My name is Roland Geiger.

I’m a researcher in genealogy and local history and live in St. Wendel, Saarland, Germany.

My favorite subject is emigration to the United States, esp. upstate New York. In 1996 I learned that most emigrants from our area settled in Steuben (Wayland) and Livingston County (Dansville). None of my ancestors ever emigrated but if you visit „Holy Cross Cemetery“ in Stones Falls Road, Dansville, Livingston County, New York, you may find the grave of Peter Geiger (1852-1901), husband of Lucy Heiman (left middle section). He was a butcher from Urweiler near St. Wendel. My GGGG-grandfather and his great-grandfather were brothers.

Since 1997 my wife Anne and I visited that area seven times. First time I came there I was fascinated by the way the landscape looks like that at home. In 2004 I became a professional genealogist and in 2011 and 2012 I held lectures in the public libraries of Dansville and Bath about emigration, in 2018 in the Wayland Historical Society about the settlement on Sandy Hill, in 2019 at Rootstech London about German Civil Registration. In my hometown I’m one of four tour guides (by day and as a „nightwatchman“ with lantern and halberd) as well as curator of the Parish archives of St. Wendelin, St. Wendel.

I’ve published a couple of books and booklets in German with various topics from genealogy and local history and three in „my“ English from the lectures I held. I’m a member of various historical societies, among them the ASF (Working Group for Saarland Family Research), WgFF (West German Society for Genealogy), IGGP (International German Genealogy Partnership) and since October of PALAM, New York chapter.

Roland Geiger
Research in local history and genealogy
Alsfassener Strasse 17
66606 St. Wendel
Germany
Email alsfassen@web.de
Website www.hfrg.de