Standing at the Grave: A Family's Journey from the Grand Duchy of Posen to the Prairies of North Dakota

The Pommern Regional Group (PRG) of Minnesota announces its next quarterly meeting on Saturday, August 5.  Gary Heyn, author and Treasurer of the Germanic Genealogy Society, will read from his newly released non-fiction novel.

Standing at the Grave: A Family’s Journey from the Grand Duchy of Posen to the Prairies of North Dakota,  focuses on the families of Gembitz Hauland, German farmers who were invited by a Polish landlord to settle on his land. Subsequently, the landlord sold his property to another Polish lord who reneged on the contract. After a second partition of Poland in 1793, the farmers sued and won. With the second partition, the farmers celebrated being under Prussian rule again.

 "Gary will show how he stitched together random genealogical details into a compelling narrative,” said Vice President Ellen Puff. “We are so excited to share this free event with the public.” 

The in-person event will be held on August 5th at 1:30 p.m. at the Minnesota Genealogy Center, 1385 Mendota Heights Road in Mendota Heights. The author will be available for a book signing following his presentation and Q & A session. The event will be also live-streamed for individuals who cannot attend in-person.