Theres, You may have this already but I found a birth announcement on FamilySearch.org for a Clementine Renaut, b. 23 Feb 1868 in Manhatten, NYC, New York. She was the daughter of your Jean Joseph Victor Renault and Henriette Theuret. Rik Hill -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2011 8:30 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [A-L] Beginner needs help Hello all. Please forgive the length of this post. I am detailing my confusion in the hopes that some kind soul will point out something obvious that I am not seeing for the trees. I have two immigrant ancestors who I believe to be from Lorraine. There are a few rumors about these two, a few things I have found, and an unfortunate murder which got into the papers and left something of a trail, although how reliable that trail is who knows, papers being what they are, upset people talking to reporters being what they are, etc. I am pretty much at a loss trying to figure out exactly when they immigrated and exactly from where, and am not sure where to start. My first name is Jean Joseph Victor RENAUT, also spelled in various records or coming up in searches as Renault, Renaud, Rennat, Rannat, Ranant,Renot, Reynot and other variations I am sure you can all anticipate. Several sources lead to him being 52 in about 1880. I have him in two enumerations of the 1870 census, the 1880, naturalization index, various newspaper citings, in the index to NYC births as the father of three children, and then nothing certain. He lived in Manhattan. I do not know when or where he died. One of the NY Newspapers lists the origins of the murderer and Victor, and states that Victor was from Champagne and the murderer from Lorraine, but I suspect they may have reversed these two. My second name is Henriette or Harriette (both also spelled a million ways and the two first names are used pretty much interchangeably)RENAUT, nee Theuret/Theirret/Courot. I have her married to Victor in the 1870 and 1880 census, I know where she is buried, and when and how she died. I got those three spellings of her maiden name from the records of her children's births that I found and mentioned above. The NY Times states in one article that she was a native of the "Meurthe" region. My mother recalls that my great grandfather was from "Alsace-Lorraine" and that he spoke both French and German. He was not her ancestor, but she did know him personally before his death. My aunt, his grandaughter, states that he was from Paris. I have no evidence either way on that, but there is also another relative on that side in that generation who I know came from Paris, and that may or may not have gotten confused. The possible marriage I found is on Family Search in France Marriages 1546-1924 and is listed as between "Jean Victor Reynet" and "Henriette Bonnet" in Aulhon, Ardeche, France. I have no idea at all where that is. The two people in this record are almost exactly ten years older than the two I have listed elsewhere. I don't know if that is too much of a difference to be credible. On the other hand, in Germans to America I did find a "Henriette Theunas" who is only a few years older than she is "supposed" to be. There is no way to figure out if she is definitely my person or not, and no town listed for her. Any guidance any one can give me as to where to look next would be helpful. Renaut is not, even considering its variants, a common name in the NYC area, which has been some help. I have checked NYCity directories, I have found many of their children in later years, but no one who is certainly Victor. I have checked Italiangen.org for death records and do not find him there. Any help or suggestions at all would be deeply appreciated. Theres -- Resources for Alsace-Lorraine list members: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~valorie/Alsace-Lorraine-L.htm ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message