The January meeting took place for the first time in the new addition of the Midwest Genealogy Center. We enjoyed the three large screens on stage and comfortable seating for everyone. The session was also livestreamed for those who could not be present. We welcomed first-time attendants who introduced us to their research.

 

We also reminisced about the first ever holiday edition on December 5, 2019. It was a wonderful complement to the end of the year as we discussed German Christmas traditions. We listened to Stacey's story, admired her Glühwein Mug collection, and yes, she wore the dirndl! If you want to see Stacey in her dirndl, watch the end of the second part. Mary Ann supplied us with authentic German cookies, recipes, and table decorations! Bob brought a Christmas tree with authentic German lights and cookies. The event was a big hit! We will decide if we want to continue this festivity in the future.

 

The January meeting’s second hour belonged to Paul, who took us through European records to introduce his German ancestors who answered the call to go East and settled in Banat and Silesia (part is in the Czech Republic and part in Poland). If you missed his presentation, you can watch it here.

 

Iveta demonstrated the difference between the two German websites, the Matricula Online and Archion.de. If you want to learn how to methodically do German research, sign up for the German genealogy class, which is regularly offered at MGC. If your society wants to have a presentation at your place, just let us know.

 

The next meeting will be on April 18, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Register here. In addition to the regular program, we will hear Don's story about tracing his German ancestors from Bessarabia and Poland back to Germany. If time allows, Iveta will introduce the largest German genealogy website, the Compgen.

 

In addition, we are planning to repeat Bob's popular classes as a series, teaching how to recognize German handwriting in civil records. We will offer the first one on July 18, 2020, so mark your calendars!

Surname Map: Are you curious about how many people still live in Germany with the name of your ancestor? Type the last name into this website. The map shows a distribution of names, taken primarily from phonebooks. Historically, people in Europe did not move often, and if they did, they stayed close by. For this reason, there’s a good chance that there are still descendants of your ancestors’ extended family, such as siblings' descendants, living in the area. This website is also helpful for giving possible name variants. Remember, names could be spelled more than one way. Once you find your ancestors’ descendants on the map, you may want to contact them! The current phone book for Germany is located here.

 

Another Tip: For those of you who traced your emigrant ancestor to the Lippe area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, explore this website. Open it in Google Chrome and switch to English. (Auswanderer = Emigrant).