What to do when you start with a pile of old documents and photos? I’ve been exploring my family history lately and been frustrated by lack of online sources, so I decided to start posting information in the hopes of being contacted by someone who can fill in the blanks. I’ve already learned so much on my own.
My paternal family history is something of a mystery. My grandma’s birth parents died in Germany after World War 1 when she was a toddler. She was adopted and brought to America in the 1930s. I know a bit about her adopted family, but very little about her birth parents. It’s even more difficult because all their records are in Germany.
My grandpa saved very little in the way of family photos. Thankfully, my grandma saved basically everything. We have six or seven different photos of my great grandmother’s headstone. Unfortunately, I learned this morning that it’s likely the cemetery she’s buried in was abandoned.
Maybe someday I can go to Germany and search for records of my distant relatives, but for now I’ll focus on what I can find in old photo albums. I hope you’ll find it as interesting as I do!
M.A. Kleen 
4 replies on “Genealogy Coming Soon”
Ancestry has German records, and even if you don’t speak German all you need to do to decipher transcriptions is to keep a list of key words handy to work out if the record is a baptism, marriage, burial etc. As with other places, fire and war destroyed records in some cities so there will be gaps in the years records are available. Good luck!
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I had the same issue but basically decided to jump in head first and simply go for it. We have documentation most genealogists would die for, and I have been overwhelmed, unsure how to begin. I started by creating ancestor profiles using the documentation we have which turns into stories about their lives. It has been so much fun. There are so many ways to tell a story, and I’ve been having a blast. My site just went live. Best of luck to you in your search of German records.
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I don’t yet. Does it have international records? And yes it is! The pictures I’ve found are so valuable
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Do you have an Ancestry account? Have you had your dna tested? That has helped me. I have been working on my family history for 3 years now, daily…..lol…. Its addicting
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