While waiting for Russian archives to fill orders that they have received so I can work on my project on my parish in Russia, I have spent some time on German origins. I have had copies of a few pages of ortssippenbuch (sippenbuch or ortsfamilienbuch) sent to me. It seems some of the church books in Hesse that mentioned parishioners were going to Russia in 1766 had that information gleaned by earlier researchers. For example, the familienbuch for Steinbach in Oberhessen (near Giessen) notes certain people as leaving for Russia; these people show up in HADIS as immigrants to Russia, with the Steinbach church book as their source. But most church books do not mention members as having left for Russia, at least not from what I have seen for Oberhessen, even in cases where some did. So what I get from this is 1) HADIS is likely a good source for some German origins, though it is a good idea to cross check specific origins; 2) ortssippenbuch are a good source of German origins. Unfortunately, there are not a lot available in the US, and many that libraries will not lend them out. I will try to purchase as many OSB and OFB as possible when I go to Germany. It may also be possible to do some lookups. This will very likely only be for Hesse, and only for distinct locations. Forget Budingen or Darmstadt or like generic locations. I will charge if I find something. So if you are interested, send the name and location. Bill Pickelhaupt Sent from my HTC Inspire™ 4G on AT&T