Spring Workshop – April 28, 2012

Researching Your German Ancestors
Presenter: Roger P. Minert
A Genealogist’s Outline of German History since 1517 This presentation examines the major events of German history from the time of Martin Luther to the early 20th century. The relationship between historical events and developments and the emigration of our ancestors from Germany is the focus of the presentation.

Form and Content in German Church Records This presentation includes a short history of the keeping of church records in the German-language countries in Europe, as well as in specific German provinces since 1490. Church and state regulations regarding the keeping of church records are discussed. A case study is demonstrated based on a typical parish in Württemberg with records from 1562 to 1876.

Introduction to German Phonetics as it Applies to the Spelling of Personal Names Most researchers in German-language family history identify numerous variant spellings of personal names over time and in different locations. Despite the variations, basic rules of Germanic phonetics are at work here. This presentation will offer linguistic explanations for specific spelling changes. With emphasis on problem-solving throughout, the presenter uses names supplied by the audience to illustrate the application of phonetic rules to the spelling of personal names in Germany and among German immigrants in North America.

German Social Status and Life Style, 1500-1800 As a result of the well-developed and rather inflexible feudal system in Germanic territories in Europe, our ancestors were quite stable in their social and economic status. This presentation describes the structure of social classes, with an emphasis on correctly placing our ancestors on that social scale continuum, to aid our family history research. The presenter also discusses the common activities of families on the farm and in the trades, based on his research in hard-to-find literature available only to the German audience.

Roger P. Minert, Ph.D., A.G. Born in Nebraska, Professor Minert has also lived in Utah, California, and Ohio, and has spent three years in Germany and one year in Austria. He earned a B.A. in German at Brigham Young University, an M.A. in German literature, and a Ph.D. in German language history and second language acquisition at the Ohio State University. The author of more than seventy books and articles on German family history research and German pedagogy, he was a private contractor in family history for twelve years. He currently teaches family history research at BYU in Provo, Utah.

Free Class #1 – Jan. 21, 2012

Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 Free Class #1: Tell Me About My Family: Getting Started with Family History. Discussion of forms organization, first places to find the essentials to track a family, and the whys and wherefores of a documented family history. Mormon Trail Center – 3215 State Street.  To Preregister email: genclass@aol.com  9 am to noon

Milestone Acheived

The eleven genealogy information web sites (Omaha Obits, Omaha Marriages, et al.) that are sponsored by Greater Omaha Genealogical Society and are maintained primarily by society members Karen and Terry Tippets, this morning achieved a combined total count of over one-half million listings. Years of extracting the information from microfilms of old Omaha newspapers have been spent in achieving this goal.

Kudos to Karen for the thousands of hours of work she has donated in achieving this milestone!

Free Genealogy Classes for 2012 Beginning Soon

Classes are starting up again. The classes are free but we need you to register so that we have enough handouts available. They will be held at the Mormon Trail Center at 3215 State Street. You can call 402.706.1453 or email genclass@aol.com.   See the “Coming Up…” section of this web site for more information on class schedules and times.

FamilySearch.org Tech Tips

What does the Greater Omaha Genealogical Society have in common with FamilySearch.org? Their TechTips web site has published an article writtne by our newsletter editor and computer guru, Terry Tippets. The article, titled “Going Digital At The Cemetery”, gives pointers and advice on how to shorten the time it takes for groups or genealogy societies to read a cemetery and get that information onto a data base. According to the TechTips staff, the article has generated “a lot of positive feedback” from readers. The article is an expanded and updated verson of the one that appears on this website. If your group or society is planning a cemetery reading project, this article will help you shorten the time of the project. Click on the following link to read the article:

https://www.familysearch.org/techtips/2011/07/going-digital-at-the-cemetery

Announcing: Faster Access to this Web Site

Instead of typing “gogsmembers.wordpress.com” which has always been a handful (pun intended), to access this site, you now only have to type “gogsmembers.com”.  This shortened web address will be easier for new members, potential members, or other interested persons to remember.

Lost and Found

We have found an original document at the W. Dale Clark Library. The person’s name is Mike Jaber. Please contact Karen at gogsworkshop@radiks.net to claim.

Your heritage might be among the attractions

Where did I come from? Who are my people? What are my roots?
The need to know your history is strong whether your family came to this continent millennia ago or you arrived last week.
Here we offer a sampling of Nebraska and Iowa ethnic museums that may give you insight.
To read the rest of the story from the Omaha World Herald: [click here]

Wayne and Cass County Marriages

Two new web sites containing marriage information for Wayne county and Cass county, Nebraska, will be up and running in the next few days. As with the other sites sponsored by GOGS, these sites will be a work in progress, with more information added to them on a frequent basis. If you have ancestors who were married in either of these two counties, check each site occasionally, as new information may have been added since your last visit.

“Omaha Births” Website Premieres

First, there was Omaha Obits. Then came Omaha Marriages. Now, comes Omaha Births, featuring births from Douglas County, NE, records and old Omaha newspapers. The birth information is pulled from newspapers as we extract obits for our OmahaObits web site.  In many instances, there is no indication what the person’s name was going to be, but it is one way of locating the possibility of a child that may have been born and died between census records.  In some instances, the names are taken from early Omaha birth certificates collected prior to 1910 when it became state mandated to collect such information.  Registration of births in that time period was not mandatory.

The new site was activated on Sunday, March 22, 2009, which means that it currently sports the smallest number of listings–just over 1,300–of the three sites. As the number of listings grows, however, we expect the site to become as popular as the first two.