>From a totally ignorant new Yorker who doesn't know a thing outside of her NY boundaries. :) Were there certain German Societies in the 1850s that would sponser immigrants, by way of the promise of land? I saw an interesting post on a NY list, where someone said a German Society would sponser a whole group from a certain area in Germany (by way of literature..Like a sales pitch.) to lure them to the midwest where land was promised. From NY they booked passage for points further west. Question..Would the land have had to be bought before they even left the homeland? Question..If it was BUT they never left NY, what would happen to the land if they didn't claim it? I.m looking at Green Bay, Mantowoc County. Thanks Nancy <A HREF="http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~blkyn/Bklyn.Info.Page.html"> Brooklyn Info Page</A>