An explanation

In 1920, our founding members understood “Mitteilungen des Familienverbandes Schrader” (Schrader Family Association Communications) to mean everything they wanted to communicate to the world in printed form about Schrader research. Similar to “Nachrichten von der Familie xx” (News from the xx Family), “Mitteilungen über” (Communications about) was a common and widespread term at the time.

First-hand information was to be made available to other researchers and preserved for posterity. Family trees and ancestry charts were also to be exchanged in search of overlaps or even common ancestors.

collection

Almost all of our early members were enthusiastic collectors of information, often in the vicinity of their homes. The aim was to print as many details as possible from church records, archives, court files, i.e. from all sources available at the time, and thus make them available for research.

Many of the excerpts from these originals still prove to be a great treasure today, as some of the originals were lost during the war. Many of the details collected in this way have been published over the years as so-called details.

In return, the family association received further information on Schrader research from other researchers, which was also incorporated into the research and the details.

research

The details, along with our own records, family trees and ancestry charts, formed the basis for researching the history of a family over the centuries. Unlike ancestry charts, which begin with a specific person (the subject) and list their ancestors, our association did not stop there. Once the earliest verifiable ancestor (the top ancestor) had been found, the search continued back towards the present. Every side branch was found, examined and documented. In doing so, only the male lines were followed – this was also part of the truth and in keeping with the spirit of the times. The family tree continued to branch out from generation to generation, forming branches and twigs. The term “family” was not appropriate for this, so the whole was referred to as the clan.

communication

In addition to disseminating research findings and collected details, fostering common interests quickly became the third goal achieved through the communications. Information about the association’s activities was printed, as were news items about individual family events. Soon, official contributions, financial reports, etc. were added.

Register

A comprehensive work with many details requires an index. Initially, a single booklet contained an index of places and names. It was soon decided to compile six issues into an archive volume and add this comprehensive index. The archive volume system was thus established.

… and how is it today?

Little has changed! The layout has been revised, and the yellowed manuscript paper has given way to attractive printing. The booklet is printed in DIN A5 format. And the typeface was changed long ago from Fraktur to Latin letters in Times New Roman. Otherwise, little has changed at its core:

• Six communication booklets are compiled into one archive volume with Roman numerals. We have completed Volume XII and started Volume XIII.
• The booklets in an archive volume are numbered consecutively.
• Within an archive volume, the page number of the archive volume and the consecutive page number are indicated and referenced, e.g.: XII-233.
• Each archive volume is accompanied by a comprehensive table of contents with an index of places and names.