Hi Ernie, The name SHERBINANT / SHERBENANT is not a name known in Alsace-Lorraine, or elsewhere in France. It is a phonetic spelling of your ancestor's name, like FERDINAND (this name is a given name and also a surname). The Alsatian pronunciation of FERDINAND is very near the pronunciation of SHERBINANT. According to www.geopatronyme.com , the name FERDINAND was mostly present in: 1. Vosges, Lorraine (Martinvelle, Plainfaing, Godoncourt, Saint-Dié) 2. Moselle, Lorraine (Metz, Forbach, Yutz) 3. Bas-Rhin, Alsace(Haguenau, Strasbourg) 4. Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine (Nancy) between 1891-1915. Heve a nice Sunday Ewald ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ----- Original Message ----- From: <ernie.olson@comcast.net> To: <alsace-lorraine@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, July 04, 2008 5:09 PM Subject: [A-L] Your opinions please > I would appreciate any comments any of you may have on the following: > > My great grandfather was born 4 April 1846 in France. He was a Weslyan > Methodist. > He migrated to Canada sometime before 1866. > > His name is listed in two lower Ontario census as Joseph SHERBINANT and > Joseph SHERBENANT. Is that a common French name or do you think that > this might be a compromise as a result of an English-speaking port offical > from maybe CHARBONEAU/CHERBONNEAX/CHERBONEAUX or something like that? > > Secondly, in an 1871 Ontario census he lists himself as ethnic French but > gives his birth place as Germany (his death certificate says he was born > in France). Would this suggest that he might be from Alsace-Lorraine? > > I have been searching for over twenty years and am stuck here. > > Would really appreciate any comments on the above, suggestion where to > search or any other thoughts any of you may have. > > Thank you so very much, > Ernie > --