KOEPKE-L Archives

From: "" <>
Subject: [KOEPKE] Genealogy searches in Europe.
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:51:04 -0000

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Author: ebenordms925
Surnames:
Classification: queries

Message Board URL:

http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.koepke/161/mb.ashx

Message Board Post:

Some of those searching are people who are new to Genealogy, and there are others who are well seasoned. Once you are able to locate where in Europe a person is from, it can open up doors. We find help on how to go about it, on lists, but rarely. I have been lucky enough to find two cousins in my searches one, from my Irish half and one from my German half, but tht luck is relatively rare.

For those that are new, the first chore is finding where your people come from. That can be a tall order! Some things that can help is immigration records. Some records will tell you where their home is. If you are lucky and it doesn't just say Germany, it can give you a break. Occasionally, one can find information from the census records. How is the name spelled, and what name did they use. In Germany, my family used Kopke (with the umlaut) but in modern times, it is Koepke. I had an experience when I got the marriage record of my Grandfather, of being in contact with the vitals office in Hamburg. When she wrote to me, she used Koepke, but when I questioned her as to what was on the document itsself, she said Kopke. When I actually got the document, there were two spellings used. He was shown as Kopke, and his father as Kopcke (also with the umlaut). This was all part of MY learning curve.

Another source is the records for the LDS records. You can order film for the area you want to search, and go through it line by line. This should tell you that the search for where he comes from is important. Were I searching this man, I would first get a death record. That may give you an idea of where he was from and maybe his parents name. Once you have that, it may be easier to get your search going.

Dorothea

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