For any information 95 years old or less, acceptable proof of direct lineage would be...... 1. Your birth certificate 2. Your father's birth certificate 3. Your grandfather's birth certificate 4. Documents from residence in USA 5. Ships Passenger List or other immigration or emigration document. ......all translated into the German language and notarized. I'm not saying that you MUST have the Ships Passenger List and immigration/emigration documents. It just makes things MUCH easier. It should be the male line of descent. The only other option is a court order specifying that the information is necessary in order to resolve a legal matter, such as the inheritance of an estate, the division of funds, who the rightful heirs are .. stuff like that. There's no restriction on info more than 95 years old, but occasionally you'll run into an over-zealous clerk or a supervisor who will insist on official documentation even longer ago than 95 years. :-) Don ----- Original Message ----- From: "J. Eggers" <msgene@mac.com> To: <baden-wurttemberg@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 9:10 AM Subject: Re: [BW] Information on Speyer Hi Don, What is accepted as proof of direct lineage? Judy