I can help you with ...
Research
You have come as far as documents of immigration but want to find your ancestors' roots. I research all over Europe with emphasis on the successor countries of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Telling history
As a historian, I can tell you more about the ethnic roots and circumstances of your family, about reasons for emigration or details in connection with the Holocaust.
Translating
I can help you decipher and translate letters and documents from your family treasure chest.
Researching your ancestors
How to go about researching your European ancestors:
After receiving an email with your request,
I will do a preliminary check for free to see what our options are.
They can certainly be combined with your DNA results.
I will then carry out research of national as well as international ...
- Birth-, Marriage- and Death records of all religious denominations
- business directories
- military records
- cemetery databases
- emigration papers and manifests
- victim / survivor databases
Telling history
Although a family tree can cover your family's history, it will only come to life with more comprehensive information about your ancestors.
This may include photos, newspaper articles or any kind of historic background information. All this can be integrated into a pdf file for you to print out.
If you already know (or we find out) that your family is from Vienna, Austria, and you want to visit the places associated with their lives, I can put you in touch with VIENNA HERITAGE TOURS run by my family. They can accompany you to:
- residences, business addresses and places of worship
- points of deportation and remembrance
- family graves and more
Translating historic scripts
There might be a letter from the Old World handed down from your parents' or grandparents' generation.
If it was sent from Germany or the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was most likely written in kurrent script, also known as Old-German script.
- In order to be able to decipher the letters or documents, you need to provide me with a high resolution photo
About me - Barbara
I started tracing family roots, compiling family trees and identifying historic gravestones 20 years ago. Being multi-lingual and with a degree in European history and European Jewish history, I can navigate around records pretty easily. Challenges have never kept me from moving forward.
Charges
For all the above services I charge Eur 40.00 per hour.
My philosophy is to constantly keep you updated about my progress. We can go step by step.
- the more details you can provide, the easier it is for me to work incl. nicknames, family lore and preliminary research
- archive and money transfer fees are not included
What my clients say
Needless to say I have very much enjoyed and appreciated working with you. From our first meeting in Vienna, it has been a pleasure to get to know you. As far as the ancestry work, you are always willing to look into a new angle and to provide your local expertise in making contacts on the ground in Europe. You have a good understanding of available resources, great skills in translating and the willingness to go the extra mile in your searches. You are clearly motivated to explore the background of my family and again I feel very fortunate to be working with you.
Michael, Michigan, in contact since 2017