> Alsace and Moselle were part of the German Empire ruled by the > Prussians, between 1871 and 1918. No Elsass and Lothringen were part of the German Empire. Moselle was created from the province of Lorraine in the 1780s. You can call it Moselle, put it doesn't alter the fact it was a part of Lorraine. I think Etienne is correct. See, for example, http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/moselle/history.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moselle But whatever, it certainly makes it difficult for ancestor research. Best, Gloria