For some reason this didn't "send". So am trying again. Fran ----- Original Message ----- From: Jerry and Fran Goertzen To: Linda Otto ; Clay ; German Volga Roots Web Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 9:45 AM Subject: Heinz & Spomer of Schienstein Linda: Most of my microfilm work has been in the Grandduchy of Hessen. The records I found were mostly in German and not too difficult. There were many different scribes recording the information and their handwriting differed considerably. Some, were very legible where others wrote with extreme flair. The sample copies you sent were examples of the latter. The first letter had all the flair and the rest of the word is barely there. This script doesn't copy well because the small writing almost disappears. So, I am sorry but I'm not able to help you much with the copies you sent. Another problem is that some of the scribes mixed Latin with the German because at the time, the German States were actually all part of the Holy Roman Empire. Trier, Germany was the northern capitol of the Holy Roman Empire. I've been lucky so far with the Hessen films but also the Family History Center that I use has a library volunteer of German heritage that can read the flair and latin so he has helped me. You might check your local family history center to see if they could recommend a Script reader for you. The search for Schierstein was easy since there is only one in all of Germany, but finding the Parish records proved more difficult. Schierstein is on the north side of the Rhine River, northwest of Mainz and Southwest of Wiesbaden. It is in present day Hessen. I first checked the Grandduchy of Hessen and it wasn't there so I had to go back in time to find the boundary changes and the nearby German States. When Catharine of Russia sent out her call for colonists, it came at an opportune time for many German farmers. The Seven Year War (1756-1763) had just ended and it had devestated most of Germany and the people welcomed a chance to better their life. The big migration started in 1765/66 on the way to Russia. Boundaries changed during the Seven Years War and changed again after the treaties that ended the war. Checking the States nearby, I found Schierstein in the Kingdom of Prussia, Province of Hessen Nassau, Regierungsbezirk Wiesbaden. This information is in Volum 9 of the German Parish Records. The village was in the Kreis (county) Wiesbaden and Schierstein had its own Parish church. The parish records have been filmed by the LDS and are available for rental at your local FHC. The Schierstein records are on three microfilms that cover the period from 1663 to 1878. The film number 1193450, the same film as your copies. It was the first roll, the other two rolls are ..451 and 452. These films record the birth marriage, death and confirmation data. Reading the data direct from the film is better than trying to read from a copy so I would suggest trying to find someone that could accompany you to the FHC to help read the actual film. Since Anton Heinz (1740) mentioned he was from Altenkirchen was another story. There are five (5) Altenkirchens in Germany scattered all over. I looked for the closest one, only 33 miles north of Schierstein and it happens to be just east of Welburg. It also happens to be in the same volum (9) of German Parish Registers as Schierstein. It is in the Province of Hessen-Nassau, Regierungsbezirk, Wiesbaden, Oberlahn Kreis and has its own parish Altenkirchen. The LDS has filmed these records also. They also are on three rolls of microfilm and the first is #1195172. These three films go back to 1605. Most of this information comes from the series of books "Map Guides to German Parish Registers" by Kevan Hansen. They are available from Family Roots Publishing Co. at < www.GermanMapGuide.com > They have completed 33 of the proposed 55+ volumes. Each volume contains a brief history of the area covered as well as a timeline and a listing of Genealogical resources and archives. Each book has an index of the villages covered, with their parish by religion. It aalso includes the microfilm number of the parish if they are available. Most of the parishes are on multuple rolls of film and the number listed in the first one of the series. If you go to ( www.Familysearch.org ) and enter the film number in the numer search, it will give you all the films for a given parish and the years included in each roll. If you are not sure which volume would have your village, go to the Family Roots website and click on German Map Guides. This will show all volumes available. Click on the Volume of interest and it will show the index of all villages listed in that volume. If your village isn't listed, go to another nearby area until you find it. The index does not give the Parish and other information, you will need to the book for that. The book of your ancestral village will give you a broader view of your ancestors life in Germany. I am sorry I could not help you with the microfilm copies you sent, but I hope this information will help you find some local help. Check with your local FHC to see if they can recommend a helper to read the films. They deal in microfilm data all the time and should know someone that would help you, Jerry Goertzen