Researching 10 Midwest German Immigrant Groups

 

The American Midwest is rich with the cultural footprints of German-speaking immigrants. These settlers didn’t just come from Germany itself, they arrived from former German colonies in Eastern Europe and other regions with strong German communities. As a family historian, understanding these unique groups can help you identify your ancestor’s origins and migration patterns more accurately. Here are ten of the most influential German-speaking groups that shaped the Midwest, but don't forget your Kansas German Settlers: 8 Tips - Researching Midwest German Ancestors 

Major Kansas German Settlements 

1. Volga Germans

Volga settlement 

Origin: Volga River region, Russia (originally emigrated from Germany in the 1760s)
Midwest Settlement: Kansas, Nebraska, North/South Dakota, Colorado
Religion: Lutheran, Catholic
Genealogy Tip: Look for church records, immigration rosters, and village name indexes.

2. Black Sea Germans
Origin: Southern Russia and Ukraine (Schwarzmeerdeutsche)
Midwest Settlement: North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska
Religion: Mixed (Catholic, Lutheran, Mennonite)
Genealogy Tip: Check Russian imperial records, EWZ files, and Dakota church registers.

3. Bukovina Germans
Origin: Bukovina (now in Ukraine/Romania, part of former Austro-Hungary)
Midwest Settlement: Wisconsin, Illinois, North Dakota
Religion: Catholic, Lutheran
Genealogy Tip: Explore Austrian military records, Galician censuses, and passenger lists.

4. Banat Swabians
Origin: Banat region (Romania, Serbia, Hungary)
Midwest Settlement: Ohio, Illinois, Indiana
Religion: Roman Catholic
Genealogy Tip: Use Danube Swabian village maps and local parish archives.

5. Donauschwaben (Danube Swabians)
Origin: Settled in Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia; originally from Swabia, Bavaria, Austria
Midwest Settlement: St. Louis, Cincinnati, Chicago
Religion: Catholic, Lutheran
Genealogy Tip: Explore German expellee databases and village family books (Ortsfamilienbücher).

6. Silesians
Origin: Silesia (now in Poland, formerly Prussian territory)
Midwest Settlement: Wisconsin, Minnesota
Religion: Primarily Catholic
Genealogy Tip: Search Prussian Catholic parish registers and immigration manifests.

7. Pomeranians and Mecklenburgers
Origin: Northeast Germany (Pomerania, Mecklenburg)
Midwest Settlement: Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas
Religion: Lutheran
Genealogy Tip: Explore Lutheran church records and Pomeranian Heimat books.

8. Swiss Germans
Origin: German-speaking Switzerland
Midwest Settlement: Indiana, Ohio, Illinois
Religion: Mennonite, Amish, Lutheran
Genealogy Tip: Use Mennonite Heritage Centers and Swiss civil registers.

9. Bavarians
German Settlements in Missouri
This is nicknamed the Rhineland Counties of MO. In Missouri, the early settlers of the “Rhineland” region covered 11 counties

Figure 1 Image: Ozark Watch website

Origin: Bavaria (southern Germany)
Midwest Settlement: Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota
Religion: Roman Catholic
Genealogy Tip: Search German Catholic diocesan records and brewery directories!

10. Pennsylvania Germans (Pennsylvania Dutch)
Origin: Originally settled in Pennsylvania; many migrated west
Midwest Settlement: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois
Religion: Amish, Mennonite, Lutheran, Reformed
Genealogy Tip: Look into Amish directories, Pennsylvania Dutch Bibles, and land grant records.

Final Thought: Knowing which German-speaking group your ancestors belonged to can open the door to the right records, the correct language or dialect, and even their cultural values. Whether your ancestor was a Volga farmer or a Bavarian brewer, their journey helped shape the American Midwest, and your story.

Have you discovered your own German-speaking heritage? Share your findings or questions in the comments!

Looking for the Irish Kidnapping the Irish?

St. Cloud Democrat, Stearns County, Minn

12 .Jan 1860

Irish Sugar, Rum, Slaves, and Jail

So was there ever a real confirmed case of the Irish being sold into slavery or kidnapped as indentured servants?

Apparently, "YES." And, it didn't end until right before the Civil War. This occurred early in Ireland. We see at least one case in the newspapers. (See above). 

 

The Belfast Mercury or Freeman's Chronicle

23th September 1783, #48787

Well, we know in that timeframe, where there's Hispanola "sugar" the rum and slaves are not far behind.

July 1774 Belfast Charitable Society
image: Clifton House Belfast

So when I was commissioned to work on the Cunninghams Pre-Revolutionary War, I was prepared for anything pre-Revolutionary War up to the Civil War. Waddell Cunningham a Belfast ship owner was involved in the rum, sugar, and slaves trade between Belfast and British West Indies. However, it has not been confirmed that Waddell Cunningham was one in the same as William Cunningham noted for kidnapping Irish people to sell as indentured servants. 

Was it Waddell or William who proposed slavery in Belfast?  Was it Waddell or William who kidnapped the Irish in order to sell them as indentured servants in 1744? Which one had to go to "goal" [jail] for which crime? 

This note clearly states this was William, not Waddell Cunningham.  It has been proven that William Cunningham was in the slave trade. and we see a reference to him below as early as 1744.

Massachusetts. Miscellaneous Records 1620–1775, 

Customs Records 1620–1775, Migration Records 1620–1775

But was William and Waddell one in the same? (Status and/or answers below to these questions).

The Key?

Pull the originals or, at minimum, avoid extracts like that below, and get the full image copies. 

Ireland Bibliographies

Tracing Waddell was easy! He was known for being uber-rich thanks to his sugar, rum, and slave trading business. He was also known for being generations to charitable societies and churches. The newspapers loved him as early as the 1760s.  And he used them as his own personal social media platform. 

We first see Waddell when he tried to murder Thomas Forsey for, let's say, "defamation." This contract disagreement spilled over to public interest.

Waddell served time, had to put up a bond, and finally Robert Ross Waddell joined to support Waddell Cunningham. Well, as luck will have it, we are now connecting families.

"The Forsey Appeal" by Waddell Cunningham,  1765

There are volumes worth of court records and such for Waddell Cunningham, so be sure to use available indicies and abstracts to narrow your search.

Ireland. History Records, Miscellaneous Records,

Bibliographies, Reference Materials, Archive Records (image 824)

Waddell feeling slighted by Forsey led us to the earlier works of Waddell Cunningham, allowing us to uncover his trading business and business partner and my desire to use the various bibliographies. 

Great Place to Start

If your early rich Irish and Scots-Irish had dealings, you will want to use the bibliographies. They will lead you to the documents. And, in my case, quick answer: Is Waddell Cunningham and William Cunningham one in the same? Appears not! The early William Cunningham incident occurred in 1744 in Massachusetts. There were later William Cunningham, some were dated as late as 1846.  We know Waddell Cunningham was in business as early as 1760. So the 1744 William Cunningham will still need more research. 

Time to flesh out what we have, and what we know. 

Waddell Cunningham, of Belfast,  and the Spanish Sugars

Looking at the Original Questions?

Was it Waddell or William who proposed slavery in Belfast?  This was definitely Waddell. However, Belfast was anti-slavery and his proposal quickly failed.

Was it Waddell or William who kidnapped the Irish in order to sell them as indentured servants in 1744?

Supposedly it was William Cunningham.  However, as mentioned, it does not appear that Waddell Cunningham and William Cunningham are one in the same. More work is needed.

Which one had to go to "goal" [jail] for which crime? 

We know Waddell Cunningham was in "goal" (jail) for attacking T. Forsey.  

The New-Hampshire gazette and historical chronicle.
[volume] (Portsmouth, N.H.) 1763-1776, December 14, 1764, Image 3

You will note that I put full links and references in this article. Hopefully, it will add to your repertoire of resources. Again, originals must be pulled for the full story!

Happy Irish-American Heritage Month

Kathleen Brandt

a3genealogy@gmail.com

6 Steps Revolutionary War Era Research

Who Were The Parents? 

There’s so much you can do for this era to find parents' names. In genealogy research where each region has records reflecting its community and where each era and generation of records evolve, we are reminded daily that historical record searching is never static. Yet, there are still some basic guidelines to follow. Here is a sample of my strategy for identifying Revolutionary War Era parentage. It’s simple, but these six steps put me back in action when I’m paralyzed with the “Now What?” Syndrome.

1) County Formations of your state. Revolutionary War Era Research is Colonial Research.  To learn more here is a link: Chasing Counties: Use County Formation Maps.

2) Tracing Land Inheritance using Deeds and Probate Records is another way to prove parentage. These records can show when and where the land was probated and to whom. Often the eldest son, if not a minor, inherited the land. However, the land could also be left to the wife. In the interest of minor children, names may be revealed showing kinship. Records can also show the relationship of siblings of other family members. Here is a good case of Researching Revolutionary War Veterans families of Virginia and Kentucky.

3) Territories had their own records prior to the state. This is tip really helps if your ancestor migrated west to a territory.   Be sure to check out State Archives.

4) Church Records. During the Revolutionary War Era churches kept a lot of family records to include children baptism, christening, marriage banns, and licenses. You are doing a disservice if you haven’t researched these genealogical gems.

5) Guardianship Records. Mothers were not usually granted guardianship of their minor children during the Revolutionary War Era, but if they did, it usually was through the court system. 

6) Newspapers 

Don’t forget old newspapers. Have you tried They may not be indexed, but you may get lucky with a local library or State Archive. Some of these repositories (like both the Mo. State Archives and the Kansas Historical Society), may have a surname index in their card catalog. Don’t underestimate the holdings at these repositories. At minimum, old newspapers are often preserved on microfilm at these repositories. What a great way to spend a bad climate day!
We love feedback. Feel free to drop us a note.

Kathleen Brandt
a3Genealogy

a3Genealogy@gmail.com

A Little German Genealogy For You

After 1763, Prussia became a European great power.
The rivalry between Prussia and Austria for the leadership of Germany began

Do You Connect?
Rarely, do we post a full historical newspaper article. And, for shame!!! We haven't vet the piece, but the a3Genealogy research team has been working on a lot of German ancestry research lately, and this article has circulated between Europe and the States.  Ok...also Australia! 

Arkansas Democrat, Little Rock, Arkansas, Feb 6, 1892Page 6; newspapers.com

   

  

Lighten Your Load and Discuss! 

Happy German Research

Follow us on linktr.ee/a3genealogy

 

10 Resources for Tracing Immigrant Ancestors

This podcast covers the steps of Basic Immigrant Research using a Greek example. All immigrant research requires the same basic research. 

Basic Immigrant Ancestor Research

Although our families are unique, basic immigrant research is not. The same goal applies for Irish, German, Italian, Greek or any other immigrant research. Prior to researching overseas, we must discover the original name, preferably the name and date as printed on a birth documents. Parents’ names, family units, and originating parish, province, or city of your ancestors overseas are also essential Here are ten (10) record sets that may assist with uncovering the needed information.

10 Records Sets

Here are ten record sets that may assist with uncovering the needed information.

1.  Declaration of Intent - 1^st Papers 
   
   
2. Naturalization Record or Alien Record. Ship, destination, original name using travel documents, next of kin and more may be found on Naturalization Records.  If not, the 1st papers - Declaration of Intention papers - is noted for further research. But let's not forget alien records, if applicable.  They may also include family information in-country and overseas.  
3. Trace Ship. Be sure to pair ancestry.com and the OneStep Stephen Morse website, https://stevemorse.org/,  to cross reference ships.
   
   
   

   Keep in mind the first passenger at Ellis Island wa 1 Jan 1892.  It was used in lieu of Castle Garden port of NY which operated from 1855 – 1891. 
4. Passenger List Review:  Greek passengers often cam by way of Italy or France. So it is best to follow the ship paths. The podcast example of Panayioti Kopelas on the Alesia, Fabre Line passenger ship arrived in NY port 31 Oct 1895, and proven by the naturalization record. The Fabre Line stopped in Marseille, France prior to arriving at the port of NY, Ellis Island.
   Be sure to reference The Ships List  if more assistance is needed to trace a ship.
   

   
   
   
5. Determine Destination. Where Did They Go? Your ancestor, most likely, landed and traveled to family. There destination is noted on the Passenger list.  Our assumption is there’s always a reason for their final destination. In the podcast example Panayoti’s destination was Lowell MA.  It is in Lowell that we located family members
6. Social security application SS5 form, for names of parents is a primary source. 
7. Trace Family. Cluster research is most often successful. Be sure to trace not only your targeted ancestor, but those mentioned in documents: passports, passenger lists, military draft registrations.  These people may lead you to the answers for your targeted information.  In our Chopelas/Kopelas example, we were provided parents for an associated Chopelas. More research is needed, but it is a clue that must be explored and fleshed out.
8. Alias? Many recent immigrants used alias names in order to assimilate in the new country. 
   
   
   
   
   
9. Ethnic Association Records. Ethnic associations may have family biographical sketches. These records may be available through the local genealogy society or in a present day association archived collection.
   
   
10. Newspapers for Family News. Be sure to scour the local newspapers for names and locations. This will guide you to possible repositories.

Be sure to follow Hittin’ the Bricks with Kathleen and share our free educational podcast. Interested in participating in an future episode? Submit this Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen Form.

Kathleen Brandt
Be Historically Correct

a3genealogy.com
Accurate Accessible Answers
a3genealogy@gmail.com

Researching Indentured Servants? (Not Just Virginia)

Many descendants hit a brick wall when researching their colonial ancestors. Since Virginia was the had the largest population of American colonies, and we just finished a 2 year project on indentured servants, the a3Genealogy Research Team wanted to share a few quick hints to successful research. Although we highlight Virginia here, know that these tips should be considered when researching indentured servants in all of the colonies. 

Let's say post Revolutionary War records proved your ancestors to claim VA as their earlier resident state. Many of these ancestors fought in, or supplied to, the Revolutionary War. As they migrated south to the Carolinas, Tennessee and settled in KY, they were landowners, some were skilled.  But, finding the family units in Colonial VA, pre-Revolutionary War can be a mystery.  

Do Not Overlook
Since eighty percent (80%) of immigrants to 17th century Chesapeake were indentured servants, it will behoove the researcher to consider this possibility.(1)  Most of our ancestors were indentured servants, slaves, or bound in some way as laborers!  It is said that up to 75% of all individuals who came off the transatlantic ships, settling in all colonies, in the 17th century were indentured servants. (2). 

References: 
(1) 17th Century Chesapeake, Bill Warder, 2015: "Of the 200,000 emigrants to English North America in the 17TH- century, about 110,000 came into Virginia and Maryland primarily between 1630-1680, with about 80% of those emigrants arriving as indentured servants. ( https://www.nps.gov › None More Important Than People: CTW12015-2). 

(2) The all colonies estimate given by Natural History estimates for that timeframe: "up to 75 percent of all the individuals who came off the transatlantic ships in the 17th century were indentured servants." Source: Conditions in the Early Colonies, Smithsonian Institute, National Museum of Natural History,  

Types of Indentured Servants

Indentured servants were contractually bound to work in order to compensate for their passage to America. There were 3 types of indentured servant agreements: redemptioners, voluntary, and involuntary.

1. Voluntary or "free willers" willingly signed a contract before departing England.
2. Involuntary or "King's passengers" were also called "convict servants. These criminals were usually obliged to serve a term of seven to fourteen years which was based on their convicted crime. 
3. Redemptioners were counting on settled family in the colonies to pay their passage, or secured a way to pay for there passage within two weeks of their arrival to the colonies. If they failed to pay their passage within those two weeks, the contractors' agreements were sold to the highest bidder by the sea captain to pay for their passage. 

Three Basic Guidelines to Begin Indentured Servant Research

One of the goals is to locate embarkment records from England. Embarkment  records may provide the "Master's Name" for whom they would be working, the ship name and sea captain, and the location for which they would be bound, i.e. Paris or  Jamaica.  The above image even has recorded a person bound to pay off passage for his return to Ireland. The reasons for taking the journey varied: to seek a better livelihood, to settle in business with a friend, and for pleasure 

1) Begin with a timeline. Based on your research, narrow the timeline for when your ancestors arrived in America.  This will allow you to apply the indentured servant laws that apply to your ancestor.
2) Review the practices for your location. Here is a link on Life in Early Virginia, but be sure to familiarize yourself with the colony of your ancestors. Each colony had different practices. A good review for Pennsylvania is the Redemptioners and Indentured Servants in the Colony and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

3) Familiarize yourself with the indentured servant laws of the time. Keep in mind that in many cases the laws for the Irish were slightly altered. A good place to start for thee Laws of VA is here in this searchable Collection by Wm. Waller Henning. 

a3Genealogy Research Recommendations to Finding Indentured Servant Records

If looking for your German indentured servant ancestors a good place to begin in with the digitized records of Record of indentures of individuals bound out as appretices, servants, ets., and of German and other redemptioners, 1771 Oct 3 - 1773 October 5. 

Databases

• Library of  Congress: Indentured Servants, Apprentices, and Convicts: Finding Family Histories at the Library of Congress
• Familysearch: My Ancestor Came to Colonial America as an Indentured Servant
• FindmyPast: Everything you need to know about indentured servitude

Newspapers. For Virginia, we love the Colonial Williamsburg Virginia Gazette which has an index that includes surnames and images to the page of appearance. 

State Libraries and Archives.  

Library of Virginia: The online Virginia Land Patents and Grants is a great source for uncovering your Virginia indentured servant. Indentured servants in Virginia were most often registered by the colonists in order to secure headright grants. The index for the Land Patents and Grants does not include the names of people claimed as headrights. In lieu of an index reference Cavaliers and Pioneers available at Ancestry or online book format.

Maryland State Archives.

As indices and extracts may lead us to copies of the originals, we often turn to Dr. Louis Green Carr's Biographical files of the 17th & 18th Century Marylanders to uncover indentured servants in that state. 

The New Early Settlers of Maryland, by Dr. Carson Gibb.

 
This is a great source when looking for early ancestors who may have been indentures in Maryland. Although some when say it is a long shot to resolving a VA indentured servant brickwall, we say HOGWASH! This source has led the a3Genealogy Research Team to solving not one but two brickwalls in 2022. Both were indentured servants in VA. 

 Petersrow Publications. 

This resource is not just of indentured servants, but of many indentures (contracts) to include indentures for free blacks. Yet, we have been able to solve brickwall indentured cases by scouring these records. The best part, is it's name based index, where you can enter your surname, and the publication, timeline, and place for the indenture is included.  This one will keep us busy for Jan 2023.

Cyndi's List. We would be remiss if this site was overlooked. Be sure to look here for German Immigrant Servant Databases

Additional Reading  

• Remember the Irish were Indentured Servants not slaves
• Products of Circumstance: Eighteenth-Century Runaway Indentured Servant Advertisements in a Changing Atlantic World
• Indentured Servants: Was Your Ancestor One? 
• Have Colonial American Roots? Then There’s a Good Chance Your Ancestors Were Indentured Servants
• Tracking Runaway Indentured Servants (in America)

Kathleen Brandt

Be Historically Correct
a3genealogy.com
Accurate Accessible Answers
a3genealogy@gmail.com

Expand Your Norway Genealogy

Our Norwegian Ancestors -
5 Resources & Tips 

1.   Map It Out!
It is impossible to understand the origin of Norwegian ancestors without visualizing the geography and the map of counties, municipalities, and parishes.  For example, the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland is divided into eight deaneries. These deaneries are subdivided into municipalities. And, municipalities are further divided into parishes. Will talk about the farms later, but what about the defunct villages of our ancestors.  

For this research project we covered the Salten Prosti and the Bodø Domprosti deaneries! We ran into the same issues as we scoured  the municpalities: Dissolved Villages.  In looking for Nordal Lakså because client wanted to visit, (their ancestors being from Skjerstad), we quickly learned that in 1905 Skjerstad was divided with Fauske and by 2005 Skjerstad was dissolved or shall I say "melded" into Bodø municiaplity. Nordal Lakså is defunct. Sometimes, though we just want to walk the land of our ancestors.

2.  Confusion of Family names - Not always patronymic

Figure 2 See full article on Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/image/571510007/?terms=patronymic%20norway&match=1

      Years ago we traced a Helen Fauske of Minnesota by way of Norway, so we thought it amusing that now we were researching in the town of Fauske. (Two different clients, no relation). Although it was amusing, it by no means is unusual. 

1900 Norway Census
Dad, Mom and Son with 3 distinct surnames

Family names did not really exist in Norway until the 1900s. The traditional Norwegian naming practice is to use patronyms. In the 1801 and 1865 censuses people were noted by 1) their Christian name followed by 2) the patronymic and 3) the farm name. When a surname law was enacted in 1923 demanding all persons in a (core) family should have the same family name s the father/husband  (head of household) in the family, the surname issue became a genealogists nightmare. Between abt. 1890 -1920 people gradually adopted family names. Some families took a patronymic name from their own patronymic name or that of their father or that of their husband. Others used the farm name. Well at least you would know their origin from the farm name. But all of this most often resulted in adult siblings having different surnames (some from the farm, some from their patronymic name).

       Just know that surnames can be unexpected and not traditional.  

       

      3.   Farm Names 

The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, 18 Sep 1938, Page 4, newspapers.com
Read Full Article

Tip:  We use the dokumentasjons-prosjektet website to fish through the plethora of spellings of farm names, and for comprehensive lists. Not to be confused with Os village in Bodø , but did you know there was so many variations for Os Farm in Fauske?  Os. Oos, Ous,  Aas, Ooss  

      4.  Step Away from Ancestry
When it come to Norway research, we peruse ancestry.com, we embrace myheritage.com, and we soak up and ferret the Norwegian online archives and scans. Take a look at the three comparisons below: 1) ancestry 2) myheritage 3) UiT Norges arktiske universitet 

      Ancestry.com: Names and birthyear; no details

Used link above with subscription

      MyHeritage: The same as ancestry.com.  However, myheritage does have a larger Norwegian collection of scanned documents. .

Used link above with subscription

UiT Norges arktiske universitet, The Norwegian Historical Data Centre from the Arctic University of Norway, has a transcribed searchable census. It includes more information and provides more hints that helps manipulate the church records.  Norway has specified numbers for municipalities and farms. (Think US Enumeration District numbering system). So much more can be accomplished with this small hints. Here we also see that the 1900 census does not just note the municipality, but the farm of residence, and profession of our ancestors. With such common names, we want as much unique information as we can gather. A small, but ultimately a large clue for researching Norway records, is the municipality number. 

Note: UiT Norges arktiske universitet

Often we get abbreviations on occupation rendering a translation engine useless.  Should this happen go to the FamilySearch website for Norway Occupations to decipher the abbreviations.   

5.  Parish Registry

Arkivverket Digitalarkivet The National Archives of Norway Digital Archives has a scanned archives of Paris registry and Census records. With google translate, a list of genealogical Norwegian words and the "English" button on the website, all researchers can wade through the Parish Records and scripted cursive.  

Here we uncovered the 1887 marriage of our subject; Ole Kristensen, and his death records.  However, there is an 80 year rule that prohibited us from retrieving the death record for his wife. 

1887 Death Record 

Summary

This family was traced back to early 1700’s.  What fun!  For each generation we 1) mapped and learned the geography 2) followed the family trail of names 3) became familiar with the farms and parishes 4) scoured the Norwegian online scanned archives for occupations/family names 5) used digital archives for church records… Write up and repeat for next generation!

Kathleen Brandt
Be Historically Correct
a3genealogy.com
Accurate Accessible Answers
a3genealogy@gmail.com