Family history moments: Overwhelmed
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I was getting very discouraged after many years of trying in vain to find information about my father's line. Over the years we had gone together to the Family History Library to find whatever information we could on the Deters line. From conversations before his death in 1987, I learned that our family originated in the little town of Stuhr near Bremen, Germany, where he and I were born. But every time we went to the library we found absolutely nothing.
One Sunday afternoon several years ago, however, things began to change. I received a telephone call from a fellow who was a member of the ward in Bremen who was visiting relatives in Salt Lake City.
He had read in the records of the Bremen Branch about a William Deters and he wanted to turn these records over to a relative. We made an appointment and upon meeting him he gave me some very carefully prepared genealogical information.
It was obvious to me that this information had been prepared during the Hitler regime when people were required to prove that they were not Jewish.
I was very excited to receive this information even though it turned out that it was not of our direct line but were people from a neighboring village near Stuhr. My new-found friend helped me with the research I needed. He eventually sent more than 400 names. Over a period of several years, their temple work has been performed.
But I eventually ran out of names and wrote to my friend in Germany requesting his help to find more. Within 24 hours he responded by faxing a note suggesting I try a computer Web site in Germany which might connect me with information about my family.
I was absolutely amazed and excited when I got into this web site. After a time, I discovered a database of more than 20,000 names of people who had lived and died in Stuhr and the surrounding area during the 1600s to late 1800s.
I have been absolutely overwhelmed with the information. Over the past year, I have submitted 500 to 600 names to the Bountiful Utah Temple. The Lord has opened the way in a most miraculous way and I can only hope to live long enough to perform their work. — Gerald Deters, Bountiful 39th Ward, Bountiful Utah South Stake.
