Stefan IsraelMar 5, 20214 minWhen France Came to GermanyBeethoven and Goethe, the German Shakespeare, were glad to see liberator Napoleon come, and glad to see occupier Napoleon go. Napoleonic la
Stefan IsraelJan 28, 20214 minWhy Couldn’t My Ancestor Spell Their Name the Same?You’re tracing your family back, and the spellings sometimes just go crazy.
Stefan IsraelJan 14, 20216 minA Plea to Save Letters! Save letters! I have a treasure trove of memories downstairs. So began the email from my mother earlier this week.
Stefan IsraelNov 21, 20203 min20 YEARS OF FRENCH GERMANY 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
Stefan IsraelOct 30, 20201 minOur Dutch (Speaking) President Martin Van BurenThe first U.S. president born in the United States (so after the country’s founding) didn’t even speak English as his first language.
Stefan IsraelSep 22, 20204 minThree Hansa Cities, Two Emigration Ports, and a History: Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck The largest emigration ports from Germany to the New World were the Hanseatic cities Bremen and Hamburg, Germany’s leading ports even today.
Stefan IsraelMay 25, 20203 minGerman-Born, Civil War Vet - Newspaper HelpI love scouring old newspapers. I hit the jackpot with Joseph Billman from Erie - German-born and Civil War veteran.
Stefan IsraelMar 17, 20204 minCeltic father-names: Donaldson, McDonald, O’DonnellThe main Celtic traditions for genealogy are the Irish, the Scottish and the Welsh. Complicating matters, Irish settlers brought Gaelic from
Pamela IsraelMar 8, 20203 minLike Daughter, Like Mother: Transatlantic JourneyChristine makes the journey across the Atlantic in 1950. Her daughter in Germany worries that her frail mother might not be strong enough.
Stefan IsraelMar 2, 20204 minUnderstanding -Sen and -Son in a Name: Johnson, Janson and JansenWhy do some family names end in -son and some in -sen?
Stefan IsraelJan 29, 20202 minAUGH! From German to EnglishAUGH! 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?
Pamela IsraelDec 13, 20193 min1960 Christmas Card MysteryWhy were there piles of Christmas cards from 1960 sent from around the world to a young girl in Virginia?
Pamela IsraelSep 19, 20193 minWashing & Sewing: A Diary & TinsSewing, in addition to laundry, used to be a responsibility that almost every woman had. And yet it can be tough to get insights into this p
Pamela IsraelMay 1, 20192 minTips for Finding the Day of the WeekJust a head's up for those looking up dates further back (generally prior or 1752) or from some other countries cultures: People used di
Pamela IsraelApr 18, 20192 minPostcard Clues 100 Years On - Clues to Olof !It's amazing how curious you can get about people in no way related to you. I've written before about Olof Harrison, a Swede who mov
Pamela IsraelApr 5, 20192 minGerman Wedding Invitation DetailsOur family has a photo of the framed wedding invitation of my 2nd great aunt and uncle. It's a charmingly simple one. When I first came
Stefan IsraelMar 14, 20194 minWe're from Germany but Where?When you’re tracing an ancestor to Central Europe from a century or more ago, you need to find out which state they were from. Here are some
Christine IsraelMar 8, 20195 minThe Scandalous Pauline: Discovering a Fascinating WomanOne of the early things my father told me when I asked him about his family was that my great-grandmother, Pauline Volkmann, had left her hu
Pamela IsraelMar 1, 20192 minPostcard Pals - Old Swedish Cards in TranslationA series of correspondence to and from the same people opens up a whole new understanding about them. Old Swedish postcards from greater
Pamela IsraelFeb 11, 20192 minFrom Genf to Geneva and other TranslationsWhen learning about ancestors who immigrated to the US decades or centuries ago, you get a double challenge. Not only is there the translati