Tips & Tricks to Tracking Your German Russian Ancestors....Tip # 5...Community Counts

Sometimes the best part of the genealogical journey is the people you meet along the way who share the family history bug.

I would never have learned as much as I do about German Russian history on my own as I did from  all of the great people who I have met. These people challenge my curiosity and help me answer the tough questions.

One of the best ways to find others who share your passion is through the national convention of two  groups I  mentioned earlier: the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and the Germans from  Russia Heritage Society.

The American Historical Society of Germans from Russia convention will celebrate its Golden Jubilee this July. You will find a sense of community like no other.  The opportunity to attend the convention in Lincoln at the AHSGR headquarters offers ample chances to spend time in the full library and talk with experts who have decades of research experience. Besides attending conventions, becoming a member offers more benefits than I can explain here.

And, as long you are traveling during the summer, head further north for the Germans from Russia Heritage Society 49th Convention in Fargo, North Dakota. Same experience here, the community of people who gather will share the same drive to learn more about their ancestors.  It's like having a multitude of resources in one place.  Again, membership is a plus, especially when it comes to the resources on the web site.

There are other communities, too, to consider. Social media makes it seem easy to ask simple questions like why did my German ancestors move to Russia?  My recommendation is to save your questions for  more in depth answers, not the ones for which answers are readily available on other sites. I found it is best on social media sites to focus your efforts by connecting to village coordinator/village pages. Here are a few links to some sites I found helpful or created.  If you can't find the type of site you want on social media, create it yourself, like I did with this blog.

Descendants of Reinwald, Russia (upper left corner)

Descendientes de Heinrich Gottlieb Reimer (upper right corner)

Villages of Mariental, Louis, Chasselois, Russia (lower left corner)

Tips and Tricks! (my own blog, lower right corner)

Tip # 4 will continue over to my next post where I share with you some personal discoveries I learned about due to the Germans from Russia Community.

Stay tuned!

©2019 Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski