John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 2300

One of John Humphrey’s talks (see the last Note) was on " German Research:  Using Under-utilized and Unknown Resources ".  One recommendation was historical newspapers, some of which are on-line now (but perhaps requiring a fee to use).  The Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper has both news stories and advertisements (which may be of use, for example), German servants for sale, the arrivals and departures of ships, the announcement of estate sales, advertisements of land for sale, and headlines with stories such as "Indian Raids on the Frontier", which may name families.  So often deeds were not recorded and the paper trail of property comes to an end.  Sometimes the gap can be filled with estate announcements and property sales announcements, in these old newspapers.  The newspapers are all of an American origin, though some are in the German language.  John notes there are technology aids which can be used to interpret the latter.  The Pennsylvania Gazette , from 1728 to 1800, is available on-line at www.accessible.com for a fee.

From Germany, John notes the existence of Ortssippenbuechen.  I have mentioned them here on several occasions and I concur with John on the value of them.  In America, there are three principal locations for some of these, the Library of Congress, the Family History Library of the LDS, and the New York Public Library.  From Germany you may want to try the web site www.volkmar-weiss.de .   Some of the Ortssippenbuechen can be purchased from Germany, try www.ibiservice.com .

Another of John’s talks was " German and American Church Records ".  He compared examples from Germany and from German churches in America.  They are similar in both the type of the material recorded, and in the presentation.  In the Eighteenth Century this is especially true, since the pastors, or their agents, doing the recording were often trained in Germany.  In the Nineteenth Century, there are similarities, but the difference is more often in the information recorded and the style of the presentation.  By the Nineteenth Century, printed forms are being used, which suggested very specific information such as dates, parents, child’s name, and the sponsors.  In the Eighteenth Century, the form was more general, as a paragraph of information which might include the fathers of the bride and the groom and some occupations, plus geographical information, such as where the groom was from.

Sometimes the information has been extracted and published in Ortssippenbuechen , Dorfssippenbuechen , and Familienbuechen .  In noting these, John emphasizes there may be transcription and translation errors.  Even though they are an apparent beauty of organization, they are still secondary sources.  Beyond the basic information in the church records, which may not be present in the secondary sources, there is indirect evidence in many forms, such as the sponsors which may be a part of the extended family, or the social standing in Germany, or perhaps clues to the location of ancestors.
(27 Apr 06)