My great-grandfather, Frederick (Fritz) Kalbitz was a blacksmith, born in Gebesee (near Erfurt) Germany in 1853. I'm not sure he worked there. If not, probably in or near Hamburg. In 1881 he was banned from Hamburg and environs due to his political beliefs - he was a social democrat at a time when that was illegal. Family story was that he left Germany one step ahead of being arrested. There is a record in Gebesee of his being banned from Hamburg. He came to the U.S. sometime in 1881 with his wife following in November 1881. They settled in Chicago where he had his own blacksmith shop, later manufacturing tools. I have good records of what he did here, but very little of his early years in Germany. Lois in Chicago