Germany and German Ancestry

Comment

Comment by Catherine Davis on September 22, 2010 at 8:25pm

Sorry, I missed that the card also has these unidentified numbers on the top line:
K623 and 0900-58302

Comment by Catherine Davis on September 22, 2010 at 8:23pm

From ancestry--an immigration record index card--
Christian Karkutt
452 Otto St.
Chicago
Certificate Number (or volume and page): R31 P514, Circuit Court, County of Cook, IL
Country of birth or allegiance: Germany
Date and Port of Arrival: X
Date of Naturalization: Dec 1, 1891
Witness: H. C. Rouschke, 154 Belmont Ave., Chicago

Comment by marguerite Sykes on September 22, 2010 at 2:45pm

I've recently discovered my great grandmother's maiden name on one of her son's death record on the beta family search site. Louise M. Karkutt's maiden name was Rousckke and lived in West Prussia. When I've searched for Rousckke I've found many variations of that spelling and none list Louise as a first name--but as a second or third. I am yet to locate a Christian Karkutt, but both of them lived in Prussia for 35 years. I also can't locate a marriage record in Prussia.Any new suggestions on where to look or how to approach this? The time fram is 1845-1880 when they emigrated from Bremen to Baltimore. Marriage was in 1870. I found Louise's death date on beta search, but no details---(1930 in Arlington Heights, IL) Thanks in advance for your insight.

Comment by marguerite Sykes on September 6, 2010 at 9:40am

Thank you Catherine and Michael for the suggestions for excellent sources for written script translation. I was thinking only of the printed word. My genealogy world is small---thus the narrow focus. I keep learning so much from both of you. I appreciate your sharing your knowledge so freely.

Comment by Catherine Davis on September 5, 2010 at 9:32am

I like Google Translate or Systran better than Babel Fish--they seem to have larger dictionaries. However, there are a couple of problems using German records before you get as far as using a translator. The first is the old German script which is quite different from the Roman script we use. The old German is what you will find in at least the Protestant and civil records. (Since Catholic records are usually written in Latin, you may not have the same script problem--don't know, I've never used Catholic German records.)

The second problem is that the older records may contain words that are obsolete now, and so aren't in any modern dictionary or translation program. I've run into a couple where even a German friend's grandfather (who grew up when the Sutterlin script was still used) was unable to figure out the words.

However, it is possible to figure out the most important parts of a record on your own. There are some good research helps at familysearch.org. On that site, click on the "research helps" tab at the top of the page, then on "articles" on the dropdown, then "G," and scroll down 5 or 6 lines until you find the documents for Germany. The "word list" is helpful, but the "research outline" is the real gem. It includes a section on reading the German handwriting, as well as another section describing the various kinds of records that may be available in different parts of Germany.

Comment by marguerite Sykes on September 3, 2010 at 3:35pm

Have you tried the Babel Fish translate site? There are others also where you can translate a paragraph or page. I've found it helpful

Comment by Albertus Lang on September 3, 2010 at 2:49pm

Well it looks like i am not the only one looking for someone to translate from German to English re Deaths etc ,Thanks

Comment by Sarah Coles on September 3, 2010 at 7:08am

This question may have been asked before but I'd like some links to some free websites that would give me German deaths for the 1800's to early 1900's that are in English as I do not know the German language. I did find that FamilySearch gave me plenty of births and marriage records but very few death records for the families I am working on. Thanks.

Comment by Jeanie on September 3, 2010 at 6:55am

I have obituaries from the 1880's that I found in a German newspaper. The Westlich Post was printed in German and I wondered if anyone out there can translate the obits for me?
Thanks

Comment by Catherine Davis on August 6, 2010 at 7:32pm

Nancy, How flattering to be asked to respond to your blog. I did, and received the message that my comment will be posted after approval. Thank you!!!!

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