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.
Dean MeservyDec 24, 20203 minWhy do Americans say ‘Merry Christmas’?We have kept the old word “merry” from a day when Christmas was anything but a Silent Night
Stefan IsraelDec 17, 20203 minBaptizing Beethoven - 250th Year AnniversaryLudwig van Beethoven was baptized the 17th of December, 1770, in Bonn, a small city on the Rhine River.
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 IsraelOct 6, 20202 minGerman-Americans Celebrated in OctoberThe whole month of October is German American month. But wait! October 6 in particular is German-American Day. So many have contributed.
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 IsraelJul 29, 20203 minImperial Cities of the Holy Roman EmpireAt various times, there were dozens of imperial cities, from towns of a few thousand people to some of the largest cities.
Stefan IsraelJun 24, 20202 minKaffeeklatschKaffeeklatsch, a very gemütlich, cozy gathering. It translates as ‘coffee chit-chat’
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 IsraelApr 13, 20203 minDUTCH, not DEUTSCH: English, Dutch and GermanEnglish, Dutch and German are all related languages - the languages diverged - you can see it in how the same original words now differ.-
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
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 IsraelFeb 10, 20202 minDutch and Deutsch: so similar, so dissimilarWe’d talked about how much the German dialects vary, looking at dialect forms of the Lord’s Prayer. Let’s compare High German and Dutch.
Stefan IsraelJan 27, 20201 minMozart and the Founding FathersIn honor of Mozart's birthday on January 27th, we look to a curious Mozart connection or two crossing the Atlantic.
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
Stefan IsraelAug 5, 20193 minDutchland? Germany?The tribes that coalesced into Germans spoke 'the people’s/ popular language’ as opposed to Latin
Pamela IsraelJul 26, 20192 minWhy Do We Say Germany (& Not Deutschland)?Not long ago, a friend asked me why we say Germany when the Germans use the word Deutschland. The words aren't even related! Good quest