52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 14 Prompt - Language

2025

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 14

Prompt – Language

My ancestors are primarily German. My maternal grandmother and mother's first language was German. However later in their lives they spoke mostly English. My father's first language was German. His parents spoke German and only his father was able to speak a little English. They all immigrated from Prussia (German speaking Russians).

When I first began my genealogy adventure, I had given very little thought to the possibility of looking up German documents from Russia. In 2006 I had to go to the library to find any of the Canadian Census Documents on film to look for my relatives. A census is probably the most basic document to look up and start your genealogy. That is other than any documents you find at home.

Gradually over the past 20 years, genealogy lives have become so much easier with computers and more importantly the download of millions of documents from around the world. The different genealogy sites connect people world wide. Also there is now DNA to bring us closer together. If only I would figure it out! 

Augustine Radler and Julius Jacob Jahnke

 

Several years ago while searching records for Bill's 2^nd Great-Grandfather – Julius Jacob Jahnke and his wife Augustine Radler from Bromberg, Germany, I was given a hint which turned out to be a completely German Document which was quite difficult to decipher but got the gist it was a Death record. Not only was it in German but written in German Script. There are very few people left who can read the German script writing.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Fast forward a few years and re examining the document I found that it had been transcribed into English in the free Latter Day Saints website called Family Tree. I feel that there is more to this document than is transcribed. 

 The German language would make some of my research that reaches back more than a hundred years a lot easier. But as I have seen computers are closing the gap on any language barriers.

Wendy