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* Gordon L. Drollinger Family*

Updated January 3, 2009
I started with the birth of my first son in 1970 and thought this family tracing would be simply a trip to the church. Much to my surprise when I got to the church where my great great grandfather was buried, the handwriting was horrible. It looked as though a horse had stepped on the man’s hand and he tried to write. This was my introduction to German script. Much of what I was looking for was simply not there. I had no clue as to where the original immigrant came from. At that time there were not many how to books around. The census records proved to be worthless. Where any data to his origin was simply conflicting. The data pointed to either Baden or Prussia.
It took ten years to make the Atlantic Bridge to Germany. My dad found the record of the original immigrant’s burial in a church a mile away from the original. They had a couple exchange students there once upon a time and they had translated the old records into English. With the name of the village I simply wrote to the Burgermeister in English requesting information on the town and explaining my great great grandfather had been born there. It was perhaps my good fortune the Burgermeister had made several trips to Canada and spoke fluent English. The return letter contained not only some pages of the local history in German but also a page from the local phone book giving all of the people of my surname and a letter from the local Pastor confirming the birth of the original immigrant. Armed with the phone listing, I wrote to two people, one with the same name as my original immigrant. After a long wait I was rewarded with an additional six generations on my family line. It seems the one man had died and my letter went through the hands of several of his children. The other was too busy to do any research so had given my letter to his sister. She and his children and her daughters went through the old church books back to 1616 and compiled the data on both our lines.
After two years of correspondence I finally was able to go to Germany as I was in the Army. My first visits to the village were like a dream. It was like the prodigal son had arrived. Between my poor German and the younger generation’s English we managed to communicate through the language barrier. Since that time and many visits I have found a new relationship with an old distant branch of the family. I have stumbled forth into the computer age which makes things a bit easier. One of the tools available is a translator program. It would have made things much easier if I had it then.
Most small villages have at least one person interested in the village history. If one can find this individual a gold mine of information awaits. In the case of my father’s direct line, the gentleman has written a book of the local history back to the Roman Era. When I met him, he proved to be full of life and spoke five languages. He is active in promoting and maintaining a local museum. Going to the Archiv may be the method to follow but seeking out the local level persons seems to be much more rewarding. Especially so if they happen to be distant relatives who may prove to be not so distant at all.
This is a work in progress so all additions, corrections and suggestions are welcome. My thanks to the all too many who have shared data with me. My special thanks to Frau Hannalore Heege of Ringstrasse 14, Keltern-Ellmendingen D75210 for her making her home my home in our ancestral village. My special thanks also to cousin Sighard Drollinger, Hirschacker Strasse 44, Karlsruhe D76139 for awaking my interest in the collateral lines. Thanks to Margaret Bullock for so much data early on I had information overload. Thanks to Patrica Trolinger, Judy Trolinger, Roy B. Trolinger, Alan Potts, Dave Drollinger and so many others for sharing. Special thanks to Kay Germain Ingalls and Laree Trollinger for their help and wisdom in finding the parts of the puzzle.
***
Gordon Louis Drollinger
247 Jacks Run Road
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15214-1010
United States
gdrollinger@aol.com

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