Author Archives: Gordon

Advertising the 2017 GAGP conference — in Germany!

Posted on by

Just a brief note today to say that the conference flyer for the 2017 Minneapolis conference of the German-American Genealogical Partnership will be inserted into the conference registration bags for the Deutscher Genealogentag, Germany’s major annual genealogical conference.  This will be happening from September 30th through October 2nd in Bregenz, Austria (just across the border from Germany).

A two-sided print piece will display our revised conference flyer in English, together with a German-language description of the Partnership to introduce German genealogists to our transnational effort.  Besides being a conference bag insert, the same piece will be distributed as a handout at the table of the Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft genealogischer Verbände e. V. (DAGV), the German genealogical umbrella organization that serves a purpose similar to our own FGS.

None of this would be happening without the contributions of many persons.  Kudos to all!

2017dagpinfoblatt_tagungundpartnerschaft_2seiten

“The Kansas Historical Quarterly”

Posted on by

If you have immigrants who lived in Kansas, and you live close to our IGS Library in Burbank (California), then you might want to stop by to peruse the various duplicate issues of The Kansas Historical Quarterly, 1952-74, that are offered free to anyone who would have an interest.  We had many of these on our shelves, and most were recently duplicated by the donation of Jackie Sharp of her mother’s personal collection of this periodical.  And when we find ourselves with duplicates, we like to offer them on a “First Come, First Served” basis.

Should you wish to see the issues that were displayed on our shelves, please be advised that they have been moved.  Because of our serious space problems, and with the recent acquisition of a number of new genealogical books relating to Maryland, the KHQ issues have now been boxed in what is identified as “Acquisition Box #1.”  For the moment, it’s resting by Stack 12 on the floor….

Brandenburg east of the Oder and Neisse

Posted on by

If you have ancestry from eastern Brandenburg — the portion of the former Prussian province lost to Poland after 1945 — then you’ll be interested to know that there’s a German foundation dedicated to the preservation of the history and culture of the region.  The name is “Stiftung Brandenburg,” and the website URL is:
http://www.stiftung-brandenburg.de

Among the available services if you can visit in person are day tours with a guide, some of which are available in English.  The location of the Brandenburg House is:  Parkallee 14, 15517 Fürstenwalde (Spree), and further information can be obtained by writing to:  <info@stiftung-brandenburg.de>.

Specific information about available tours can be obtained from Veronica Kölling, at:<koelling@stiftung-brandenburg.de>.  Also consider visiting to see scheduled exhibitions.  An example (which would be of interest to the newly formed German-Australian Genealogical Partnership) would be this one:
“The emigration of Ostbrandenburgern to Australia in the 19th century.”

A museum is open four hours daily, Monday through Friday, while a library is open five hours daily on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  New books acquired for the collection are displayed from time-to-time at this URL address:
http://www.stiftung-brandenburg.de/buecher.html
…which may give you Brandenburg researchers some ideas of what new resources you’d like to see!

Dommershausen!

Posted on by

That’s the family name of the first German researcher to contact us since we switched our website to the new domain.  This person is looking for Dommershausen immigrants to America — any time, any place.  A cursory examination of family trees on Ancestry.com leads us to believe that all persons carrying this surname originated in or near 56346 Prath, Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rheinland-Pfalz (Palatinate).  This lies very close to Sankt Goarshausen.

It appears that members of this family emigrated in the 1850s and 1860s, and there’s an early association with Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana.  In the 20th c. there are persons of the name living in Cross Plains, Dane County, Wisconsin who appear to originate in Prath as well.  And so we appeal to you, the reader, to help us by “crowd sourcing” more information about families of this surname.  If you are researching Dommershausen, know of someone else who is, or are merely aware of an instance of this name appearing in records you have used — then, please, write to:
editor@immigrantgensoc.org
…and we will take it from there.  Thank you!

More on Digitized Records…

Posted on by

On Friday the 16th a message appeared in the BRANDENBURG-L mailing list which I found interesting.  Perhaps you will, too!  Here is the Google Translate version of a large portion of it:

What went online in the last few weeks?
Evangelical Central Archive in Berlin
1026 church records from the provinces of West Prussia, East Prussia and Posen
Central Archives of the Evangelical Church in Hessen and Nassau
573 church records from more than 60 locations
Landes Archiv Stuttgart (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg)
786 church records from more than 60 locations
Evangelical Landeskirchliches archive in Berlin
593 church records from 4 Berlin districts

What is being imported?
Landes Archiv Stuttgart (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg)

What comes after?
Landeskirchliches Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria
Central Archives of the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate
Archives of Lippe Church
Landes Archiv Stuttgart (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg)

Digitized Civil Registry Documents for East Prussia

Posted on by

Earlier this month, on Sunday the 11th, we had a successful discussion on IGS Library resources on East and West Prussia that was attended by eight researchers.  But did we forget to mention that many new records for East Prussia are now being digitized and made available online through the State Archive in Olsztyn, Poland (formerly Allenstein)?  The details about the new releases and links to the digitized records can be found at:  http://allenstein.draschba.de/neues.php.

The current additions are from the following locales, as announced on Saturday the 17th through the OW-Preussen-L mailing list:
Klaukendorf (Kreis Allenstein)
Gross Kleeberg (Kreis Allenstein)
Gutsbezirk Wartenburg (Kreis Allenstein)
Willenberg Land (Kreis  Ortelsburg)
Ortelsburg Land (Kreis  Ortelsburg)
Landsberg-Land (Kreis  Pr. Eylau)
Saalfeld Land (Kreis  Mohrungen)
Neidenburg Land (Kreis  Neidenburg)
…and with apparently a few scans from Lochstädt in today’s Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Republic.

Calendar items from October 2016 newsletter

Posted on by

Next Up:  We need some volunteers! Several of you indicated possible interest in helping out when you stopped by our table at the SCGS Jamboree in June.  Now that Fall is here we can begin to think about cooler weather and training sessions!!  What do we need the most?  First priority is staffing for the Library on 3rd Saturdays and 4th Sundays.  Next would be help with cataloguing books, or assisting with membership renewals.  We promise not to overload you, and we’ll guarantee that there’s a “fun” component.  If you would be interested, please contact either the president or the editor.

Oct. 15:  2nd Annual Genealogy Day, 8 to 2 p.m., San Diego’s Balboa Park
Nov. 13:  Annual Meeting & Elections, followed by Switzerland discussion
Dec. 11:  Christmas Pot-Luck Party, with discussion on Austria, Sudetenland
(now Czech Republic lands) & the Germanic parts of northern Italy.

PLAN TO COME SEE US!  SHARE RESEARCH “TIPS” WITH OTHERS.  IT’S FUN!!

The 2017 International Germanic Genealogy Conference, July 28-30, 2017

Posted on by
Conference dates:
July 27, 2017: partner leadership day
July 28 – 30, 2017:  International Germanic Genealogy Conference – all day presentations on “Connections”

The conference — “CONNECTIONS: International. Cultural. Personal.” — will offer more than 60 presentations over three full days by Germanic genealogy experts worldwide.

The focus of this international conference offers a unique opportunity for Germanic genealogists to make personal connections with people from the United States, Germany and other countries.

For more conference information, visit the website of the Minnesota-based Germanic Genealogy Society, conference host, at www.GGSMN.org, click “2017 GAGP Conference.” The official website of the Partnership and the 2017 conference is expected to go live in early October at www.GAGP.org.

Click here for the flyer and here for the Press Release.

International cooperation
The Partnership, founded in 2015, joins Germanic genealogy societies across America, Germany, Canada, England and other European countries, and continues to draw new societies worldwide. Partnership members include the more than 60 societies belonging to the Germany-based Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft Genealogischer Verbände, whose leadership helped in founding the Partnership.

Hotel
A block of rooms has been set aside for conference attendees.
Minneapolis Marriott Northwest Hotel
7025 Northland Dr., N. Brooklyn Park, Minn.

To reserve a guest room online, go to http://TinyURL.com/HLUWQQJ
Or to reserve a room by phone, call (toll free in the USA) 1-877-303-1681 and say you wish to reserve a room as part of the Germanic Genealogy Conference.