| Maralyn A. Wellauer-Lenius |
| Maralyn A. Wellauer-Lenius, MA (Education) is an internationally known author, columnist, and professional genealogist, who has lectured extensively throughout the United States and Canada for over 30 years. She has been pursuing her own family history for 38 years since 1968. Her Germanic roots originate in Holstein and Hessen (German Empire) and her Czech roots in Bohemia (Austrian Empire). She is the author/compiler of numerous articles and books, including A Guide to Foreign Genealogical Research, Tracing Your Swiss Roots, Tracing your Polish Roots, Tracing your Czech Roots, and German Immigration to America in the 19th Century. Special projects include documenting the lives and journeys of the group of Swiss and de Meuron soldiers who settled in the Red River Settlement between 1817 and 1821. Another project, in progress since 1980, is a comprehensive study of Swiss immigration to Wisconsin during the 19th century. Formerly a teacher of History and Geography, she is interested in methods and materials for the teaching of family history at all grade levels. She is a member of numerous national, state, and ethnic societies. |
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| Presentations: |
| • | Emigration: the Decision, Preparations to Leave, and the Paper Trail |
| | This lecture will explore the changes which encouraged people to emigrate, including economic, social, and political reasons, and will take a close look at the process of separating from the homeland and discovering the "paper trail" (i.e., passports) it created. |
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| • | German Ports, Emigration Literature, and the Voyage |
| | Attendees will learn how to use the vast supply of "emigration literature" (i.e., Passenger lists, Hamburg Police Records, etc.) to trace a genealogy, and learn how to recreate the journey and its hardships. Actual case studies will be drawn upon to strengthen the experience. |
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