Kathy -- have a good trip. I strongly second Don's response. (BTW, he is too modest to mention his excellent site, but you need to check it out of you haven't done so yet -- 'http://members.cox.net/hessen/index2.htm') One suggestions would be to do all possible research now, before you leave. Maybe you have already done this, but check the 'place search' feature on the family search website ('http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=localitysearch&columns=*,0,0'). There are parts of Germany that the LDS hasn't filmed, but a quick check showed that they have filmed records at least some of your towns. Even if you do want to do the research in your ancestor's towns, it would be useful to order at least one of the films from each location to become familiar with how the records are organized (sometimes they are standard fill in the blank forms, sometimes there are only simple lists of people, sometimes the information is in narratives). Also, print out & take the various Latin & German word lists at the LDS site so that you can translate the documents. There are several different types of religious records & registers, the LDS guides do a good job of explaining them. Be aware that almost all of the record books will have an index by last name. Also search online & print out as many of the different scripts as you can. At a minimum take Fratur, Gothic and Sutterlin scripts with you. You will notice that the characters used vary with time (I personally have more trouble reading records from the late 1800s than I do with those from the 1600s). Church offices may or may not have a staff. For smaller towns, the pastor will cover several congregations and may be located at a different town. They may be available in your town only a few hours a week. The various churches (local & at the state level) have web sites (usually only in German) that can give you the name of the pastor and when services & office hours are. Note that there is a strong possibility that the records may not be at the church. They may be at the pastor's house or both the originals & duplicates may be at the church archive. Be sure to communicate with the pastor and get permission to review the records before you go. It maybe that there is a local genealogist or historian in town that may already have all of the information that you need, Ask the pastor. It turned out that one of these people in a village was a distant relative. Consider using a digital camera (one that can record without flash) to copy the pages. Since the records are old, the pastor will be very concerned with damage through handling or exposure to high levels of light. If possible, if you photograph pages, use a couple of lamps and photograph from different angles to ensure that you can later read the record. Since your time will be limited, plan your time at the records location. Some areas have records that are essentially a book of family group sheets ("Fa milienbüch" or "Seelenregister"). These can be a good first place to start since it has a lot of family information. However these are not primary documents, always go back to the original birth, marriage, death records to make sure that the person who put the summaries together copied in the correct information. Note that although these books appear to be alphabetical, they are not since as time goes by new families are added to the back. Start with the book's index. [Resign yourself to be disappointed because there will be a record or fact that you know you could have found if you just had a little more time]. If at all possible, I suggest attending a church service at one of your ancestors churches. As noted above, check service dates and times online (& reverify immediately before you leave). You may not be able to follow the service, but I feel that I have gotten a certain something by being in a place doing the same thing that my ancestors did. Due to burial practices, cemetery research is generally not fruitful. For learning the language, Deutsche Well has a couple of overview courses at '_http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,2142,2547,00.html_ (http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,2142,2547,00.html) '. The 'Mission Berlin' lessons are very brief & simple series of adventures that help you focus on words that are the same as or similar to English (click the 'Mission Europe' logo to go to that course). The 'Warum Nicht' & 'Wieso Nicht' courses are older, radio courses that focus on grammar as well as vocabulary. None of these are probably good enough to completely learn, but may be useful as supplements. (I usually relisten to at least some of them before every trip). Be aware that just like English, there are different dialects in German. You are probably learning 'high' German (Hochdeutsch). That will serve you well but you may get into locations where some words are pronounced a little differently. You may want to take a couple of 3 x 5 cards with common questions & responses in English & German (in addition to phrase books) -- a couple that I have used are things like, 'Where is a good restaurant that you would eat at?', 'Where is a good hotel that you would stay in?'. Also paper & pen for the German to write a response when talking breaks down. In addition, you may find this site helpful for travel in Germany 'Brian's Guide to Getting Around in Germany _http://www.gettingaroundgermany.info/verkehr.htm)'_ (http://www.gettingaroundgermany.info/verkehr.htm)') Best of success in your searches (& in your trip) Mark Moeser In a message dated 11/28/2008 3:05:31 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, baden-wurttemberg-request@rootsweb.com writes: Message: 2 Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:15:35 +0000 From: kkoehler@comcast.net Subject: [BW] Research in baden-Wurttemberg To: baden-wurttemberg@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <112720081415.1120.492EAB87000965DD0000046022069984999D0A04080A010505@comcast. net> I'm planning a trip next fall to go to Germany and do some research. I'm learning the German language. Here is where I plan on doing research and the last names to search: 1) Lambrecht - Baum, Koelsch(Kölsch), Miller/Mueller/Müller) 2) Bad Dürkheim - same names 3) Neudstadt (between Lambrecht and Bad Dürkheim) - same names 3) Waldangelloch - Kraft/Krafft 4) Dürrenzimmern - Koehler/Köhler (possibly) 5) Hessen (Not in Badem Wurttemberg) - Shade/Schädt/Schade Anyone have suggestions on where to go when I'm there to research? Anyone researched these areas? Also - is anyone familiar with the books Germans to America Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports. I have the following immigration record from in there: Vol 12 November 1857-July 1859 Pg. 208 Ship - Wm. Nelson, From - Havre, To - New York , Arrived 06 July 1858 Listed as Koehler, Daniel, 34, Farmer, Male, from Bavaria to USA. No other Koehlers listed. I know they there may be errors in these books. I see that NARA can do look ups on the documents for further information. Has anyone used this? I'm trying to find where my gr-gr grandfather came from and think this is him. thanks, Kathy ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:33:18 -0600 From: "Don Watson" <dwats@cox.net> Subject: Re: [BW] Research in baden-Wurttemberg To: <baden-wurttemberg@rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <572FE79D91884C21BE1D55C2DF4A6CBE@mycomputer> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" For info prior to 1874 go to each local church. You'll need their faith, whether Catholic or non. Let them know in advance when you are coming. Each local pastor and staff are friendly folks, especially if you communicate in their language. Knowing that you are coming may require them to have an English speaker on hand. High school students are fluent in English and would be an excellent choice. After 1874 the records are in municipal government -- not everyone speaks English. In some cases they'll point you to a central archive. Happy Hunting! :-) Don