Pennsylvania Laws-German Translation
A chance encounter with an 1801 document from Greene County, Pennsylvania got me thinking about early German records in western Pennsylvania
top of page
Search
Pamela Israel
Sep 28, 20232 min read
Reading Old German - Free Tutorials
Whether the printed German Gothic (aka Fraktur) or the old German handwriting (Kurrent or Sütterlin), here are a couple free resources to h
482 views
Pamela Israel
Aug 17, 20233 min read
Tips for Translating German Church Records: Cheat sheet
Deciphering German church records can be tough. A German translation cheat sheet and a few tips should help you along your way.
1,526 views
Stefan Israel
Jul 21, 20235 min read
Fiefdom in a Desk
What challenges of reading an older document, such as a 15th century manuscript, and what can its language tell us? Who, when, where & more!
119 views
Stefan Israel
Jul 6, 20233 min read
Why Couldn’t Shakespeare Get U and V Right?
When you look at old books into the 1600’s, it looks like they mixed u and v up with abandon. Originally, there had only been one letter.
310 views
Pamela Israel
Jun 22, 20233 min read
German Feudal, Fief and Enfeoffment
A 1497 German manuscript stashed in a Boston desk opens a window into German enfeoffments - relationships between feudal lords and vassals.
199 views
Stefan Israel
Jun 8, 20235 min read
Why... do we dot our i's? Minims!
Why do we dot our i's? Minims! Old English and old German writing and printing added the dot to decipher which letter was which. Read on!
176 views
Pamela Israel
May 25, 20233 min read
1497 German Medieval Letter
Part 1 of 3 It's not every day you find a medieval German knight's letter in an old desk. What on earth? Well, Laurence Posner of...
228 views
Stefan Israel
Apr 27, 20235 min read
Punctuation and the Genealogist
A comma, semi-colon or period - different quotation marks in different languages - Agh! What an interesting history to punctuation marks.
90 views
Pamela Israel
Apr 14, 20231 min read
Taxes: English Fleeced to German Plucked
Tax Time: Plucked Chicken - In English we say the tax office fleeces tax payers, Germans say plucked! Translation is fun, isn't it?
55 views
Stefan Israel
Mar 30, 20232 min read
Two Dots and an Umlaut
Unlocking the umlaut. History of the two dots.
448 views
Pamela Israel
Mar 6, 20231 min read
Milestone Favorites: Language, History & Tips
Unlock Your History launched in 2017! Check out some favorite posts about language history & translating old German, Danish, Swedish.
82 views
Stefan Israel
Jun 14, 20214 min read
How to Spot the Dot
What language belongs to those accents? From German to Norwegian Hungarian or French, see different accents that some languages use.
862 views
Stefan Israel
Mar 5, 20214 min read
When France Came to Germany
Beethoven and Goethe, the German Shakespeare, were glad to see liberator Napoleon come, and glad to see occupier Napoleon go. Napoleonic la
944 views
Stefan Israel
Jan 28, 20214 min read
Why Couldn’t My Ancestor Spell Their Name the Same?
You’re tracing your family back, and the spellings sometimes just go crazy.
647 views
Pamela Israel
Jan 14, 20216 min read
A Plea to Save Letters!
Save letters! I have a treasure trove of memories downstairs.
So began the email from my mother earlier this week.
99 views
Stefan Israel
Oct 30, 20201 min read
Our Dutch (Speaking) President Martin Van Buren
The first U.S. president born in the United States (so after the country’s founding) didn’t even speak English as his first language.
1,122 views
Stefan Israel
Apr 13, 20203 min read
DUTCH, not DEUTSCH: English, Dutch and German
English, Dutch and German are all related languages - the languages diverged - you can see it in how the same original words now differ.-
1,476 views
Pamela Israel
Mar 30, 20202 min read
ä ë ï ö ü - Umlaut on the Keyboard
I’m typing away and I’d like to add a letter with an umlaut (two dots sometimes above a vowel)….agh
131,954 views
Stefan Israel
Mar 17, 20204 min read
Celtic father-names: Donaldson, McDonald, O’Donnell
The main Celtic traditions for genealogy are the Irish, the Scottish and the Welsh. Complicating matters, Irish settlers brought Gaelic from
804 views
bottom of page