I am sorry I meant my husband gg-grandfather's records. Sorry my mistake Marilyn -------------- Original message -------------- From: mbartenslager3735@comcast.net > I have been reading about the Citizenship records referring to Germany. I have > my husband records of his Declaration of Intent dated September 1856 and it > referred to William 1st King of Wurtemberg. Then Oct 1860, when his petition > read in court referrs to the same "1st King of Wurtemburg > William. which makes wonder if Wuertembug was a country of its own before it > became a part of Germany. > Marilyn Bartenslager > -------------- Original message -------------- > From: "BW List Co-Administrator" > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Sheri Martin [mailto:elm121147@verizon.net] > > Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2008 7:59 AM > > To: mscarlah@earthlink.net; baden-wurttemberg@rootsweb.com > > Subject: Re: [BW] Why Ancestors' EMIGRATION Records Might Be Hard to Find > > (orNon-Existent) :-) > > > > I am now in receipt of the "applications to become a citizen" of both of my > > maternal great grandfathers. One is from 1876 the other from 1880. They > > both reference the Emperor of Germany. I have read on this list that > > Germany did not actually exist at that time. Also there is no other > > information of any assistance in locating the town of origin. Any further > > suggestions? > > ===================== > > Dear Sheri, > > > > I think we've managed to create some confusion for you. What you need to > > understand was that what we know as "Germany" did not always cover the same > > amount of territory throughout its history, nor was "Germany" always a > > single, unified nation with a single sovereign ruler. I will attempt to > > super-condense the historical facts into a nutshell for you, and you can > > research it further if you are so inclined. > > > > For a long part of "Germany's" history, it was it was made up of hundreds of > > individually sovereign states, each with its own particular ruler (kings, > > princes, grand dukes, margraves, etc.) These were not united into a single > > nation until the formation of the German Empire, a semi-constitutional > > monarchy which came into existence (and along with it the "Emperor of > > Germany") on 18 January 1871, when the existing king of the German state of > > Prussia, King Wilhelm I, was proclaimed German Emperor ("Kaiser" in German.) > > (He and those who followed him on the imperial throne remained King of > > Prussia while also being Emperor of Germany.) There were only three > > Emperors of Germany: Wilhelm I (who died in March, 1888), Wilhelm's son > > Friedrich III (who was ill will terminal cancer and died only 3 months after > > his accession in June 1888) and Friedrich III's son, Wilhelm II (who was > > Emperor of Germany from 15 June 1888 until 9 November 1918.) > > > > Your problem is that the naturalization or other documents you have which > > tell you the place of origin for your grandfathers apparently do NOT specify > > their exact villages, towns or cities of origin WITHIN the overall German > > Empire or even within the state of Baden or Wuerttemberg or Hohenzollern or > > wherever else they may have been from. Just knowing that their sovereign > > was the Emperor of Germany (regardless of which one was reigning at the > > time) unfortunately does not sufficiently pinpoint your ancestors' specific > > places of origin. Even knowing that they may have been subjects of say, the > > King of Wuerttemberg is not going to be too helpful. (Wuerttemberg was a > > kingdom at the same time there was a German Empire in existence, and again, > > that still doesn't tell you where in either the kingdom or the empire your > > ancestors came from---darn it all!) > > > > If that is the only documentation you have for those persons, you still do > > not yet have something which will provide a sufficient clue to their roots > > in "Germany." Not knowing what other records on them you may have (or not), > > or what other types of research you may have done, it is difficult to make a > > reasonable suggestion as to how to might proceed from here. Can you tell us > > anything else that might be pertinent to these men? > > > > Hope we can help you if we have more details, if you have any to share. > > > > Best wishes, > > > > Carla HELLER, Los Angeles, California USA mscarlah@earthlink.net > > List Co-Administrator, RootsWeb's Baden-Wuerttemberg Mailing List > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > BADEN-WURTTEMBERG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BADEN-WURTTEMBERG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message