You have just leapt "The Pond" in your research, having found that a grandparent or great-grandparent is not only from a foreign country, but one whose language you do not know. Don't think that your personal research has ended and you must employ a professional. Even though you don't know a word of the applicable foreign language, it isn't that difficult to do research in French, German, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, Polish, etc.

My boss recently asked me to help her with her genealogy. I always like a new challenge and especially enjoy the beginning research of a family tree, so I eagerly agreed. I have worked with American, English, Irish, Canadian, African-American, French, German, Polish and Eastern European Jewish research, but must confess I did utter a small cry of dismay when she said her father was of Hungarian descent. Not only Hungarian, but from a village that is now in Romania! However, I was not discouraged because I have found there are basic approaches to most research which work with most American and European records.

Ancestral Village
The first essential step is locating the village the ancestor came from. A detailed account of how to...

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