The Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society (MAGS) is doing something different for their Fall meeting. (Yes, I know that summer is not even here.) MAGS will meet at the Best Western Gettysburg Hotel in (take a guess) Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The date is 16 October.
One speaker, Dr. Roger Minert, will give three presentations on the general theme of Researching German Ancestors. Dr. Minert is qualified to talk about different aspects of this broad topic. He is a professional researcher in Germany and Austria. His degree was in Foreign Language Education and he is currently with the Family History Library in Salt Lake City where he specializes in German research and translation. He is the associate editor of the German Genealogical Digest , and he has published fifteen books in the field of German family history. (He hardly looks to be old enough to have done all this.)
One ninety-minute presentation is an Introduction to Identifying and Locating Church and Vital Records for Towns and Cities in Germany . In each time period, the emphasis will be on the types of records that are available. There will be some discussion of historical events which has affected record keeping. A handout will include data on church record inventories in the LDS Family History Library.
Another of the topics will cover Marriage and Courtship in Germany from 1500 to 1800 . Seldom did couples marry outside their social class. Dr. Minert will provide insight into the details of how our ancestors met, courted, and married.
The third topic is an Introduction to German Phonetics As It Applies to the Spelling of Personal Names . This is another ninety-minute presentation which will provide researchers with a good foundation in variant spellings of personal names and how they differ over time and location. What seems like helter-skelter variations, can be summarized in basic rules of German phonetics. Linguistic explanations for specific spelling changes will be given.
If you are interested in attending, you can register by sending a letter to:
Diane M. Kuster
251 Serpentine Dr
Bayville, NJ 08721-3261
dmkuster@comcast.net
I have heard Dr. Minert talk and he does know his subject of German research, including some odd variants. He told us about his own family where the youngest daughter inherited the farm and her husband took her name. Had they followed the more usual rules, he would be known by another name.
(10 Jun 04)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.