The search continues...

Two weeks until the adventure begins and still no definite finds in the ancestry search.  I have probably scanned close to 20,000 birth records now...Several fairly solid leads, but nothing definite.   It is interesting to see trends withing communities there.  In some parishes, every other boy is called Johan and every other girl is called Anne.  How did they ever deal with that at school?  Another oddity.. there are occasional parishes where every child has up to 20 god parents.. What point were they making?   And then there are the record keepers themselves.  Some handwriting is beautiful and easy to read.  Others... well, I don't think they understood the basic principle that they are creating records that other people will be reading. completely undiscernable writing. These are the most frustrating as it is near impossible to make out first or last names... The records themselves are all laid out in a standard form, complete with instructions as to which information comes first, second, third etc.    I suppose we have people now, as they obviously had then that "knew better" or just did not bother to read instructions.. sheesh... the search continues

The master plan as it sits today:
Land in Warsaw Nov 3.. hang out there and slowly work my way up to Lithuania over the first week.
Hang around Lithuania for a week, and then work my way up to Latvia.
I think in Latvia I will seek longer term accomodations, and rent a car.   Visit graveyards.. I think another positive lead will be to go low tech and look in phone books.  Find Rosenthals, and go introduce myself.  Most families have someone who has done work on family trees.   If the people are receptive, I will try to arrange meeting anyone that has done a family tree on Rosenthal.. Compare notes and see if there is a son (John Rosenthal) who disappeared around the turn of the century.. Apparently I should expect most people there to speak German on account of the historical ties to Germany.  The Germans were the ruling class and they were also the record keepers.   I am stuck just looking for the actual name Rosenthal.  There is other record information there, but it is also in German.  I am giong to have to find an interpreter that can read German. I am wishing that I spoke German......Who  knows.. It might work...