Let me add my apology to Cindy, on behalf of the un-named person who chastised her -- apparently off-list. She has no need to apologize to any of us. I only hope she's stuck around long enough to read the support she has. I moderate another mailing list and what I see from the experience is that, for some, "A little knowledge is dangerous." I also know that a turtle never makes progress unless it stick its neck out. (We're all turtles here.) So, Cindy, keep sticking your neck out and asking questions. Bear in mind, "There are no dumb questions, only dumb answers." Those who belittle you for asking are showing their own ignorance and mean spirits. As to the substance of your query: I'm not so sure that Strassburg & Strasbourg aren't the same place. One is a Germanic spelling, the other French; which applies depends entirely on which era we're talking about. I'm only familiar with one place of that name, the capital and principal city of Alsace, in the department of Bas-Rhin. (Are there other Strassburgs or Strasbourgs? Maybe.) According to Wikipedia (probably more than you want to know): The city's Gallicized name is of Germanic origin and means "town (at the crossing) of roads". The modern Stras- is cognate to the German Straße / Strasse which itself is derived from Latin strata ("street"), while -bourg is cognate to the German -burg ("fortress, town, citadel"), the English borough and the French bourg ("village"). There may be New Orleans ship's passenger lists (perhaps accessible at Ancestry.com or elsewhere) containing information which could lead you to the family home in Europe. If not online at Ancestry, they would be at NARA (National Archives & Records Administration). Failing a more precise location in the passenger lists, you might try http://www.geopatronyme.com/, a French website that allows you to search for births to Blochinger families from 1891 through 1990. The surname seems sufficiently unusual that a cluster of Blochinger births in Bas-Rhin might indicate the ancestral home. (I would discount clusters in Paris or surrounding departments; these could be the result of migration since 1842.) I hope this little bit is helpful. -rt_/)