How a Non-German Speaking Person from Texas Can Trace Their German Ancestors (Monthly CTGS Meetings)
How a Non-German Speaking Person from Texas Can Trace Their German Ancestors
Prior to attempting to locate records about your family in Germany it is essential to conduct an exhaustive search of U.S. Records, since there is no central repository for German records. Rather, most records are recorded at the local level (town or parish). Also due to wars and boundary changes "German" records may now be located in another state or country. Learn how to conduct an exhaustive search of U.S. records to identify your ancestor's home town and religion. Recognize some obstacles you have to overcome to ensure you are researching the correct person in the correct place===name changes, replacement children, spelling variants, multiple towns with the same same name. Learn how to use finding aids to identify where civil and church records might be located. Discover examples of online resources for correspondence and reading and interpreting German printing and handwriting. Bernard Meisner, a genealogist and lecturer and a retired meteorologist will be our guide into these records. Join us!