On Sat, 6 Mar 1999, Sara J. Holmes wrote: > I am descended from Michael and Elizabeth (Willkom) Adrian who came from > the Province Trier/Luxembourg area around 1852. Two of their sons, Mathias > and Gerhardt, settled in Grant County, Wisconsin, while Peter settled in > Sumner, Iowa (and his descendants in neighboring Fayette County, IA) and > later with a second family in Michigan City, Indiana. The fourth son, > Michael, moved to Chippewa Co., Wisconsin. I do not know what religion > they originally followed, but they do fit into the pattern Pete Seaba > described for the German Catholics coming to the Dubuque area of Iowa. Even today you have to look long and hard to find anything other than the Roman Catholic religion practiced in this area! I > still have some photos of these Adrians, including three of the immigrant > sons, online at http://home.att.net/~sjholmes/Adrian.html In the large group, the man in the back, second from the left, looks like my late father. It is difficult to tell complexion from b/w scanned photos. > My recently found on-line cousin, Farrell Adrian, said she once stayed in > Trier (which is listed as Peter Adrian's birthplace in Civil War records) > and recalls that the emperor Hadrian had gone to the area and we have > wondered if the origin of the Adrian surname is somehow connected to > Hadrian. Perhaps one of my cousins (Farrell, Pat?) has more time to post > more details on this line. It is one of those cute facts from the encyclopaedia; Adrian IS derived from Hadrian. AND the Porta Nigra (Black Wall), built in Roman times, stands in central Trier. But can we prove a direct line back to Hadrian?? It's the stuff that makes nice filler in a family history. I would not rely on Trier as being the birthplace. A Civil War record is primary evidence of service in the Civil War, not place of birth. Often I found ancestors citing a town that would be recognized, such as the county seat. > Sara Holmes > Metairie, Louisiana Pete Seaba Iowa City, IA