Thanks, Etienne. Now I'm more confused than ever. On census records he always said he was born in Alsace. He was French and his native tongue was French. In later census records he said he was born in Bavaria or Prussia. I know that Alsace went back and forth from France to the area that became Germany in 1871, but he had left for America before that. Such a brick wall. I'll put the names out again. Adam Becker and his wife Maria Brunon Becker were killed in the 1860s. His oldest daughter, Mary, born 1844, married an Ernhardt Stinger from Germany and moved to America. Ohio,then Iowa and ultimately Michigan. I do not know if she married in Europe or America. Charles was 18 and his younger brother, Nicholas was 12 when they came to America. I know some siblings remained in Europe. I also know that Becker is a very common name. I figure that Adam Becker was born around 1825. I found about sixty Adam Beckers born about then but which one, if any, was my ancestor? Charles could speak French, German and Italian and later, English.Can anyone help me? Brick walls should be breakable, but after all these years, I'm not so sure mine can be. I've hired a professional genealogist here. Perhaps I need to hire one there. Any suggestions? ************** AOL Search: Your one stop for directions, recipes and all other Holiday needs. Search Now. (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212792382x1200798498/aol?redir=http://searchblog.aol.com/2008/11/04/happy-holidays-from-aol- search/?ncid=emlcntussear00000001)
My Langenfeld ancestors also were listed in U.S. census reports as being from France or from Germany and sometimes it was in precisely the wrong periods of time, so that when listing Germany, the French held the area and vice versa. However, the Langenfeld family originates in Germany, and intermarried in France with other Germans, Austrians, and then with the French and with one family from Belgium. Perhaps what they are doing is listing ethnic identity. It is also interesting to look at whom they married in America. My ancestor, Rachael (Regina) Langenfeld, married a man from Hessia. Her brothers and sisters continued marrying people with German names, so I am guessing that they identified more with their German ancestry; however, many of these surnames are found in their Hanviller/Lengelsheim area. Looking at whom a silbing group marries in America can be an important clue. I found the location of my family by posting them so many times with dates and names of children that someone in France actually recognized them as being from the Hanviller area. Once that happened, the genealogy of the family goes way back. But it was by pure chance that someone read these posts. I think it might be easier to try to track "Brunon." Given Adam's languages, it is possible that he may have also lived in Switzerland. The Langenfelds somehow went through Switzerland on their way out, and this is the listing of nationality on their ship record. Dianne ----- Original Message ----- From: <Nutmeg421@aol.com> To: <alsace-lorraine@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 7:10 AM Subject: Re: [A-L] Bischwiller > Thanks, Etienne. Now I'm more confused than ever. On census records he > always > said he was born in Alsace. He was French and his native tongue was > French. > In later census records he said he was born in Bavaria or Prussia. I know > that > Alsace went back and forth from France to the area that became Germany in > 1871, but he had left for America before that. Such a brick wall. I'll put > the > names out again. Adam Becker and his wife Maria Brunon Becker were killed > in the > 1860s. His oldest daughter, Mary, born 1844, married an Ernhardt Stinger > from > Germany and moved to America. Ohio,then Iowa and ultimately Michigan. I do > not > know if she married in Europe or America. Charles was 18 and his younger > brother, Nicholas was 12 when they came to America. I know some siblings > remained > in Europe. I also know that Becker is a very common name. I figure that > Adam > Becker was born around 1825. I found about sixty Adam Beckers born about > then > but which one, if any, was my ancestor? Charles could speak French, German > and > Italian and later, English.Can anyone help me? Brick walls should be > breakable, but after all these years, I'm not so sure mine can be. I've > hired a > professional genealogist here. Perhaps I need to hire one there. Any > suggestions? > > > > ************** > AOL Search: Your one stop for directions, recipes and all other > Holiday needs. Search Now. > (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212792382x1200798498/aol?redir=http://searchblog.aol.com/2008/11/04/happy-holidays-from-aol- > search/?ncid=emlcntussear00000001) > -- > 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 > ALSACE-LORRAINE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
Jean, Where did Charles (and Nicholas) settle in the United States? Do you know their professions? Gloria