The preparations for this part of Jane and Rachel’s ancestral tour in Germany started in July, 2010 with a visit to Broistedt by James and Jenean Derheim during an extensive scouting trip they undertook between tours with other clients. A chance stop at the local newspaper stand and a helpful clerk led James to local […]
Category Archives: Family History Tours
Discover your Family History and research your genealogy with an ancestral home tour.
The Unique Lippische Farmhouse
We had some time to kill before our meeting on September 7th with the Grote cousins who live on the old farmstead, so we drove up to the hamlet of Evenhausen to see if we could locate the former farm Number One. All farm numbers have been changed with the advent of the modern postal […]
Alexander Church in Oerlinghausen, Lippe Detmold, Germany
The Alexander Church was built in the 1200s as a Gothic chapel, later enlarged in the 1500s to a large hall church with thick stone pillars supporting the roof. The church is relatively plain inside, in keeping with traditions of the Evangelical Lutheran (Reformed) Churches in this part of Germany. The organ at the rear […]
Grote Ancestral Farm in Mackenbruch, Lippe Detmold, Germany
An unforgettable visit to the Grote ancestral farmstead on September 7th resulted in new connections with cousins in Germany and a wealth of new information for family historian Jane Williamson of Waco, Texas. Jane and her daughter Rachel Hernandez visited Mackenbruch after a long planning process begun in July, 2010 when Jane discovered European Focus […]
Kersting Farm in Mackenbruch, Germany
Jane Williamson from Waco, Texas enjoyed taking photographs and walking around the old farmstead where her Kersting ancestors lived before the family emigrated to America in the 1840s. Detailed photographs of the inscription above the door into the house and barn combination can be seen below.
Nurnberg’s Little Chapel Windows
When Nurnberg changed from a Catholic city to a Protestant one (a decision made by the ruler in the 1500s) there was a problem. People still wanted to pray at home, even if they were now using a different method than before. So, they asked for permission to build small alcoves onto their houses, projecting […]
An unforgettable visit to Amberg, Germany
George Then’s father was born in Amberg, in the Oberpfaelzerwald of Bavaria, Germany. He met his future wife in Nuernberg, where they married. They had a son, and emigrated to America to begin new lives in 1927. George Then was born in America. He’d wanted to come to Germany for many years to see where […]
St. Martin Church in Amberg, Germany
The parish church of St. Martin in the heart of Amberg, Germany possesses some of the most amazing stained glass windows we’ve ever seen. They were donated by families in the 1870s and 1880s for the most part. They are brilliant and help bring light into this otherwise dark, Gothic church, built in the 1300s.