I had that hardest of genealogical roadblocks- someone who changed their name illegally and died with their secret. Katherine provided very careful and scholarly transcriptions and translations of some key documents. Mystery solved. My advice: engage a professional like Katherine and don’t guess at the content of Kurrent manuscripts when the result matters to you.
“Katherine’s advice on websites and other resources for getting started in German genealogy was straightforward and very helpful in targeting the most useful places to begin your search. Likewise, she provided numerous tips, tricks and shortcuts for deciphering that difficult German handwriting with lots of instructive class exercises.”
I asked Katherine to transcribe and translate a baptismal record written in Old German script from 1828 about my Great, Great Grandfather. We had hit a brick wall in our Erkenbrecher genealogy and we just couldn’t find where or who our relatives were in Germany. Katherine did an excellent job of translating this document which divulged the parents of our GG Grandfather. Because of this finding, I have been able to go back eight generations in our Erkenbrecher family tree, all the way back to Hei…
So happy to finally receive a translation!! You don’t know how hard and long I tried to find someone capable. The places named in the letter will be so helpful in my genealogy search.
“Great communication skills, engaging and went over important details and info. Slides were excellent.”
I am stunned what Katherine was able to translate from some civil war-era family letters due to the poor letter quality. I didn’t think it could be done. Katherine dedicates herself to your project like it’s her own family. I am grateful that I found her and her work will have an impact on my family for generations to come.
Thank you for these amazing translations! I never dreamed so much additional information was hidden in those records, such as Wendtlandt being an organist, the ringing of the bells (I was a music major and enjoyed those bits of information), and the emergency baptism. These are examples of facts and events that make a family story real – and I know that my husband’s family will be surprised and glad to learn of them. I now realize how much I’m missing when I look at these old records. Ancestry o…
“Katherine presented an engaging program about researching German ancestry at the public library in Andover, MA. She drew a large crowd and held their attention with her deep knowledge of German history and culture. Her genuine enthusiasm for researching German ancestry and deciphering old handwritten German documents is what made her presentation so enjoyable. I’ve had several patrons request that I invite her back.”
I enthusiastically recommend Katherine for your translation needs! She is professional, courteous, timely, and very pleasant to work with. She responds promptly to emails, and meets the deadlines she establishes for the translations. I had asked her to translate some 1800 era Austrian church records in handwritten script, the quality of which was not always the best. She came through with not only the English translations, but the German transcriptions as well. Her footnotes and additi…
“Very knowledgeable and engaging with audience. Provided great specific information that is useful for my research.”