LEARN@QFHS: Locating your German immigrant ancestor's place of origin

Join Eric Kopittke who will guide us through German family history records.

Photo: Ulm Old town (provided by LC)

This meeting will be Online only. No daylight savings.

A zoom link will be sent to registered attendees the night before the meeting.

Knowing where our ancestors came from is important no matter from which country they came, but for those of us with family origins in Germanic areas it is especially important since records were recorded and stored locally, not centrally. This presentation looks at ways to help you identify your immigrant ancestor’s place of origin, as well as some examples of the records that that you might find.

SPEAKER: Eric studied at the University of Queensland and was awarded a B.Sc., B.A. and a Diploma of Education. He retired in 2014 after teaching Physics and Mathematics at St Peters Lutheran College, Indooroopilly for over 40 years.

A family historian, presenter, and author with a strong interest in Germany and the former German Empire, Eric has been actively researching his family since 1985 – in Australia, England, and present and former parts of Germany – and has been a member of the Queensland Family History Society for all of that time. For over 30 years he has convened the Society’s Central European Special Interest Group.

Probably best known for the series Emigrants from Hamburg to Australasia: 1850-1879 which was completed with his wife Rosemary, Eric received the Queensland FHS Award for Services to Family History (1990); was made a Fellow of the Queensland FHS (2000); and in 2006 was awarded the AFFHO Award for Meritorious Services to Family History.