- Family Connections in United States Consulate Estate Records—The Case of Gottlieb Feil (1840–1903), Bob Greiner
In 2016 Greiner indexed the estate records for several consulates in Germany, including many from the consulate general in Frankfurt-am-Main. Most estates involved heirs residing in both the United States and Germany. Many of the case files include unique handwritten documents intended to prove the relationships of heirs to the deceased. These can be interesting starting points to discover more details about the families involved. One case in the Frankfurt files was for Gottlieb Feil, who died in Newark, New Jersey, in 1903.
- A Checklist for Researching Your Veteran Reserve Corps Ancestor’s Civil War Service, Dr Kenneth W. Heger, Ph.D.
Most family historians know about military service in volunteer units and the regular army during the Civil War. What often escapes our attention is the existence of the other military units and how enlistment in those units may have shaped our ancestors’ lives. This checklist focuses on one such organization, the Veteran Reserve Corps (VRC). It gives you an overview of who qualified to serve in the VRC, what the VRC’s role was in the war, and provides a starting point to begin your research about an ancestor's career in the VRC. It points you to textual records in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) as well as government publications that are available through the Federal Depository Library system. The checklist is organized into seven sections, each focusing on a different source.
- German Church Records, Ken Weaver
In the last several weeks Weaver has received many emails announcing workshops, webinars, or Zoom presentations devoted to the topic of reading German records. Since that seems to be the issue du jour, he thought he would follow suit and discuss records as well, beginning with those kept by the church.
Synopsis of articles in recent issues
