Genealogy Jottings

Last weekend the Colorado chapter of Palatines to America, a national group that researches German-speaking ancestors, hosted a half-day session at the Denver Public Library. The speaker was Katherine Schober, a German-English genealogy translator.

My husband/tech advisor (who is half German) and I decided to go. We were glad we did.

Katherine addressed a couple of topics including an introduction to German genealogical research and some tips and tricks for deciphering German handwriting. She introduced us to helpful websites.

Katherine was a good, entertaining speaker. She also took time during a break to look at a puzzling, centuries-old German document related to my husband’s family. She identified it as a journeyman’s record. This is an exciting find for us.

From her presentation, we picked up several good strategies to use as we pursue our own research. I also picked up an application to join the Palatines organization.

Over the years, I have attended many of their events. My motive was to become more knowledgeable and help my husband with his research. Now, with a recent DNA match to a German family in my dad’s line (Stillabower), I feel like I can join this German group on my own behalf.