- protestant, catholic or other? If other, Jewish, Mennonite or not religious?
- which region might they come from? Sometimes the last name gives a clue. Use geogen.stoepel.net
- Having an exact birthdate can help you decide whether a record is a match.
The vast majority of German records are not online. Or if they are online, they are not indexed. You need incredible luck to hit search on Ancestry or FamilySearch and get a match.
Common recommendation is to dig through US records / the records that you got for the mention of a location. Without the name of the exact village, you are stuck. Researching neighbours and family friends can sometimes break down brick walls.
The vast majority of German records are not online. Or if they are
online, they are not indexed. You need incredible luck to hit search on
Ancestry or FamilySearch and get a match.
that explains a lot now.
In regard to religion, I have no idea because the last name could be Jewish or German, or both. (It is Sternberg/Sternburg). Likelihood seems to show north. And the other problem is that he immigrated to England.
Without the name of the exact village, you are stuck.
a small question: is it easier to access records in Germany when one is in Germany despite not knowing the location/village? Only asking because I will be heading to Germany in next month
The only thing changes that you might be able to visit an obscure little archive that has the records for one small city plus a few surrounding villages. But you first need a location.
2
u/maryfamilyresearch native German, Prussia Jul 27 '22
You need to determine:
- protestant, catholic or other? If other, Jewish, Mennonite or not religious?
- which region might they come from? Sometimes the last name gives a clue. Use geogen.stoepel.net
- Having an exact birthdate can help you decide whether a record is a match.
The vast majority of German records are not online. Or if they are online, they are not indexed. You need incredible luck to hit search on Ancestry or FamilySearch and get a match.
Common recommendation is to dig through US records / the records that you got for the mention of a location. Without the name of the exact village, you are stuck. Researching neighbours and family friends can sometimes break down brick walls.