German Genealogy Headquarters
Ursula C. Krause is a seasoned German genealogist with a unique blend of legal expertise and a passion for teaching. Educated in both the United States and Germany, Ursula embarked on a remarkable journey from her roots in commercial law in Germany and Sweden to becoming a professional genealogist. Founder of Rootseekers – Genealogical Research and More, Ursula specializes in unraveling German ancestry through the centuries.
Having served as a Senior Genealogist for AncestryProGenealogists, Ursula’s expertise expanded further when she launched My German Family in 2023, concentrating on 20th-century research. Throughout her illustrious career, Ursula has collaborated with renowned genealogy television programs like “Finding Your Roots,” “Who Do You Think You Are,” and “Every Family Has A Secret,” along with contributing to the award-winning documentary “The Upside Down Book.”
Beyond her accomplishments in genealogy, Ursula is a dedicated educator with over 30 years of teaching experience. Recognized for her ability to impart knowledge, she not only shares her expertise as an esteemed genealogy expert but also serves as a qualified speaker, empowering others with the tools and techniques to delve into their family history.
When Ursula is not working on genealogy, she spends her time with her dogs—Lotte, a Heeler mix, and Anna, a Texas Heeler who was once a stray from the streets of Texas. As visiting dogs, they bring joy to the residents of the local nursing home.
Ute Brandenburg is a bilingual German American, born in the US and educated in Germany. As a researcher, she combines her thorough understanding of German history, geography, and culture with a broad knowledge of US immigration history and sources.
Ute has a fascination with old documents. One of her favorite experiences as a researcher is to work with original records at German and Polish archives. She enjoys and excels at reading handwritings from five centuries.
In recent years, Ute has had remarkable success in using DNA to solve German origin questions as well as cases of unknown paternity in 20th century Germany. She lectures to international audiences on this topic.
To keep herself from thinking about research every waking hour, Ute is very actively involved in the wonderful sport of rowing.
We are happy to have the one and only Katherine R. Willson as our host.
Katherine R. Willson of Dexter, Michigan is the 7th generation born in Michigan to parents of English and German descent. Each of her eight paternal German-born great-great-grandfathers immigrated to the Detroit, Michigan area in the mid to late 1880s.
In addition to working full-time as a researcher for private clients, she is an engaging and dynamic genealogy lecturer and educator at regional and national events including the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), the National Genealogical Society, and RootsTech.
Many of you may also know her as the founder & past President of the Virtual Genealogical Association, and the past host for many of their conferences. She is a former board member for the Association of Professional Genealogists and a past President of the Michigan Genealogical Council.
Her website at SocialMediaGenealogy.com contains multiple resources including a catalog of almost 17,000+ genealogy/history links on Facebook, a catalog of 190+ genealogy YouTube channels, and a catalog of 76 genealogy podcasts.
When Katherine’s not immersed in genealogy, she enjoys spending time with her husband David and their little dog James, and playing in her art studio making handmade paper, handbound books, and greeting cards. She daydreams often of her future hobby farm filled with lots of little piggies, miniature donkeys, and baby cows!
