Reading record descriptions and learning about the records being used is an integral part of the research process. Even if one has no interest in the Ostfriesian fire insurance records on Ancestry.com, the description of those records served to remind me that it’s always necessary to know what one is researching and how that record […]

The entry for Hinrich Ufckes in the 1778-1790 Ostfriesian fire insurance books on Ancestry.com (“East Frisia, Germany, Fire Insurance Registration, 1768-1937“) makes a few good points about these records and research in general. The names of places can change. The village of Holtrop where the Ufkes family lived was not always known by that name. […]

Ancestry.com recently added this wonderful database of fire insurance records in Ostfriesland, Germany (between 1768 and 1937) to their site. Admittedly I have a slight learning curve with these records. The other problem is that since half my ancestors hailed from Ostfriesland, I have numerous ancestors in these records. The illustration chosen is from entries in […]