Top Tips for Beginning German Family History Research | Ancestry

Have ancestors from Germany? Join Crista Cowan as she shows you how to get started in German research, what tools you need access to, and how to find out what German records are available on Ancestry.com.
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Top Tips for Beginning German Family History Research | Ancestry
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[@Rony2453]

So very helpful. Especially the tools. I did not know how little that I know!

[@johnmarygray]

Thanks, Christa!! Love your presentations!! I'm so glad you did German research. I'm trying to learn all I can about that and you gave me some great ideas! Keep up the great work!!

[@SandyQueue]

Very helpful, as always! Keep them coming!

[@patrickmattes4935]

Dear Crista Cowan, Thank you so much for your time, skill, and effort! Your videos and suggestions have helped me over the years. I can't thank you enough. I want to explore my Irish, German and Eastern European roots more.

[@AncestryUS]

Thank you, Patrick!

[@MarshaT754]

Wow, this information is invaluable. Thank you so much for making this video. It is very helpful.

[@davidzilldz]

Thanks so much for your videos!!!

[@NikkoYM]

This was useful to know, esp. the card catalog, and the maps website. I posted some of my own hints in the reply section under Joanna Haslam's comment.

[@elvinwoodroof578]

Thanks for this video. I found it helpful

[@candyw7153]

Thank you, great data to know!

[@SophiaTellman]

For people watching this in 2023, there’s a feature on the Google app and built into Google phones where you can translate text pretty instantaneously using the camera on your phone. Super useful when traveling as well.

[@SophiaTellman]

I just used it to help translate German cursive from 1984 on the back of a photo of my great grandfather’s headstone. We finally know where he is buried.

[@AncestryUS]

Hi Sophia, that is a great tip! Thank you for sharing it with all of us. It’s wonderful that you have been able to make that discovery.

[@wildirishrose15]

Thank you for what you do. I have just began a new genealogy business and these tips help so much.

[@notsure5702]

Joye Hinson Mullins can u share a little bit about this business as u may be able to help many here

[@ETWL897]

To this date per history channel and others German is the #1 immigrant group to come to the USA. Just saw a documentary like a month ago that said that.

[@stephanmoore9234]

47% German right here, when I took my original test it said I was hardly German at all. I did further research and found out that I had some German family that were from Poland and bohemia, which explains the Europe east I had in my results.

[@TroyKC]

In the mid 1800s on the US census I hate it when they say they came from "Saxony" because I think to myself "okay, WHICH Saxony?" The Kingdom of Saxony? Lower Saxony or the Prussian Province of Saxony? 😂

[@TroyKC]

I was lucky, my LAST German arrivals went to the Republic of Texas. The whole family was listed on the Brig Johann Dethardt (tall ship) in 1845 a month or two before Texas was annexed by the USA. They didn't stay in Texas though, they went to New Orleans for a few years and by 1850 they are living in St Louis Missouri. One of my GGGG Uncles wrote a little synopsis of the family coming over and he wasn't thrilled because he was 2 years in med school at Halle an der Saale. The family was from Genzien, Arendsee, Altmark, Prussian Province of Saxony (Sachsen-Anhalt today) ... What an adventure! Originally all I knew is that they were from Germany. I had no idea they came over on the FLAGSHIP of the Adelsverein.

[@musclecarfan74]

Yes boarders changed though out history, I learned this from my uncle a history expert. It will take to gather the information you are looking for. My 97 yr. old great aunt started in 1965 and the hard cover book was made in 2018. She is Dutch.

[@LittleMissSpookyness]

Thanks you!

[@johnwayneeverett6263]

YOU ROCK GRIL THANK YOU

[@utbanker]

Can you cover Prussia at some point? East & West

[@ronoe8282]

The Indiana German Heritage Society prints a publication which is a German children's primer which was used by Germans who came to America and wanted to teach their children German. It is very useful for understanding German writing. Many of the documents of Germans here in the USA are also in German. Witter's Deutsch-Englische Schreib- und Lese-Fibel / German-English Primer. Orig. publ. 1881. Reprint edition by Eberhard Reichmann. IGHS, 1987. 102pp., ill. Can be found at www.ighs.org/publications.html

[@klauswalin2331]

I am a German imigrant. Came to us (chicago) in 1956

[@LuisSanchez-cz6op]

How reliable is the indexing/translation of handwritten records? It is fairly easy to verify records from the US by comparing original images. But impossible for the unschooled in German language and handwriting.

[@mmc7705]

8th Great Grandfather John George Shupp. Left Merztweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany On the passenger ship the Loyal Judith . Arriving in Philadelphia 1739. He even wrote about his journey over. Must have been terrifying.

[@nelsonburkhard5233]

M mc =66

[@sylviabartsch6205]

I makes sence, thank you. I'll call you back.

[@overratedprogrammer]

My american family name is Frable. I think it's Froebel/Fröbel from the Thüringen area, basically impossible to tell if you can't find a German record of your emigrant

[@DarkSolidity]

What happened to Copidlova, Germany? I’m showing my great great grand father came from there, it gets compounded with Posen, so Copidlova, Posen, Germany and it was also Prussia and now Poland. But I can’t find any evidence online that shows that Copidlova ever existed.

[@HighnTight45]

First time watching your presentation. Thanks I like it, very informative. ;) And my 1st time using the card catalog.. COOL I don't see records for East Prussia though; any thoughts where I can find them at? Thank you!

[@kimberlyDMcCallister]

David M I understand your frustration. My family were Mennonite immigrants from West Prussia, was Germany at one time but it's now Poland.

[@mou8922]

Did you guys applied for dual ctizen?

[@hyland3r]

I have a question. I am researching German records for my spouse's branch and I really liked this video for good tips on how to get started, however when I go to my card catalogue , then Europe, Then Germany, like you have shown in your video. I get under 10 results and none of the records you were able to show in this video. I do have the World subscription but I live in Canada.. does that change my access?

[@AncestryUS]

Hi there! Thanks so much for reaching out to us. We're sorry to hear of any trouble you've encountered in finding German based record collections in the Card Catalogue. We'd be happy to help! While we can only speculate at this point, it sounds like you may have an option ticked that states "Display Canadian records only". This can be found towards the top of the filters listed when reviewing the Card Catalogue. If you un-tick this box, you should see a lot more record collections appear. We hope this information is helpful, and we wish you all the best in your continued research!

[@jamieheim8009]

Im 92.7% german. My ancestors came from the Baden Wurttemberg region in the mid 1700's. Surname Heim

[@jayofficial6738]

So I took the ancestry dna test and a week ago I got the results back. Everything seems pretty accurate except one thing was wrong. I couldn’t find any German in my results but instead it showed French. I was confused because my surname Mueller is German and my great grandpa was German American from Chicago. His parents came from Germany. My cousin met with a historian and went on a trip to Germany where our ancestors come from. I was so confused because I have no French on my mom or dads side. Not even French surnames are on my family tree. Has anyone else experience this?

[@erikasmith6171]

Yes I had a small % of French on my test and neither parent has any its a glitch during the last Ancestry DNA update France disappeared. They constantly update this my percentages keep changing.

[@overratedprogrammer]

It's better to go by your family name and history. DNA you have to take it as a broad location. France is next to Germany, and hundreds of years ago these modern country borders didn't exist.

[@bengunns9500]

Yes my grandfather was German and Great Grandfather and nothing came through in my DNA, or in my tree.

[@lisalockman6187]

I have my great grandfather's original Naturalization Certificate from 1922. How do I find the entire naturalization packet?

[@AncestryUS]

Was he naturalized in a federal court or a county court?

[@AncestryUS]

Was he naturalized in a federal court or a county court?

[@nasirroslan6291]

christa,what's your ancenstry?

[@XaviRonaldo0]

I'm Australian and my only non UK line is coincidentally the origin of my surname and comes from east Prussia. unfortunately I can't get back further than my Great-great-grandparents. it's unfortunate because on a few UK lines I've gone back to the 17th century.

[@johnrogan9420]

Elizabeth Meyer... Cologne Rhineland west fallen Germany ...married John Rogan... 1918...Brooklyn NY...3 children ...Edward john...Elaine... Carol...passed 1932.

[@BarbaraBoronda]

I can't find my great grandfather's information and he came to new york from germany

[@semperfidelis5407]

Main name is Wurst how fare it is possible trace down to Butcher and Schwein ?

[@DFusions_]

My whole life I thought I was part Hungarian then found out I had more Germanic ancestry than Hungarian. My 2nd great grandmother was born in Austria-Hungary, that's all the info I know about her, and my 7th great grandmother was the first German born American on my Maternal grandfather's side So this whole time I thought I was African,Irish & Hungarian but really I'm African Irish & German

[@elkebrand4917]

Im from Bremerhaven germany and most people emigrated to 🇺🇸 from Germany through our Habor.Not from Bremen.there is a Auswanderhaus in Bremerhaven Germany where you can find out if your Family went through here to go to America. I have been there a few years ago and they have alot of Emigration Records from Families who went to Ellis Island.

[@laurabunyard8562]

The Black Forest.

[@teresafreeman2203]

Mine immigrated in the 1700s

[@colinallers9982]

my surname is German I would love to find out about my married surname and were it comes from in Germany Ahlers or as it is spelt like now. in our family in South Africa .

[@Little1stLT]

I tried to find the exact location via Europe-Germany and then place that would be birth but the place of birth on the Declaration is not anything that comes up on any German lookup. Any other way to search?

[@AncestryUS]

Have you tried sharing the document in a German Genealogy Facebook group to see if anyone is familiar with the location?

[@Little1stLT]

@@AncestryUS thank you I will look some up.

[@loveme19821]

I am trying to do my Great Grandfather's ancestry. The problem is he never talked about his family. My Grandmother doesn't know where in Germany he was born, or the names of any relatives. I know he was a soldier in WW2 (unfortunately). What can I do to find his info?

[@AncestryUS]

Did your great-grandfather stay in Germany or did he immigrate to the U.S.? When and where did he die? Try getting a copy of his death certificate or an obituary (the will likely list his birthplace and parents' names). Use that as a starting point to locate him in U.S. Census records to see what year he immigrated and what family members he is living with. (Crista)

[@loveme19821]

I'm actually the first born American. Even my dad and uncle were born in Germany. My Grandmother married an American soldier had my dad and uncle and the 4 of them moved to America. Her family is still in Germany. My Grandmother knows her father's birthday and year, as well as his death day and year he died in Germany. Unfortunately where he was born was never discussed because he didn't want to talk about anything pertaining to his family . He was born in 1902 and died in 1993, so would I have problems getting his death certificate since I don't know anything. My Grandmother knows he was a POW and returned from England when she was 9.

[@AncestryUS]

Unfortunately, German births are private for 120 years and German death records are private for 60 years. (Meaning they are not online but someone on the ground in Germany might be able to access them.) You might need to hire a professional genealogist. If you go to progenealogists.com and request a free estimate, be sure to provide everything you know about him - name, dates, names of known relatives, etc. Let them know that you are specifically looking for your grandfather's place of birth and parents' names. They will come back and let you know how much their research will cost.

[@johnothies1435]

loveme19821 qq

[@lorraineseidel768]

Weimer, Wimmer. Wiemer, Wymer Baden Wurt Germany

[@Meiropolis]

My family is mostly German and when I take the dna test it says Germanic European. I’m guessing that is German because the Germanic tribes are the ancestors of modern Germans. They eventually called themselves an ethnicity in the Middle Ages.

[@marysally2499]

Nikko YM: #Wikipedia offers the name changes from the German to now Polish or Russian.# It is very strange... May be Wikipedia is not write? Germans never changed their names from German to Russian. Germans and Russians have nothing in common. Germans primarily West European,but Russian primarily East Asians with little East European DNA. They are different ethnicities with different origins,religion's,history and geography. It is funny,but Prussia is not Russia.

[@untamedlion33]

Germany is tricky, especially for germans who came over in ww2. Before that towns and provinces constantly changed. It is weird because the nazis required documented family history to prove they were german... there must be an office somewhare that still has those records.

[@brasschick4214]

untamedlion33 - a lot of records in major cities were lost in allied bombing raids.

[@jsbthomas]

The link is not working

[@AncestryUS]

Hi and thanks for reaching out to us. Would you be able to clarify which link in particular is not working for you?

[@courtneybartell2010]

i notice one of my branches that's from Germany every generation was born different location some our born still consider German and some are born now Poland. . do i need to look up people that were born in Poland need look up Poland documents?

[@AncestryUS]

It depends. Sometimes the records stayed in the area and went to Polish archives, sometimes the records stayed with the original country and end up in German archives. You'll probably need to do some more research into the location and see where their records ended up.

[@kimberlyDMcCallister]

courtney skipper. My family were Mennonite immigrants from West Prussia, Germany but now that area is in the country of Poland. So, I found some family shows different town/countries but it was actually the same place!

[@karenmanning1790]

Where is Ruden, Deutchland?? I have a prayer card for my great grandfather with the name of the town where he was born. But I can't find it? I tried Googling it...He was born in 1840 in Ruden, Deutchland..

[@AncestryUS]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruden_(island)

[@uwed2874]

Es gibt eine Insel Ruden in Norddeutschland, there is in Island "Ruden" North Germany

[@mou8922]

Hi my wife and me we got the record and when we ask the register office they said they can't give berth certificate because of the berth 1880

[@gerhardrobertbieber4129]

No the Island called Rügen and Germany means Deutschland

[@gerhardrobertbieber4129]

Try google maps

[@maikas3250]

Well my last name is Schmidt... My great great grandfather was born in Germany

[@paweltrawicki2200]

Good Luck

[@frieda2413]

Good luck with that. Schmidt is one of the most common names in Germany.

[@GermanHeritageUSA]

Your German Heritage Is Calling You! www.GermanHeritageUSA.com

[@andreaelterich2391]

IAM TRYING TO FIND MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER WILHELMINE WETZEL IN POMERAINA, GERMANY N THE CATHLIC AND LUTHERN PARISN .SHE WPASSED AWAY DEC 30 1873

[@AncestryUS]

Was she Catholic or Lutheran? That will make a difference in where she is buried. What, specifically are you trying to discover about her? (Crista)

[@ruthking7884]

Um.....what about those of us with German ancestors who didn't come to the USA....that is my issue, this seems to be help for USA only.....not for those say in Australia or Canada et al.

[@AncestryUS]

Hi, Ruth. Thanks for getting in touch. We're sorry for any confusion regarding German research. We have records from Germany that can be searched from Australia, Canada, the UK or the US. We'll give you a list of our records from and related to Germany. To search these records, it may require a World Explorer membership. Please let us know if you have other questions. www.ancestry.com/search/places/europe/germany/

[@overratedprogrammer]

It's hard if you have a unique name in English to know what their name was in German

[@tiffanyprichard2197]

I have Johan Georg Van Baders from Wuttenberg Germany listed as Prussians if I am from this line I’ve gotten back to 1603 the name changed from the first child born in America and the entire family wives and children and listed as a farmer. I need to find that paper it has if America goes to war they signed they would fight for the crown. Help!!!

[@AncestryUS]

Hi, Tiffany. Thanks for getting in touch. We know how important it can be to find those kinds of records. We have an article that we hope will give you some tips on finding records. support.ancestry.com/s/article/Overcoming-Roadblocks-in-Your-Research?language=en_US

[@xerxes8191]

according Herodotus Germans were a Persian tribe in Persia. and some evidences shows that Germans immigrated from kerman in Persia to Germany. I am a Iranian from Kerman and i have some German ancestry

[@laurabunyard8562]

Don't know where they landed, but they ended up in New Jersey. Englert.

[@laurabunyard8562]

I need to make money to pay for a complete subscription so I can trace my European ancestors.

[@julieenglert3371]

Laura Bunyard My father was an Englert. But he migrated to Australia!

[@conni70]

i believe the majority of White -Americans have German heritage, not English and Irish...

[@frieda2413]

Another tip from a very annoyed German...please pease even if you know the exact town your ancestors came from...dont assume its them just because they have the exact same name. Certain name combinations are in fashion at certain times and certain surnames are very common. You need to get the birth date right too, not just the year. Best you get the parents right too, then yo are safe. I have had so many people latch themselves onto my tree just because it was the same name in the same region (not even town).Its annoying and quite simply lazy too. Thank you.

[@nothingcanstopnoodles]

Script.byu.edu/german is a dead link.

[@AncestryUS]

You can still access it from here: script.byu.edu

[@karenotte5420]

I don't have German ancestors