Actually if it's old enough it may prove better than a newer one. Ideally, finding one from the time period is the perfect solution. Not sure how old they get. I've never researched it. The better newer ones are written specifically for genealogists and, you guessed it they get their word lists from old German dictionaries. Sounds like you have the tools and a plan, you ought to do well. Now it's only a matter of how cooperative your ancestors turn out to be. Brian On Thu, June 2, 2011 12:24 pm, Marita Ulrich wrote: > Hi Brian, > > Thanks for your suggestions. I dug out a booklet I've had on the shelf > for years, Witter's "Deutsch-Englische SCHREIB - und LESE - FIBEL". So I > have started on some familiarity of that. I have an old German-English > dictionary, too, but perhaps I need to invest in a better one. This is > going to be a full on attack of the Ludwig Ulrich family search! > > Thanks, too, for the links. Hopefully, with perseverance I'll crack this > Ludwig Ulrich family. > > Great information! > > Marita Ulrich > Jacksonville, Oregon > > On Jun 2, 2011, at 9:49 AM, brian@amason.net wrote: > >> Another avenue to search is to try and find the church he belonged to. >> If he belonged to a German church and he had any children born or >> married >> in the church, it will probably give his town of birth. It will be in >> German. You should google for old German script which gives information >> on >> how to read it. There are some excellent books to teach that skill also. >> It's an artform learning to read old German documents, but if you like >> learning new things it can be a rewarding adventure. There are a few of >> us >> here who aren't too bad at reading it, so you might even ask for help >> once >> in a while. ;') >> >> If you're serious about doing your own research, pick up a good >> German-English dictionary. It will help in figuring out some words. But >> once you make the leap overseas, expect to have to deal with Latin too. >> >> BTW, printed German documents will be in Fractur, and handwritten ones >> will be in handschrift (aka Old German Script, aka Sutterlin). Sutterlin >> is a bit misleading, as it was a writing style promoted near the end of >> the handwriting period, in an attempt to standardize handwriting. But >> the >> Sutterlin script is fairly representative of what you'll see. Along with >> a >> great many variations in some letters for some hands. Any place you see >> Old German Script alphabets it's likely to be Sutterlin. But it's not >> properly called Gothic writing, which is something different entirely, >> but >> I've seen people call it that. >> >> Here's a pair of links I like: >> lower case >> http://www.suetterlinschrift.de/Lese/Kanzlei1.htm >> upper case >> http://www.suetterlinschrift.de/Lese/Kanzlei2.htm >> >> I still use them for problem writers, and I have a *few* of them in my >> families' towns. >> >> Happy hunting, >> Brian >> >> On Thu, June 2, 2011 2:27 am, Marita Ulrich wrote: >>> ... >>> I've seen some new German records, and >>> some on Hesse-Darmstadt City Records, but they are in old Gothic German >>> script. I had a very brief peek today, but it's a long shot. Gothic >>> German is like reading Chinese to me! >>> >>> The idea of a hired local researcher sounds better with each >>> disappointment. >>> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> HESSE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > HESSE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message > >