MISSING LINKS: A Weekly Newsletter for Genealogists Vol. 3, No. 50, 11 December 1998; Circulation: 15,800+ Copyright (c) 1996-98 Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley Editor-at-Fault: Julia M. Case Co-Editor-to-Blame: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG * * * * * WELDING LINKS: GERMANIC TIES by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG <[email protected]> <http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~gormleym/index.htm> More than one-half of Americans claim to have German ancestors, which accounts for the great interest in this ethnic group. Additionally, many more of us probably have German ancestry but are not aware of it because so many of the German surnames were mutilated beyond recognition or simply were Americanized along the way. In order to trace your German ancestors in the "old country" you must determine their ancestral city, town, or village because the needed genealogical records are kept in local areas, with no nationwide indices to them. You are most likely to find this information in North American records, such as naturalization, military, or church records. Emigration from Germany took place in waves of migration during three major time periods: -- 1683 to 1820. Causes of emigration were religious persecutions and economic hardships. Many were Protestants from the Palatinate area. They went down the Rhine River and sailed from Rotterdam in The Netherlands. Many arrived at the port of Philadelphia. -- 1820 to 1871. Causes of emigration were due chiefly to economic hardships, unemployment, and crop failure, with many leaving to avoid wars and military service. Many were from Rheinland, Hessen, Baden, Wurttemberg, and Alsace-Lorraine. Major U.S. ports of entry for them were New York, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New Orleans. -- 1871-1914. Large numbers emigrated during this time period, because of political and economic problems, and due to recruitment by U.S. states, railroads, industries, transatlantic shipping companies, and their friends and relatives. These emigrants, who included ethnic Germans, Poles and Jews, came from all areas of Germany, including large numbers from the eastern areas of Prussia. New York was the major port of entry. The major ports of debarkation for German emigrants between 1850 and 1891 were: Bremen (40%); Hamburg (30%); Le Havre, France (16%); Antwerp, Belgium (8%) and several ports in The Netherlands (5%). Between 1868 and 1940 a few Germans sailed from Copenhagen, Denmark. Consult the Family History Library's (FHL) Catalog for lists of available filmed ship passenger lists under: GERMANY (or name of country), [name of port] -- EMIGRATION and IMMIGRATION. Germans, in most areas, had to apply for permission to emigrate, and some of these application records for several German states and cities have been filmed by the FHL. Among the localities are Baden, Rheinland, and the Pfalz. Several published volumes of Wurttemberg records exist, dating from the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s. Additionally, there are German Emigration Card Indexes for Hessen (various time periods), Baden (1660s-1900s), the Pfalz (1500s-1900s), and for World War II refugees. Many Germans lived in or emigrated through Alsace-Lorraine [ElsaB-Lothringen], and an index (1817-1866) of these emigrants is available . German police began keeping records of each person's residence in the 1840s. Citizens were required to tell the police at the local registration office when they moved. These records, called Melderegister (registrations) or Einwohnerregister (resident lists), are usually found in city archives. To use them you must know the approximate years a person resided in the town. Some of these, notably in Hamburg, Sachsen, and Thuringen, have been filmed and are available through the FHL. Look in its catalog under: GERMANY, [STATE], [TOWN] -- POPULATION and OCCUPATIONS An incredible amount of genealogical information pertaining to Germans can be found on the Web. The best place to start your search for these sites is under the Germany/Deutschland category at Cyndi's List <http://www.cyndislist.com>. Using the Web and the FHL you can conduct a great deal of research for your German ancestors -- at a minimum expense. Once these sources are exhausted, you probably will have to hire a professional in the "old country" -- if the records exist that might be useful in extending the pedigree. * * * * * WHEN THE WELL RUNS DRY by Horst A. Reschke <[email protected]> You have been able to trace your line to a certain point when suddenly the records "give out." I know the feeling. I have been there myself many times. You know just what documents you need, but where in the world are they? There has got to be a way to find them, you say. Some pastor, some archive, some expert has got to be able to furnish the answer. When desperation makes us question our own sanity, it's time for a perspective check. Those who read my column in "Heritage Quest Magazine," <http://www.heritagequest.com> know I am not a quitter. It is not generally known that, if necessary, time and its relative monetary value become secondary considerations to me when it comes to solving a puzzle I feel can be solved. But what if, after no stone has been left unturned, the "well runs dry"? Do we throw a tantrum or are we able to say "sayonara" gracefully and "let go"? Perhaps genealogical research has become too easy for us in recent years. We never had it so good! Gone are the days of the card files at the genealogical library, where books and films were requested on a slip and shelves and drawers were off limits to all but the library staff. Research trips abroad, too, are becoming less frequent, thus many of us are spared obscure record locations, dank or dusty quarters, cramped space, lack of copying equipment, stern rules and "sterner" archivists and language problems. Whereas we had been hampered by limited hours, fee schedules and restricted access, we can now stroll into the Family History Library (FHL), use the computer, take any desired book off the shelf with our own hands, retrieve any microfilm and pay only nickels and dimes for copying. Or we can visit one of more than 2,000 Family History Centers and receive many of the identical services of the famed FHL of Salt Lake City. Such luxury and ease are bound to spoil us a bit and perhaps contribute to a mindset that EXPECTS rather than hopes or wishes certain records could be at our fingertips. In Germanic genealogy, and, I am sure, in other specialized research areas, gigantic, cataclysmic events have affected the availability of records and documents. Wars, revolutions, natural disasters often damaged or destroyed many valuable items. I recently assisted a reader of my column with her research in East Prussia, now ceded to Poland and Russia. Her Kreis (district) seat, JOHANNISBURG, suffered being torched in a war action in 1520; saw invasion and devastation by the Tartars in 1656/57; was decimated by the Black Plague in the 18th century; was occupied by Russian troops during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763); was looted by the French in 1797; was taken over by Russian troops during World War I, and endured the crunch of being a combat zone during World War II. There were many areas, towns and villages similarly affected. If their records were saved it must be regarded as a blessing, a stroke of luck, not as a "given." I treat surviving records with awe and respect and I know, we are immensely fortunate to have them available at all. I never take them for granted and, after what you know now, I am sure, neither would you. But if, after doing all that you can do, certain records cannot be found, there comes a time when we will have to take "no" for an answer and be glad that, by the grace of God, we have come this far in the quest to learn about our ancestors. * * * * * WEB LINKS: AFRICANGENWEB. <http://www.rootsweb.com/~africagw/> APPLETON'S. Current FTM CDs 25% off. <http://www.appletons.com> BRIGADE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. The Brigade is a non-profit living history association dedicated to recreating the life and times of the common soldier of the American War for Independence, 1775-1783. Members represent elements of all the armies then involved: Continental, Militia, British, Loyalist, German, French, Spanish, Native American, and civilian men, women, and children. <http://www.brigade.com> BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT - EASTERN STATES. GENERAL LAND OFFICE. <http://www.glorecords.blm.gov> CANADAGENWEB. (English and French) <http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/6625/cngenweb.html> DEB AND JEN'S LAND O'USELESS FACTS. <http://www.stanford.edu/~jenkg/useless.html> IRELAND. COUNTY LAOIS. <http://www.redblue.com/laoisgen> * * * * * PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from MISSING LINKS is granted unless specifically stated otherwise, PROVIDED (1) The reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes. (2) This notice must appear at the end of the article: Written by <author's name, e-mail address, and URL, if given>. Previously published by Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG, Missing Links: A Weekly Newsletter for Genealogists, Vol. 3, No. 50, 11 December 1998. Please visit the MISSING LINKS Web page at <http://www.rootsweb.com/~mlnews/index.htm>. * * * * * PRODIGY CLASSIC: Join your editors, co-moderators of the Prodigy Classic Genealogy Interest Group, on Prodigy Classic where you can enjoy the Genealogy Bulletin Board, BB Archives, Genealogy File Library, Genealogy Chat Area, Genealogy Web Page, and Web access using Prodigy Classic's Web browser, by accepting a lovely free trial of Prodigy Classic. Download Prodigy Classic software for Windows at <http://www.prodigy.com/classic/>. * * * PRODIGY CLASSIC CHAT LINKS: Saturday chat sessions are UNHOSTED. All times given are Eastern Standard Time. Evening sessions start at 10 p.m. unless otherwise indicated. For sessions not scheduled in a particular room, the first person to arrive may choose the meeting room. Sat 12/12 NEW ENGLAND Research (3 p.m. in the Parlor) NY/NJ/PA Research (3 p.m. in the Root Cellar) DEL/MD/VA/WV Research (4 p.m. in the Family Room) SOUTHERN STATES Research (4 p.m. in the Attic) ENGLISH Research (5 p.m. in the Parlor) GERMAN Research (5 p.m. in the Family Room) IRISH Research (8 p.m. in the Root Cellar) ITALIAN Research (8 p.m. in the Attic) WEST COAST Research (9 p.m. in the Parlor) MIDWEST Research (9 p.m. in the Root Cellar) AFRICAN-AMERICAN Research (9 p.m. in the Family Room) NATIVE-AMERICAN Research (9 p.m. in the Attic) Sun 12/13 ADOPTION Research/GENERAL (Joan Brink) Mon 12/14 GENERAL/BEGINNING Genealogy (Myra/Julie) Tue 12/15 DANISH/GENERAL Gen. (Charles Hansen/Betty Goodhall) Wed 12/16 SCOTLAND/General Genealogy (Earl Ross 9 p.m.) Thu 12/17 NEWBIES CHAT HOUR (Pat Hohne 9 p.m.) Thu 12/17 JEWISH/Eastern & Central EUROPEAN Gen. (Gary Mokotoff) Fri 12/18 TGIF; GENERAL/BEGINNING Genealogy (Julie/Myra) ____ Julia M. Case <[email protected]> Co-editor of ROOTSWEB REVIEW <http://www.rootsweb.com/~review/> Editor-at-Fault of MISSING LINKS <http://www.rootsweb.com/~mlnews/> To subscribe, send SUBSCRIBE message to [email protected] [email protected] ROOTSWEB GENEALOGICAL DATA COOPERATIVE P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 <http://www.rootsweb.com> Carol Pridgen Martoccia 903 East Fifth St. Greenville, NC 27858 PRIDGEN Homepage : http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 PRIDGEN Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl List manager for the Pridgen Family and for Wilson County, NC (NCWilson)