This hands-on guide addresses virtually every aspect of tracing YOUR Germanic lineage.

Written for beginners, Anderson and Thode cover the basics of genealogy, clearly explaining how to plan, organize and begin searching.

They also discuss the unique challenges associated with Germanic ancestral research and offer proven ways to overcome them - including how to locate and interpret vital and emigration records. In addition, this guide provides a history of Germanic countries and their changing boundaries to help researchers find their villages of origin and determine the events that led their ancestors to emigrate.

From naturalization to name changes, actual case studies of both typical and atypical Germanic genealogies demonstrate how to "solve" a research mystery, and comprehensive listings of Germanic archives, research forms, letter-writing examples and maps will save beginning genealogists hours of additional work.

Recommended book!

This book is written by a national director of the Polish Genealogical Society of America, (which has my Newsletter in its library).

Mrs. Chorzempa begins with an examination of Polish-American resources, touching first on records kept by the Polish-American family, then veering off into a discussion of the standard records employed in genealogical research, such as census and naturalization records, ships' passenger lists, vital records of birth, marriage and death, records of fraternal societies, newspapers, church records, and military records. That about covers most of where you would look for your ancestors!

To help you deal with the Polish language, there is even a letter-writing guide, a transliteration of queries and requests to be sent to Polish churches, civil record offices, and institutions for purposes of obtaining assistance.

Recommended book!