Don't Read, Write or Speak German?
Get those mysterious documents translated and get on with your Genealogical Research!
“There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children – one is roots, and the other, wings.”
—Hodding S. Carter
Author and Journalist
Learn more about your
German lineage.
Determine when your relatives were born, where they lived, and what they did for work.
Correspond Easily with German Family and Friends.
Write letters and emails back and forth to relatives and colleagues abroad with correct transciptions.
Discover German History through Village Archives
Communicate accurately with village archives, businesses, and other associations.
Testimonials
I marvel at your patience and persistence and the gift you have given us. You are so dedicated and thorough in all you do. I know that your work transcribing and translating other families' material has made an unbelievable impact on so very many families.
K. H.
Dear Elke, thanks so much for your translations! Although I can pick out names, the details that you can provide give me new information and tell me more about their professions, homes, illnesses - their lives! Much appreciated!
Kathy
Dear Dr. Hedstrom, I just wanted you to know how helpful your assistance has been in helping me search for my family. I thank you for your guidance and interpretations; without them, I would still be looking in a haystack for that needle!
S. B.
Translation Services
The Process
1.
Complete Contact Form Below
Briefly describe your translation project. Please also include your phone number and a few options for the best time for a phone call.
2.
Schedule A Phone Call
Dr. Elke will get back to you to coordinate a phone call to learn about your project and discuss it in more detail.
3.
Send Dr. Elke Your Hi Res Digital Files
High resolution digital documents are best sent as attachments via email and not embedded. If there are many files, they can also be sent with Dropbox.
4.
Receive Your Translation via Email
Dependant on the estimate of time you have been given by Dr. Elke, your translations will arrive via email. Payment will be due at that time.
More Questions?
About Dr. Elke
Dr. Elke Hedstrom, Expert in Old German Translations
Dr. Elke was born in East Prussia, Germany and grew up in Wolfenbüttel, Niedersachsen, Germany after her family was forced to leave East Prussia at the end of World War II. In 1964, she received her Bachelor's degree in Education and History from the Pädagogische Hochschule ("Kant Hochschule") in Braunschweig, Niedersachsen, Germany.
​
Shortly afterwards, she emigrated to the United States. Here, she was able to further her education, earning a Ph.D. in German Language and Literature from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, and a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, while teaching German part-time at various universities and junior colleges.
​
Recent Projects
About 60 personal letters and postcards spanning the years 1850 - 1877 written by relatives in Germany to their relatives in Texas.
Births, confirmations, marriages, deaths entries for the years 1791 to 1875 from a church book in Lower Saxony.
Numerous personal letters from 1939 to 1942 written by a German Jewish woman to her two oldest children she managed to send to safety in America in 1939 while she and her youngest daughter perished in a German concentration camp.