Tim--a PS--thank you for your offer to search Wiltshire for me.  So far, I have not found any ancestors from that area.  One of my maternal great-grandmothers was born in Frant, Sussex so I've found most of her family in Sussex and Kent records.  She married my great-grandfather in Fraserburgh, Scotland but I have no idea why she went there in the first place.  His family goes back generations in Scotland.

 My German research has primarily been on my husband's family although I have a paternal great-great-grandmother who supposedly came from the Cologne area and I am still trying to find her there.

To Tim Havenith--

     I have obtained the book Dictionary of German Names by Hans Bahlow, translated by Edda Gentry. The entries in it are somewhat meager. I will type here what it says for Havenith and related names. If you would like me to send scans of the actual pages, please friend me on this site so we can exchange email addresses.

Havenit(h): LGer. for Habenicht(s) [have nothing], see this.

Habenicht (UGer. Habenit, LGer. Havenith): a have-not (MHG nicht=nothing). A knight Walther Habenichts was leader of the first Crusade 1095, Cf. Hablutzel 'have little'. Habelust [Lust=desire, joy], Haberecht [Recht=right], etc.

Hablutzel, Hablitzel (UGer.): 'have little'. Cf. Habenicht

There are no entries in the book for Habelust or Haberecht.

Abbreviations:

LGer=Low German

UGer=Upper German (obd.) (it doesn't explain the meaning of obd.)

MHG=Middle High German

Hi Catherine

I'm having fun trying to find my grandfather's place of birth.  So far not too much luck.  But I did find the surname Pust is very prominent in the modern state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern of Germany.   He did attend the Baptist or Lutheran church in Minnesota but not sure how to contact the churches in Germany to find which church he may have gone to.

Do you have any suggestions?    Any direction would be greatly appreciated.  This is my huge brick wall.

Thanks   Helen

Helen, chances are pretty good that if your grandfather attended protestant churches here, he was a member of the Evangelische Church in Germany. But, every little town has its own Evangelische parish, so you're looking for a needle in the haystack without information that gets you beyond a German state level.   There are no all-Germany indexes to search. Because of the misuses of personal data by Hitler, the Germans do not collect data at a national level. There may be indexes at the state level, but they are not online.  You have to go to Germany or hire a local genealogist to view them. I assume your grandfather is deceased--have you looked at his death certificate? It may only list his place of birth as Germany but, on the other hand, it may give a town.  Are any of his siblings or children still alive who might know where he came from? Have you checked with your own siblings and cousins as to whether they remember any family stories that might help?  Have you checked familysearch.org?  They have many German church records online. Have you followed any other part of the family in your research--your grandfather's siblings for example? You've probably heard the genealogy maxim that sometimes you have to go sideways to go forward. You may find a hometown in a record for one of his siblings. What about his parents?  Did they also emigrate to the US--what about their death records?

If you can find a town name somewhere, then I'd check familysearch.org to see if the church records for that town have been microfilmed by LDS.  I'd then order the film via the nearest Family History Center--you will have to go there to view the films, but it is far easier than trying to contact individual churches.  If you have to contact an individual church, you can usually find its address by googling Evangelischekirche with the town name.

I have some German ancestors with surnames of Zingelmann,Mieland, Peper and Hardrath that came to Queensland Australia

I am looking for information on two surnames.

Keener / Kuhner and its variants

Geiselman / Geissman and its variants.

Good Morning Catherine

Thanks for getting back to me regarding my grandfather.  The only family who know his background have passed on.  Most of the living family didn't even know they moved here from Minnesota or that he died due to a runaway team in 1910.  If I could connect the dots better  I believe some of his cousins, uncle, etc are in Wisconsin, Minnesota or scattered across northern USA.  There was a group that came to Canada on the Land Grant in Alberta and Saskatchewan. 

Thanks you have given me some other ideas.  

Helen 

There is a family in either Idaho or Washington that my grandmother visited after he died.  I found this and other proof of this in the Border Crossing's.  But have no luck finding who they were.

A couple of other ideas, which you've maybe already tried.

Message boards on rootsweb or ancestry.com

Google Pust genealogy and see what comes up.

Check white page websites to see where other Pusts now live and write to them.

Have you tried geneanet.org?  The family tree parts of the site are free.

Thanks  Will try geneanet.org  and do check message boards out see if there is any one else looking for them

Helen

Helen,  I was surprised to learn that my great grand father was baptized in Germany as a Catholic.  Once in America, he became a Protestant.  So you might consider that possibility.  I was able to get a record from the Catholic church in Cologne.  I think the Catholics might have had better records?   So if you know where he was born maybe you can find a Catholic church there with records. 

In some villages, the Catholic Church kept records for both their parishioners and for the Evanglische (Lutheran) parishioners.  In the column for religion I have seen "Luth" as well as "R. Cath" and variations of that.

I'm not an expert on religious records of any type in any country, but I don't think it fair to speculate that Catholics keep better records than Protestant.  The quality of records depend on both the quality of record keeping by individual ministers and priests and also on the political situation of a given area.  In terms of the first, I've seen great variation within a single church as to the quality of records over time. As to the second, one needs to consider that at the time of the Protestant Reformation, Germany split along religious lines, with Catholics being the predominant group  in Bavaria and the far western portion of Germany while the northeast, central, and southwest portions were predominantly Protestant.  This is true even today although there is a greater mix of religions in most areas than in the time of the middle ages. At one point in the Middle Ages, the law was that the ruler of a state would determine the religion for all the people he ruled.  All of this can have an effect on where records were kept--a small group of Protestants in a Catholic area might be forced by the local law, for instance, to report their births, marriages and deaths to the Catholic Church, and vice versa in a Protestant area. I don't know if this happened, but it is possible at least from a theoretical standpoint. Then you had the French Republic take over parts of Germany in the 1790s and kick out all churches. Napoleon became emperor in 1804 and allowed the re-establishment of the churches. So you might find civil records rather than church records for the years when there were no churches (or you might get lucky and find records from churches who went underground at this time).  German unification came in 1871 and civil registration became a requirement for the entire new country in 1876. Some churches may still have kept records after that; other may have stopped.

Good point!  But I would substitute "more" for "better".  Again, I was amazed to find that my great grandfather had been baptized as a catholic. He didn't have much say at two days old.  But in America, our family has followed Protestant lines.  I got marched to a Lutheran church at a young age.  I have no intent to offend anyones religious believes.  My only point was to consider other possibilities of where records might be found.   

Thanks to all of you.  This is great it gives me new leads and possibilities.  I sent for both August and Johanna's medical records at our provincial archives yesterday.  Thought there might be more info there.

Of course there may not be much for him as our Province was just coming into it's own,.  We were still considered a territory not a province.  There's records of course but he died at home and sometimes it was just the doctor's notes.

Once again thanks everyone

I have Fox's in Iowa. You have any connection? 

Hello All

I have today joined this group. I am interested in Germany where my parents immigrated from, therefore i have no ancestors in Northern America. I live in a suburb of Toronto in Canada, if anyone needs any help, please feel free to ask.

thanks

eva

.  Johanna Lucke was born 29 Nov 1861 in Hannover, Duetchland. She came to the USA Apr 1881 to New York. She married William Brose (not sure if spelling is right) who was born 1862 in Germany. He immigrated to USA through Chicago, Illinois July 1876 and applied/received his naturalization 20 Sep 1888 when they lived in Moyer Township, Swift County, MN. This is as far as I can follow him. They had five children: Mary b. Aug 1885, William b. 01 Feb 1887, Helena b. 18 May 1891, Martha b. 30 Apr 1893 and Bertha b. 18 Mar 1895. Mary was born in Benson MN and the others were in Moyer, Swift MN. Johanna married August Pust 17 Aug 1895 in Appleton, MN. They lived in and around Appleton in Swift County and did reside outside of Danvers Village until 1902. August Pust was born 20 Jan 1867 Germany (Prussia). He immigrated to USA 1891 from Swinemaude, Germany to New York. Received his naturalization papers 20 Jan 1892. Johanna and August had 3 children while living in Minnesota; Otto b. 1996, Alma b. 1898 and August (my father) 1900 before immigrating to Big Valley, Alberta, Canada. Augusta Johanna was b. 1904 and Alfred 1906 in Stettler, AB.
I have been able to find out much about William Brose but would like to know what happened to him. August and Johanna came through the northern states to Montana and then north into Alberta. They crossed over the border several times visiting family in Montana , Idaho and Washington. It would be nice if I could find the families. I just found Gramma's full name today:  Johanna Dorette Lucke though Germany, Lutheran Baptisms 1519-1969.   If you could help me it would be much appreciated.
Helen Pust

How does a person find ships transcripts for Chicago in 1876? 

For Helen Pust:

Ancestry.com probably has the most indexed records for US ports, so I'd try there first.

Otherwise, Wiki gives these instructions for finding manifests from ports other than NY--

"Other Ports of Entry. To find passenger lists for other ports, see United States, Bureau of Customs, Copies of Lists of Passengers Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and at Ports on the Great Lakes, 1820—73, under UNITED STATES - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION in the FamilySearch Catalog Place Search (on 16 Family History Library films). Other ports include Oswegatchie (1821–23), Sag Harbor (1829–34), and Rochester (1866). For indexes to these lists, see United States, Bureau of Customs, Supplemental Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ports (Excluding New York [City]), 1820–1874, under:

UNITED STATES - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION - INDEXES (on 188 Family History Library films beginning with film 418161).

Some records recently made available at the National Archives include:

• Card Manifests of Individuals Arriving in the Buffalo, New York District, 1920–1954 (166 microfilms, not at Family History Library).
• Soundex Index to Arrivals at Malone, Ogdensburg, and Rooseveltown, New York, 1929–1956 (three microfilms, not at Family History Library)."

Is there any place to search out a "riding school" in Berlin around 1900 or before?  My Grandfather is said to have owned one or taught Royalty to ride in one there and I have been unable to find any information.

Many thanks

For Perileen Smith--I have no idea how many riding schools might have been in Berlin around 1900--probably several--but I did find a very short article about a Royal riding school from that time--Neuer Marshall. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuer_Marstall. I also found a blog about horses by a lady who seems to have done a lot of research.  She may know the history of German riding schools. You could probably contact her directly and see if she responds. https://susannaforrest.wordpress.com/category/periods-of-history/19...

Great info - first time I have had a good reply and this is great news and I will check it out.  Many thanks.

I have a copy of a marriage certificate that is hand written in German.  I am wondering what it says as we are trying to determine info on the groom.

My name is Brian Maclachlan from Australia and I am researching my wife's ancestors with the surname of Bamberger tracing some back to an area near Bamberg in the early 1800s. My research suggests that they migrated to England in the 1840s living in Middlesex and were of the Jewish faith. They later migrated to Australia. Any information appreciated.

brian

I am sorry this page and group is not more active.  I had high hopes.  I did manage to get the marriage certificate translated on Genealogy Translations.

I am sorry to hear you had to close this down.  I am taking a German `101 class on line and sometimes I believe a chat room helps those who are finding their families.  Thank you for your good work Perileen and if you ever do start this or another site similar pls let me know

Helen Pust

Does anyone have Pust families in the Appleton, Benson Minnesota?  Looking for family connection for August Pust b. Zehrten Prussia 1867 immigrated to USA Jan 1891.  He married Johanna Brose  in (nee Lucke) 1895 then the family moved to Canada on the Dominion Land Grants in 1904.

I have just joined the group. I am researching two German families. The NELSON family were German Jews from Emmendingen in Baden. They took the name NELSON when Jewish communities in that region were required to adopt common surnames. The WILSNACK family resided in Meyenburg, Prignitz, in Brandenburg. Both families emigrated to New York City in 1850. I have some experience in German research and have visited both cities, but I am still filling out many gaps in the family history.

I am studying the families Scheer and Mergler. They come from Bavaria. I am especially searching for information about my great-great grandfather Karl-Josef Scheer, born about 1800. I am stuck in my studies and would appreciate any info about him and his parents.

Hi Sonja. I find the late 1700s and early 1800s to be a time I hit a lot of brick walls.  I hope someone can help. I would love to see things pick up on this site. 

This is my dad's side both THIEME and REHM.  Any help is wonderful. My grandpa was born in Milwaukee. HENRY CHARLES ROEHM/REHM.

Pictured are my three grandchildren...

Joy the links aren’t working for me. 

How can I fix this so you can?

Maybe they weren’t links.  Just copy and pasted info? 

Joy Rehm Benninghoven, ;your ancestor Carolin Louisa Thiem Froede Rehm.  Am I correct to assume Froede was her Mother's Father's last name?

Yes I copied & pasted.

No, her first husband that died coming home from the war. Thieme was her maiden name.

Hello everyone, I am researching my dad's Hahn family. His GG was William F. Hahn, born in Germany around 1846, arrived in U.S. around 1859, moved to Escambia County, Florida, around 1866 - that's all according to a naturalization document. His tombstone says he was born in 1846, but I haven't found anything that gives an exact birth date. His obit says he was a native of Berlin. I don't feel like I have enough to go on to try to order a birth certificate from Germany. I don't have a paid membership to Ancestry, but I use it at the library. I haven't figured out how to navigate Archion.de yet. I found one census record that other researchers think is him; in 1870 Census he was living in a boarding house and listed as being from Louisiana. Maybe that's where he first lived in the US, but I don't know. And I can't find him or his two oldest sons in the 1900 Census, which could have narrowed down his birth date. Any suggestions are welcome!

Annette Hahn Lindsey - have you tried Family Search (free)?  familysearch.org  How about a passenger list?  Stevemorse.org let you search multiple databases even when you have almost no information.

I would definitely check immigration lists. Finding a ships lists I found additional family members names for some of my husband's ancestors.  I could then look for families in Germany with all the same first names.

Thank you for all the suggestions. Mary Ellen - I found one naturalization document on Ancestry, filed at the Escambia County Courthouse in 1872. It did not ask for birthdate, just age. I asked how long he'd been in the country but not where he came into the country or the name of the ship. It asked how long he'd been in Escambia County. It indicates that he would no longer hold allegiance to the German Kaiser, but the form didn't ask for where he was born or his parents' names.

Marianne, I have searched at SteveMorse.org and on FamilySearch, as well as a few other immigration databases. I have even gone page by page through records from Gulf ports looking for anyone with his name. There may be relevant unindexed collections on FamilySearch that I haven't gone through, but I have searched some page by page, and I regularly run searches there (It's my primary family tree website).

Mary - I have searched for ships from Germany, but I have heard that, at the time William came into the country, records were not stored federally and many are lost.

That 1870 Census that might be my William Hahn, the one that said he was from Louisiana, listed his occupation as ship captain. That got me wondering if he worked his way over as a crew member. Even at age 13, some ships had boys on the crew. Those port records I looked through often showed crew members coming ashore and some staying, but unfortunately, I did not find any Hahns listed.

I have heard that DNA testing and My Heritage are both things that can help in overseas research.  But to be honest I have only done research in US records. 

I have been trying to determine how Henry Seabaum came to North America in 1906-7 for years and it seems he may have come from London, England but he may have visited Germany prior to coming west.  Does anyone have any Seabaum names in their trees that could help me?

Mary Ellen, I have tested with Ancestry, LivingDNA, and 23andMe, and I uploaded to MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch. My dad has passed but his brother tested for me, so I have his DNA on several sites as well. One of his Hahn cousins is also on Ancestry. So far, no luck making connections to Germany yet, though.

Perileen Smith - how did you narrow the years down to between 1906-1907? Was he born in London, or did he just leave for the U.S. from England (port of Liverpool). Was he traveling alone or with someone?  How old was he?  I suggest using stevemorse.org because it lets you search with very little data, and comes up with alternate spellings of surnames.

He was born in Germany and then moved to England about 1898 and moved to british Columbia about 1906-7.  We cannot find out how he arrived or when he arrived in Canada but his wife and family came in 1907 on the Empress of Ireland and the ships list show that landing in Canada.  He goes by the name Henry and a Henry Seebaum came to the USA from Germany but it is not him.  I have many alternate spellings and found nothing at all.  The only records I can find of them in England is the birth and death of two of their children.

Thank you for your suggestion.  I will keep trying.