Dutchland? Germany?
The tribes that coalesced into Germans spoke 'the people’s/ popular language’ as opposed to Latin
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Pamela Israel
- Jul 26, 2019
- 2 min
Why 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
4,093 views
Stefan Israel
- Jun 24, 2019
- 2 min
The Siegfried Idyll gift
In honor of his son's third birthday, Wagner wrote an Idyll. Learn the story behind its first performance.
92 views
Stefan Israel
- Jun 5, 2019
- 4 min
The Mystery of the Old "S" Explained
What on earth is going on with those letters? The s looks like an f !It sure does. I hope you never need those last couple of sentences. Old
2,731 views
Pamela Israel
- May 22, 2019
- 3 min
Old German Writing Tips
Here are a couple tricks to help decipher old German handwriting, Kurrent or Suetterlin, especially important with old family letters.
1,660 views
Stefan Israel
- May 8, 2019
- 3 min
H- huh? Making Sense of German
German and English both mostly use h the same, as that puff of air at the start of a word:
hello/hallo, here/hier, horn
But what’s that h do
462 views
Pamela Israel
- May 1, 2019
- 2 min
Tips for Finding the Day of the Week
Figuring out the day of the week that something happened can be important in genealogy. Here are a couple approaches.
133 views
Stefan Israel
- Apr 22, 2019
- 3 min
O du lieber Augustin
This simple song is said to date back to 1679 in Vienna, Austria - Marx Augustin was a cheery, popular balladeer and bag-piper of the time
2,397 views
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
61 views
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
207 views
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
694 views
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
212 views
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
101 views
Stefan Israel
- Feb 20, 2019
- 4 min
Glimpses of the Catastrophe of 1914/1918
In reaction to the horrific killing burning across Europe, in 1916, Danish composer Carl Nielsen wrote the Inextinguishable, meaning the 
57 views
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
590 views
Stefan Israel
- Jan 31, 2019
- 3 min
Ack! Pronouncing German ei vs. ie
English can be all over the map in how you’re supposed to pronounce any given set of letters: you polish the Polish silverware, you wait for