My mother died in 2001 at age 101 so I can't get any more information.  I will try the sites you gave me.  Thanks a lot --- On Sat, 8/9/08, Valorie Zimmerman <valorie.zimmerman@gmail.com> wrote: From: Valorie Zimmerman <valorie.zimmerman@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [A-L] Finding the Zarr Family To: alsace-lorraine@rootsweb.com Date: Saturday, August 9, 2008, 4:51 PM On Sat, Aug 9, 2008 at 12:51 PM, Charlotte Chase <itsmecac@yahoo.com> wrote: > Could anyone help me. My mother, many years ago, said her family came from Alsace Lorraine. The family name was Zarr. I know there was a Parker Zarr that came from somewhere in Germany back in the 1800's. > > Thank you. > CHarlotte CHase Hi Charlotte. 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. So, you must do your American or Canadian research, before trying to "jump the pond" back to Europe. I have a number of suggestions for ways to do that here: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/european-research.html That said, with a relatively rare name like Zarr, you might find some help here: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/surnames.html Finally, I have an introduction to research in the Alsace: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/alsace.html I hope these are helpful to you, Valorie -- All my pages: http://valorie.zimmerman.googlepages.com -- 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

Hi Charlotte, First of all, WOW! One hundred and one - that's fantastic! Charlotte, what you need to do is examine all of the records in the US first. Church records - especially if your family was Roman Catholic - can be of help. If not, other records such as naturalization records, sometimes immigration records, offer us clues. Unfortunately, it is sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack. When a genealogist is really lucky they will have found some records within the family that give the information. But very few of us are that fortunate, and so it will take time, a lot of research and some patience! First check with any and all family members. Ask them for copies of ANY documents, obituaries, correspondence and even photos that might help you. It is often the case that our relatives possess something that can at the very least offer us a clue. Then begin your search with US records. Trace your family back to the earliest generation in the US by investigating census records, and always keep in mind that often a surname is misspelled, so if you do not find them immediately, use alternate spellings. The same will be true with nearly all records. Once you are able to get some data, even if dates are only approximate based on census or other type records, you can try Church records and usually after 1880, town and county records. Before 1880, most areas in the US did not have regulated vital records. And even for areas where laws had been passed, they weren't always enforced until much later. For your particular area of interest you should be able to determine when the records began by searching on the internet - most likely the US GenWeb site for your area of interest will have this information or a link where you can find out what you need to know. Also, if you know where your ancestors are buried, this may be of some help in putting together your family. At the very least you will have some death dates to work with and then can search for obituaries. SOMETIMES, not always! an obit will have the name of a town or some clues to work with. Sometimes we will have to gather many different sources before we are able to put the pieces together. Other times, when we are unable to find anything with our direct ancestors, the next best thing is to research our direct ancestor's siblings. Often we are able to find more by researching these collateral lines. Be sure to look carefully through the links that Valorie gave you in her response. She has a lot of very good and helpful information on her pages. Good luck! Linda in Costa Rica Monroe County, NY Records and Family Genealogy http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~monroenys/ Monroe County, NY History http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~monroenys/ ----- Original Message ----- From: Charlotte Chase To: alsace-lorraine@rootsweb.com Sent: Monday, 11 August, 2008 9:08 AM Subject: Re: [A-L] Finding the Zarr Family My mother died in 2001 at age 101 so I can't get any more information. I will try the sites you gave me. Thanks a lot --- On Sat, 8/9/08, Valorie Zimmerman <valorie.zimmerman@gmail.com> wrote: From: Valorie Zimmerman <valorie.zimmerman@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [A-L] Finding the Zarr Family To: alsace-lorraine@rootsweb.com Date: Saturday, August 9, 2008, 4:51 PM On Sat, Aug 9, 2008 at 12:51 PM, Charlotte Chase <itsmecac@yahoo.com> wrote: > Could anyone help me. My mother, many years ago, said her family came from Alsace Lorraine. The family name was Zarr. I know there was a Parker Zarr that came from somewhere in Germany back in the 1800's. > > Thank you. > CHarlotte CHase Hi Charlotte. 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. So, you must do your American or Canadian research, before trying to "jump the pond" back to Europe. I have a number of suggestions for ways to do that here: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/european-research.html That said, with a relatively rare name like Zarr, you might find some help here: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/surnames.html Finally, I have an introduction to research in the Alsace: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/alsace.html I hope these are helpful to you, Valorie -- All my pages: http://valorie.zimmerman.googlepages.com --