Course curriculum

    1. Meet Your Instructor, Stephen Wendt

    2. Course Access: December 9 - January 5, 2024

    3. Course Objectives & Outlines

    4. Learn To Use the Course Player

    5. Before we begin ...

    6. Contact Us

    1. Decentralization and Changing Borders

    2. Major Political Periods

    3. Religion in Germany

    4. Modern German Geography

    5. Germans Outside Germany

    6. The German Language

    7. Names

    8. Getting Around Language Barriers

    9. Reading German Records

    10. Lesson 1 Quiz

    11. Skill Building and Discussion

    12. Key Points, Additional Reading and Ask a Question

    1. The First Wave of German Immigrants, ca. 1607-1800

    2. The Second Wave of German Immigrants, ca. 1800-1920

    3. Differing motivations

    4. The Basics of Genealogical Research

    5. Records to Use to Identify Immigrant Ancestors: Census Records

    6. Records to Use to Identify Immigrant Ancestors: Vital Records

    7. Records to Use to Identify Immigrant Ancestors: Church Records

    8. Records to Use to Identify Immigrant Ancestors: Probate and land records

    9. Records to Use to Identify Immigrant Ancestors: Newspapers

    10. Records to Use to Identify Immigrant Ancestors: Unofficial records

    11. Lesson 2 Quiz

    12. Skill-Building Exercise and Discussion

    13. Keys Points and Ask a Question

    1. Finding Your Ancestor's Home Town

    2. Immigration Records

    3. Additional Records and Sources

    4. Methodologies

    5. Example - Johannes Beidler

    6. Example - Johannes Dinius

    7. Lesson 3 Quiz

    8. Skill-Building Exercise and Discussion

    9. Keys Points, Additional Reading and Ask a Question

    1. Using German Records

    2. German Church Record Basics

    3. Finding German Church Records Online

    4. Finding Parishes

    5. Civil Registration Records

    6. Population Register Cards

    7. Online Heritage Books and Pedigrees

    8. The FamilySearch Library

    9. Records in Germany

    10. What Records are Available in Germany?

    11. German Settlement in Europe

    12. Lesson 4 Quiz

    13. Skill-Building and Discussion

    14. Keys Points, Additional Reading and Ask a Question

    1. Download the lesson text and a list of resources

    2. Please take our survey

About this course

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Instructor

Stephen Wendt, MLIS, of Tree Tidings Genealogy, is a professional genealogist, instructor and writer. Stephen assists global clients with their diverse genealogical research needs. A specialist in Prussian/German and Scottish genealogy, he regularly speaks on a variety of genealogical topics at the international, state and at the local level.

Stephen Wendt

Instructor

How Family Tree University Courses Work

  • Course

    Our courses consist of four or more written lessons that may also contain videos, slide shows, and other elements. There are self-directed quizzes and/or exercises to help you apply your knowledge. In addition, you'll have access to discussion boards where you can ask your instructor, questions about the materials during the course dates.

  • Instructor

    Instructor access for the duration of the four weeks, so you can ask questions about what you've learned.

  • Access

    Our courses are designed to be easily accessible! Once you've registered for the course, you'll be able to log in on the start date to see all the lessons. Each lesson is available within your browser. You can work at your own pace.

  • Materials

    All the materials will be available for download, and you'll have access to the course materials online for about a year after the start date. After the course end date, it will go into read-only mode, so you'll still be able to reach the materials, but you'll no longer have access to the instructor or message boards.

  • What You'll Need

    Please ensure that you have internet access and that your browsers and computer system are fairly up-to-date. The course materials are designed to be compatible with most devices.