As you make the connections between county locations and maps, also watch for cause-effect relationships. What caused your ancestors to leave Germany and come to America during such and such year? Why did they move to the state where they settled? Who helped them?

Maps not only help us to understand movement patterns and interpersonal relationships, but they also help us to recognize the significance of causes and effects, both in terms of geography and in terms of the times in which they were living. But first you must know what to look for in the maps you are studying, and you must find maps that reflect the period you are interested in.

By the way, the World Wide Web Virtual Library Geography site is being changed as we go to press to www.icomos.org/WWW_VL_Geography.html. This site contains several European, including German maps that could be of help to genealogists.