Does anyone in the group have a theory as to why a person born in "Lutzelbourg" and whose family (for at least 300 yrs) was from "Lutzelbourg" would have stated "Phalsbourg" in a legal document in the US? I know those towns are adjacent to each other, and I assume the borders were transparent. Maybe that is the reason.... they felt they were from "both" towns"? Would it be as simple as maybe one town (Phalsbourg?) had a larger population than the other (Lutzelbourg?), and here in the US, the town name Phalsbourg was more recognizable? I can't find statistics that confirm this.... the populations of each town around 1850 (he emigrated in 1855). Would anyone know where I could find such population data? I believed my great grandfather was from Phlasbourg, but new information strongly supports Lutzelbourg, and I'm curious as to why he might have said "Phalsbourg" on a pension application here in the US. This is a very helpful email list and I appreciate any thoughts. responses to: mlavins@optonline.net

One reason for erroneous data being recorded on various documents is that someone other than the person who was the subject of the document, completed the document. The state of their health and their age at the time could account for errors. Immigration officials, often ignorant of languages other than English, frequently misspelled the names of new arrivals on gov't forms. If a low level bureaucrat was assisting in the completion of the document, he could have placed very little importance on the name of the town thinking that accuracy on with the name of the country & region was sufficient. Family folklore could have also contributed to the erroneous information... You will need to find family birth & death records in either town to confirm which one was really the place of origin for that individual. 40 yrs of U.S. Census reports state that my gg grandfather was from France -- except for the one that states he was from Ireland. And his obituary says Germany. His year of birth is given in numerous places as 1821 except for one pension record and his obit which both cite 1819. His first name in recorded as Joseph or Frank or Francis. His last name is spelled with two variations. There no doubt lots of other reasons for what appears to be erroneous information showing up on records.. Richard On Jan 28, 2008, at 9:21 AM, Mary Lavins wrote: > Does anyone in the group have a theory as to why a person born in > "Lutzelbourg" and whose family (for at least 300 yrs) was from > "Lutzelbourg" would have stated "Phalsbourg" in a legal document in > the US? > > I know those towns are adjacent to each other, and I assume the > borders were transparent. Maybe that is the reason.... they felt > they were from "both" towns"? > > Would it be as simple as maybe one town (Phalsbourg?) had a larger > population than the other (Lutzelbourg?), and here in the US, the > town name Phalsbourg was more recognizable? I can't find > statistics that confirm this.... the populations of each town > around 1850 (he emigrated in 1855). Would anyone know where I > could find such population data? > > I believed my great grandfather was from Phlasbourg, but new > information strongly supports Lutzelbourg, and I'm curious as to > why he might have said "Phalsbourg" on a pension application here > in the US. > > This is a very helpful email list and I appreciate any thoughts. > > > > > responses to: mlavins@optonline.net > -- > 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

Hello Mary, Ancestors on my paternal side came to the US from Lorraine in in 1828.. Both Lutzelbourg and Phalsbourg. I'll check my files as soon as I can and let you know what I don't remember off hand. What was your great grandfather's name? Was the family Catholic? Mine were. Gloria Ishida On 1 28, 2008, at 11:21 PM, Mary Lavins wrote: > Does anyone in the group have a theory as to why a person born in > "Lutzelbourg" and whose family (for at least 300 yrs) was from > "Lutzelbourg" would have stated "Phalsbourg" in a legal document in > the US? > > I know those towns are adjacent to each other, and I assume the > borders were transparent. Maybe that is the reason.... they felt > they were from "both" towns"? > > Would it be as simple as maybe one town (Phalsbourg?) had a larger > population than the other (Lutzelbourg?), and here in the US, the town > name Phalsbourg was more recognizable? I can't find statistics > that confirm this.... the populations of each town around 1850 (he > emigrated in 1855). Would anyone know where I could find such > population data? > > I believed my great grandfather was from Phlasbourg, but new > information strongly supports Lutzelbourg, and I'm curious as to why > he might have said "Phalsbourg" on a pension application here in the > US. > > This is a very helpful email list and I appreciate any thoughts. > > > > > responses to: mlavins@optonline.net > -- > 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 > > Domaine de Curé Luxury Gîtes (vacation apartments) in centuries old farmhouse near Carcassonne, France Jean-Noël Ishida and Agathe Moréchand-Ishida http://www.domaine-cure.com/