On the trail of your ancestors
Want to know more about your ancestors? I'm happy to help evaluate existing documents and parish-register extracts.
I've been doing family research myself for almost 40 years, so I can certainly offer some advice too.
I also have plenty of experience with genealogical forums on the internet, where a lot of data can be found today. In the past, economic hardship and political circumstances forced many people to emigrate from Germany.
They often went to America or southern Russia. Many descendants today are searching for their family's origins.
I'm happy to answer your enquiries in English as well.
Cases where I was able to help with family research
Almost 200 years after an ancestor emigrated to the USA, his descendant found “relatives” in Germany
Mr Charlie H. works at a museum in Washington, D.C. In his free time he's a keen family researcher and a member of several North American genealogical societies.
He came to me while searching for information about his emigrated ancestors. Because the emigrated ancestor had a very unusual surname, I was able to find a great deal of data about the family that lived in my home town at the time. What made it special was that I managed to establish a connection to descendants of that family who still live here today and carry the same name.
Both families share the same ancestors. Charlie H. was so delighted that he soon paid a visit to his newfound relatives, who gave the “cousin from America” a very warm welcome.
Hard to believe: another “relative” for the same family, this time from Australia
The great-grandfather of W. K. emigrated to Palestine around the year 1900. There he lived and worked as a cooper in a German settlement that had been founded there in the mid-19th century by religiously motivated German emigrants. In 1945, all Germans had to leave the State of Israel. The family and numerous fellow residents found a new home in the state of Victoria, Australia, where they were taken in by fellow members of their faith.
His great-grandson, who lives in Australia today, set out in his retirement to trace his ancestors' footsteps. Through my research I was able to provide him not only with a wealth of data about his family of origin, but I also found descendants of his family still living in their original home town.
This prompted W. K. to make the long journey with his daughter from Victoria, Australia, to Germany, to see the place his great-grandfather had once emigrated from.
His newfound “relatives” gave him a very warm welcome. This grew into what is now a long-standing relationship. He has since visited Germany several times, and there has of course also been a return visit to Australia.