Hi Audry, Witthopf was probably a typical spelling for this surname when your ancestors left Germany. However, you won't find it today in the modern Germany online phone book . To see for yourself, go to http://www.infobel.com/en/world/Teldir.aspx?url=http://www.dastelefonbuch.de/ select English tab select Expert Finder enter the surname Witthopf check the "also find similar names" box check the private entries radio button click on Search You'll find 95 entries with about half spelled Widhopf and the other half Withopf which are both phonetically identical to Witthopf. Keep all three in mind as you search for you ancestors. You should also look for Widthopf as it with sound the same as well. There will be other variations. Now go to Geogen (, a surname mapping website for Germany and map Widhopf and Withopf. You'll see that Widhopfs are mostly in Bavaria and Withopfs in Baden-Wuerttemburg with a major concentration in the modern county of Main-Tauber (Main-Tauber Kreis). To see a list of towns in Main-Tauber, go to the Wikipedia article on the county at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main-Tauber-Kreis Now back to the Germany phone book, this time limiting the surname to the exact spelling Withopf. Sort the results by postal code. Main-Tauber postal codes seem to begin with 979---- 13 in the town of Tauberbischofsheim and 11 in Koenigheim which is about 5 miles west of Tauberbischofsheim. Koenigheim's website is www.koenigheim.de If you get desperate and $5.50 is not big deal, you might spin the lottery (rent the Koenigheim film from your nearest FHC) and see what comes up. Also, you can do the same thing I did for Witthopf but using the surname Hoeke (try the o with umlaut) and cross reference the towns with the Withopf results. Warning, there will be several spelling variations you'll want to consider. Maybe you'll find a good place to start searching. Also, knowing whether the couple was Lutheran or Roman Catholic will be helpful. Happy hunting. Paul -------------------------------------------------- From: <audryr@comcast.net> Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 6:14 AM To: <BADEN-WURTTEMBERG-L@rootsweb.com> Subject: [BW] Witthopf family > I am looking for information about my great grandfather, Louis Witthopf. > He stated on his marriage license that he was born in 1845 in Baden. His > parents were Burkhardt Witthopf and Margaret Hoeke. Any information would > be appreciated. > > Audry Rini > > ------------------------------- > 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

SUPER instructions, Paul! Reminds me of the system I used in the early days of the internet!! VERY valuable for research in Germany! :-) Don Watson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Rands" <paulrands@hotmail.com> To: <baden-wurttemberg@rootsweb.com>; <audryr@comcast.net> Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 11:48 PM Subject: Re: [BW] Witthopf family Hi Audry, Witthopf was probably a typical spelling for this surname when your ancestors left Germany. However, you won't find it today in the modern Germany online phone book . To see for yourself, go to http://www.infobel.com/en/world/Teldir.aspx?url=http://www.dastelefonbuch.de/ select English tab select Expert Finder enter the surname Witthopf check the "also find similar names" box check the private entries radio button click on Search You'll find 95 entries with about half spelled Widhopf and the other half Withopf which are both phonetically identical to Witthopf. Keep all three in mind as you search for you ancestors. You should also look for Widthopf as it with sound the same as well. There will be other variations. Now go to Geogen (, a surname mapping website for Germany and map Widhopf and Withopf. You'll see that Widhopfs are mostly in Bavaria and Withopfs in Baden-Wuerttemburg with a major concentration in the modern county of Main-Tauber (Main-Tauber Kreis). To see a list of towns in Main-Tauber, go to the Wikipedia article on the county at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main-Tauber-Kreis Now back to the Germany phone book, this time limiting the surname to the exact spelling Withopf. Sort the results by postal code. Main-Tauber postal codes seem to begin with 979---- 13 in the town of Tauberbischofsheim and 11 in Koenigheim which is about 5 miles west of Tauberbischofsheim. Koenigheim's website is www.koenigheim.de If you get desperate and $5.50 is not big deal, you might spin the lottery (rent the Koenigheim film from your nearest FHC) and see what comes up. Also, you can do the same thing I did for Witthopf but using the surname Hoeke (try the o with umlaut) and cross reference the towns with the Withopf results. Warning, there will be several spelling variations you'll want to consider. Maybe you'll find a good place to start searching. Also, knowing whether the couple was Lutheran or Roman Catholic will be helpful. Happy hunting. Paul