1934 Chicago newlyweds used their wedding photo for their Christmas card decades before photo Christmas cards were popular.

Whether the printed German Gothic (aka Fraktur) or the old German handwriting (Kurrent or Sütterlin), here are a couple free resources to h

Senior and Junior. Two Latin words meaning ‘the elder’ and ‘the younger’. Normally it’s straightforward, but here's a cautionary tale.

Deciphering German church records can be tough. A German translation cheat sheet and a few tips should help you along your way.

By 1700, one-fifth of Berlin was French-speaking, and they remained French-speaking until siding with the rest of Germany against Napoleon.

Translating names can be tricky. Look at the name George, Jurgen, Georgios, Jorge and Yuri - all the same. Here's some history.

Unlock Your History launched in 2017! Check out some favorite posts about language history & translating old German, Danish, Swedish.

Beethoven and Goethe, the German Shakespeare, were glad to see liberator Napoleon come, and glad to see occupier Napoleon go. Napoleonic la

You’re tracing your family back, and the spellings sometimes just go crazy.

Save letters! I have a treasure trove of memories downstairs. So began the email from my mother earlier this week.

French Germany? France is French and Germany is German, as a general rule, so how could you have French Germany? Well, borders can be flu

The first U.S. president born in the United States (so after the country’s founding) didn’t even speak English as his first language.

The largest emigration ports from Germany to the New World were the Hanseatic cities Bremen and Hamburg, Germany’s leading ports even today.

At various times, there were dozens of imperial cities, from towns of a few thousand people to some of the largest cities.

I love scouring old newspapers. I hit the jackpot with Joseph Billman from Erie - German-born and Civil War veteran.

The main Celtic traditions for genealogy are the Irish, the Scottish and the Welsh. Complicating matters, Irish settlers brought Gaelic from

Christine makes the journey across the Atlantic in 1950. Her daughter in Germany worries that her frail mother might not be strong enough.

Why do some family names end in -son and some in -sen?

AUGH! It’s not just a cry of distress, it’s an anglicization. Why do we see lots of names ending in -augh? Baugh, Grumbaugh, Brumbaugh?

Why were there piles of Christmas cards from 1960 sent from around the world to a young girl in Virginia?