Pommernkontakte genealogy database is my new favorite resource.
This site connects genealogists with others researching the same surnames and geographic areas in the former German province of Pomerania. The site offers both German and English versions.
I was researching my Schumann ancestors to resolve a question mark I had about my great-great grandfather Friedrich Wilhelm Schumann’s birthplace. My expectations were low searching such a common surname, but my search results (see below) were fantastic.
Seeing the towns of Neu Damerow, Alt Damerow, and especially Massow and Freienwalde in the search resultswas very encouraging. Using the site’s links, I connected with a researcher who has done extensive work in the very area I needed. Now I have a new researcher friend and possibly a family member working in the same area.
The work of Gunthard Stübs and the Pomeranian Research Community, the Pommernkontakte genealogy database has 18,336 participants. I can’t promise you the same great results I had. But using the largest and most up-to-date Pommern genealogy database certainly improves your odds.
About the Pommernkontakte Genealogy Database
Herr Stübs writes, “Thus the database serves as a contact exchange – a market place for the research interests of the Pomeranian family researchers. Every participant can easily enter into the database details regarding the localities in Pommern where he searches for certain family names, and other users can then search the database and take up contact with the contributors.”
Schumann research results
“At the same time this simple basic principle is very efficient and profitable. On one side – because of its simple use – more than 5,700 Pomeranian family researchers already participated within the first six years, and on the other side many hundreds of contacts have already been established due to the large participation….
The Pommernkontakte are international as well as independent from memberships in associations or mailing lists…. Especially for those who want to connect with their German relatives it is important to use a site with major German participation and acceptance…. [emphasis mine]
Using the Pommernkontakte Genealogy Database
Herr Stübs writes, “Because the database is intended to serve as a contact connection only, the research interests can simply be reduced to the researched family name – first names are not necessary. Because the province of Pommern was divided into counties and townships…., these two sources are sufficient to pinpoint a town. In order not to create any confusion through administrative changes, an effective date of January 1, 1939 was chosen for this county division.
To finally allow a chronological integration, time frames (from — until) can also be added to every entry. Here all statements are approximate statements, so that just a simple year will suffice in all cases.
A typical data entry would look as follows:
So if you’re searching for a way to contact others doing research in the German (now Polish) province of Pomerania, the Pommernkontakte genealogy database is a great resource.
If I see my surnames, and then go into the town and see the name of a researcher, what do I do at that point? I have ancestors from Prussia–most likely, at least half of them from Pommern. But they have proven VERY difficult to research. I have the names of maybe two estates where they worked (children born there), but can’t figure out exactly where the families are actually from.
Click on the name of the town in your search results. That brings up a new screen with the name of the researcher(s) working in the same area.