: Alfons Szczepanski (the keeper of all things Szczepanski!) … I just added the English ‘bits’, the formatting, the photo, and our Schepansky links (above). Vorbemerkungen/ Introduction: Szczepanski Mennonitenfamilie Geschichte. Nach der mündlichen Familienüberlieferung war der Stammvater ein katholischer Knecht namens Szczepanski (Szepansky), der bei einem mennonitischen Bauern von der Mennonitengemeinde Plauschwarren, Kreis Gumbinnen (Ostpreußen, auch “Preußisch-Litauen” genannt) arbeitete. Dieser Knecht ließ sich mennonitisch taufen und heiratete eine Mennonitin. Als…
- Uncategorized
Prussian/ German Genealogy Help
Welcome! If you are new to Prussian/ German (Polish, Mennonite & Shoah) research or just ‘stumped’ for additional clues and resources, hopefully this page will provide new sources of hope, inspiration, and information.In total, the ‘local’ ManyRoads’ libraries alone contain more than 500GB of original (digital) genealogical and historical source documents. In addition to our documents and tools, this page provides links to what I believe are the most helpful Internet research resources for conducting Prussian/ German research. Based upon your usage patterns and comments, plus my client research efforts, I will update the contents of this page frequently. Related Topics: ManyRoads’ collections, as well as all my “Preußische” research…
-
70 years on…
As everyone most certainly knows, this year is 2015. 7 May 2015 marks the official surrender date of German forces, some 70 years ago.For those who focus on 1945 as the end of WW2 in Europe, it was. Sadly, 1945 was not just an ending; it was also the beginning of the total destruction and removal of a ~600 year old way of life, a culture, and the homeland for millions of Eastern Germans. In the years following 1945, some 12 to 14 million people were forcibly removed from their homes and expelled from the recently surrendered German Eastern provinces. To place these events into a reasonably balanced historical context,…
-
Understanding and perspective
Obtaining good genealogical insight requires an open mind. As in the old saying: “Minds are like parachutes – they only function when open.” Thomas Dewar Getting good genealogical data and information requires a lot of work. But perhaps the most challenging work involves developing a relevant, contextually accurate, frame of reference to help find and interpret any data you might find. Based on what I see floating around the Internet, I worry that too many people ‘out there’ are attempting to gather data/ information about their family past without developing an adequate understanding of time, place, or circumstance. The questions/comments, I see, seem to indicate a preference to having…
-
Researching “Lost” Eastern German Provinces
Many people get confused when conducting searches for their Eastern German forebears; this is especially true if those forebears purport to have been from Prussia (Preussen), Pomerania (Pommern), Silesia (Schlesien). Note: I have written a detailed article on helping you determine whether or not your family was Prussian and if so, what type. It might not surprise you that I encounter a lot of people having trouble doing, or trying to do, ‘their’ Prussian research. Given I have fairly extensive research experience in those regions of Europe, I thought I’d put together a quick tutorial, or key, for identifying and finding clues to those Eastern German ancestors ‘of ours’ who…
-
Old German Terms, Occupations, etc.
Terms, occupations, and more change over time. If you are in the business of tracking down your German (Germanic) ancestors the following links may be of help to you. These links include old terms for professions, diseases, occupations, and more. Many of these terms and abbreviations are not in common use today… so hopefully these lists will help ‘clear’ some confusion. A note of caution, many (most) of these linked pages are in German; put on your German language ‘hat’ or use Google Translate! If you have any links you would like added, please use our contact page to let me know. These links also appear on our links page…
-
Luise Rabideau geboren Senger
It is with sadness, pride, and love I provide the following obituary announcement. English: Luise Rabideau died after a long and valiant fight against Alzheimer’s Disease. She was born on 12 January 1923 in Zeyersvorderkampen, Kreis Grosses Werder, Freie Stadt Danzig to Richard Senger and Frieda Recht. Her death was on 4 January 2015 at 2335 (officially registered as 5 January 2015 at 0006). Luise grew up on the Senger family farm with her brother Erich, attending primary school in the village of Zeyer and secondary schools and Business College in Elbing, Westpreussen, Germany. Following her schooling, she served in the Deutsche Luftwaffe, completing her war duties in Munich…
-
What is an Ethnic Group?
Lately, I have encountered a number of interesting discussions and comments regarding ethnicity. People want to approach it from the aspect of Y-DNA testing; term meaning & definition; and more. I thought that perhaps a brief discussion/ analysis of the subject might be helpful- for me if for no one else. Note: Actually this document is largely extracted and built from many other sources (because I am no authority on this topic). Hopefully my analysis and discussion will provide some useful food for thought and give some comfort in the imprecision associated with the use and application of Ethnicity as a concept, genealogically speaking. First let’s review a typical dictionary…
- Uncategorized
Locating German WW1 & WW2 War Casualties & Prisoners
This ‘compendium’ page is created to provide ManyRoads’ readers with a centralized location to find information, pointers, and links to assist in the search for WW1 & WW2 German War Casualties, Expellees, & Prisoners. Although, the information and pointers remain a work in progress, I hope you will find the information useful. Should you have additional information you believe we ought to include in our offering(s) here, please use the ManyRoads Contact Page to let me know. The following list of ManyRoads postings provide insight & links in a “how-to” form. The content in these articles is regularly (or semi-irregularly) updated and enhanced (I update each article as I…
-
ICRC World War 1 Prisoner of War Database
The International Committee of the Red Cross recently published a Free, online database of WW1 prisoners of war. The ICRC WW1 PoW Database contains some 5 million records and offers exceptional insights into the conditions and circumstances of the time, period and situation. Based on my testing of the ‘tool’, I think a few words of caution are in order: Be certain to read the instructions on How-to use the tool. (It might work in ‘unexpected’ ways; it did for me.) There is a nice tutorial (and it is easy to use). Often the print is faint; look closely at the records. Much of the text is in script; as…
-
German Genealogical Societies
The following post provides a reasonably complete listing of German (meaning in Germany) Genealogical Societies and Groups. As I get and add new sites, this list will be ‘automagically’ updated. Note: Given the post- WW2 forcible expulsion of millions of Eastern Germans from former Eastern German lands and provinces, you may wish to examine Polish Genealogical Groups & Websites for pre- 1947 German forebears (N.B.: ManyRoads does not offer information on other Eastern Slavic or Baltic Societies) Familienkunde- Family Research (Links) Should you know of additional organizations we ought to included in our compendium, please contact me with the particulars and I will add them.
-
Polish Genealogical Societies
The following post provides a reasonably completelisting of Polish (meaning in Poland) Genealogical Societies and Groups. As I get and add new sites, this list will be ‘automagically’ updated. Note: Due to the forcible expulisons of Poles in both 1939 and post-1945, you may wish to examine areas in today’s Belarus & Ukraine for information. Unfortunately, ManyRoads does not have much information on those regions. Should you know of additional organizations we ought to included in our compendium, please contact me with the particulars and I will add them.
-
Surname (Family Name) Discovery and Mapping
revised & updated: 4 Dec. 2014 Are you hoping to identify and/ or discover where a family name or surname of yours may have originated? In the various facebook groups where I participate, I have recently noticed a “tsunami” of inquiries regarding this particular genealogical dilemma/ problem. In order to provide a bit more robust guidance than that supported via a facebook discussion thread, I thought a blog post on ManyRoads might be helpful. Here are “summaries’ of the types of questions I have most recently noticed: Is [fill-in a name] spelled this way? What are variations for [fill-in a name]? Is [fill-in a name] a [fill-in the country group] name? I believe [fill-in a…
-
Might your family be descended from Prussian Mennonites?
Do you believe you might be descended of “Prussian” Mennonites? Are you unsure? Is it worth a look? To get a good idea of who the Low German Mennonites were (and whether you might be descended of this group) please review the Family/ Surname list provided on MennoniteDNA. If you find one of your family names on that list then please “read on.” For those who research family in West & East Prussia (today the area is in Northeastern Poland) an important, but ‘not very well known’, set of genealogical source documents should be included in your search – West & East Prussian Mennonite church record books . I…
-
Using HADIS to search in Hesse
If you are looking for family/ ancestors who may have lived in Hesse, HADIS (Hessisches Archiv-Dokumentations- und Informations-System) offers an outstanding and useful toolset. Since most people I come into contact with are looking for genealogy related information and emigration, I will provide a brief explanation on conducting an emigration search. First, goto: HADIS. Next, enter [Your Desired FamilyName] into the “Schnellsuche” box (menu bar on the left, near the bottom of the page). Try the family name of Henss as an example. Wait for the search to return. When you see your search results, select the “Auswanderer-Nachweise” listed in the middle of the page to view Emigrants’ information. …
-
German Illness/ Death Terms and Translations
Revised:08 June 202424 Mar 2025 I have enhanced this document to enable folks to better recognize these terms “in the wild”. In other words, I provide a simulated set of handwritten Sütterlin and Kurrent script for each term. I have also expanded the list of available terms. The new material appears at the top of the page in a pdf file formatted document. The original material appears as it always has on this page. You may download the pdf here. The following is a compiled listing of illnesses and causes of death gleaned from three primary sources (listed below). This listing has been online for several years. It is not…
- Uncategorized
Deyo Family (Public Documents)
As it becomes possible to publish additional Deyo family genealogical documentation, it will be made available on this page.
