Something you will inevitably find when you research German ancestors who immigrated to America are names that changed to something more “English sounding”. Can you blame somebody named “Balthasar” for desiring a name that fits in a little better in America? Some Germans would change their names only slightly: Wilhelms would become Bills, and Adelheids […]
Tag: documents
Episode #1: “German-American Day” | The German-American Genealogist Podcast
Download file Published 6 October 2014 The very first episode of The German-American Genealogist Podcast! In this episode, we discuss the history of German-American Day, October 6th, and the struggle of German-Americans to find their place in the national fabric. We also discuss tips for researching German ancestors: things you need to know about your […]
Index of Vital Records in Iba, Machtlos, and Gilfershausen post-1876
I am happy to announce that I have added a “Free Genealogy Resources” section to my website, at http://www.SchmidtGen.com/Resources.php. My first offering is a set of three indexes I spent hundreds of hours translating and compiling. The indexes cover births, marriages, and deaths in the German towns of Iba, Machtlos, and Gilfershausen in 1876 and […]
Case Study: Who are the Parents of Mary Elizabeth (Morris) Mills?
The mystery of my great great grandmother Mary Elizabeth (Morris) Mills begins with an entry in the book, “The Descendants of Sterling & Reuben Mills: Two Brothers From East Tennessee,” by Michael Glenn Gibson, published in 2009. It comes in a section describing her husband, Charles Harold Mills (1877-1966), which states that Charles Harold Mills […]