Regarding the languages used in Alsace, I got to thinking. My great- great grandmother Catherine Jacob from Niederroedern immigrated to Ohio in 1854/55 I believe (am trying to verify) she stayed with another NR family who had come the year before. She married in 1856 Philip Bingel who had also come about the same time; Bingel was from a small village on the Lahn River west of Coblenz. I have Grandmother Bingel's Bible and hymnal which are in German. The only chance she would have had to continue to speak Alsatian would have been with the families in the area who were from Alsace. The home language, I know was German although I'm sure the family picked up English. (Church services continued in German, however). This set me to wondering about education in Alsace when gg grandmother was growing up (born 1833). I did find the following which is very interesting and did throw some light on the subject under the section marked "Past History". The following rather answers my question about my NR ancestor who, I'm pretty sure did not go farther than elementary school. The practical effects in Alsace of the school system reform of December 1793 (every commune in France had to provide a French language primary school education at no cost), were small mainly because of the lacking of the basic prerequisites — sufficient teachers and students mastering the French language. On the other hand, French substituted German as the language of instruction in high schools and universities in 1808. Thus, although the role of French in primary schools remained marginal for a long time, in high schools and universities it acquired a strong position during the first third of the 19th century. But the whole paper is also very interesting because it has a contemporary focus. Last year when I visited, the local pastor was speaking to her young children in French and Alsatian. See the following for the complete paper: "French-German Bilingual Education in Alsace" http://www.multilingual-matters.net/beb/001/0003/beb0010003.pdf Etienne, anything further on the subject, even your personal experience? Thanks for all your input that helps us understand our ancestors. Gloria . On Nov 19, 2008, at 8:36 AM, Marilyn Potthast wrote: > I find this very interesting about the language. My gr grandfather > came > over here in 1854 but his birth certificate is in French. He did > speak > German as when he left the old country he came to WI and stayed with a > family from Baden, Germany. That to me is an indication that his > particular > language was German or what you say is called Alsatian. This to me > means > that they had their own language or I should say there own > dialect. I am > confused on this as my gr grandparents on my dad's side came from > Bavaria > and that whole are spoke German and no French. They were not > Catholic. I > enjoy this site as I have learned so many things. Keep up the good > work. > >> >> >