This Couple Lives on Top of Roman History

May 2 I was invited to have dinner with Roland and Anne Geiger recently. As we sat in their cozy dining room heated by a wood-burning stove with our nostrils being savagely attacked by the wonderful smells coming out of the kitchen behind the wall, Roland entertained me with stories of what he has found […]

Walk Where Your Ancestors Walked

Genealogy is the fastest growing hobby in the world. Millions of people want to see the places where their ancestors lived before emigrating. We have been leaders in this field since 1989, starting the world’s first professional photography service exclusively for family historians. That photography business mushroomed to include photography and tours combined. Now we […]

Germans Represent A Huge Slice of the American Population

October 9 It’s time to break out the bratwurst as the United States celebrates German-American Day on Oct. 6. Commemorating the founding of Germantown, Pa. in 1683, the holiday celebrates America’s largest ancestry group, with 49 million people claiming part or full German heritage. As President Barack Obama proclaimed a few years ago on this […]

Looking Over Ancestral Village of Wartenfels

September 14 from a visit on September 13 Ken Temple of New York looks over his ancestral village of Wartenfels, Bavaria, Germany. His Tempel ancestors left here in 1866. A local historian, Reinhard Bauerfeind, met with us spent nearly four hours explaining the history of the village and the reasons behind the emigrants’ decision to […]

The Bremerhaven German Emigration Museum

September 14 – from a visit here on September 9 We visited the Bremerhaven German Emigration Museum recently as part of Ken and Gloria Temple’s 17-day exploration of ancestral villages and towns and sightseeing around Germany. The museum was opened in 2002 and since then, has improved its presentation dramatically with a fascinating look into […]

Prosit from Eissen, Germany

September 8 We visited Rottkamp cousins in Eissen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany today. After waiting six years to take this trip, Gloria Temple met three cousins and their wives at a family reunion on September 8th including homemade cake and rolls, a visit to two ancestral churches and at the end, a farmer’s fest including organic beer. […]

A Visit to Soultz-sous-Forêts, Alsace, France

September 8 – from a visit on September 6 Gloria Temple’s ancestors named Bayer came from the small town of Soultz-sous-Forêts, now located in the Alsace of France. When Gloria’s ancestors lived here, this was part of the German Empire.