Thursday, February 9, 2012

The wonders of using modern technology to look at old records

Leave it to the boyfriend to suggest, when I complain to him, "I can't read this record!!," referring to the old German kirchenbuch entries I've been using to research my Stutzmann line, that perhaps it would help to use Photoshop to lighten and sharpen. It's amazing how much more clearly the written words show up when they're darker and the background is whiter.

In any case, looking at several of these records, I've determined that Rudolph Schlick's occupation was "ackersmann," which in German means "husbandman," which translated from English to actual English means a kind of farmer. So that's cool. I find my ancestors' occupations extremely interesting. I love that I'm descended from so many bar owners, ha ha...and a shoemaker. And a hatmaker. But I think that gives you a little insight into the person, into the time, and into the place. Which is part of what genealogy is all about. I will now be using this so-obvious-I-needed-someone-else-to-point-it-out-to-me technique to look at my other German records and to see what else I can discover about my Stutzmanns - watch out, German ancestry! I'm comin' for ya!! :)

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