|
While it's been awhile since I've sent out a newsletter update, the fall harvest seems like as good of a time as ever to let you know about all the progress we've made since spring. |
| |
|
Please "like" us on Facebook to receive more frequent updates! |
| |
|
Emigration Project Update |
| |
|
Thanks to the gifts of money from many generous supporters, we've been able to progress close to our halfway point in digitizing the emigration records from the Szczecin (Stettin) Archives. We have been steadily progressing at a rate of about 25 books per month. We are hoping to have the photographing of these collections completed before the end of 2023.
Most of the earliest emigration books have been photographed or are slated to be photographed in October. This is a HUGE milestone, as many records of early emigrations are missing from our side of the pond because major ports like Bremen did not maintain these lists long-term or because immigrants entered through ports other than New York--and some of those records are not online or indexed.
Also, a special thanks to our Polish friends who have digitized some of the emigration collections from the archives in Koszalin. (The page is in Polish, so it might help to use Google Chrome and translate the page. The books are kept under several of the online folders.) |
| |
|
Charbrow Communicants Church Book Online (1766-1804) |
| |
|
A huge thank you to Rob Vance for sending us the copy he had digitized of this church book. If you have previously paid to have a book scanned, please consider contributing the pages to our project so others can read them without having to pay for them. Our promise is to keep this site free for all users. |
| |
|
Posen Colonists (1794-1806) |
| |
|
A little outside the scope of Pomerania, but my photographer offered to visit the archives when he was in Warsaw. Looking through collections I had bookmarked, these books seemed to fit the bill. (When else would we be able to have these scanned in such high quality and affordably?)
I uploaded the images to our Google Drive, and they can be viewed here until I have time to link them into the website for easier searching. The books include the establishment of colonists, vagabonds, emigration of subjects and movement, and military passes (one collection that shows promise for uncovering more genealogical information in the future). |
| |
|
Join us in exploring our new feature! Tentatively called the "One Pomeranian Library," the goal is to compile a list of resources regarding our heritage and link those to holding institutions, groups, and individuals.
Do you have a book on Pomerania? Would you be willing to help others if they need a look-up? Please consider sending an email to ch...@mypomerania.com with titles and the best contact information to reach you. I will be sporadically updating this list with the latest additions.
Special thanks to Linda Herrick and the Pommerscher Verein Freistadt for making this joint collaboration possible!
|
| |
|
We have promised never to charge anyone for access to our online collections. To keep that promise, we need your help. Please consider giving a small gift of money to sponsor our work. |
| |
|
We have scheduled two upcoming trips for our photographer to visit Szczecin to photograph about 40 more emigration books, including the "Konventikelwesen" books about early Lutheran emigrations, Müller guild records from Kreis Regenwalde, and surviving church books from Kreis Greifenhagen. To contribute to the emigration project, please consider giving through our public GoFundMe. This helps us show transparency in how funds are spent. The two trips are expected to cost us $800 and will digitize about 60 books over six days.
Other Expenses
- We are also coming due for our web hosting server renewal. If we can afford to pay the the cost upfront ($1151.76), we receive savings by extending our two-year agreement.
- We recently acquired a higher resolution Nikon camera to make captured images in Koszalin easier to read. The cost of the camera and shipping are expected to total $400. (We love buying gently used items at a discount. 😁)
|
| |
|
Can you read old script? If so, we are looking for your help to make our photographed pages more easily accessible and searchable.
Please email ch...@mypomerania.com for more information.
|
| |
|
Dearest readers,
Please forgive the duration between newsletters. This is good news, though, as much of the time has been spent organizing new additions to the website. We've added over 200 photographed books in the last year, much in part because of the support for grassroots crowdfunding their digitization.
In the last year, I've presented for the PRG and the PVF about the importance of land records. What better timing?! It looks like our friends in Poland have also found the genealogical value in these sources. Please feel free to check out and support their work at indeksy.net. Bookmark the page and check back often for new additions.
Until the next newsletter, I'm going to work on harvesting my apples, tomatoes, and hot peppers before our first frost early on Tuesday morning. I've found great joy in returning to the traditions of my ancestors and working the ground... I'm just not so sure about the cold!
Stay warm, everyone! |
| |
|
