Unlocking Your German Ancestry

August 12, 2026 3:00PM - 6:00PM ET

Millions of Americans are descended from German-speaking immigrants, but their courses to the U.S. vary by time period and origination point in Europe. This immersive course will cover the best resources for finding all types of Germans!

This live, three-hour session is designed to immerse you in a hands-on learning experience. Led by genealogy expert James Beidler you’ll benefit from:

• Expert Guidance: Learn directly from a renowned genealogy professional.
• Practical Handouts: Access downloadable resources to enhance your learning.
• PLUS - Registrants receive the German digital cheat sheet ($9.99 value) FREE!

Q&A: Get your questions answered during the live session and through our exclusive online forum for one week, ensuring all your questions are answered and you receive personalized guidance as you apply what you've learned.

What You’ll Learn

• The First Wave (1683–1775): Master the specialized methodologies needed to trace colonial-era German immigrants, from the early settlers of Germantown to the massive influx of redemptioners, utilizing early church registers, land patents, and passenger ship oaths.
• The Second Wave (1820–1914): Navigate the peak centuries of German migration into the U.S. by leveraging civil registration records, comprehensive port indexes, Hamburg passenger lists, and domestic records that reveal exactly when and why your ancestors crossed the Atlantic.
• Germans Outside Germany: Uncover the unique paper trails of ethnic Germans who settled in pockets across Central and Eastern Europe—including the Volga, Black Sea, and Danube regions—and learn how to locate the specific archival resources tracking their subsequent migration to America.
  

By the end of this course you'll be able to:

• Decode Historical Borders: Gain the skills to look past modern map lines and successfully trace ancestors who identified as German but lived in regions like Alsace-Lorraine, Prussia, Russia, or the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• Customize Your Research Strategy: Stop wasting time with one-size-fits-all genealogy methods; instead, learn to apply distinct, targeted strategies tailored specifically to either 18th-century colonial pioneers or 19th-century industrial-era travelers.
• Categorize and Conquer Complex Brick Walls: Learn how to accurately classify your ancestors' specific migration wave, allowing you to instantly narrow down which European archives, port records, and church registers hold the answers to your family tree.
  
• Save countless hours of frustrating dead-end research with expert guidance.
  
  

Experience Interactive Learning with an Expert

James M. Beidler is the author of the only full-length book on newspapers and genealogy, The Family Tree Historical Newspapers Guide, and a former full-time journalist who witnessed how everything from obituaries to personality profiles was published. He’s also been interim executive director for Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania twice, writes “Roots & Branches,” a weekly newspaper column/blog, is a German Life magazine columnist, and was editor emeritus of Der Kurier, the quarterly journal of the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society.

Your German-speaking ancestors braved changing borders, vast oceans, and the unknown to build a new life—now, it’s your turn to tell their story.

Don't let the complexity of shifting European maps or old Gothic script stand in your way. Whether your roots lie in the valleys of the Rhine, the plains of Russia, or the early settlements of Pennsylvania, the keys to unlocking your family's homeland are waiting for you.

Secure your spot today, and bridge the gap between the Old World and the New!