It’s 1893. Chicago. Full of ambitious people eager to make their mark. Twenty-five year old Alois, trained in decorative carpentry and paint

One of the early things my father told me when I asked him about his family was that my great-grandmother, Pauline Volkmann, had left her hu

When learning about ancestors who immigrated to the US decades or centuries ago, you get a double challenge. Not only is there the translati

An apprentice butcher's training in 19th century "Germany" included journeying and learning from one expert to another and sta

Recall that in our last blog on Herbert Harschnek, the US family had been searching for any German relatives for decades with no success. Wh

Finding Herbert Harschnek - a little saga of 99 years parted: Starting with Alois Harschnek whom we mentioned in our last post.

Here’s a fun tip for researching relatives, especially 1st generation German ones. The Library of Congress’ Chronicling America: Historic...