Hi list,
I'm one of the Germans on this list, I'm a historian and maybe a genealogist
too.
As the main language on this list seems to be English, I 'll try to write in
this language.
First of all: some people believe that all genealogies are online, but that's
absolutely impossible (you are so right Fred!).
Many people think that it is their good right to get their genealogies free.
Think they don't know that it is a hard job to do researches in Archives.
Can you imagine that others have been looking years over years for a certain
birth info and spent many hours of research?
If volunteers are doing this job for you it's great and ok, but you can't
require this. If one had this right, I'ld also have the right to get a
volunteer for my housekeeping!
So, if someone presents his research-data online and you download it, you
should at least sent him a thank you.
There is one more problem: people copy whatever they find on the internet and
put it in their family trees.
Don't you know that there are masses of mistakes and/or manipulations in
these files?
You always have to verify all data which you've downloaded.
Even - or better primarily - the data from the IGI.
And, a very important sentences who should be known to all genealogists is:
Nobody is perfect!
Everybody has some silly mistakes in his family tree and it's just fun to
eliminate them!
Have a nice weekend!
Brigitte Jahnke
I think my request for help and information got lost in the bickering about
German vs. English, etc. Please don't flame me because I am trying to find a
shortcut to learn about historical German politcal divisions & geographical
borders. If no one has information specific to Uslar/Solling, then just
information on the area known as the former Kingfdom of Hannover would be very
useful. I'll repeat my request below. Thank you --Mary Ann
Does anyone on the list have a timeline to which I could refer when entering
the birth/death/marriage places of my ancestors from Sch�nhagen & Kammerborn,
bei Uslar/Solling, in present day Niedersachsen? I know that the Kingdom of
Hannover became part of Prussia in 1866/67, but I am not certain of other
political distinctions from the period 1550 - 20th century. I would like to
record the places names accurately for time periods in which the events (birth,
marriage, death, etc.) occurred. Thank you.
Mary Ann
Mary Ann,
Maybe this will be of some help to you, although it
doesn't go up to the 20th century. More will be added
to this website in the coming year.
Phyllis
Phyllis, This is a wonderful atlas website. I hope everyone interested in
the history of their origins will take a look. I've already bookmarked it
for frequent future use. Thank you for sharing.
Mary Ann,
A site that I have found useful is: http://web.uccs.edu/~history/index/germany.html. It contains links to several other resources worldwide on German and other cultures worldwide. Like a lot of people that joined the list, I didn't know what to expect and was pleased to see postings from all over the world. Fortunately, I have been happy to scan those German postings for locations and names appropriate for my searches and translate only those, since German it not my native language. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any that apply directly to my heritage, but I have learned a lot about the lives and times of my ancestors and it has sparked some interest in history that I never had. I've also picked up a little of the German language in the bargain.
I have also been guilty of downloading information from several sources on the internet, but I label the data's source as such to allow later verification. I guess each of us is comfortable with various degrees of authenticity. I am searching for information on the following families from the Hohnhorst, Ohndorf, Walteringhausen, Grove, Rohrsen, Lindhorst areas: Rohrssen/Rohrsen/Soelings/Resen/Tatke/Koster/Thomas/Scheve/Battermann/Glade/Uhe/Kersting/Walker/Gray. They are all in my direct lineage and date back to 1540 in Ohndorf Germany. Most of the research was done by two people from a branch of my lineage before the internet was so readily available and I am in the process of verifying. I have a brother in Germany this month and he is gathering data to confirm what we know and learn what we don't know. I've asked him to gather copies of the church directories that pertain to our ancestors, pictures in the surrounding area, tombstones, and of specific houses if they still exist. Does anyone have suggestions for him to make the most of his time there? TIA
Dave Rohrssen