Germans have long been a scattered people. Millions of Americans identify their ancestral roots as German. For many, however, their ancestors spoke German but never lived in what constitutes modern Germany. Some “Germans” never even lived is what could be called a German states or territories. From the middle ages on, German-speaking communities have thrived [...]

Your Swedish Roots: A Step by Step Handbook may be the most comprehensive book on Swedish family history research available on the market today. The book focuses on Swedish-American research, from immigrant descendents back to their roots in the old country. Starting with basic instructions, the book quickly moves to detailed case studies full of [...]

Germans are the second largest ethnic group in the United States. Only the English are more numerous. Even at that, these groups represent generations of families living in America. European countries hardly represent today’s largest immigrant groups. However, they are the foundation for the larger part of the population and were once the largest groups [...]

Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration: A British Government Redemptioner Project to Manufacture Naval Stores is a scholarly book, full of details and amassed facts in an effort to explain the mass migrations from the war torn Rhine Valley in the early 1700s.  The Palatines were driven from their homes, into the British Empire, by circumstance [...]

Across the Atlantic and Beyond: The Migration of German and Swiss Immigrants to America is an attempt to explain the genealogical mysteries associated with so many immigrant families. Why are there so many different spelling changes for family names? What drove people to move around? What factors contributed to the turbulent environment so many lived [...]

Since Columbus introduced (or re-introduced if you prefer) the Americas to Europe, people have come, wave after wave, seeking a new life in the rich new world. America, since its colonial days, has experienced an almost never ending flow of immigrants. There are at least four identifiable time periods in which “waves” of people came [...]

Arguably,  the most recognized mass emigration in modern history are the Irish during the Great Potato Famine. While not as large as other migrations, the effect it had on the overall population of an entire country stands unique in recent times. Hundreds of thousands of Irish fled their homes, peaking at around 200,000 a year [...]

Church records may be the most prevelant record available in Irish genealogical research. And, not just church records for one church either. There are historically eight major religions in Ireland. Irish Church Records: Their history, availability, and use in family and local history research details the records for each of these eight major religions, including: [...]

The Maritimes, a.k.a the Maritime Provinces or the Canadian Maritimes, consist of the eastern Canadian provinces of New Brunsick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Ports on these islands became a major debarkation point for European emigrants. From these ports people spread all over North America. One major group to come through these ports are [...]

Flyleaf Press has just released another addition to its Tracing Your [Irish] Ancestors book series. The latest publication straight in from the Emerald Isle, is Tracing Your Clare Ancestors, by Brian Smith and Gerry Kennedy. “Clare is the northern-most county in the province of Munster and famous for its music and scenery, including the Cliffs [...]

1795 “Austrian Empire, Russian Empire, and Prussia (Germans), leaving no “Poland” for 123 Years” 1854-1856 “The Great Cholera Epidemic, poor crop yields and starvation; Crimean War (Russian); 100 Silesian families from Pluznica area arrived in Galveston, then walked to the junction of the San Antonio River and Cibolo Creek, founding the first permanent Polish settlement [...]

With so many Irish descendents living outside of Ireland, it is not surprising that Irish research is so popular amongst genealogists. There are plenty of books, though perhaps not enough to satisfy the advanced researcher, on researching Irish records. However, sometimes having a small compact guide is perfect for quick reference and fast help. Genealogy [...]

Italians, like so many other Europeans, emigrated in droves to the United State. The main reason for emigrating was economical. In fact, very few Italians came to the New World during the colonial period. Italians didn’t come in any large numbers until the 1870 and 1880s. Then, between 1890 and 1924 economic conditions in Italy [...]

Family Roots Publishing is offering German researchers a four-book package at a discounted price. Three of these books are by Fay and Douglas Dearden, with the final acting as an updated supplemental to one of the books. Together these books help you find and read German records, including reading Old Gothic. Here is a brief [...]

There are not many book available on tracing Asian genealogies, and even fewer in the English language. This reason alone makes In Search of Your Asian Roots: Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames a unique book. Add to this, a long and diverse Chinese history and culture; plus, the existence of a significant Chinese population in [...]