Hi Barbara, I live in FL. You'll not be able to obtain a copy of your grandfather's birth record except from the Mayor's Office in Wissembourg. Address: http://www.rootsweb.com/~fraalsac/alsaceaz/alsacewz.htm#wissembourg. Films only cover up to and including 1882. http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp Also that document will be in German. Do you know when & where his parents were married? If you do and it's before 1883 my advise is to visit your local FHC and start ordering one or 2 films based on what is available for Wissembourg. If you do not know that then you must attempt to obtain a marriage document. I don't know how cooperative a clerk will be in doing a search even though it's relatively easy if each year has an index. If not perhaps someone will do you that favor or for a research fee plus cost of documents. One problem: the marriage might not have taken place in Wissembourg. Marriages usually take place in the girl's home city or village; first comes the civil ceremony and that day or the day after the church ceremony if there's to be one. For the 19th century most church ceremonies will not be on film but there are some exceptions as can be seen for one Protestant church in Wissembourg. It is possible that a friend could call and ask if those documents are available and the cost. If you were there I believe that the cost would be less than a 1 euro. Books - try this website: http://agawe.free.fr/ Here you'll find books of extraction transcribed and published by AGAWE (Atelier Généalogique de l'Arrondissement de Wissembourg et Environs). Members once extracted village events from the same films that we can view at our local FHC or in Salt Lake City. I still do that. Now they have been allowed to photograph the actual church and civil registers and do their extractions from those. VILLAGE BOOKS: village books that tell the history and identify various individuals from earlier centuries through the 20th. Of special interest to me are those cousins mentioned that belong (ed) to a religious order. Most books are hard cover, written in French with some sections in German. These books contain charts, maps, photos and lists. Ex. lists of religious; mayors; and one book provides an 1880 listing for all families including wives and children along with a street address. There is also at least one quarterly magazine "l' Outre-Foret" with stories and photos devoted to the history and archaeology of northern Alsace. Some of these stories are drawn from personal experiences during WWII. I can obtain an address if you are interested in an annual subscription. I don't believe that they have a website. Cemeteries - someone in Alsace could better answer this question. I have seen military cemeteries and visited church and or village cemeteries. Villages all seem to have one or more but I have never visited a big city cemetery. Several years ago I transcribed and photographed both the Catholic and Protestant cemeteries in Seebach. Some genealogy societies do that in the States but I don't have any idea if that's a practice in Alsace. BTW unless you are lucky don't expect to find any ancestral graves. These plots are often used over and over again throughout the ages. Obits - can be found in the newspaper as well as memorials that often include a photo. Try this newspaper "Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace" (D.N.A.) http://www.dna.fr/ have no knowledge of what they offer but I have seen this newspaper in Alsatian homes. Notary records - these originals for Bas-Rhin can be viewed at the Archives in Strasbourg. A friend just sent me 19 pages from 1810 that concern an Oberseebach ancestor but they all appear to be in German. One can not expect that these notary documents will be located in your ancestor's village. I believe that they are filed according to where the notaries were located and then by the notary himself. FYI - I've been told that the Bas-Rhin Archives in Strasbourg will close next month and should open sometime in the autumn. Microfilms can still be viewed but in a different building. I believe that most of us who participate on this List do so because we enjoy assisting others in their quest. A volunteer at our local FHC is excited when she can help a new patron locate an ancestor and just maybe that feeling also applies to most of us. Good luck. Charlie ----- Original Message ----- From: "BARBARA EIDEL" <ebarbarajo@verizon.net> > Dear List members, > I hope these are not stupid questions, but I am very new to this forum. > I am only beginning my search for my relatives from Wissembourg. If I > understood more about the researchers, and their roles, it would help me to > know how to begin. > I see several messages sent to EWALD, and have already received some > information from CHARLIE.(thanks again). Are any of these people actually > living in Alsace? Are you doing research out of the goodness of your > hearts? What are the books that you are referring to? > Also, does anyone know where I might find an archive of the obituaries > from that area? Is there an index for any of the cemetaries? > The following is what I know about my family. > > My grandfather - Philippe EIDEL born in 1890 to Louis EIDEL (son of Adam > EIDEL and Catherine BEY) and Dorothee FENNINGER, (daughter of Norbert > FENNINGER and Dorothee Wachtal). He came to America in 1907, and never > returned to Wissembourg. I have only recently learned the names of his > parents and grandparents.