Germany and German Ancestry

Comment

Comment by Joy Rehm Benninghoven on July 21, 2014 at 12:46pm

I will share and hope to find information on the following German families that came to America.

Gottlieb Benninghoven md Henrietta Krieger in Duesseldorf area. born in area.

   ]Krieger parents?]  immigrated @ 1875 to Seward, NE.

son Otto Benninghoven md Flora Winkler b Riley, KS

Auguste & Fredrick Winkler born Germany to St. Louis then Riley, KS & built mills on Fancy Creek, KS.  These brothers married sisters who came from Germany also.

Anna and Pauline Voegler.

Comment by Catherine Davis on July 1, 2014 at 8:09pm

@Paul Hart.  I agree that the entire record should be translated, but most records are not that difficult to figure out at least the gist of what is there and do not require professional help.  Perhaps I am lucky that I have a knack for reading languages.  Speaking a language is a different story.

Comment by Marilyn Potter Oppenborn Steber on July 1, 2014 at 3:02pm

I've gone back in the forum archives from several years ago.  I wish there was a way to pull out the names of those being researched without having to do so, but I am persistent.  Is there a list?

Comment by Paul Hart on July 1, 2014 at 2:50pm

Yep, FHC’s are the way to go. Not all the records are there, but you should check there first. :) We actually have a small one in Kaiserslautern. I volunteer there once a month or so to help folks with their German research.

Yes, most people here can speak some English. Some are reluctant to speak, but can at least understand.

@Catherine, I agree you do not need a German speaker for pulling names and dates out of the records. However, I think it is a mistake not to eventually get them completely translated as much as possible. I have seen some great stories hidden in the records. That is what we are after right? I once found a whole branch of my tree still living here in Germany because I translated my distant aunt’s marriage record (from about 1840) and found a brother (who I had thought might have died young) in the record. He was living 30km away and I had had no idea where he was. His name and town were buried about 75% down in the record. Not all records are gold mines, but you never know.

Comment by Marilyn Potter Oppenborn Steber on July 1, 2014 at 11:21am

To Paul and Catherine: I tend to forget that some folks live far from research facilities like Family History Centers.  In San Diego, I have a multi-stake FHC within ten miles by interstate, a public library with a whole floor devoted to Gen research books  45 miles up the coast, and a nearby branch with a Librarian with a Masters in Library Science. Now that I am somewhat disabled, I love doing a little research on the computer, but It is not the same as cranking the handle on a microfilm reader and getting hints from other researchers present. 

Comment by Marilyn Potter Oppenborn Steber on July 1, 2014 at 10:59am

Diane, I wrote to several members of the Tuphorn family in Germany and received a little information, but the best was a response from someone on the internet in Germany.  Her English was wonderful.  She understood contractions, and wrote with such seeming ease I thought she had gone to school here. Turned out, she was a high school student, and had never been out of Germany.  She was a descendant of a sister of my 48er.   She and her siblings have gone on to college and I don't hear from her anymore. But I have the information taken from the Kirchenbuch saying he had gone to Amerika because of his involvement with the rebellion thus confirming a family legend. 

Comment by Catherine Davis on July 1, 2014 at 9:58am

Re Marilyn's post to Diane--the kirchenbuch is on film.  Kirchenbuch simply means Church Book.  It is not the usual BMD but is more like a census in that it lists every couple in the parish and their children.  It will also tell you the parents of the couple, gives birth dates for all, and often includes death dates of all and marriage partners and marriage dates of the children.  It is not a substitute for the BMD but was compiled by the priest or minister from them.

I do not think you need to take a German reader with you.  I do not know German but can read the kirchenbuch with the assistance of an alphabet chart and a dictionary.  The old German script is difficult to read in that letters are not in the Roman alphabet that we are familiar with and it takes a lot of patience to read it but it can be done.  Your average modern German can't read the script any easier than you can because it has not been used in Germany since before WWII.  See http://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Germany_Handwriting  for assistance in reading the script and to obtain an alphabet chart. 

Comment by Paul Hart on July 1, 2014 at 8:31am

Yes, FamilySearch is the best (cheapest) way to go first.

If that does not help you, contact me privately. I can contact the local Standesamt and see what/if they charge for records.  Plus it is not to far of a trip for me (about 90 minutes). I am not free, but a lot cheaper than if you were to hire someone from the states.  I read old German script also.

Comment by Marilyn Potter Oppenborn Steber on June 30, 2014 at 11:11pm

 

 Go to the familysearch.org site and order the record to go to your nearest Family History Center.  It looks like 4 rolls. You have to order and pay for them on line these days.  Get an expert German reader to go with you when they arrive. The old script is hard for modern Germans, I understand. The World Cat has it, but also in Salt Lake, and I can't tell if it is in book form or what.    

Search Results for FamilySearch Catalog

• Part of Germany, Baden

•  Germany, Baden, Herbolzheim (A. Mosbach) - Church records ( 1 )
  1. Kirchenbuch, 1595-1907

     Author:	Katholische Kirche Herbolzheim (A. Mosbach)

Comment by Diane Lenz Schmidt on June 30, 2014 at 10:28pm

I looked there but I couldn't even find anything for Herbolzheim, Germany.  That is why I need help.  Thank you.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• …
• 83
• Next ›
• Page