RootsTech Follow-Up - Oktoberfest

October is known by most as the month for Halloween, the time when our kids run around the neighborhood looking for treats. For those of us who do family history October is Family History Month. And for those of us who are of German heritage, it is the month for Oktoberfest. Growing up in Ohio, many of the local towns, such as Minster, had their version of Oktoberfest. But now that I am living in Florida there aren't as many towns that celebrate Oktoberfest. My current town had its first ever Oktoberfest this weekend. I went and found out that it is pretty much like all the other festivals here. Lots of booths selling driftwood art, t-shirts, candles, and other crafts. The big difference was that many of the food venders were selling bratwursts instead of hot dogs and there were more beer tents.

But back to the reason I am writing this post - German heritage research and family history. Did you realize that RootsTech had several dozen talks about German research? These talks are still online and can be watched at your convenience. I'll highlight a few that might be of interest to you:

1. Discovering Online German Archives by Miles Meyer - Yeah, this one is mine but you still may be interested. This talk covers many of the online German Archives and how to do research in them. There is an extensive handout that provides links and information on each collection.
2. German Research for the Everyday American by Karynne Moses - This presentation is a bit longer than most RootsTech presentations at a little over an hour but it has a lot of information to cover. This presentation helps the beginning researcher find resources that help to bridge the gap between the United States and Germany.
3. Genealogical Research in Germany by Andrea Bentschneider - This is a three-part series consisting of German Church Books and Civil Records, Other Interesting Sources, and The German Archive System.
4. Finding Your German Ancestors by Richard Lynn Walker - This is a two-part series by an employee of FamilySearch. The first part discusses basic resources while the second part goes into more depth by discussing various websites where additional resources can be found.
5. German Immigration from Hometown to Final Destinations by James Beidler - This is a three-part series on resources to find your German immigrants and their hometowns. The parts are not found together as a series but you can find them at these links: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
6. Finding German Records Using FamilySearch by Dana Palmer - This presentation covers the German record collections on FamilySearch. Step-by-step instructions are given to help users find records that are relevant to their research.
7. German Records, Words, and Scripts by The Family History Guide - I had to add this one not just because I am the Education Director for The Family History Guide but there are some great tips in this presentation to help researchers recognize common words and read German script.
8. German Vital Records: Finding the Clues You Need by Katherine Schrober - This presentation covers the main vital records (birth, marriage and death) and the information that you can find in those records. 
9. Useful Tools for Finding German Ancestors by Danna Palmer - Find out about some of the best sources to begin your German research in this presentation. Learn about using the FamilySearch Wiki and handwriting pages which will give you a start on your research.

So, there are a dozen great presentations from RootsTech 2022 that should get you motived to start researching your German heritage. I hope you have fun exploring these links and have a great Family History Month/Oktoberfest/Halloween!