Germany
It took me at least a month of deliberation to decide to launch myself out into the world during a…
Read MoreAs children, we used to share what we did on our summer vacations. As an adult genealogist, I can’t wait…
Read MoreMy 1999 visit to Gräfenhausen (origin of my Billigmeier family) epitomizes what not to do when visiting an ancestral town.…
Read MoreThere are several theories for the origin of the name Schott. The one described by Johann Schott von Schottenborn in…
Read MoreThe town of Schotten is said to be the place of origin of both the Schott family and the Schott…
Read MoreIt’s here! The 2nd edition of my book, “Visiting Your Ancestral Town,” is now available with a special price of…
Read MoreEven before I first saw the Berlin Wall in 1983, my Cold-War-era childhood filled with black-and-white movies of Soviet spies…
Read MoreIn September, my thoughts turn to Oktoberfest even though Americans usually think about Oktoberfest in, well, October. But in…
Read MoreI was in Germany on 9/11. While my friends and family started their day with the news of the attack,…
Read MoreCastles, cathedrals, Oktoberfest, cruising the Rhine River—these are the things most people go to Germany to experience. But my itinerary was…
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