Stefan Fröhlich Home
(since 18 years)
(since 18 years)
Arabic character for "N" like Nazarene, or Christian.
genealogy
15 years of genealogy research
It is unbelievable how much time has passed, but I have now been researching my ancestry for 15 years. It all started in December 2005. Actually, it all started by chance. A colleague at work gave me the idea. I only stayed at the company for a few months, but the decisive impetus came during this time. That does not mean that I only became interested in the history of my ancestors from then on. As a child, I had heard stories about my great-grandmother, had seen my grandmother's family tree several times, read books about the Mennonites and knew the research results of my great-uncle. But it was not until December 2005 that someone gave me the idea to do my own research. I was fascinated by the idea of using new methods in genealogy with the Internet as the primary source. Previous research was all very laborious and I don't think I would have ever gotten this far. Ten years ago, I typed the name "Heinrich Wiebe", my most famous ancestor at the time, into the search box. I found too little to identify him and too much to stop. Towards the end of the month I ordered a CD from the Grandma database for Mennonite genealogy. I didn't receive this CD until March. Until then, not much happened. In the database I found an endless family tree of my great-grandfather, as well as countless ancestors of my other great-grandparents, including the aforementioned Heinrich Wiebe. I collected existing family tree sheets myself and typed them all into the computer. There were thousands of people. I sent in anything that wasn't in the database. I hardly knew anything about the ancestors of my grandpa Fröhlich from Volhynia. They themselves knew next to nothing about the ancestors of my paternal grandparents. Fortunately, there are always distant relatives who have left behind a commemorative publication or a family tree. Or there are war documents in the Federal Archives and church records that reveal the lost history. In 2006 I wanted to complete my five-generation family tree. A matter that seemed almost impossible due to the lack of experience and the many problem areas. The last tip came in November or December and I had achieved my goal. In the meantime, I have been involved in research in the Volhynia Forum, the Sggee for German Eastern European Research and the Mennonite DNA Project. In April 2007, I started DNA genealogy research and that's how I came to the history of humanity. I have now had my Y-chromosomal DNA, MtDNA and autosomal DNA tested. I translate results from the Mennonite DNA Project into German. The speed at which I am making progress has slowed. But it is moving steadily. From 2019-2020 I made great new discoveries in church records. Since 2005, I have been studying the history of the Baptists in Russia. I am working on a book that focuses on the history of Russian Germans. When I look back now at what has come of it, I can only be amazed. I never expected that I would ever achieve so much. If God had not made my research a success, nothing else would have happened.
Why am I doing genealogical research at all? I believe that the past sheds light on the present. Only when we understand the past a little can we understand the present. Every person has their place in the history of humanity. I wanted to know when my ancestors lived, where they came from and, if possible, what their professions were. It is also important to me that the faith of my great-grandparents and parents survived a murderous atheist regime in Russia. For me, that is proof that God exists. There is no reasonable reason why people can still hold on to God even though their relatives are being murdered, they are being imprisoned and robbed of their homeland. But God has given them the strength to stand firm and to teach their children about faith. For me, there is hardly a more convincing example that faith is alive and that no one will eradicate it. With God's help, I want to pass on the knowledge gained from God's actions in the past and present to others.
So I'm celebrating 15 years of genealogy research.
On this page I would like to give other genealogists the opportunity to compare their data with mine. This data can be found on the subpages that you can select on the side of the homepage.
If you find a match for the location or surname of one of your ancestors, you can contact me at steve.fr@gmx.de write.
For all those who are just starting out, I have some helpful Left set up. So have fun!
