When I was 14, I saw Roots on TV and knew that I wanted to do that too. Trace my family back to the Old Country and write a book about it. So when I was 15, my mother gave me a genealogical research trip to Germany as an early graduation present. left, my mother and I at Sulzbach am Taunus on the way to the Hotel Sulzbacher Hof, right , me at train station for Sulzbach am Taunus (Ts) me leaving Obernau, Sulzbach am Main 2 km ahead We were going on scant knowledge of my father's family ( see Sulzbach Pedigree Chart ) - my grandfather Jacob Sulzbach's birthdate and place, 1861 in Frankfurt, his emigration about age 18, their Roman Catholic religion, and the family's namesake hometown of Sulzbach. Oh yes, and his maternal grandfather, name unknown, had been a burgermeister (mayor) of Frankfurt. I had done research on my mother's family in Nova Scotia the year before and it was fairly easy - with a name, date, and hometown, you could go to the archives ...
Photos, stories, and memorabilia across generations