In a message dated 11/10/08 10:18:04 AM, etienne.herrbach@wanadoo.fr writes: > Before WWI, very few Alsatians in the countryside understood French.   > They spoke dialect and understood German.  > My grandfather knew French, as did my father who helped me with my college French. Of course, my grandfather died in the 1860s before Germany was organized. He also spoke German and Italian, and learned English when he came to America. They left from LeHavre, not Hamburg, went to England and left there for America. My grandfather came to America very young, in about 1868. He said he arrived in NYC on Good Friday, 1867, but we found that to be untrue. It was probably 1868 or even earlier. If he was 18, it was 1866. They are not listed in the Germans to America books. Charles and Nicholas Becker. ************** 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=emlcn tussear00000001)