Many people who have German ancestry use FamilySearch’s Germany Births and Baptisms, 1558–1898 collection to find records about their ancest…

From the 16th century on, the sovereign administration became more and more involved in German village affairs. Rural communities were for t…

Are you doing ancestral research in Germany and find it hard to collect all the data you need? You wish you spoke better German and had the …

Germany has a long and rich history, though tumultuous at times. Today, Germany is known for sausages, festivals, gorgeous castles and palac…

Only recently has German civil registration become available for family history researchers. Come learn what civil registration is and find out about the wealth of information it contains. We will also discuss when it applies to your German ancestral village, and how to access it.

Most Germans lived in rural areas between the 17th and 19th century. In the 18th century, statistics show that this was true for about 80% o…

The Hamburg passenger lists are a useful tool for many German researchers, as well as those who are researching immigrants from other countr…

Last week, I downloaded an intriguing New York passenger list. To my surprise, the customs agent wrote the names and places in German—in bea…

This lesson introduces one to what Ortsfamilienbücher (OFBs) are, the type of information they contain, and how they are helpful in German research.

This class will focus on a selection of relevant archives and websites for researching ancestors who lived in the former German Empire province of Pomerania. Today this area is split between Germany and Poland.