my great-grandfather disappeared in the U.S. in 1892... Maybe a shipwreck in the Caribic, so the last message from the Federal authorities (he was a machinist), but who knows...? > > With many greetings and thanks in advance > Jaromir Adamec > > _______________________________________________ > | Jaromir Adamec | > | Dept. of Art Education | > | Pedagog. Faculty of Charles University, Prague| > | tel. **42-2/21900083, private **42-2/8584013 | > | jaromir.adamec@pedf.cuni.cz | > ----------------------------------------------- Professor Adamec: There are som U.S. Records available which may be of some asssistance. There are records of ships passengers to the United States through several ports. They are not all indexed and are not complete but are generally available on microfilm through the U. S. National Archives. You would have to guess at the port but if he was operating in the Carribean Sea area, it is possible that he went to New Orleans, LA. or a Texas port. Knowing the ship's name would help enormously. If he was indeed in a shipwreck, he would probably not in one of these records. Also, records of the United States Censuses for the Years 1900, 1910, and 1920 are available on microfilm to the General Public on microfilm from the National Archives. They are indexed by state by Soundex or Miracode coding (both based on pronunciation more than spelling), not nationally but you may wish to check the indices of the states around the Carribean area. Both of these types of records would possibly be available to you on an inter-library loan through your University. If there is a Latter Day Saints family history library in the Czech Republic, they may be able to obtain them on loan for you. A final option is to purchase them on microfilm from the National Archives. N.B. - some of the writing found in these records is in script and not well written. Even as a native English speaker and reader, I have had difficulty reading soke of them which I have used so a good deal of patience and "detection skills" are necessary. There are probably other records available as well and other persons in this Forum may be able to add them to this commentary. I wish you luck in your rommantic endeavor.... djm in Ann Arbor, Michigan