Do you have German Ancestry? Join us in the Germany/German Roots Project! [closed]

Question

The German Roots project is seeking new members to come join us as we work together on making sure everything German and Germany related is added to WikiTree. We want to work on improving profiles, adding information that is geographically and historically significant. We want to make sure that every emigrant who considered themselves German (no matter what country the land they left is now a part of) is added to WikiTree, sourced and connected. We want to see a German portal up and running, that will help make WikiTree more user-friendly and bring together German speaking members to collaborate. We want to see categories and free-space pages and sub-projects being added and maintained.

If you are interested in anything German related; you have German roots, you are German, interested in migration, historically relevant events, or anything in between, then we want you to join!

We have lots of great sub-projects such as the Volga Germans; Palatine-Migration; Hesse Roots; and Prussia. You can see all the sub-projects we currently have on our project page. Or why not tell us what you think would be a great sub-project.

The future of the German Roots project is bright with possibility so it is a very exciting time to join us. If you want to work with us to build up a collaborative and helpful community, and encourage collaboration between people from all around the world then comment below and tell us a bit about why you want to join, what German related interests you have, and/or how you want to contribute to the German Roots project. The only thing you’ve got to lose is a brick-wall or two!

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Germany

Comments

Thank you for your hard work Kylie, Maggie, and all coordinators. My plate is too full to be a coordinator right now but please add me to the group as I will help where I can. My whole line is Volga German and Black Sea German. 

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Thank you for inviting me to join and for all of your hard work. Yes I would love to join. I have ancestors born in Saxony, Germany; Austria, Ireland but mostly in Germany.

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I have German ancestors.  Don't have much time with my work schedule, but I would love to be kept in the loop.

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I have German ancestors on both sides of my family and would help if I can ever get to be able to add information.

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I am answering for my brother W Berg. Our 3x great-grandfather was William Balthasar Berg born August 1791 in Hesse-Darmstadt. His son, Johannes, and our 2x great-grandfather, was born June 12, 1820 and baptized 6 days later in Nieder Ramstadt, Hessen, Deutschland. The wife of Balthasar was Maria Christina Krong (Krugg). The family emigrated to the United States arriving in Baltimore in September 1831. Balthasar died in Franklin County, Indiana, in 1858. Johannes (John) died in Kansas in 1905. 

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I made a proposal on the German projects page for an umbrella sub-project for all of the Germans in and from Russia (Russlanddeutsche I think is the name in German).  This would include the Volga Germans, Volhynia, Crimea, and Siberia/Kazakhstan (mostly after Stalin's forced dispersal of the Volga/Ukraine Germans).  And of course, those that migrated from there to the U.S. Canada, South America or back to Germany.  A large part of the Germans in the Great Plains of the U.S. and Canada are Germans-from-Russia.

I haven't heard any feedback on this, I'm not sure where a proper discussion should take place.

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I have traced my German roots back to the 1600's.  I am reasonably confident (not certain) that they were part of the palatine migration of 1709

Jim

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Im looking for a mix of ancestry for Volga, Ukraine, Russia, Prussia, Germany ect that im working on. Im glad to help and learn from this as well. Looking for lots of surnames from Canada and the USA as well.

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My father's family name is Niemann from around Hannover. I also have Wolga Deutsch on my mother's side with the name Knop(f). Hoping I can find some DNA matches or info on my family as I hit a brick wall.

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I am German and I live in the Hunsrück-Mosel area of Germany, not too far from Trier and Idar-Oberstein. Not too much spare time either but I can offer a few hours a month. I also possess a small number of family books on the area and can offer look-ups.

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I'm interested in finding out more about my German ancestors, and I'm happy to share what I am discovering. My husband has German heritage as well, so my kids have a lot of German blood.

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My mother's lines are all German: her mother's are from Baden-Wurtemberg and her father's lines are from Mecklenburg and Prussia. I also have Palatine Germans in my father's lines, in more remote history. I don't have loads of research time, but I've been at this since 1983.

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My paternal line, Utterback, is from Germany (thru Johann Henrich Otterbach (Otterbach-40) - aka Henry Utterback "the elder"). B.C. Holtzclaw determined that this man, along with his nephew (with the same name - aka "the younger") were the source of most Utterbacks in the USA. They came over in 1734 and were among The Little Fork group of Siegen, Germany immigrants in Virginia. I'd love to be able to help however I can.

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I have lots of German ancestors, some Palatine Germans, some who were in the first and second generations of Lutheran theologians.

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I am a German immigrant to the US.  Please add me but sadly I can’t commit too much time due to work but interested I. Helping where I can. 

I am from Berlin. My family is f I’m Berlin and Prussia (most genealogy sites are horrible about getting former  German areas if Poland right). My great grandparents were force migrated from there v

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My Swiss-German paternal line married to several German lines.  No time to be of much help, but interested.

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My paternal side of the family has german roots, being the Ash, Esh or Esch surnames. I would like to learn more of the family history !

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My Great Grandmother immigrated from Germany to America around the 1930s to the late 1940s. Also, my grandfather's side is from Hesse.

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My fathers family comes from the Frisian Islands in the North Sea, off the coast of Germany. My mothers family comes from a very small farming town near Vegesack, in north Germany. My husbands family comes from Wurtemberg in south Germany. The surnames I'm most interested in are Lorenzen, Knubel, and Erath and Badecker.

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My high school track coach was named Lorenzen, but I know nothing about his ancestry.  Not a name you come across too often.

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My DNA suggests I’m about 1/3 Germanic, and my great-Grandmother was Swiss-German.  (Or German-Swiss?). I’ve discovered some German ancestors pre-1700 that are not on WikiTree yet.  I’d love to be able to add them with some guidance on how to do so appropriately & accurately.

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I would like to join German roots to help further trace back my ancestry. I have numerous ancestors from the Odessa Russia area and would like to trace them back to their German origins. Thanks!

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Hi Laura, there are plans to set up a Germans-from-Russia subproject to bring together the various subprojects in place for Volga Germans, Crimean Germans, etc. As soon as I stop being selfish and working on my Ungerecht-One-Name-Study, I'll shift focus and work on that.  There are definitely unique challenges for that region.

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I was born and raised in Germany but I  am now living in Canada. I would very much be interested to help out. I am tri-lingual and can also decipher most of the Old German writing. I was able to trace back my Vowinkel Tree  to the 1700's.. Still learning how to enter!

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My pedigree includes German roots from northern (Pommern) and Southwest (Bavaria & Saarland), as well as Alsatian. I've had great luck with published Famiellenbuchs for parts of my tree. I also hired a researcher for the Pommern area, as their records are not recorded by LDS.

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The "Trendlers" are part of Banat settlers.  I'd like to connect my tree to others.  Teri

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According to my DNA testing one third of my ancestry is German.  The first ancestor form the Grumbine tree to live here in the US was from the Palatinate area of Bavaria.  The furtherest ancestry from the Kleinfelter tree that i could trace is from Flörsbach, Flörsbachtal, Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany .

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I would absolutely love to participate in this project. Most of what I could research about my family leads back to Germany. I will leave some descriptions of immigration down below for anyone who might recognize some of the names.

On my fathers side: My third great grandfather, Carsten Meyer, was born on Sept 19, 1803 in Bremen, Germany. He and his wife, Katharina, along with their oldest children and Carsten's brother immigrated from Bremen to New Orleans on the Eliza Thornton in 1845. Another third great grandfather, Emil Grabruck also immigrated from Germany to Staunton, Illinois sometime after 1882 as a young boy with his parents and siblings. My fourth great grandfather, Johann Jakob Sturm immigrated from Wurtemburg Germany with his family sometime after 1864 to Staunton, Illinois. Another fourth great grandfather, Friedrich Ruhlander, immigrated from Brunswick after 1854 with his wife and daughter to Prairietown, Illinois.  My third great grandmother, Emma Luedeke, also immigrated from Hanover as a young girl after 1860.

On my mother's side: My third great grandfather, Conrad Cammier Damke immigrated from Heimsen, Prussia as a young boy after 1839. Another third great grandfather, Hermann Tiemann immigrated from Westerkapplan at a young age in 1850. My fourth great grandparents, Johann Stege and Louisa Juergens immigrated around 1855 from Elsfleth to New York. My fourth great grandfather, John Phillip William Meisnenheimer, immigrated from Darmstadt to Newfoundland, but were shipwrecked in 1840, leaving only John alive.

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There is German on my mom's and dad's side of my family.  Boston is the surname on my dad's side, which doesn't sound German but most records say he was born in Germany.  Kessleberg changed to Castleberry on my mom's side.  My husband also has German on his mom's and dad's side of the family.  I am having the a diffcult time finding ships and manifests with our relatives names, arrival dates, immigration information, etc. I enjoy research but I am still relatviely new to this and not as familiar with the resources that are available and free to use.

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My great-grandfather Charles Kohler was German and/or Austrian, he was a jeweler. He emigrated to Ireland and married an Irish woman. But I can't find anything out about his forebears using Ancestry. So I hope this group has other resources to check.

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I would like to join this group. 25% of my ancestors migrated from Schlesien, Preußen to South Australia between 1838 and 1861.

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I can help for I have German on both side of my parents so ask me anything

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OI recognize places more than names my great great grandfather was

Georg Egestorff. Born in 1892 . By 1850+ he had gathered around him varying experts from other European regions as well as parts of Germany. My family names in Linden, Hannover , Germany at that time were Egestorff, Buresch, Koster, Hohle, hurtzig, and well as Hohle, Hasse, and eckard. I am especially interested I’mn making connections with the names Buresch and Koster. If you have come across any of those names in your research, I would appreciate the connection. Thank you

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OI recognize places more than names my great great grandfather was

Georg Egestorff. Born in 1802 . By 1850+ he had gathered around him varying experts from other European regions as well as parts of Germany. My family names in Linden, Hannover , Germany at that time were Egestorff, Buresch, Koster, Hohle, hurtzig, and well as Hohle, Hasse, and eckard. I am especially interested I’mn making connections with the names Buresch and Koster. If you have come across any of those names in your research, I would appreciate the connection. Thank you

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I am interested in joining the German Project. My mother's parents were born Neuffen and Holzgerlingen Wuerttemberg 1n the late 1800's  and my father's great-grandfathers family was part of the great migration from Germany to Pennsylvania. i have added dozens and dozens  German ancestors to WikiTree.

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It seems you don't need more members, but may I be an onlooker?

My father was German and when his mom came to the US a looooong time ago, he wouldn't tell me anything about it or her because he was soft-hearted and she was so stern.

I wouldn't have the time or the accuracy to add much, but I'd like to learn.

Dad was born in Frankfurt in about 1906. She, a young girl verging on being a woman, left him with his GM while she got settled. I think she was brave and strict.

If you want more information, I'd want to do it by personal messaging at WikiTree-40. I'll correct this later if my memory is poor--could well be.

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My mother's parents were Mormon converts and came to America in the 1870's settling first in Utah and then in Idaho. I have been lucku in that our Nuffer/Wanner family hired a professional genealogist Trudy Schenk to do our genealogy. The work comes from adding sources to add sources the expand the information and extend the family lines.

Thanks for the comment.

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I am half German (my father's side) and have found it interesting learning about some of their travels and adventures from the mid-1850s on.  Before that, I have names but very little sources and on my Dad's maternal side I have very little as well.  I would love to learn more from others that have been down this road before.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Hi,

I would suggest you join Family Search. It is free and has some of the best German genealogy on line, One thing I have found is that if your ancestors were from smaller towns or villages they tended to marry in their town or nearby locations. I have maps of these locations. Many individuals also share the same name and similar dates with others. Location is important in determining the correct person. If you enjoy working puzzles it can be a long but fun task. Hope this helps a bit.

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My maiden name is Schulz. My family is of German origin, moved to the Ukraine and then to Canada in the late 1800s and 1920s.

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well I have German ancestors on both sides of my family so ask me anything at all 

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I'm interested in this project in order to gain information on my family heritage. My paternal grandfather (born Kunhdt) was adopted (Hall). He rarely spoke of either family & his biological parents are not listed on his adoption birth certificate, & unfortunately the records are not accessible for another few years. I've been searching for at least 15yr & have recently discovered his real mother (Edith Lillian Pear Kuhndt) & father names (Harold Mervyn Loader). I'd love any help on discovering my families past & where we come from.

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Natasha, hello, and to several others who've recently responded to the idea of being in our German Roots section of Wikitree. We are all happy to have you. Along with German  Roots being a project, we listed in its description many approaches that would open up the history of individuals, but each approach needs someone to answer questions and find information.

Carolyn Dixon (see her note above yours, please) responded yesterday that she'd be happy to help people because she feels well prepared. And I'll make a call for at least two others because there's so much to know about our German Roots, including the Holocaust, the various wars with Germany involved, and similar items.

Anyone who wants to "join" German Roots--especially those with the idea of putting a little time into helping others--should go to the Project page and sign up. No one needs permission to join.

But please, those who are somewhat knowledgeable to be of service to our group offer to do "a little thing or five" for others who don't know already what you know. Anyone can do that and use your Wikitree number (such as Perkins-25) for asking and answering such information items.

Thanks above all for your interest in our very important German Roots Project!

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New members should consider scrolling through the notes from all who are interested in joining or helping others with their knowledge. Be doing so, no one will be inundated with too many Questions, too many Answers.  --Joy!!!!

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Hello, I am interested in joining this project. My mother's family mostly comes from Germany and I am interested in German culture and history. I also speak some German. I am new to wikitree and excited about this community! Nice to meet you all.

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My father's paternal line comes from Germany. It is a brick wall that I have worked for decades. I just can't seem to get back across the ocean. My father was always so special to me and it just frustrates me to no end that I cannot follow this family line. I would sure appreciate some help in how to track this line back. I am a good student if someone can get me started and I would be happy to pass the knowledge on.

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Hi Emily,

What information do you have relative to names, location, and dates? There are some good sources for available at Family Search and Ancestry that are excellent. I work primarily with Wuerttemberg, but with more information would be happy to see If I could be of any assistance.

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Hello, Project Germany Coordinators and Leaders! I look forward to joining this project to both help others and receive help from others regarding their German Genealogy. My father’s paternal family is mainly of German descent. Thanks, Dawson Haack

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My family tree includes a lot of Swiss and German families who emigrated to the United States in the early 1700s.

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Hi, Kylie Haese or other project Germany coordinators. I want to join the project to demolish some German brick wall ancestors and help some others of German descent do the same. My Dad’s paternal grandfather was 100% German, I am German in many different lines of my family tree. My ancestors come from all around Germany and Prussia, but originated in a small army-based village called Seedorf. I would like to contribute to Project German Roots by cleaning up some German wikitree profiles, because I have found that some I have added are a bit sloppy. I hope to work with the German roots project in the future. Thanks

Dawson Haack

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Dawson, I'd love to get some assists from you about my German "Berg" lines from only my father's mother Anna Elisabeth Berg, b. art 1889 in DE. My searches have been incomplete because:  I'm rushing because I am now 80, and tho still mentally sharp, allowing some of the rush, I imagine all kinds of errors and skipping things I should notice.

If you cannot help me with the above I'm sorry, but I'm also grateful that you can help others. Truly.

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None of us have enough time to make mistakes.  You get farther by taking your time and being careful.

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Hi there! I would like to join this project. My mother's family is Bowman or Bauman, and we know we come from Germany, but the stories run the gamut quite a bit. I would like to separate fact from fiction so to speak.

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Thanks, Rob Neff. Just think of this:  I had "a startle reflex" and asked that Question. (Sounds good to me.)

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We were the Schwab's from Baden-Württemberg. The Schwaben from the Black Forest. We left Germany as farmers to Russia, then to the Americas.

I learned recently that we spoke High-German. I was speaking to a women who is from Germany and I spoke things to her, and she said she can hear that natural High-German sound in my voice. Like it's natural.

My grandmother hid my grandfather's German roots from all of us, and it was only after she died that we learned our true origins. Funny, my mother loved Unicorns, and it's our crest. Ironic, and beautiful at the same time.

Phillip, my grandfather changed his pronunciation during WW2 because he was fighting for the allies. He said it as SWAB. Which is not correct. I insist that my family pronounce our name properly.

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Hello. I would like to join this project. I am German and live in Germany. Like so many others, some siblings of my ancestors have emigrated. I have already been able to find some of these descendants and help them with translations. I would like to continue doing that. As our poet Erich Kästner already said: there is nothing good, except you do it.

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Hello.  I would like to join Project Germany!  Both of my grandmothers have (Pennsylvania) German roots.  I enjoy collaborating, and welcome any help.  My lines include the surnames Hartzell and Schaeffer.

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I also have the surname Hartzell in my line !

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Nice, Elissa!  I'll check out your tree.

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Hello! I am interested in joining the Germany Project group! (I have a set of third-great-grandparents who immigrated from Germany in the mid-1800s)

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HI!

Some of my ancestors are from the German_Dutch border area. I would like to join the German Roots Project.

Jan

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Hi, I’m very interested in the German project. While working on my personal genealogy I found I had at least two direct paths by the names Aurandt and Heinz that are noticed in a book called Johann Heinz and and his descendants by Proctor. The spelling names have evolved on my line to Ourand and Hines. I also have a few by marriage on a couple other branches that tied both my Irish and German lines. I’m interested in digging deeper and help myself and others. Thank you.

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I am interested in working on the German Roots project.  I have German ancestry from both parents including the names Gevers/Gebers, Fisher, Kraft, Weber, and many others.  My German ancestors emigrated to South Africa and the USA.

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Hi, I have an ancestor from Bremen that joined the Dutch East India Company and came to South Africa in 1794.
I would like to know where the borders of Bremen would have been around the 1790's and if there was a specific route and means of travel from Bremen to Texel at that time.

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Hello, I am interested in this project.  I have ancestral 'roots' in Germany on my mother's side. The only records that we have are the three brothers who immigrated to the USA 1845-1855.  In 3-4 census records after they arrived, they reported their hometown as Hessen.... but I am not sure that the American census workers got the German language right for their home town. My only clues after that are that all three were stonemasons when they arrived, so that they had to grow up in a place where they could learn that craft (working mine 1800-1850?) and that they were Catholic in Germany which may narrow down regions or areas.  I have been defeated in my initial attempts to find this Becker family in Germany.  I would love to work with someone who can 'show me the ropes' on German records exploration for an English speaking American.  I want to learn how to do this, not just have a kind person do the work and give me the answers. If I can learn how, then I will willingly share what I have learned with others here who face the same problem of being an English speaking American trying to find family records in German/Germany. Hopefully my experience/skill gain will matter or make a difference for others and not just me... always my intent on WikiTree.

Here are the profile pages of my genealogy line in Germany... Becker-7449 Johnann Peter Becker (Joseph Peter Baker In USA) 

Becker-7485  Johann George Becker and Becker-7483 Wlihelm/William Becker.                                            

You can see what little I know on the Becker brothers and their German family on these profile pages. Catholic and stonemasons, and Hesse/Hessan isn't a lot to start from, but maybe it is enough for someone who knows what they are doing. I will help, if I know how I can help the person kind enough to help me.

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Hello. I would like to participate in this group. I'm Danish and one branch of my ancestors is a merchant family Hahn from Lubeck about 1560-1620; father and son Hermann Hahn (Hahn-2911 and Hahn-2912). I would also like to help translate danish life stories or other danish sources into english (many old books have been digitalized and can be read on-line, e.g. Bricka: Dansk Biografisk Lexicon, 1887-1905).

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I have many german ancestors on both my paternal and maternal side.  I have entered a gedcom on wiki tree and I have a tree also in ancestry and family search.  Give me more info on how to contribute to this project as I am interested in it.  My DNA results in ancestry says I have only 9% German but there are so many German ancestors in my tree that I feel more German than any other group.  Thank you.

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"rj" -- It seems that you are "conjoined" with the German culture, meaning the thoughts and actions of your friends and German ancestors. The 9% of yr family's Germans who are DNA related are found deep in your heart-mind-body, and going back in time, weren't there many more German relatives say 5 generations ago? (I'm guessing here.) They must all (or many of them) have been part of a tributary that ended with you. So you "are connected."

In your years of living, your interests and frame of mind must have connected with your ideas and experiences with those Germans too. So, I'll put my 5 cents on your being happy with the "Germans in your life" if not your DNA.

If I remember, I'll go back to my lineages and see how I "feel" about the Germans in mine. However, when very young, I experienced the news about WWII on the radio, which showed that the US was seriously against the Germans. (You'll remember that history, right?)

We are what we know. We experience through stories (the news, for example) on the radio and now TV and films. Attitudes are cast in fictions as well as the facts. 

My father was part German and part Jew (not cut in half). My mom was English. We lived in the US, and they never talked about the war, the Germans, or the Jews. So I was left clean of any prejudices or judgments they might have had. I feel very lucky about that and the life we had together.

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I will join in as my biological father is German.He had immigrated to Canada before moving on to the US where he joined the army. He is now retired and living in Germany again. He came from the West Pomenaria town of Gross Jestin that was invaded by the Russian after the war and became polish Gościno. It is rather difficult to find record there now. I hope to find help here.

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All of my 3x grandparents on my moms side of the family tree is all from different parts of Germany and several of them were from Prussia (one of the areas I want to work on). Sadly most of our research stops at my 3x grandparents and tracing them before they came to America is hard. They are a fun mystery that I am looking forward to try to solve. I search for the real info to connect the dots and I hope what ever I find will help someone else as they take this fun journey in their family history.

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I joined wikitree about a month ago thinking my roots were mainly French and Scot.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn I have an extensive German heritage and would like to learn more about it.  I have found many Pallentine connections and Bavarian which has really piqued my curiosity.

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Hello.  I would like to join the group.  My father's side of the family is German and Danish (Schleswig-Holstein).  His mother's side were all from the island of Foehr, while his dad's is from the mainland.  Both of his parents immigrated to New York, where they were married.  Thank you.

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My father's family is from Foehr!! I would be happy to connect and share resources.

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My Weavers/Webers come from Pennsylvania and possibly the family of Captain Michael Weber of the Rangers of the Frontier (most common Weaver/Weber family in my DNA matches from Penn.). I have a Y-DNA match with an Ochs family from Frankfurt an Main and my DF98 group under U106 is very common around that area and Worms and Mannheim etc. That match would be in the early to middle medieval times most likely as this is the explanation of our match via my DF98 group leader Dr. McDonald: Match with a male line with the surname Ochs from b. 1720 and d. 1799 in Frankfurt an Main, Hesse, Germany. Combined with STR differences, around 450 to 1220 years ago (with 95% confidence) or around 560 to 1020 years ago (68%) for a common ancestor. My DF98 group is called the "King's Cluster" and managed by Dr. Iain McDonald because of our distant DF98 connection the German House of Wettin and possibly Bourbons based on testing of modern day descendants of those families. My hypothesis is our sub groups of DF98 were quite common among Frankish Germans who settled around and along the Rhine - currently we are waiting for further ancient DNA testing to confirm our sub groups presence before, during and after the Germanic Migration period! Other Lutheran Germans in my father's ancestry from Pennsylvania also - many were early German pioneers to Penn! I am currently focused on trying to make a bit of progress on my Y-DNA! I need to find Weavers/Webers from Penn to test! I maintain the Weaver IV family tree under user name Bollox79 at ancestry where I keep a lot of my sources and especially DNA matching for the different lines in my family!

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I'd love to join this project. Several ancestors from Germany.  I also lived there for 3 years, while my father served in the military.

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Hello! I would like to join this group in an attempt to find my father's ancestors.  I know they came from Baden, Germany

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Hello I'd like to join the German ancestry group please.  Seems I have several family members from Germany.

Thank you

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Hello and yes I NEED to join. Hard to research when you don't know German, thats the truth. And Ive needed help need help. HAHA I have Hoffmann from Wutenburg, Germany 1860’s. Sobieski from Grudziadz, Prussia and I say Prussia because I tried doing the math of when they came here. All the political stuff i guess. If that matters. Also Golombiewski from that same branch. And Koulback or Koubach which is my Maternal sides surname they were German. I’d say they were there til John came 1860ish he had a son August who passed here in Chicago 1918. Thanks

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I have a 3-g-grandfather who died in what is now Hetzlos, Bad-Kissingen, Bavaria, Germany on 24 Dec 1860, and have the record of death, though I was told that the records stop about that time, due to privacy issues, and so do not have the record of death of his wife who survived him. That was 13 years ago; does anyone know if this situation still persists? If yes; is there some reason why the year 1860 was set as the last year of death record availability?

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Would like to join the German Project. My 6th GGrandfather migrated from the Baden area to Pennsylvania. He is Kautz-250.  Have found today that George's family are not from Baden. They are from Hess Hanau, Frankfurt Au Main, Germany. I will enter them in the next day or two, however I do not have much in the line of sources and would appreciate any help with them.

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My great grandfather came from Germany (Baden), but I have not been able to trace anything to Germany about him or about his marriage to an English woman.

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I have fallen into the pre-1700 rabbit hole via Johann Ernst Sipfle (Sipfle-11) and his ancestors. Most of them seem to be from the Baden-Wurttemberg region, so that's likely my best fit (for now). 

I am not a German-speaker, and I am just now applying my academic research background to geneaology, but I will help where I can. 

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I would like to join the German project , my grand father was a German prisoner of war during world war 2 , and held in a concentration camp in Scotland , and resettled there after the war, sadly he died before I was born. My dad and his siblings don’t seem to know very much about his life in Germany and although I do have a little information , I’m super struggling to connect to the correct family , due to name variations, birth names, given name,, so any help would be greatly appreciated .

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Hi Natasha,

I can imagine that this is rather frustrating, especially connecting with the right ancestors. Have you tried the search option here for any names you may have? Family Search is free so this could be another option. Do you know from which part of Germany your ancestor was from?
All the best,Bea

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Hey extremely frustrating , my dad was under the impression he origionally came from Chemnitz, and that hugos family moved from the east to the west, before outbreak of ww2  told they moved to Black forest area, but after a little help from a kind wiki person, who not only told me which civil registry to apply too in Chemnitz , also drafted me an email  in German to send ,(i dont speak german/iv never been to germany) . This is not the case , they have no record of him their, i was totally gutted with this news, i had put so much time and energy into Chemnitz, stadts, district,,now im kinda stuck as where to go/try next. East germany , well its like a needle in a haystack , I do have a good amount of info , or so i thought , but the german naming patterns ,have me all over the place and i just cant pinpoint the exact family, my geography is terrible, so iv had to do a good bit of research on east germany, and ww2 in general, and have so much info written down, so any help , pointing me in the right direction , would b appreciated,, #determined#stubborn#nevergiveup#

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Hi Bea, thanks for the msg. I've made a few discoveries but dont know if they're 100% correct. My grandfather's biological mothers surname was Kundt, they were Dutch is what I've been informed yet as a child I was always told grandpa was German. His biological father's surname was Loader, they were married but divorced shortly after my grandfather was born. A few years later a half brother named Kevin was born, but i don't know anything about him other than he lived in Adelaide. I'd just like to have some sort of answer as to where my origins come from.

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HI Tash,

If you like, I can take a look at ancestry, I am a paying member. I can also speak German, as I was born and raised there. If you have any dates to go with it, that would be helpful. You can email me the dates, if you like!
I would love to help. After all, during this virus there is not much one can do.
Bea

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Oh, you must mean Hanau, Hessen.. I was born and raised there but emigrated to Canada long ago.
Maybe I can help out although there is not much data available after the war.
Bea

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I'm interested in verifying my German Loyalist roots.  Funny story...  I was dating a German guy back in 1964 and his mother (who had been a Hitler Maiden) didn't want us to date because I was Scottish...  one Scot in the whole genealogy - the rest are German and/or Palatine and English & French.

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I would like to join and help out with the Germany project.  My 6th great-grandfather was Johannes Layman (1688-1755). He came over from Germany with his brother on the Santa Ana in 1726.  Looking forward to helping with this project... Thanks

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I have been told that I have German ancestors on both sides. I also think that some of the last names sound German. I have taken the DNA test through Ancestry, and it says 39% Germanic Europe.

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My entire maternal side is made up of ancestors who emigrated from today's Germany to the United States, beginning in the early 1700s through the late 1890s. I'd like to join the project, with my key areas of interest being Prussia and Palatine Emigration.  (I also could use occasional help translating from German to English!) I'm currently in the process of migrating my Ancestry.com tree--that I've been building since 2010--to WikiTree.

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I would love to join

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My father was born in Bremen and his mother's family (Düser; from Woltmershausen) is from that area of Bremen, as well as places in the surrounding Niedersachsen.  Surnames in her family were 3rd gen) Schäfer, 4th gen) Meyer, Wietelmann, 5th gen) Borries, Logemann, Schwarze, 6th gen) Rueter, Fricke, Verspor, Hartmann)

My grandfather was born further south in Gronau, SW of Hildesheim, in what is now Niedersachsen.  Generations of Donn families before that were in Detfurth, also a few miles S of Hildesheim in Niedersachsen.  Paternal surnames include 3rd gen) Reeke, 4th gen) Kappmeyer, Gerken, 5th gen) Aue, Franken, 6th gen) Dörrmann, Eilers, 7th gen) Seiler, all in Detfurth.

While I can obviously go back several generations on some branches, others have been a challenge, such as the Düser family beyond my 3G-grandfather, Friedrich Christian Düser and his son Heinrich Justus Ludwig Düser.  On the Donn side of the family, my siblings and I are the only living Donn descendants of my GG grandfather Karl Donn, born in 1851.  I would like to find some other Donn cousins descended from those in southern Niedersachsen.

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I may not have much to contribute, except for a BIG BRICK WALL, a few records, and a couple of family stories. Interested in the Leinen area and the town of Wurtenburg in the 1830's era. I'd love to learn more and break the wall of the backstory of my husband's Rudolph Schmidt or Schmedt (Schmidt-8963). It's quite a tale! What can I do to help this new project?

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Hi There, I would like to join the Prussia project and in order to do that I was told I need to join the German project first. I am totally new to this. What do I need to do? My grandfather was born in rauschwitz glogau, liegnitz, silesia, prussia, Germany in 1882 and immigrated to Canada in 1911, before World War 1.

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Hi there,

I have several branches of family that appear to have come to North America from Germany/Prussia between the 1680s and 1880s.  Surnames include Schmidt, Scherer, and Nave (from Prussia/Lower Silesia, if anecdotal evidence can be confirmed).  I am particularly interested in studying the Nave line at the moment, as one of my distant cousins has found what appears to be an ancestor born pre-1700 in that area.

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I have German roots. On my paternal side my 5th great grandfather Nicholas Glosser/Glaser came to the United States. On my maternal side my Grandmother was a Carper which her ancestors spelled the name Korber. I am interested in learning more about my German Ancestors.

Eric Glosser

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The Schmit last name sounds familiar to me. I feel like I saw that last name in the Bruno Saskatchewan Now and Then town book

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Kylie-

After exhausting my research using MyHeritage seeking the families Steiger, Dellar, Guethlin and Eckenstein, I would like to be added to the Wiki German_Roots Project. The locations Haltingen,Baden,Wuertemberg,Kirchen are what I have determined so far and would like to dig further.

Dave

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This is Erased

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I’ve just recently started looking into  my genealogy. I have German ancestry on both sides of my family.  My maiden name was Marz and my mother’s was Mengel. My DNA test indicated I’m about 25% northern German and about 25% western German. And about 57% German in general. I am interested in learning more.

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Hi Lyndsay, to join the German Project a requirement is that you sign the Honour Code, but feel free to come and join here when you have, or private message me directly.

Thanks, Kylie

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My maternal grandmother was born a Garlinghouse. I suspect the name was anglicized from Gerlinghaus(en), which is the name of a place in North-Rhine Westphalia. I actually live in Germany, just a couple of hours from there, and speak near-perfect German. So documents are only a problem if written in the old script! I know that James John Garlinghouse emigrated to the colonies in the 1750s. He and his sons fought in the Revolution. I haven't found any easy routes backwards from there. Would be grateful for any clues.

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My maternal grandparents were Ratzow and Kissmann, with Sternberg and Kramer to add for their parents.  I have more beyond that, but for my great-grandmother Sternberg I hit a brick wall.  Fortunately I have DNA matches with cousins in the US who descend from Ratzows, and that, coupled with extensive searching through records, enabled me to build my Ratow line back to 1754, but the Kissmann side is trickier due in part to name changes between Kissmann and Kisser.  My great-great grandfather was born a Kisser, but died a Kissmann, and I have DNA matches with cousins descending from Kissmanns, but the connection is farther back than I have managed to trace so far, so I don't know if they were once Kissers too, or whether my line started with Kissmann and changed to Kisser for a while before changing back to Kissmann.

I look forward to participating n the project and learning more about my heritage!

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Mark, I wasn't ignoring your comment, but to get results, Please, Just go to the project: 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Germany

and sign in. Yes, It's that easy. 

I hope you've already found that way!

Roberta

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I have several German lines in South Louisiana beginning in 1721 and ending with 1830's when my Kramer/Kraemer ancestors came to Louisiana. There is come German info on Wikitree, Heidel/Hadyel, Dubs/Toups among others. I have put some info on my Kramer family line but I'm working on confirming info so my data is backed by Census &/or Church records. Some of the info out there is incorrect. I would like to join this group.  I'm having trouble with German records.

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Karin, hi, but this isn't a good day for sending (or receiving?) emails. I'm doubtful about trying to message you now.

I was told yesterday that those with German backgrounds in the German group also speak German. If you've tried to join, then you already know that.

I'd like to join a group that doesn't require speaking/writing German. So maybe one will be developed. Not by me, but maybe by you or someone else who "shows up". Some title like "German Rooted English Speakers" but shortening it would help.

Have a happy day, no kidding!

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Roberta, who told you that German had to be spoken in the German group? That is not right. We Germans in this group also speak English. Only English.

And the members with a German background are not all speaking German.

Your information is wrong. Maybe you should join this group to convince yourself. But please don't spread falsehoods.

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I can't speak a word of German and I belong to the Germany group and the Palatine Migration group.

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Let me add my voice to the choir.  I am 100% monolingual English, with at least six generations of German ancestry.  My family in the USA had been stuck/stymied for decades because of the language barrier; we only had genealogy records after my 'family' immigrated here.  After joining the Germany group, I learned enough in just four months to break through that barrier (decades).  The group supports and educates its members tremendously.  They gave hints and a little information, but they teach/inform rather than do most of the work for you... allowing you to do and learn how to do the work necessary.  And sometimes they do incredible favors too.  They gave me some info/directions, and some pointers, and helped with translations while I did most of the research.  I found my ancestors in Germany, confirmed and verified by the good people in the group and by the suddenly mirror matching records generated in the USA after their immigration.  The Germany Group absolutely does not have a language expectation or requirement, in fact it breaks down language barriers so that mono-English people like me can 'further' our family genealogy work.  Join us, and I am sure your experience with be just as happy/good as mine has been.

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I am interested in joining your German Ancestry Project. My maiden name is Schwartzer and I have a lot of ancestors that immigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1820's. I would like to get over my brick wall after my second great grandfather.

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I am the Germany project leader and I do not speak German. I only speak English. We welcome people who speak any language to our project.

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Kylie, Hi, and I'm thankful for your message!. Last week, including our most recent weekend, the project seemed to have been being operated by two women new to me. I much preferred the way you've been running it, but it seemed as though they had replaced you.

Please understand that I was steered wrong. I much preferred the way you've been running the project. I am happily on the right track again, after your note above.

Things to do: If I can remember or recover their names, I'll tell you who misinformed me. 2) Is there another (different) queue for people who want to join your group for German roots? Who was directing me? --I'll try to find out.

Next time, Kylie, I'll contact you instead of believing what someone tells me. I certainly do not want to mislead anyone!!

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Roberta, I have sent you a PM 

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KYLIE, I'm in the dark. Where did you send it and What is a PM?

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You will receive an email ..sorry...pm means private message. And that will be sent as an email.

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Kylie, so far today, I haven't seen your message to me, but I'll try again soon/quickly.

NOTE: THIS is a couple of days later. I still haven't seen anything from you, but I haven't been busy with all of this.

I apologize.

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Guten Tag! I'm interested in joining the German Roots project. Much of my mother's ancestry was Germanic prior to emigrating to America in the 18th-19th centuries. Danke!

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Steve Archuleta, Did you find a way to get help/information about your German ancestors? ( Your note is above.)

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Hi Roberta,

Thanks for email me. I am trying to find a listing of some German words matching the sections found on the civil/ church records. I live in South Louisiana and the biggest group of my ancestors were Acadian/Cajun, Quebecois, and from France. My German ancestors come next with lines coming from Germany,& Switzerland.

Our records ( S. Louisiana) before 1900 were done primarily in French. There are certain words that I know to pick out of the text to identify which name is what. I know how to read numbers and how to read the years of the records done in French. I have even gone into Online sites in France and have read records over there.

What I am looking for is key words in German. I have found numbers in German where I can match the words. I have found the words for different family members. I am trying to understand how years are written. French is different from English and I'm sure there are differences with German. I'm looking to find out if German civil records have been posted to the Internet. My family was from southwestern Germany, near the Swiss border. We have found some information, but I am trying to find out information on the women in our family, especially from 1830 and back.  I have done this in my Acadian/ Quebec &French ancestors along with my German ancestors in Louisiana who started coming here in 1721. It's interesting the information I have found doing this.

I'm currently working on my Kramer/Kraemer/Kreamer side of the family. There is information out there but not to the extent that I can find with the Acadian/ Cajun records. Have a great weekend. Karin

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I have always heard of my Scottish, English, and Irish ancestors, but never German. My Wiki Tree opened up to 50 or so German ancestors IN JUST ONE GRANDFATHER! I have no idea if there is even more. I am excited to learn about the culture and people of Germany.

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I would like to join the German Roots project. I am currently working on location categories for locations in Uelzen, Niedersachsen, where the majority of my paternal German relatives originated. I have some ancestors back to 1600/1590 (Ripke, Richers, Ebeling; see my profile for all surnames I am following) and want to flesh them out but need the project backing to really jump in, I think.

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Hi. My mother's parents came to Morden, Manitoba from Bavaria at the turn of the previous century but obtaining information about their lineage in Germany is tough because I have no working knowledge of the German language. Suggestions?

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Hello! I would like to be added to this group as my paternal line of Krieger originated in Germany prior to migrating to the US in the 19th century. Thank you.

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I am new to Wikitree, and currently in the process of transitioning my tree info over.  My mothers side is heavily rooted in Germans from Russia, mostly Black Sea Germans, that I have researched quite extensively using Odessa 3 and other sources of the like.  I have been out of the game for a couple years, but now that I have an empty nest, I have all the time in the world to pick it back up.  I am starting with a proper transition to WT, as well as investing in courses.  I would love to join the Germany Project, as well as the sub Projects for Black Sea Germans.  I also have a few Volga German ancestors, and a handful from Prussia, but I would like to get my research organized and put in from my Black Sea German group first before I take on those new to me areas. I still need a couple weeks to get my tree info transition over to here though, and learn my way around.  I am excited to see the specific Germans from Russia projects and the wealth of information contained on the information pages.  I am super excited to dig in.

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Hello,

i would like to join this Projekt, because i searching for my family roots and recogniced that there are connection to german aristocrates. von Aachen, von Wassenberg, von Kleef and more. i try to extend the search myself but i also need some help.

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Yes, I would like to join, as I have some information on my lines (& own some German family books & one French one) which are German or considered themselves German even though some lived just over the border into what is now France:

Some of my Germanic lines are from these areas:

Baden-Württemberg:

Bissingen an der Teck

Weilheim an der Teck

Bavaria: 

Bad Brückenau

Moselle, France:

Bitche 

Lambach

Siersthal

Saarland:

Berus

Bous

Differten

Püttlingen

Otzenhausen

Völklingen

Wadgassen

Hesse:

Schwarzenfels 

Weichersbach

Züntersbach

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I am also interested in joining this group. Have been in WT for about 5 years now. I've been working with my Schürger ancestors from the Urspringen area. I have many from this area. Like many researchers, I've found many relatives who immigrated to USA, and many stayed at home. My Immigrants' families have been relatively easy to track as they came into the states and their families grew, found new jobs, and moved around. Not so easy to research those staying in Germany. Recently started a one-name study to assist in my research. Am always looking for new ways to move forward . . . 

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My ancestry is Central European.  My last name is German - Rothbart  (Rotbart, Rotbarth) and I've hit a bit of a brick wall with that corner of the family, as I'm also Jewish.  I know my great-grandfather Louis lived in Zyrardow, Poland, and the names of my great-great-grandparents  (Pincus and Sylvia Malka Joseph), but not where they lived. On a slightly more fanciful note, I'd love to find out If I'm related to Barbarossa, as he was Frederick der Rothbart.

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Hi I’m interested in tracing roots

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Yes I will join here.  My Father's (born 1918) people going back a generation or two are from Schleswig-Holstein coming to the US just after the Prussian takeover of that principality or before. The other side of my Father's family are also from the same territory but Ancestry has informed me that my Father's Grandmother on his Mother's side was probably of Swedish or Norwegian descent.  Unfortunately Ancestry has not been able to help trace by Father's family back into what was then ( and for 1000 years before that) Denmark.  Interestingly the area of Iowa in which he was born was populated both by German speaking and Danish speaking former inhabitants/ descendants of SH.

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I would like to join the German Roots project.  My mother is from Berlin, and all other ancestors from the Prussian countries that are now no longer German, but were Germanic during their lifetime,  please advise how I may join.

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My family is from Germany and I grew up in South Africa.  I am super frustrated about the lack of information available for German Ancestory and so I want to do my part and I would love to join.

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Let us know, Silvia, after a week or so how your change to our German Roots offerings were superior to what you'd been reading (and switched away from). 

We need to know how we're doing, and exactly what people like you believe they need. 

Good luck with your research and "Good Findings!"

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Hi Sylvia, This post has been closed. Please submit your request to our new join post here: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1164394/do-you-have-german-ancestry-join-us-in-the-germany-project

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Would like to join. I did one of the early imports of people from the Alsace and Baden area that came into Louisiana and some that went to the East Coast

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Hi Patrick, This post is closed. Please submit your request to our new join post here: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1164394/do-you-have-german-ancestry-join-us-in-the-germany-project and I will get you set up.

Answer 1

I am already in the groups,  German, Volga, Hugenaut  but you have lit a fire.  I have so many projects I am working on but it never fails that I put them aside and work on an exciting new one.  I will look at my family lines and see if they have all the stickers, categories and SOURCES  that I have found and been led to.  Thank you for your hard work on our families. Cuz' Carole

Comments

Carole Taylor, Hi, and where did you find an example of making sources that fit into our understood mechanics of genealogy? If I'm interested in that happening so must be many others. It's a basic basic question and need here.

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I try to stay within the Style guides  for bio's.  I was just copy/pasting the census records totally and was asked by a Mentor to make it look more like a story.  so I delete the words about the census and just leave the year and place that they lived. I am totally a "just the facts" person, but want to see who was living there and what they were doing.   But sorry I am not great at story telling.  But when I do get a bit of information going I try to make paragraphs so it is easy to  scan and catch the  relevance of the person. The site location goes in the sources  or <ref>

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I'll try your method!. she said -- Uh, if I can figure out how to translate your words into practice.  I love this, your sentence, most:  " I am just nosy and want to know/and prove all that a family lived, loved and died for and share their HISTORY with anyone who looks for their ancestors."

Via a private conversation, I'd like to see if I can try out your research technique above, if and only if you'd agree to check it out after I (1) get straight the wording of what you've stated that you do, and (2)  see that I can copy your process.  

Would that be good-to-OK with you?  (Reply at Hilse-40, please.)

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Carole, Could you please give me an assist? As a student of the best literature (literary stuff), I'm good at making inferences and paragraphs. I'd like to have  a guide from you on the points you gather for a couple of types of ancestors, since some are complicated bios and some aren't. Your providing that will ease my anxiety about venturing into the Unknown. I am still too earnest about not making mistakes.

I will check the censuses (should be a habit but isn't), so I'll seek them out (they arrive "by accident" infrequently) but how to you discover "what they were doing" (at a job or community position, say?)

Everyone is relevant in a family line, but I suspect that some are more relevant than others. 

Isn't it the case that "the common man" simply suggests a mob?

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I haven't tried and been successful yet.

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well, I research on familysearch.org for the census records, marriage, birth, death, copy/paste the text into bio, and try to make it look more like a story than "Just the facts, Ma'am."..  the "Occupation" is almost always on the original page, not the text page.  One profile might be more involved for one reason, more sources were found.  And/or if something or someone did something or had an exciting life.  bottom line is I am just nosy and want to know/and prove all that a family lived, loved and died for and share their HISTORY with anyone who looks for their ancestors. Right now I am trying to get the  Soldiers who served in the Colorado Regiments on wikitree with as much data as I can find.  Thank you,  and I am sure you are/will do great.

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Carole, that's a great explanation. Thanks.

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Carole, that's a great explanation. Thanks.

(I have nothing else to say now. But this message keeps rotating up!!!!) --Grrr. (a kind and patient grrrr.)

Answer 2

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/762680/german-roots-hopes-to-start-a-german-and-deutschland-portal?show=762680#q762680

We also started a German and Deutschland Portal.....all welcomed to help if you speak or studied German. Contact Kylie.

Comments

How is a portal different than a project?

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I think it would be the place where you can find help pages in German,, all the special rules, a naming  convention etc for german ancestors.

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The portal is in German and for German natives, and will focus on post 1871 which is when Germany was unified. Hope that helps, it is still in the forming stages.

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Yes, that does help, thanks.

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So that description of who could use the German portal, Kylie Haese, eliminates me.

I'm half German (with a German father, raised in the USA but spoke and read no German). I studied German (2 years in college), and for a lowly MA I had to translate about 5 pages of the literary critic Schiller. He was regarded as a difficult author, and yes, I passed.

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Roberta, I'm sure you could use the portal if you wanted, but it looks like it's geared towards people who are more comfortable using German than using English.  Google translate only gets you so far, it's still nicer to have things actually written in your native language. WikiTree has definitely been English-centric, it's good for it to branch out a bit if it wants to have a global presence.

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I agree, Rob, completely.

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Rob, is someone taking up the reins of communicating the important and often basic information from you and Carol Taylor (above)? I want to know what they know. 

OR : Can you show us a way to plug into the informative correspondences of these family lines?? Many people will and do want to use them. (I am only one of many.)

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Rob, is someone taking up the reins of communicating the important and often basic information from you and Carol Taylor (above)? I want to know what they know. 

OR : Can you show us a way to plug into the informative correspondences of these family lines?? Many people will and do want to use them. (I am only one of many.)

Thanks for any and all moments of assistance.

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Roberta, I'm not sure what information you're looking for. As you can tell above, I was learning about the portal not long before you. I'm not really a German speaker, so it doesn't apply to me.

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Rob Neff: I too am left out of that group, not being a German speaker. But I, too, have German roots and want to know what others with German roots are thinking/talking about. This group for those born in Germany and continue to speak that language perhaps doesn't want to dismiss those of us who weren't born in Germany. But it feels that way.  I've been told by others that that IS the case.

We can redesign a group that includes those of us who have German roots but don't speak German fluently. I took German in high school and college, but never enough so it's cemented in my tongue and brain. Probably there are great numbers of others in this situation. I'm still interested in the German culture and don't know much about it. 

WOULD OTHERS SPEAK UP, PLEASE: Should we start another group of/for those who have spoken and read German but aren't fluent (usually a second-language speaker of German)? -- and get over feeling "left out" if we do.

 

Answer 3

Would love to be a part of this project.  My maternal grandfather's family comes from Germany.  Thank you

Comments

Great, Patricia. I have you set up now.

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Maggie--Can't People just sign up without help from us? Has that changed???

Answer 4

Yes, I have more German ancestry than I thought after I seeing my DNA report.  I hope someday Germany and other countries in Europe will open their arms to DNA genetic research.  That way there will be a bigger pool of genetic matches for me and others.

Comments

My DNA report says "Northwest Europe" for a small amount, Ellen. However, I do belong to a sub-group community of "Germans in Russia" at Ancestry which matches my paper trials. You are all set.

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Ellen, several months ago there was a study of a former German data security officer who clearly said that DNA testing - as long as the labs doing the DNA sequencing are located in the USA - is illegal in the EU. That is because the US data protection rules are not as strict as they are in the EU. The companies would need to apply EU-data protection rules to be considered legal. Also, by agreeing to the (Ancestry DNA) T&Cs you actually LOSE the right to decide what happens to your DNA. This is against the EU-rule. A different problem is that Ancestry works with pharma companies or insurance companies "to enhance pharma research". Also the Golden State Killer case showed, that it might be possible to identify you via your DNA, no matter if Ancestry assures you it is not identifiable.

I was wondering to do a DNA-test, but after this study I stopped this thought. When the companies build a lab in EU-Europe and comply to EU-rules I might reconsider that.

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went too MUNCHEN  people were

wonderful there- helped me with finding

family and leading too my family roots

well worth trip

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Ellen McGrath: Hello, and simultaneously I ask all of our members to remember us, the great number of people who do not have much time left in their very long lives.  I'm 80 and while I think I'll be here in a couple of years, longer will be a much larger bet. (I've already outlived my parents and have no siblings, so now I see that Yes, being an "only child" has its defects. But they don't show earlier in life. Just a fact, for me (as in no sad tears).

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I have quite a few German matches on MyHeritage.com.

Answer 5

Hello

I´m from Germany and german is my native language.

I would like to join the Project.

viele Grüße

Petra

Comments

Petra, I hope you've joined. Put your name on the list, that's all. (I'm sorry I didn't see your item above till now!)

Answer 6

I descend from families from several areas of Germany.  Is there a plan to have managers of specific areas?   If so I would be happy to take on the following areas and create a free space page for each with some historical information, map links, genealogy links.  

Baden-Württemberg (which are actually 2 areas farther back in time) 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg

Hesse-Darmstadt 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landgraviate_of_Hesse-Darmstadt

Thuringia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringia  (glass and crystal makers abound here)

Saxony-Anhalt 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxony-Anhalt

I would also be happy to share this duty with others interested in those areas.  

I have done something similar for the French project see:  

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Department_of_Moselle

Comments

I think it would be a good idea for the German-speaking portal to have a free space page for regions.

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My Grandfather on my mother's side was from Saxony but I have not figured out how to find anything about him even in the US! I, too, have way too much on my plate right now to help but am VERY excited that it is happening! If anything time wise frees up in the future, I would love to help .  I also have ancestors from Poland and Austria.  They immigrated in the 1860-1900's near as I know.  Posen is the only name I know for a city.

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Laura! Wonderful that you have joined German Roots project. Can you please PM me, because this is exactly something we need. I love your french page example, and would love to see this for the German Roots project.

Many thanks,

Kylie, German Roots Project Coordinator

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Kylie I have sent you several direct emails with "thinking" and some possible sources to draw upon.  Just want to make sure you have seen them.

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Hi Laura,

Yes thank you. You should receive a reply very soon. Great work by the way, so much fantastic research.

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My 2x great-mother was German and I’m having a difficult time finding ancestors due to various spellings. I would like to help but not sure how I’m able. I’ve been doing research for several years but still have so much more to learn. I look forward to contributing however I can.

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Laura, please let us know when your work is available to us.

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A number of the states are finished.  Some we are adding to as a on-going project.   You can see them here (scroll down to the second grid) 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Germany_Regions_Team

Answer 7

My maternal grandparents were both from German-speaking areas of Europe. Great-grandma was from Koenigswalde, while more remote ancestors were from Bergenweiler and undetermined locations in Germany (at least, that's what they told the Census).

Answer 8

Hi there,

I have German Ancestors that I’m researching and I’m interested in joining up but I too have my plate full with other commitments. I’m also just learning about my German background and would appreciate the support from other people.

Kind Regards

Heidi Young

Comments

Heidi, you need to sign in.

Answer 9

I have a whole line of Heise family on my mother's side. The name was deformed into Heinz when Christian Heise arrived in Quebec. I was able to retrace Jochen Heise, married with Sophie Behrend (26 Nov 1723 - 5 Aug 1774, Netzow, Brandenburg, Prussia). But I don't have any other information.

Comments

Stefanie welcome!

I have stumbled across those names in searching for my own ancestors. I have started a Haese one name study with Heise as a variant. Here is the link https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Haese_Name_Study

I would love to have you join us there and add your ancestors etc.

Kylie

German Roots Project Coordinator

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Kylie, is "Hilse" likely to be a variant of Haese ? (But then, I suppose it's irrelevant in my case. My father's father is "Unknown" and it was his mother who married a Hilse in the USA well after he was born (and grown taller). Her unmarried surname was Berg (is there a more common surname??(Drat!) Born a Berg, he took her married surname ( Hilse ) later in life (but I don't know when). 

HOW WOULD I FIND a useful and fruitful way to find his father? Here's what facts say:  Rudolf Berg was born to Anna Elisabeth Berg who was not married at the time and still lived in Europe, probably Germany. In America, she settled down. Anna's mother (or grandmother) took care of Anna's son until he was four years old and then left him with Anna in America, before she went "home" to be with her closest relatives. Only then did Anna assume responsibility of Rudy as her child. The older woman of the two then went to her closest relatives in Germany to die. She'd done a great service for Rudy and for his mother. 

Answer 10

Hello

My whole one tree branch originates from Elberfeld, Germany.

Am also still researching further back, hard times as I cant read a word of German.

Only came into South Africa in 1800's, Rhenish Missionaries and farmers.

Comments

Hi Janette, I found some church book entries to source the marriage of M. C. Obermann with Lückhoff and the baptism entry for August. Added the sources to the profiles. :)

Answer 11

I would love to join this project. My grandfather was born in Prussia, Zdunska Wola, and a lot of his forefathers were born in Leignitz, Silesia, Dobron, also. I haven’t found where in Germany they first originated yet. I don’t read or speak German, Polish or Russian, so the documents I downloaded still need translation.

Comments

There are also active facebook groups that help with translation. I don't want to push people away from WikiTree, but it is easy to upload pictures there.  I haven't seen a lot of translation requests and answers being done on WT, but maybe I haven't been paying attention.  Or maybe this is a good time to start that.

Edit: looking around some, I see an example where somebody loaded all their scans into a free space page, so all the translations are in one place.  That seems like a good idea, maybe we could have instructions on how to do that on the German project page.

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Thanks, the free space page is a good idea.

Answer 12

My German roots were:

Carl Jacob Friedrich Bader from Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; 1834 Bader-1083

Elizabeth Warner from Hesse-Darmstadt, Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany 1836 Wagner-9134

Johannes Gregorius (uncertain) Hans Detweiller from Lörrach, Baden 1685 Detweiler-128

Answer 13

Where do I begin; My Name is Rader , all German, My Grandmother is a Bennett, related to the Bennetts, (Edward) started the Va. Company and early VA,. Colony on the James River,  My GR- GR-GR-Grandfather's  Mathias Rader's Brother Adam Rader and Alexander Bender , donated land for the Lutheran Church and Cemetery at Timberville Va.. It sill exists as one of the oddest In Va. Adam Rader had 1500 acres of land and mined lead for the Revolutionary War. Check out my DNA report.  Follow my Profile at Rader-282 on Google to find more details. Samuel Lee Rader., akrosam2@outlook.com

Answer 14

My paternal line is from Germany. So far researched to Neckarkreis, Wuerttemburg area and Hamburg City/Region. Some suggestions of Dutch connections via Hamburg and some ancestors migrated to USA from both Hamburg and Wuerttemburg.

Suggestions in DNA testing of some earlier connections to Scandanavia, Balkans and Southern Italy.

Answer 15

Although my ancestry is German, I speak no German.  I have much German information, but documented reference is limited.  My family has handed down ancestry and photos from many generations, but not much paper trail.  I have many names and dates, but feel like much of my info can not be on wikitree due to lack of papertrail.  I would be interested in being part of the group, but not as a leader.

Comments

Can you help me find more about my German Roots from 1906 to back-in-time genealogically?  

My father, b. 1906 in Frankfurt, DE, and his mother and sister are my German family. All are deceased. He was an adult in the USA between the World Wars until his death in California the 1980s, without knowing anything about his family lines. His own father was Unknown Unknown, I'm sorry to say.

Dad (Rudolf Berg, son of Anna Baer or Berg) spoke German only as a child, and knowledge of his father was kept secret by his mother. His few known and living relatives are uninterested and probably lack knowledge to assist.

I joined German Roots long ago, but it hasn't supplied me with any information or hints.  What could I do myself to help open up his German lines? What could some one of US do to specify further digging into his lines?

--All I can think of is to examine more carefully Anna Elizabeth (or Elisabeth) Berg's lines back into history. She is his mother. I believe nothing can be done to open his father's lines--but is that correct?

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Have you already tried the registry office in Frankfurt? Which Frankfurt is meant?
If you want, I can try to do research there. All I need is your father's name and birthday.

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Dear! Lothar Wolf!!--Thank you for answering.I am VERY grateful for your thoughtfulness.

My father only said "Frankfurt" as a place of birth, which was likely all he knew, so specifically, I have only e-searched the place of Frankfurt am Main, vaguely aware that that could have been an error, but the most probable place.

Rudolf Berg was his birth name, b 1906-7. His mother was Anna Elisabetha Berg, b. Germany; no father known. Please write me for other necessary details.

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Roberta,

i just sent you a message.

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To clarify my surname and my German GM's surname:  She used Anna and more formally Anna Elis/zabeth, but as for her first surname, I believe it might be found as Berg or Bar or Bar with an umlaut.

My father was probably born with one of her earlier surnames, but because she'd later married a "Robert Hilse", in the USA, I'm fairly sure, my father then went by "Rudolf Hilse." I was born in 1939 as Roberta Burnett Hilse. Burnett was my mom's LNAB.

What is the German spelling of Elisabeth???  --with a z or an s ??

Answer 16

Hi,

I'm interested in joining the project.  I have German ancestry on my mother's side (VonderHaar).

Sincerely,

Chad

Answer 17

I'd love to join the group!  All of my maternal lines are from Germany - Hanover, Bavaria and Hamburg are the three areas I am currently researching.

Comments

Judy, you need to sign into your WikiTree account so I can give you a German Roots badge.

Answer 18

Majority of my family has German or Austrian roots.  I studied in Germany and speak the language (poorly).  I have been researching German migrants to Pennsylvania for over 40 years.  Let me know what you need.

Answer 19

Please add me to the group. Apparently, I am getting nowhere on my own! LOL

Comments

Me too, Angela, but so far I've found no help coming from here, alas.  We are all so busy, so I don't mind it.

Answer 20

I would like to join.

I have a lot of German ancestry, but the lines I can trace back to Germany are:

- Kolze from Neinhagen/Norddrebber/Gilten, immigrated to Cook County, Illinois, United States in the late 1840's

- Franzen/Frantzen and Eitermann from Schale, immigrated to DuPage County, Illinois, United States in the early 1840s.

I see many of the same names in the German church books as I see in the US census, and it looks like many families from these two regions migrated to the same area of Illinois around the same time.  I would like to find other researchers who are looking at similar migration paths.

(edited to fix typo in date)

Comments

Hello, my name is Clarke-12398.  My ancestor Johann Casper Motz B. April 21, 1715 came to America from Alensbruck-Langmeil, Bayern Germany in the 1700s and settled in Pennsylvania where the family opened a lumber company.  I have had a lot of trouble getting information on Johann and any before him.  His proposed wife Maria Ana Mayr b. Aug 2, 1754 in Katolisch, Herrenwies, Bayern, died May 19, 1816 in Germany.