Nancy, >From the site http://www.genealogy.tm.fr/acte.htm it seems the name Blatteau (different spelling) was mostly found in the department des Deux-Sevres in France, with 305 communes (towns-villages). It is part of the Region Poitou-Charentes. Blattau in fact sounds more German, but it seems in contradiction with the fact that the family was Catholic. - Giliane -----Original Message----- From: alsace-lorraine-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:alsace-lorraine-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Nancy Cruse Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 2:00 AM To: alsace-lorraine@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [A-L] Searching BLATTAU Valorie, Thanks for the suggestions, but I have tried all that you mentioned except the NYU. I have gone through all the microfilm that the St. Louis Library has to offer. I have checked everything that the National Archives in Washington D. C. and Ancestry on the internet have to offer and have come up with nothing but what I have included in my previous email. I have been looking for these people since I lived in D. C. in the 1980's. All I have is the name France and Germany. Maybe they did not want to be found. I do not even know what year they arrived, a port of entry, or a ship name. I have searched every census that they could have appeared, the cemetery where every other family member is buried does not have them and as for death records all I have is a death year. Since Augusta the daughter was b. in St. Louis in 1861 I know they were here before then, but not how many years before. Their descendants attended the same Catholic church for generations, so I think they were probably Catholic, but that Catholic Church in St. Louis is not giving out information . So, that door is closed. That is why I tried the alsace-lorraine site. Maybe the names were prominent and someone would immediately know what I was looking for. Valorie Zimmerman wrote: > Hi Nancy -- it sounds like you need to do a bit more American > research, before trying to "jump the pond." For all European research, > you must have a village name, or at least a small region with a few > villages, because that is where all the records are kept! There are > few to no departement, county or region-wide censuses or other general > surveys such as our US Census records. > > Have you found the naturalization applications? Often the first and > second application contain much more detail than the final > certificate. How about obituaries, in particular those published in > small local newspapers, church publications, or German or French > newspapers? Many of the old newspapers are available on microfilm. For > instance, see the holdings of the NYU: > http://library.nyu.edu/research/german/. These microfilms will often > be available by Inter-Library Loan. Talk to your librarian about local > policies. > > For much more about this subject, see: > > http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/european-research.html > > All the best, > > Valorie > > PS: My husband has KEISERs in his line also. His people came from > Ostfriesland to Illinois in the 1850s, also by way of New Orleans and > the Mississippi River. More and more of those New Orleans immigration > records are indexed, so be sure to search those. There are a number of > BLATTEAU records at Ancestry, which I can send to you privately if you > don't have access to them. > > > On Wed, Oct 8, 2008 at 6:51 PM, Nancy Cruse <ncruse@socket.net> wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> I just joined the group. I live in Hannibal, Missouri, USA. In case >> you are not familiar with Hannibal that is the town that Mark Twain >> wrote about in his stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. >> >> I have an ancestor named Charles Fredrick BLATTAU. He married in 5 Oct >> 1847 Anna Christina KAISER. I am not sure if they married in St. Louis, >> Missouri or before they arrived. They had a daughter, Augusta BLATTAU >> who was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1861. In the US census it states >> that Augusta's Father was born in France, but in another source it >> states that he was from Germany. BLATTAU sounds more French than >> German, so I thought maybe the Alsace-Lorraine region might be the >> answer to both since it has been part of both countries at one time or >> another. >> >> I do not know when either Charles or his wife were born, but if I have >> to guess I would say sometime in the late 1820's since they were married >> in 1847. I am also thinking that there were more children before >> Augusta since she was not born until 1861, about 14 years after >> marriage. So, I am also looking for possible children with the name >> BLATTAU being born in the 1850's. >> >> Is BLATTAU a familiar name to anyone doing research in Alsace-Lorraine >> area, or is it still an existing name to anyone that is living there >> right now? >> >> Any help or direction would be appreciated> >> >> Nancy Cruse >> > > -- 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 No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.173 / Virus Database: 270.7.6/1715 - Release Date: 10/8/2008 7:19 PM