Dear Betty Ann Bowles; I hope you don't mind me putting your query over the list, because it needs help from our subscribers. You know that there are many who are in the same boat with you, looking up and down the Shenandoah Valley for marriages and births and/or land deals, etc., You did find the birth place of your Ernst Martini/Martinie in Bad Gandersheim, which is in the southern part of Lower Saxony, but I am wondering about your remark that his parents came from the Ansbach area, which is in Bavaria, in the region of Oberfranken to be correct. I am unable to quote any genealogical researchers for either place, but perhaps someone from the list has made good experiences with some person. I would suggest to try to post to the corresponding Rootsweb Mailing Lists, for instance DEU-FRANKENLAND-L@rootsweb.com as far as Ansbach is concerned, or check http://www.rootsweb.com for other Mailing Lists, perhaps a list for Niedersachsen/Lower-Saxony. But there is a Rootsweb Surname Board "MARTINI" which has about 114 entries at this point in time, but checking the search engine for the Board, there is no Ernst, no Gandersheim, and no Bowles to find. Which means, before you spend any good cash for research in Germany, you should explore the many avenues our Internet, in particular Rootsweb, has to offer for FREE by just looking for in the right places. This I would recommend to all family researchers, there is so much information out there, and there are so many people trying to help if you just ask. Put your queries out and wait for someone to pick up on it. It may take some time, very often it just takes hours to have results, some times it will take years. I believe in the system, I have had great success with the Rootsweb Message Boards and Mailing Lists for my own family research. This is all I can help you with, as you know or heard perhaps, I am giving up this list, and this is probably my second last posting as the list administrator. Good luck, and the very best, John Helmut Merz. ----- Original Message ----- From: Betty Ann Bowles Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 7:09 PM Subject: German Research Hi, First, I want to thank you for the superb job you have done with all your Hessian knowledge and materials! Do you know of any reliable researchers who could do research for me in the areas of Bad Gandersheim and Ansbach? It is my understanding that these two areas are about 200 miles apart, so I would probably need two different researchers. My "Hessian", Ernst Friedrich Julius Martini was born in Gandersheim and according to his birth records in the Lutheran Church there, his father and uncle were from the Ansbach region. Since I would like to know more about his life in Germany, I would like to pay for research in those areas. I have looked at many advertised German researchers but they all seem to be located in the southern part of Germany and not in the northern/central areas. Any information or guidance will be appreciated very much. Thank you! Betty Ann Bowles