Sacramento German Genealogy Society (SGGS)

10/01/2026

A coffee, please!
Without the first cup of coffee in the morning, some of us are, as is well known, not able to do anything at all. According to a study, coffee is the favorite drink of Germans besides water. However, we are not alone in this. It is therefore not surprising that the aromatic bean is dedicated to its own day of honor in many countries around the world. Since 2015, the International Coffee Organization has been celebrating the international "Day of Coffee" on October 1st. Today would be a suitable time to commemorate the next dose of caffeine, better known as Melitta Bentz. Because without the German entrepreneur (born on January 31, 1873 in Dresden), the coffee world today might look a little different. In 1908, Melitta Bentz developed the single-use coffee filter made of paper, which was produced by the company Melitta, which was founded in the same year.

Einen Kaffee, bitte!
Ohne die erste Tasse Kaffee am Morgen läuft bei einigen von uns bekanntlich erst mal gar nichts. Laut einer Studie ist neben Wasser Kaffee das Lieblingsgetränk der Deutschen. Damit stehen wir jedoch nicht allein da. Es verwundert also nicht, dass der aromatischen Bohne in vielen Ländern auf der Welt ein eigener Ehrentag gewidmet ist. Seit 2015 ruft die International Coffee Organization am 1. Oktober den internationalen „Tag des Kaffees“ aus. Heute wäre damit ein geeigneter Zeitpunkt, um bei der nächsten Dosis Koffein Amalie Auguste Melitta Liebscher zu gedenken, besser bekannt als Melitta Bentz. Denn ohne die deutsche Unternehmerin (geb. 31. Januar 1873 in Dresden) sähe die Kaffee-Welt heute womöglich ein wenig anders aus. 1908 entwickelte Melitta Bentz nämlich den Einweg-Kaffeefilter aus Papier, der mit passendem Filterhalter bei der noch im selben Jahr gegründeten Firma Melitta in Produktion ging.

09/25/2026

Because who doesn’t love a Swiss cow parade?!

Mark this Saturday! It's the Super Bowl of cow parades. 🏆🐮

Nine villages host descents on a single day. Our shortlist by scenery:

🏰 Blonay: the herd arrives at a castle above Lake Geneva
🛖 Grimentz: queens of the herd in a larchwood old town
⛰️ St. Cergue: Jura views all the way to Mont Blanc
🧀 Schüpfheim: 300+ animals, then soak in the Entlebuch atmosphere

09/21/2026

❗️TOMORROW❗️

After a summer break, Sacramento German Genealogy Society (SGGS) is back with new LIVE webinar programming! Join us Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 10 a.m.(PT)/1 p.m.(ET) for “Finding Your German Ancestor’s Place of Origin,” presented by Dana Palmer, CG®, CGL®.

Where did my Germans come from? Finding the town of origin is one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome. This presentation will focus on how to find the place of origin when little is known. Discussion about other useful sources such as the German Immigrants in American Church Records will also be covered. Tips will be given on when to do the work yourself and when to hire out a researcher in Germany. Learn how to be successful finding your ancestor’s place of origin using auswanderungen and other helpful records.

Register for the *free* live Zoom webinar on the SGGS website at https://sggs.us. We’re looking forward to connecting with you while we all discover more about our German roots!

09/09/2026

Save the date! After a summer break, Sacramento German Genealogy Society (SGGS) is back with new LIVE webinar programming! Join us Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 10 a.m.(PT)/1 p.m.(ET) for “Finding Your German Ancestor’s Place of Origin,” presented by Dana Palmer, CG®, CGL®.

Where did my Germans come from? Finding the town of origin is one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome. This presentation will focus on how to find the place of origin when little is known. Discussion about other useful sources such as the German Immigrants in American Church Records will also be covered. Tips will be given on when to do the work yourself and when to hire out a researcher in Germany. Learn how to be successful finding your ancestor’s place of origin using auswanderungen and other helpful records.

Register for the *free* live Zoom webinar on the SGGS website at https://sggs.us. We’re looking forward to connecting with you!

08/25/2026

DYK? In addition to English and Welsh ancestry, Dolly Parton also had German ancestry through her 5th great-grandparents, Johann Philipp Emmert and Maria Catherina Kamm. They were born in Baden during the early 1700s. (Source: https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/dolly-parton-ancestry.)

Ruhe in Frieden, Dolly.

08/19/2026

🌍 In the footsteps of Bavarian explorers!

In the 19th century, curious female researchers from Bavaria traveled to the most remote regions of the world – from the Himalayas to the Brazilian rainforest.

Their maps, manuscripts, and collecting activities continue to shape our knowledge and our ethnographic and natural science collections to this day. 📚 📝

Especially impressive: Princess Therese of Bavaria 👑🔬

📱Discover the virtual exhibition "Pioneer for Women in Science – Princess Therese of Bavaria (1850–1925)" now at bavarikon:
bavarikon.de/prinzessin-therese-von-bayern

08/12/2026

Are you looking for an in-depth educational opportunity on researching your German hometowns? Take a look at this institute course offered by the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy!

Church and civil records are the primary resources used to trace one’s ancestry. Many of these records are available online. This course teaches how to find available church/civil records for their German hometown and use them to their fullest. If the records are not available online, students wil...

08/03/2026

Who doesn’t love an old German map 🗺️?!

Post translation:

Map of the Fulda from Hersfeld to Kassel from 1597 rolled up on a sheet of paper due to its length

HStAM, maps, R III 7

07/27/2026

The summer holidays are wonderful, but unfortunately also finally over. A look at our stock shows that the students of the Johanneum already knew what it meant almost 200 years ago.
The archive contains a schedule for 1835/36 with the complete curriculum for the seven upper secondary and two lower secondary classes. Start of classes? Usually at 7 am. End of classes? At the latest at 4 pm. The high school students even sang until 5 pm. The lower secondary students were allowed to sleep in for at least an hour longer. And yes: classes were also held on Saturdays.
After all, the summer holidays seem doubly precious.

Image 1: Schedule for the Johanneum Lüneburg for the school year 1835/36.

Image 2: Classes at the beginning of the week: Hebrew was the first foreign language in the morning.

07/07/2026

Just as many are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States, Andrea Bentschneider of German Genealogy Collective reminds genealogists 2026 is also the 150th anniversary of nationwide civil registration in Germany! Huzzah and Hurra!

Quick but important fact for German research:

Germany did not have a nationwide civil registration system until January 1, 1876.
So if your ancestor was born before 1876, you are most likely searching church books. After 1876, you move into civil registers. Knowing which system applies to your ancestor can save you hours of looking in the wrong place.

Where does your earliest German ancestor fall, before or after 1876? 👇