Colorado Chapter of Palatines to America

About Palaltines to American

and the Colorado Chapter

PALATINES TO AMERICA

PALATINES TO AMERICA, a German genealogical society, was founded at Columbus, Ohio, 12 July 1975. Beginning with a nucleus of 47 from throughout the U.S., the society now has over 2,000 members. It is incorporated as a non-profit organization under an Ohio Charter and, along with its conforming Chapters, is an approved charitable organization under Section 501(c )(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.

The PURPOSE of this society is to promote the study of Germanic immigration to North America, to publish information of general interest, and to provide a means for members to exchange information and share research.

COLORADO CHAPTER

The Colorado Chapter was formed in 1980 in response to the needs of area genealogists interested in doing research on their German-speaking ancestors. The German language was used so extensively when Colorado was established in 1876 that the state constitution was published in both English and German for a nuumber of years. Today about 20 percent of Colorado residents trace their ancestry back to Germany.

The Board of the Colorado Chapter consists of about 15 members whose primary goal is to assist the 80 local chapter members trace their German roots. The board has four open meetings each year to plan and run two annual seminars and to publish at least two newsletters prior to the seminars.

The seminars take place in April and October and run a full day. The chapter?s annual meeting is held during the spring seminar. Speakers at the seminars are both local experts in German genealogy and notable experts from other parts of the country. Attendance has been outstanding by both local chapter members as well as non-members.

The Denver area is fortunate to have two excellent sources of genealogical documents available. A local branch of the National Archives is close by, and the Denver Public Library has one of the best collections of genealogical books and documents in the country. Our chapter supplements the library's collection with useful German books and other genealogical documents on a continuing basis.