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The latest issue of the International German Genealogy Partnership (IGGP) newsletter Partner Zeitung is now available at the link below. Note that the organization has recently updated their website. https://iggp.org/
 
International German Genealogical Partnership Bi-Annual Conference
June 12-15, 2025 Columbus, Ohio

Welcome to the MAGS web site!

 
Use your member login to access all the features of our website. Use the Join MAGS Now tab on the left side of the page to join our organization. Membership is only $15 per year.
 
We are excited that you have found our website. We frequently add information to this site so please come back often. The site also provides us with the ability to manage our membership, communicate with our members, and allows you to find information about and register for events.
 
Watch these videos to learn about what MAGS has to offer. Each is about 10 minutes long.

What's New

24 Mar 2025 A new issue of the IGGP Partner Zeitung has been published. See the link at the top of this page.
1 Mar 2025 The March issue of Der Kurier has been published on the website. You can see a synopsis of the articles on the Der Kurier tab.
6 Dec 2024 New video introductions to the various collections found in the MAGS database have been added to our site. See the section just below entitled MAGS Learning Videos.
31 Aug 2024 MAGS has created a new video to demonstrate how to pay for purchases on our website using a credit card or PayPal account. See the link on the MAGS Store page.
23 Jul 2024 Recent meeting minutes, financial and membership reports are now on the Members page under Documents and Reports.
31 Mar 2023
Baltimore Hertiage Society has several video presentations on Baltimore, Maryland.
This YouTube video is about the Hansa House on Redwood St. It has a long German history, and it may be of interest  to our membership.
 

MAGS Learning Videos

MAGS has created the following video introductions to research opportunities available on our website.

Document of the Month

On April 19th, 1903 Alexander Eckhardt, the U.S. consular agent in the city of Königsberg, Prussia notified the U.S. Department of State of the death of the American citizen Alexander L. Froelich. He noted that Froelich died on March 27th in a boarding house in the city. As remarks Eckhardt added:
 
“Alexander L. Froelich was born in Königsberg (Germany) and naturalized in the State of Ohio, Hamilton County on the – day of – A.D. 1859. He is Pensioner of the United States of America and his pension certificate bears the number 903071. The Deceased left a testament which will be opened by the court of justice on April 20th 1903."
 
There is much more information about Alexander Froelich to be discovered in State Department records. A future article in Der Kurier will delve deeply into Froelich’s life to learn why he was in Königsberg and the controversy that ensued regarding his estate in Cincinnati.
 
This exciting document is genealogical gold and on two levels. The first level is the most basic. It includes extensive data about Froelich's death, including the date and cause of death, and it is in a document format genealogists seek out, a formal death report. Look closer, however, and you discover a second level of information, one where you can use other facts in the document to locate additional information on Froelich.
 
Note how the death report confirms he was a pensioner and provides a pension certificate number. It also tells you he was a naturalized citizen, citing Hamilton County, Ohio as the site of the naturalization. Perhaps this indicates he was naturalized in a county court rather than a state or federal one. It tells you the operator of a boarding house in Königsberg had a claim to Froelich's estate, someone whom you might never have encountered in your research before. These three quick examples illustrate how a close reading of documents can help you discover important additional sources of information on your ancestor, namely a pension file, his naturalization record, and additional correspondence concerning his time in East Prussia.
 
At the upcoming MAGS workshop on April 11, the instructor will devote time to this often-overlooked research skill. Focusing on one person as a case study, you will learn techniques on how to look closely at documents to find clues leading to more of the person's story, including taking advantage of the 19th century's formal writing style to locate sources to enhance your ancestor's biography. When the workshop is over, you will be able to mine information in both levels of documents, enabling you to craft exceptional micro-biographies of your ancestors and flesh out your family's history.
 
Remember, the workshop is hybrid, meaning you do not have to be onsite at the Maritime Conference Center in Linthicum Heights, Maryland to participate.  MAGS will host a video of the workshop on the Society's website for six weeks, so you can watch it later at your leisure. Consider attending. After all, because there is no comprehensive name-searchable index to all records, learning how to tease out research clues in documents is an invaluable skill. 
 
Click on the image to see the digitized document on the NARA website.
 
National Archives Record Group 59: General Records of the Department of StateSeries: Despatches from U.S. Consular OfficersFile Unit: Despatches from U.S. Consuls in Stettin, Germany, 1830-1906, Despatches: January 16, 1901 - August 2, 1906, image 255.

Gift from the Archives

            Visit your favorite German Restaurant  - PROST !

June 12
International German Genealogy Partnership Conference
Celebrate Your German-Speaking Ancestors   Host: Palatines to America German Genealogy Society