Digging Up Your German Roots: Finding Ancestors from German-Speaking Regions

Are you one of the millions of Americans who have German ancestry? What does it mean to have ancestors from “Germany”? In this talk we set the stage by describing conditions in German-speaking European lands during the 18th and 19th century, Then we will discuss useful US sources to find the town in Europe they came from, noting clues from family, friends and neighbors and immigrant churches. Finally, we will explore a variety of civil and religious records from Bavaria, Prussia, Austria, Wurttemburg, Hesse, and other places where German speakers lived before there was Germany.