My friend Herr Wessels from Bassum, Germany has been a great source of information over the last couple months. He’s also taken the time to teach me a lot about the region, naming practices, and has given me a glimpse into the society my ancestors lived.[singlepic id=4 w=320 h=240 float=left] Originally, his thought was that […]
When the Levee Breaks Read More »
Over the last couple weeks, I’ve been spending some time at the Golda Meir Library on the campus of The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. For whatever reason, the library was chosen to archive all or most of Milwaukee’s vital records. Some of these records can be found on Ancestry.com, but are very incomplete. From what
Tapping into a New Source Read More »
For Christmas two years ago, my wife bought me a test kit from the Genographic Project, sponsored by National Geographic. The purpose of the project is to track the migratory history of humans through the study of genetic data. After I received the kit, I quickly (and nervously) followed the instructions, scraping the insides of
Having a Hard Time Getting into These Genes Read More »
I just received an email from my friend Ernst-Dieter from Bassum. He just checked the Sudwalde church records and was unable to find Friedrich Rathkamp, b 1834. He searched a year before and a year after this date and still came up dry. Herr Wessels recently sent me some lists of Rathkamps from Diepholz which
Neubruchhausen…not Read More »
This is WAY cool! Today I was sending emails back and forth to my friend Ernst-Dieter in Bassum. Ernst-Dieter sent this picture of the house built by Johann Heinrich Rathkamp in Neubruchhausen in 1822. I’m still not sure what my connection is to Johann Heinrich. It’s possible he’s my GGG Grandfather, but I have to
I would think that every genealogist, especially the hobbyist with emotional ties to the subject, has a “Holy Grail”- that one person or family who eludes and consumes them. It’s only fitting then that my first post touches this subject. A little history first… I first became interested in genealogy at about 12 or 13
The “Holy Grail”…at least for now Read More »