An apprentice butcher's training in 19th century "Germany" included journeying and learning from one expert to another and sta

Berg vs. Burg  These two words show up abundantly in family and place names across the Germanic languages (German, Swedish, Dutch, Englis

Some old cemeteries have gravestones written in German. Here are some tips to help translate some key words.

Finding Herbert Harschnek - a little saga of 99 years parted: Starting with Alois Harschnek whom we mentioned in our last post.

Here’s a fun tip for researching relatives, especially 1st generation German ones. The Library of Congress’ Chronicling America: Historic...

People's surnames often provide clues into their way back family history. Learn what Von and Van mean for the Dutch and Germans.

Beer lovers and German fans can likely answer this riddle in a second. We are talking about Oktoberfest! September brings a nip in the...

Voyage to America: Servant Class - Independent Woman

One of the fun things about digging through old family papers is discovering the whimsical pieces that someone has tucked away. Here's

Nutcrackers, decorated trees and snow on the ground. Christmas must be right around the corner. We've seasonal Germantranslations to get

Houses are adorned with festive lights, decorations and trees. We've some German translations to get you even more in the holiday spirit

Ä, Ö and Ü are simple variations of familiar letters, but the ​​fourth letter that German has that we don’t is the real kicker:  ß  Eszett

German words inspired by US Halloween

When it comes to place names, getting from English to German and vice-versa can be challenging, but it's also loads of fun, and useful,...

Old German letters are tough to read but they are mostly the same alphabet we use - just with a few variations.

Explanation on why old German writing was different than today's writing.

Turns out that these cards were often the early 20th century equivalent of a photo booth at an amusement park.

A family postcard goes from gibberish to treasure with translation - the magic of family genealogical translation!