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From: Tony Cooper <tony_cooper...@earthlink.net>
Newsgroups: alt.genealogy
Subject: Re: Finding birth town in Germany
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 12:14:27 -0400
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On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:18:29 -0600, "Joe Pessarra"
<joepessa...@suddenlink.net> wrote:

>
>"Tony Cooper" <tony_cooper...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>news:ghrvv25omqlnh28kdufob2ks6q7q26ouci@4ax.com...
>> On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:33:35 +0000, Hugh Watkins
>> <hugh.watk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> >Tony Cooper wrote:
>> >
>> >> The first immigrant in our family was born in Germany, but we'd like
>> >> to determine what town in Germany.  We do have the following
>> >> information:
>> >>
>> >> 1.  Naturalized as a citizen in Annapolis MD in 1762.
>> >>
>> >> 2.  Died in Luzerne Twpt., Fayette County, Pennsylvania in 1787.
>> >>
>> >> 3.  Had a land grant in either Frederick County MD or Fayette County
>> >> PA dated July 20, 1762.  Probably MD since it coincides with his
>> >> naturalization date.
>> >>
>> >> Using the above data, are there any sources that could be employed to
>> >> try to find the ancestor's birth town in Germany?
>> >
>> >no you need a name and a date of birth and a sex
>>
>> I know the name and the sex, but not the birth date.
>>
>> >BTW Germany did not exist at that time
>> >read some history
>>
>> You think that I should write that he was born in the Holy Roman
>> Empire?   Prussia?  Silesia?  Pomerania?  Without knowing where the
>> ancestor was from, "Germany" is the most appropriate term.
>>
>> History books describe what is now Germany as "Germany" in references
>> to events prior to 1806.  Your own cite of "read Wiki" says "Around
>> the beginning of the 16th century there was much discontent in Germany
>> with abuses in the Catholic Church and a desire for reform." when
>> describing the Reformation.  Just glancing at an encyclopedia, I see
>> "By 1600, great tension had developed between the Protestant and Roman
>> Catholic forces in Germany".
>>
>> >what ship?
>>
>> If I knew that, I would have added that.
>>
>> If you can help me with my question, I would appreciate it.  If not,
>> don't waste your time.
>
>If the surname is unusual, you might see if it still exists in Germany by
>using the German telephone directory at http://www.dastelefonbuch.de/, as
>well as the Geogen site at
>http://christoph.stoepel.net/geogen/en/Default.aspx to find the distribution
>in Germany.

The surname is one of those names that has many, many current
spellings.  In a family history written in 1952 by a descendent, 20
different variations of the spelling were found.  The immigrant signed
papers using several spellings, but his signature was merely an "X"
indicating that he wouldn't have corrected a misspelling.

There are four common spellings of the surname that are currently
found in Germany and Austria.

>You haven't given us very much information, but that may be all that you
>have.  It would be useful to at least know the surname in order to give you
>better help.

I'll supply this by e-mail but I'm reluctant to post it here.  Since
my question is not intended to solicit information on the name itself,
or to locate people researching the same name, I don't think that the
surname is important.

My primary question is about the availability of locating  information
on naturalization records since those records would indicate place of
origin.  However, I don't know if these records are searchable or how
to go about it.

>I assume you have some paperwork that states he/she was from "Germany", or
>is it only family lore that says this?

What I'm working from is a thick book compiled in 1952 by a very
distantly related person with the same surname.  The author makes
several references to the immigrant's birth in Germany, but does not
cite any records from which he gained this knowledge.  

I've contacted this family, but the current-generation members do not
have any interest in the field or any knowledge about where the
author's information came from.

>Hugh Watkins is a big help to a lot of searchers on this news group.  His
>comments were appropriate.  Guess we could argue forever about when
>"Germany" existed.

I've participated in newsgroups - primarily in the area of English
(language) usage - for ten years or so.   I'm familiar with how
appropriate comments can be couched.  


-- 


Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL