Finding Your German Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide

by Kevan M. Hansen

Finding Your German Ancestors is a brief but thorough introduction to German research. It presents the most up-to-date sources and resources for successful German research. Many German archives are accessible via the Internet, and Finding Your German Ancestors is the first reference work to include these vital contacts. And because identifying documents is key to German research, it contains sample illustrations of typical German documents, as well as contact sample information for major repositories of German records. With its straightforward approach and easy-to-read style, this book is sure to become a standard reference work for beginning German researchers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Germany

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Camela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've had this book forever and am finally reading it as we've begun working on Jeremy's genealogy. After just five generations we head into Germany and completely unknown research territory. So far the book looks to be a great beginning resource on learning where to look. Of course, it was published in 1999, so I'm sure there are going to be many changes since then, and hopefully much more information can now be found on the internet.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Beginner's Guide is an apt description of this book, as the research techniques and resources included in this book are very basic and for someone just getting started. I bought this book a number of years ago when I was first starting my genealogy journey, and set it aside because I never made it to crossing over to the German-held records. Reading it now is a bit discouraging, since the best records really only started in the 1800's, and that's only going to give me about a century of easily mined data. There are tips and tricks of how to dig deeper, but clearly its a complex problem in a region that saw so many changes over the years and didn't keep good records until a couple hundred years ago. It's a good start, but in my opinion only brushes the very surface of researching German records and would quickly need to be supplemented with other materials once someone started their project.

The author begins with a brief overview of how modern Germany came to be, and how much the borders changed over the course of history. Types of records were then described, as well as approximations of when each came into existence, and where different regions of the country fall within that record keeping landscape. Pictures and detailed explanations of different types of records are very useful. The book does mention online resources and technological solutions that were available at the time, however there are obviously many more available now. About half of the book is taken up with this content, and the other half lists out different organizations/locations within Germany and their addresses, such as churches and genealogical societies. At the end is a comprehensive index.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good very basic overview to German research. Lack of civil records before 1871 really poses a challenge to researchers. Pretty imperative to know your ancestor’s hometown to simplify the search, even better if you also know their religion since most records may be found at the parish level. Constant boundary changes in land boundaries, jurisdictions and ruling power further complicate the search.

This book includes an ultra brief history of the region, recommended tools and tips as well as recommended sources to search and archives to approach—its addresses. An update would be even more helpful since this 1999 publication and more resources are now available online.

[Linda Hartlaub · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very very basic genealogy book but good for the absolute beginner. I have issues with some of his ideas, primarily to add others' family trees from online trees to your own tree. This is so wrong and dangerous if you are trying to keep a well-sourced and true family tree. There are so many people who simply scrape the information from others' trees perpetuating errors. Also, it would be handy to use a word processing spell check before handing in the manuscript, and shame on Ancestry Publishing for not using a competent editor.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic introduction on locating your German ancestors including a brief history of Germany, research tools and tips, German genealogical sources, church records, archival records and a list of German genealogical societies. The biggest point the author wants to drive home is you need to know the village name your ancestor is from in order to start your search.

[J Eseltine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for background/overview but needs updating (published 1999)