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I'm in the process of transferring over to a new design, so things may be a bit wonky for a couple of days as I work it out. 

Let me know what you think of the new design in the comments!

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Looking for a German Surname? Try Geogen.

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This morning I was contributing to a thread in the German Genealogy facebook group; a researcher had asked for help in figuring out the German equivalent of the surname Workman. One of the most useful sites I've found for investigating German surnames is Christoph Stoepel's "Geogen" sites. "Geogen" stands for "genealogical geography," and his site will help you locate possible points of origin for your German ancestors. When you put in a name, a map will show you where your family name is found today; the information is current rather than historical but still very useful, since German families tend to be a lot less mobile over the years than are families in the United States. A caveat, though:  if your ancestor's name is Schmidt or Meyer, you'll have a much harder time getting a lead because those names are so common. The less common the name is, the more luck you're likely to have.  Also, the site is most helpful if your family came…
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Lost in the Homeland Part 1: Researching Genealogy in Germany

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While I'm not an expert on genealogy by any means, I have been researching for a number of years and have learned a few things along the way.  Since 100% of my non-US research is in Germany,  many of the things I've learned are about doing research in that difficult venue.  Joining Ancestry and hoping for the best won't get you much of anywhere, I'm afraid.  I'd like to share some of the resources I've tapped into in doing my German research, in the hope that it might help some who are just getting into it.

Why is researching in Germany so hard?  For one thing, the nation called "Germany" didn't exist before 1871 -- what we now think of as Germany was a group of loosely related kingdoms that shifted borders, had different systems for keeping records, and so on.  Few civil records were kept; most records were in the hands of the various churches, Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed.  Many records were damaged or lost in the two great wars of the 20th …
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Blog Caroling 2017 -- The Holly and the Ivy

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Joining footnoteMaven's annual tradition of Christmas blog caroling!  I've chosen one of my favorite carols to present:

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"The Holly and the Ivy" is an English carol that probably had its origins in the 18th century.  Holly is an ancient symbol for Christ, sometimes referred to as "Christ's thorns," and the berries stand in for drops of blood.  The holly and the ivy together represent Jesus and the Virgin Mary.  The use of holly and ivy as decorations predates Christ, however -- they go back to Roman times and pagan celebrations.  
The melody is simple and sweet.  


Why does the ivy appear so little in the song?  Folklorists guess that it's a holdover from older songs like "The Contest between the Holly and the Ivy," in which the holly represents the masculine and the ivy the feminine.
The symbolism is embedded in the lyrics.
1The holly and the ivy,When they are both full grown,Of all the trees that are in the wood,The ho…
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