German/Slavic Seminar Week
Welcome to the German/Slavic Seminar Week! The seminar for 2019 will be held the week of October 21-October 25, 2019. All times are in Mountain Daylight Time.
The 2019 German/Slavic Seminar Week will focus on handwriting. Please scroll to the language you are interested in.
Dutch - 8:45-9:45
Handout. Please download the handout and use for reference in the webinar. There are links in the handout, so it may be more useful to have it open during the class. Please also have a pen or pencil and paper to write your translations down.
Monday, October 21, 2019 - 8:45am
- Document 1, no. 32.
- Document 2, no. 9046.
Homework:
Complete the "How to" Guide Reading Dutch Birth Records
Use the Dutch Genealogical Word List to identify the following information:
- Child's name
- Parents' names
- Birthdate
- Document - middle entry, right page.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 - 8:45am
- Document 1, no. 69.
- Document 2, right side of page.
Homework:
Complete the "How to" Guide Reading Dutch Marriage Records
Use the Dutch Genealogical Word List to identify the following information:
- Marriage date
- Bride and groom's names
- Ages or birth dates
- Birthplaces
- Residences
- Parents' names
- Any related witnesses
- Document, left side of page.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 - 8:45am
- Document 1, no. 107
- Document 2, no. 25
- Document 3, no. 2
Homework:
Complete the "How to" Guide Reading Dutch Death Records
Use the Dutch Genealogical Word List to identify the following information:
- Name of deceased
- birth date or age and birthplace
- Parents' names
- Spouse's name, if applicable
Document, no. 3606
Thursday, October 24, 2019 - 8:45am
- Document 1, left side, entries under March 8.
- Document 2, nos. 11 and 12.
- Document 3, right side, top three entries.
- Document 4, left side, top of page (total of 5 entries).
- Document 5, left side, 2nd-5th entries from the top.
Homework:
- Read the FamilySearch Wiki article Netherlands Church Records.
- Use FamilySearch online records (either through the FamilySearch Catalog or the Historical Records for the Netherlands to identify the baptism of Neeltje Portenge. She was born in Vreeland, Utrecht in 1767 and was Hervormd (Reformed). Identify the parents and the witnesses.
- Use FamilySearch online records to find the marriage of Jan van Beusichem and Feijgje van Bergen. They were Hervormd (Reformed) and married in Zoelmond, Gelderland in January 1763.
Friday, October 25, 2019 - 8:45am
- Document 1, top three entries on each of the two pages
- Document 2, bottom left entry
- Document 3, left page, first entry
- Document 4, right page, top entry
- Document 5, left page, entries for February and March
- Document 6, right page, lower entry
- Document 7, left page, top two entries
German - 10:00-12:00
Join the webinar Please have pen and paper ready for this class. Feel free to print the handwriting practice sheets below for in-class practice.
Handwriting
- Handwriting practice sheets
- letters (old German script alphabet)
- Old German script generator (note: to see the ending “s” in a word, write it as “:”)
Key Terms
- German Genealogical Word List
- Use leo.org and Google Translate to translate additional terms
Common German Names
- Familiarize yourself with common German names and how they look in the old German script (using BYU Script Tutorial and the FamilySearch Wiki
Practice Reading Records
- Reading German civil birth records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Reading German civil marriage records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Reading German civil death records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
Review
- Handwriting Guide: German Gothic
- Additional handouts on Germany Handwriting Wiki page, including lists of vocabulary specific to birth, marriage, and death records
- German handwriting lessons
- Write your own church birth record in the old German handwriting, using the following format: Am [date] wurde dem [father’s occupation] [father’s name] und seiner Ehefrau [mother’s name] ein Kind geboren, welches den Namen [your name] erhielt.
Latin - 1:00-2:00
Handout. You should download the handout, as you may want to refer to it later on. Also, there will be in-class activities and homework assignments for which you will need it. You should also keep the link to the handout up during the webinar. You will access links to various websites that you will use during the class. It will be much easier for you to click in the links in the handout than to type the URL links. Please keep the handout link up!
Polish - 2:15-3:15
Join the webinar Polish Paleography Seminar Handout
Births
- Document 1, no. 40.
Homework:
Complete the "How to" Guide Reading Polish Birth Records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
Deaths
- Document 1, no. 31.
- Document 2, no. 127.
- Document 3, no. 28.
Homework:
Complete the "How to" Guide Reading Polish Death Records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
Marriages
- Document 1, no. 11
- Document 2, no. 8
- Document 3, no. 103
Homework:
Complete the "How to" Guide Reading Polish Marriage Records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
Russian - 3:30-4:30
Monday, October 21, 2019 - 3:30 - The Alphabet
Homework:
Practice writing the letters of the Cyrillic alphabet using the lined paper found here.
Try spelling your name using the Cyrillic alphabet!
Complete the Alphabet Activity and check your work with the Answer Key.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 - 3:30 - Deciphering the Handwriting and Understanding the Grammar
Deciphering the Handwriting and Understanding the Grammar Handout
Homework:
Complete the Deciphering the Handwriting and Understanding the Grammar Activity and check your work with the Answer Key.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 - 3:30 - Reading Birth Records
Homework:
For practice reading Polish birth records in Russian, complete the "How to" Guide Reading Birth Records (In Poland) Activity. Check your answers with the Key.
For practice reading a Russian Orthodox birth record, identify the name and gender of the child, the birth and baptism date, names and religions of parents, and the gubernia, uyezd and village the father was from for the first entry found here. Check your answers below.
| Name | Александеръ/Aleksander |
| Gender | Male (he was the 31st male child born in 1884) |
| Birthdate | 14 февраль/February 1884 |
| Baptism date | 17 февраль/February 1884 |
| Names of parents | Егоръ Михайлев Содолевъ/Egor Mikhailev Sodolev and Анастася Николаева/Anastasiya Nikolaeva |
| Religion of parents | Православные/Russian Orthodox |
| Gubernia, uyezd and village | Владимирская губерния/Vladimir gubernia
Муромский уезд/Murom uyezd село Монакова/Monakova village |
Thursday, October 24, 2019 - 3:30 - Reading Marriage Records
Homework:
For practice reading Polish marriage records in Russian, complete the "How to" Guide Reading Marriage Records (In Poland) Activity. Check your answers with the Key.
For practice reading a Russian Orthodox marriage record, identify the marriage date, names and ages of the bride and groom, as well as their religion, standing (for females this will often include information about their father or previous spouse) and number of marriages for the first marriage entry found here. Hint: what looks like a Latin "s" is actually the letter "з." Check your answers below.
| Marriage date | 16 Сентябрь/September 1884 |
| Groom's name | Иванъ Никаноровъ Корнвевъ/Ivan Nikanorov Kornvev |
| Groom's standing | крестьянинъ/peasant |
| Groom's age | 19 1/2 |
| Groom's religion | православный/Russian Orthodox |
| Groom's # of marriages | первымъ бракомъ/first marriage |
| Bride's name | Ольга Заяарова [Подберезнова]/Olga Zayaarova |
| Bride's standing
(aka. her father or previous spouse's standing) |
умершаго крестьянина Заяара Подберезновa/
of the deceased peasant Zayaar Podberyanov |
| Bride's age | 17 |
| Bride's religion | православная |
| Bride's # of marriages | девица/maiden/virgin (first marriage) |
Friday, October 24, 2019 - 3:30 - Reading Death Records
Homework:
For practice reading Polish death records in Russian, complete the "How to" Guide Reading Marriage Records (In Poland) Activity. Check your answers with the Key.
For practice reading a Russian Orthodox death record, identify the death and burial date, the name and gender, standing and age of the deceased individual for the first entry found here. Bonus points for discovering the cause of death! Check your answers below.
| Death date | 8 Iенварь/January 1881 |
| Burial date | 10 IенварьJanuary 1881 |
| Name of deceased | Александра Феодорова Колесникова/
Aleksandra Feodorova Kolesnikova |
| Gender of deceased | Female (1st female who died in 1881,
age is also marked in the female column) |
| Standing of deceased | Самарская мещанская вдова/
widow of a Samarian petty bourgeois |
| Age of deceased | 72 |
| Cause of death | от чахотки/consumption |