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Contents
My Hot List
| Dobberstein Registry | This is the genealogy and family history of 19th century Dobberstein immigrants from Prussia and their offspring in America. It traces the history of 15 Dobberstein families who emigrated from socially repressive, war torn Prussia in the mid and late 1800s and came to start a new life in the United States, most in the rural Midwest. |
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Books on Topics of Personal Interest
I'll have more information here in the near future, citing many of the better publications, books, magazines, and other written material that I value, find interest in, or have used as reference in my history and genealogy research. (Books I own in my personal library are identified by asterisk.)
- Civil War
- I'm an avid fan of Civil War history, not only because my great grandfather John Schoennauer (also spelled Shonour) was a participant in some of the major battles of the war, but because this time period was pivotal in American history. (I've developed a web site commemorating his life and participation in the war.) The "art" of warfare developed during the Civil War would change the methods of warfare for all time. The catastrophic numbers of wounded and killed reached unparallel proportions to the total numbers involved. The Civil War years are a fascinating and tragic time in United States history, and it is amazing the amount of literature written about this era. The new invention of photography first made its mark during this timeframe, and helped frame much of the memory of this period.
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Family History- Whereas many people view family history and genealogy as one and the same, I want to differentiate between the two here. As far as I'm concerned, family history is the art, and genealogy is the science. Family history is personal and genealogy is general. And most importantly, family history is the story and genealogy is the statistical data.
| Alligators in the Sewer: Thomas J. Craughwell's "Alligators in the Sewer and 222 Other Urban Legends," is an amusing yet disturbing comprehensive collection of urban legends, absolutely true stories that happened to a friend...of a friend...of a friend. It makes for excellent reading. An interview with the author can be obtained on tape from the Wisconsin Public Radio Store; show 1021E (1999).* |
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Genealogy Research- As mentioned above in the Family History section, the study of genealogical methods is the core of effective and efficient family history research. Many Internets site today concentrate on name collection, and not on the foundation of the in-depth study, preservation and presentation of genealogical and historical facts. I'll admit I was a collector of names in years past, but with more reading and study of the art of genealogy, I have developed the desire to place the names and facts in an historical context. When I input new information in my genealogical database I try to cite every statistical and dated event with a source or bibliographical reference. My genealogy program also allows me to rate the reliability of the sources cited. I think the books below will help you change your hobby into a science, like they have for me.
| Barnes and Noble Bookstore: Based on my experience, this on-line bookstore has the absolute best in prices and best in availability in all varieties of books, including popular best-sellers and out-of-prints. No kidding! Besides flea markets and on-line auctions, this Barnes and Noble Internet site is where I purchase almost all my books. They also have a good selection of music, computer software, gameware and videos. |
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- History of Prussia
- Prussia is the kingdom of origin for most of my family's ancestors. It has a fascinating background, both empirical and democratic at different times in its history, as well as progressive and archaic when compared with its European neighbors. I feel one can hardly comprehend the lives of their Prussian ancestors and the impetus which drove them away from their European homes to new lives in America without knowing a little about the empire from whence they came. In preparing the opening chapter to the Dobberstein Registry I used a number of resources to summarize the history of Prussia. Some of the books I read as reference material are identified below.
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- Passenger Ships & Immigration
- If you know anything about the conditions our ancestors had to endure on their voyages to the new world in the 18th and 19th centuries, it's amazing any of us are even alive. Would we today have the courage and stamina to survive such a voyage given the conditions they had to put up with? The below listed reference books are one that give a picture of the voyage, and give bibliographical reference to other sources of immigrant names and ship voyages.
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- Railroads
- Railroads have fascinated me since I was a child, both the full-sized and the scale-sized. Possibly is was because of the train trips taken cross county during the 60s and 70s. It seems I spent a lot of time as a kid on trains, and received the only broken bone I ever experienced as a result of a misguided train adventure (we won't go into that here).
- U.S. Regional History
- This geographical interest is actually an outgrowth of the historical and genealogical interests detailed above. But even as an otherwise mediocre high school student, I found my niche in geography; and while other classmates were bored with the subject, I found it fascinating. In the military I excelled in land navigation and map reading subjects, and my wife says I have an uncanny sense of direction.
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- Other Interests
- A brief description of why I am interested in this ...
Internet Book Links
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Contact Information
Electronic mail address
bobcole1@juno.com
Web address
http://freepages.living.rootsweb.com/~rootsrus/
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Your Comments and Suggestions
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| . | Author: Bob
Cole
<bobcole1@juno.com> Copyright 1999 B&L Publications, P.O. Box 194, Appleton, WI 54912 Last revised: August 20, 2000. |