When France Came to Germany
Beethoven and Goethe, the German Shakespeare, were glad to see liberator Napoleon come, and glad to see occupier Napoleon go. Napoleonic la
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Stefan Israel
- Jan 28, 2021
- 4 min
Why Couldn’t My Ancestor Spell Their Name the Same?
You’re tracing your family back, and the spellings sometimes just go crazy.
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Stefan Israel
- Jan 14, 2021
- 6 min
A Plea to Save Letters!
Save letters! I have a treasure trove of memories downstairs.
So began the email from my mother earlier this week.
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Stefan Israel
- Nov 21, 2020
- 3 min
20 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
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Stefan Israel
- Oct 30, 2020
- 1 min
Our Dutch (Speaking) President Martin Van Buren
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.
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Stefan Israel
- Sep 22, 2020
- 4 min
Three 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.
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Stefan Israel
- May 25, 2020
- 3 min
German-Born, Civil War Vet - Newspaper Help
I love scouring old newspapers. I hit the jackpot with Joseph Billman from Erie - German-born and Civil War veteran.
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Stefan Israel
- Mar 17, 2020
- 4 min
Celtic father-names: Donaldson, McDonald, O’Donnell
The main Celtic traditions for genealogy are the Irish, the Scottish and the Welsh. Complicating matters, Irish settlers brought Gaelic from
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Pamela Israel
- Mar 8, 2020
- 3 min
Like Daughter, Like Mother: Transatlantic Journey
Christine makes the journey across the Atlantic in 1950. Her daughter in Germany worries that her frail mother might not be strong enough.
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Stefan Israel
- Mar 2, 2020
- 4 min
Understanding -Sen and -Son in a Name: Johnson, Janson and Jansen
Why do some family names end in -son and some in -sen?
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Stefan Israel
- Jan 29, 2020
- 2 min
AUGH! From German to English
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?
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Pamela Israel
- Dec 13, 2019
- 3 min
1960 Christmas Card Mystery
Why were there piles of Christmas cards from 1960 sent from around the world to a young girl in Virginia?
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Pamela Israel
- Sep 19, 2019
- 3 min
Washing & Sewing: A Diary & Tins
Sewing, 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
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Pamela Israel
- May 1, 2019
- 2 min
Tips for Finding the Day of the Week
Just a head's up for those looking up dates further back (generally prior or 1752) or from some other countries cultures: People used di
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Pamela Israel
- Apr 18, 2019
- 2 min
Postcard 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
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Pamela Israel
- Apr 5, 2019
- 2 min
German Wedding Invitation Details
Our 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
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Stefan Israel
- Mar 14, 2019
- 4 min
We'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
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Christine Israel
- Mar 8, 2019
- 5 min
The Scandalous Pauline: Discovering a Fascinating Woman
One 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
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Pamela Israel
- Mar 1, 2019
- 2 min
Postcard Pals - Old Swedish Cards in Translation
A series of correspondence to and from the same people opens up a whole new understanding about them. Old Swedish postcards from greater
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Pamela Israel
- Feb 11, 2019
- 2 min
From Genf to Geneva and other Translations
When learning about ancestors who immigrated to the US decades or centuries ago, you get a double challenge. Not only is there the translati
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