This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Kirsch/Kersh Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/TS.2ADE/962.1 Message Board Post: Stephen, This may not be of much help, but wanted to let you know that several spellings of the name have been found: Kersh, Kirsch, Kearse, Kierse, Kirsh. Kirsch was the spelling of our name in Germany. The census takers evidently spelled it the way it sounded. With the German accent, they may have been misunderstood in some instances, too. I am a descendant of Hans George Kirsch (Kersh) of Zuzenhausen, Germany, who immigrated to America in 1744, along with his wife and children on two separate ships, landing in Charleston, S.C. Some moved on and settled in Virginia and many, in Orangeburg District, S. C. In 1828, a portion of the family traveled from S.C. by covered wagon to Rankin CO, Miss. I do not have a lot of information on those in Alabama, but do know that some Kershes married in Miss. and then went to other nearby states. You might want to try the marriage records. Good Luck in your search. If I can help, I will certainly try. Kathryn Kersh Nicholson