Would you like to know more about your ancestors or family history?
I am happy to help you – irrespective of whether you have just started researching your family or have already done extensive research.
I can offer you:
• Research in church records, civil and other records
• Transliterations/transcriptions, meaning “translations” of older scripts such as the Sütterlin script, also of longer documents
• Translations of Latin records and documents (I studied Latin)
• Advice, tips and assistance with your research
• digital creation of a family tree
Contact me without obligation. An initial consultation is free of charge.
My geographic specialty is Hesse (Hessen), especially the region around Fulda, where I grew up and have done quite a lot of research.
Since the number of sources available online has increased in recent years and offers new possibilities, I can also offer you my services beyond that.
Prices and services
I charge 35 euros (about 40 $ in early 2021) per hour for my services.
The price is independent of the type of activity, i.e. whether I research, translate or advise during this time. My work is charged by the half-hour commenced. In addition, there are costs such as postage, copying costs, user fees for archives, etc. These are calculated extra.
Depending on the research, the costs can be difficult to estimate in advance. However, we can agree on a maximum budget beforehand. For each research step you will receive a research report from me, so that the work steps are transparent and comprehensible for you. Of course, you can decide how to proceed.
Travel expenses
Depending on the research assignment, research in archives might be necessary. Travel costs by car are billed at 0.30 euros (about 0.35 $) per kilometer, travel and travel times at 20 euros (about 24 $) per hour, accommodation costs in the amount incurred.
Due to the general pandemic situation and for private reasons, archive visits are currently only possible to a limited extent. We can discuss details.
Please contact me if you would like to engage me or if you think about that. You can email me to:
So that I have a brief overview of your assignment, please tell me:
• what exactly your research goal is (e.g. a family tree that goes back as far as possible; origin place of your family name)
• all the life data of the person with whom the research starts (exact date and place of birth, denomination, …).
Family Research in Fulda and Hessen (Hesse)
I have specialized in research in Hesse, especially in the Fulda area. I have been doing research around Fulda for several years. I grew up there myself and have relevant geographical and historical knowledge. The Fulda region is strongly influenced by Catholicism. Therefore, the most important source for family research are the church records, starting from the second half of the 17th century. It is very often possible to trace ancestors back to the end of the Thirty Years War (1648). Quite often it turns out that the family was continuously resident in the same place for three centuries. Maybe your family name also appears in the „Türkensteuerregister“ (a tax imposed for a war against the Ottomans) from 1605 or even in the „Viehbedeliste“ (a cattle register) from 1510?
In order to make a little clearer how research is carried out in church registers, I would like to present two examples.
It might look like this..
With a bit of luck you will find an entry in church registers that looks something like this:
Let’s look at the second entry from 1675. The writing may take some getting used to, but is basically easy to decipher:
2. Aprilis sepultu9 Vit9 Boess sacrātis munit9
If you break up the abbreviations, which are quite common, the text is „written out“:
2. Aprilis sepultus Vitus Boess sacramentis munitus.
Or translated: On April 2, Vitus Bös was buried with the sacraments of death.
Here you can even grasp the content of a church book entry that is almost 350 years old. Unfortunately, such entries are not necessarily the norm. How about the following example:
… or like this
Unfortunately, the writing on the back of this death entry from 1697 shines through, making the text difficult to decipher.
The first challenge is the writing. Just try to decipher the second entry from the bottom.
22 9bris sepult9 est Seÿfrid9 Chicken Andreæ Huhns piæ memoriæ fili9.
Second challenge: dissolving abbreviations:
22. Novembris sepultus est Seÿfrid Huhn Andreae Huhns piæ memoriæ filius.
Third challenge: Translation: On November 22nd was buried: Seifried Huhn, son of Andreas Huhn „piæ memoriæ“.
Fourth problem/challenge: understanding. For a better understanding, two more aspects are worth knowing: Firstly, „Seifried“ is a variant of the name „Siegfried“. Therefore, the same person could appear elsewhere under this name. Secondly, it is important to take into consideration that „piæ memoriæ“ (literally translated: pious remembrance) denotes a deceased person. Hence, Andreas Huhn was no longer alive at the time of the entry. This is relevant if you want to do further research on this person and look for church entries or come across other people with this name.
About me
I come from the Fulda area, which I know geographically, historically and regarding the sources of family research.
I was already interested in family research in my youth. The reason was a gap in the family tree in our living room: My grandfather was born as an illegitimate child. As a result, I wanted to learn more about my own ancestors. I started research on my own family around 2007, and then in 2014 for others as well. After careful consideration, I then decided to expand what was starting on a smaller scale.
Professionally, I studied Latin, political science and German and completed my first state examination for teaching at high schools. I am now working as a teacher, including for Latin, which is essential for family research. I am married and have two lovely little children.
