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RE: IRDP - starting your own family tree research: lesson 1
My grandfather did our family tree a while back and we traced everything up to the point our ancestor left Germany for South Africa (+/- 220 years ago). Before that everything went cold though.
I hope your grandfather got some enjoyment out of researching. :)
I haven't done a lot of Germanic research, except for much older stuff that is well documented (nobility has left more documents than the everyday citizen). I would assume that church records are the best bet, though (but they may no longer exist, so its a bit hit-or-miss).
Did your grandfather try 'going sideways' once he was stuck? Often we hit a wall tracing the direct line back so have to go to siblings & cousins to see if we can get further clues that way.
Yes, that was the problem. As that specific ancestor was the only one of the name to come here, everything started with him and also ended with him as he left no records of his family in Germany. All of us here in SA with that surname are related to him.
Is it a common surname? Or did he perhaps change it when he left the homeland?
Mysterious and intriguing! lol
It is a rare surname in any of the countries that have it. Our suspicion is that he was landed nobility, but not a bigshot and that he gave it all up and "fled" Germany because the Elector Prince of the state he lived in was systematically bankrupting the state and threw nobles in jail and confiscated their land to make up for his financial losses. His arrival here coincides with the above mentioned.
Oooh, fascinating! :D
I do know there was a constant changing of principality borders due to unrest or political maneuvering. Add to that mix the surname changes, and many surname hyphenations.
If he belonged to one of the noble houses, though, there are certainly lists & wiki pages which list many of the members of those houses.
You never know your luck.. :)
Already scoured much of the internet for that, no luck. Everything about his life in Germany is a mystery. It is possible that he changed his last name however.