Lectures – Lyn Gesch & Fritz Juengling

Much has been said and written about America’s Civil War and much is to be learned from research historians have done. But how much do we know about our families’ experiences during that time? In this talk, I will focus on what we can uncover about those who served in the military – where to start our research, what records are available, and where we can find them. In addition to service records and pension files, we will explore some lesser-used materials that can be found in online and on-site repositories, including state and local archives.

 

Marilyn Gesch, Ph.D., is a longtime member of the Ventura County Genealogical Society. She has served on the Executive Board and has been a frequent presenter in the educational programs. Her background in sociology has led her to lean heavily on using social history in understanding family stories as well as to focus on quality research practices. Recent publications inspired by family histories looked at German immigrants in American wars and appear in the Kansas History journal (2018; WW1) and the Missouri Historical Review  (2015; Civil War) She is currently working on a manuscript following her father-in-law’s WW2 experiences through his letters and scrapbooks.

 

 

In this class Dr. Juegling will detail the strategies that he and his colleagues use when reading old records. With a few ‘tricks,’ a person can unlock these old records with some work and perseverance.

 

Doctor Juengling received his Bachelor’s degrees in German Studies and Secondary Education at Western Oregon University, his Master’s and Doctorate in Germanic Philology with minors in both English and Linguistics at the University of Minnesota. Germanic Philology is a highly specialized field of study, combining languages, linguistics, paleography and history. For his graduate degrees, Dr. Juengling was required to demonstrate competence in English, German, Medieval Latin and two other modern languages. He chose Dutch and Norwegian. He also took courses in Old, Middle, and Early Modern English, Old and Middle High German, Old Norse (Old Icelandic), Gothic, Old Frisian, Old Saxon, and Middle Dutch. He has taught German, English, Latin and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) at the high school and university levels. He is an Accredited Genealogist® for Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists, and certified by the Verband deutschsprachiger Berufsgenealogen. Dr. Juengling is a German, Dutch, and Scandinavian Research Consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.