Genealogy and family history

in Germany

Have your family tree or ancestral chart researched

Contract research for family members and ancestors

When and where did my family first demonstrably appear? Where does my family history begin and what has happened in the past?

Many people ask themselves these questions in the course of their lives, and they can be answered. In many cases, families in Germany can be traced back to around 1550/1650 in parish registers and other records. Patrician families and the nobility, as well as farming families rooted to the land, can often be documented as far back as the 15th century or even the 12th century. Of course, the red thread can snap even before that, making it impossible to penetrate further into the past.

One's own roots or the Family roots Researching is a time-consuming endeavor, especially if you want to do it thoroughly.

Beside the family tree and the Ahnentafel (which only name the individual persons) there are many other fields of activity that meaningfully complement a family chronicle.

Spellings and distributions of names
Genetics and prehistoric migration
Heraldry
Geographical distribution of the family
Occupational and regional history
Portraits and Objects
Architectural heritage
List of possessions and offices
Biographical reconstructions
and others.

The important thing is the Sources of the documents and the historical contexts. All sources for each excerpt are provided, and the original text of the parish register entry is transcribed—provided it is decipherable—and reproduced exactly as it is.

Upon request, the excerpts can also be officially certified/verified by the parish offices or archives.

How I work

My mother's old family chronicle with coats of arms, seals, and a castle was about knights and peasants.

My father's chronicle of farmhands, artisans, and entrepreneurs. You never know beforehand what you'll find out.

Almost 40 years of experience in researching family trees:

approx. found own family tree members

earliest date in family history

approx. Individual records in your own family tree

Resumes and interviews

approx. old pictures, on family history

All numbers correspond to past counts. However, they can change constantly and may have already changed.

My own family history

Around 1984, I began researching the history of my eponymous family, Heyne. Actually, because my mother's family had already been researched before World War I and, summarized in an old chronicle, dealt with a family of knights and peasants.

In the family chronicle there were epitaphs and coats of arms, the depiction of a castle, seal drawings, old poems, deeds, funeral sermons, and much more to discover. In the meantime, a newer version of the chronicle with new insights and research findings has been published.

The fall of the inner-German border starting in 1989 then opened up unexpected opportunities for me, because my Heyne family originated predominantly from what is now Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. I undertook my first trips there, studied church registers, and took pictures of what could still be found.

These experiences and results fascinated me, and I became more involved in genealogy. Today, I also research other families, primarily for people from abroad with German roots.

My services