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German name discovery...

11/25/2014

I was working on a project for a client recently and was having difficulty finding basic records that I felt should have been easy to find. The person's name was Fritz and I hadn't found him consistently in census or other public records. As I did a little more searching I stumbled across the fact that Fritz is short for Friedrich, which is Fred in our United States. This opened up some doors to find many of those documents I had been expecting to see.

This seems like a really simple solution that I should have been on top of from the start, but my experience is certainly not as good in German, though I am learning! I guess the moral of the story is to remember the variants of names as you start digging! Here's a nice link to some German names and their variants. http://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/german

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Using University Transcripts and Registration Records for Family History

11/4/2014

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One great resource often held in College or University Archives are transcripts of student work. You can find expected information such as when an ancestor attended a school, what their major was, what classes they took, what grades they received, and whether or not they graduated. This information can help round out what an individual was actually like in their daily life.

Registration records and transcripts can also offer some less obvious information. Some may come with a card that lists the student's birth date, home town, Father or Mother's name, Father or mother's occupation, previous schools attended and when, sometimes religion, and perhaps a major. If you're really lucky, there might even be a picture that was taken on registration day.

The only problem with Transcripts and Registration records is that they are student records and are therefore restricted. It is likely that the researcher will need to contact the University's registration and records department in order to get permission to see and/or copy a transcript. Generally, the older the transcript, the easier it is. Just call and ask. The general public can obtain "directory" information without getting copies and without permission from the University. Directory information is Name, dates of attendance, major, and graduation status.

So, if you're interested in what your ancestor studied in college, track down their transcripts either in the Archives or in Registration and Records. The stories of their college years are waiting to be discovered.

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German name discovery...

Using University Transcripts and Registration Records for Family History

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