Description:

Come explore the challenges faced by beginning and intermediate German researchers. Crossing the ocean and diving into German records can be an intimidating task for the researcher accustomed to American records. Students taking this course will plunge into German sources to find they are not as intimidating as initially feared. This course is designed to introduce students to a variety of German research topics including identifying immigrant origins, differentiating between villages of the same name, discovering where church books can be found, learning basic German history, and using core reference resources. With these essential skills established, students will then review case studies that demonstrate how the tools learned are used to solve daunting research challenges. This hands-on course will help students tackle a wide variety of German and U.S. sources to identify immigrant origins and do research in German records.

Objectives

1. Locate German genealogical records using geographic and jurisdictional knowledge. 2. Navigate historical German geography and jurisdictional changes. 3. Use a broader range of German sources to solve genealogical problems. 4. Develop and execute a focused German research plan. 5. Analyze and correlate evidence from multiple German sources.

Student Prerequisites:

None, but come to class with questions about basic German research. No German reading or speaking ability is needed for these classes. For some of the optional evening homework assignments, familiarity with Gothic German script will be helpful, but not essential (typed transcriptions of the records will be provided).

NOTE: All times are listed in Eastern Time.
Live Sessions may be subject to schedule adjustments by your course coordinator.