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Our Ancestors Were German

In the 19th century nearly six million Germans emigrated and most of them never saw Germany again. Some were originally from Grand Duchy Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

The book explains the German perspective during the time of emigration. Learn what it was like for our ancestors to leave their homeland.

For many descendants the details of life in Germany in the 19th century are unknown. How our ancestors said goodbye, prepared for their journey to America, traveled to port cities and onward to their destinations - all these questions and more are answered.

Discover how to find information about emigrants from Grand Duchy Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in German local newspapers, church records and archives, and get ready to search for your own lost ancestors.

Publication: 2016 (English)

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Hardcover, ISBN: 978-3-9818232-0-2: EUR 24,50 ($27.00)

Print: Color

 

Comments:

Christopher John Ritz, Davidson, North Carolina, USA, January 28, 2018

I have just purchased and read, cover-to-cover, Astrid Adler's two fine books, Our Ancestors were German, and Goodbye Forever - Life Beyond Germany. They are professionally researched and clearly written to tell the story of our German ancestors and the vocational, cultural and economic times they lived in. If you are serious about German genealogy, these books are a must for your library.  What was their daily life?  Why did they decide to leave?  How did they get to the port?  What was the trip like?  Where did they settle and why?  Ms. Adler first relates the story at a social level, emphasizing the forces, challenges and opportunities that faced all families, and then personalizes the story by focusing on specific families and their individual stories.  Your family may be there but, even if not, chances are that many of their experiences are the experiences of your forbears.  You can't buy a video of your family's life in the nineteenth century, but Ms. Adler's story-telling makes the pages come to life.

Sam Zuckschwerdt, Bloomfield, Indiana, USA, January 10, 2017

Our Ancestors were German was a riveting book. For history buffs interested in immigration or family history, this book, written from the German perspective, describes the conditions in which our ancestors lived in, the hurdles they jumped while emigrating, the trials they went through on the voyage, and what they found when they came to the United States through German eyes. It also gives some genealogical hints at finding additional information and an interesting photo tour of Thuringia. This book was well worth my time and I enjoyed it from cover to cover.