[email protected] wrote: > > Ah, this is not good news, Dieter! The USA (Buffalo, NY) German Evangelical > church records for the children's baptisms list these two places for the > towns of birth for the WITT and KRUEGER parents! I even paid a local > researcher who lives there to read the old german script. The entries would > have been made in the years of their children's birthdates - so 1890s. And > the births of the immigrants were in 1854 and 1859.... "somewhere"!!!! > (Guess it's not Thuringia, after all....) > > I was thinking these were much better records to go on than the general > "germany" found in the US Fed Census records - 1900 on... and was excited to > have actual place names. Someone else here sent me the contact information > for Erie County, NY - to try for the naturalization records - so I'll see if > they shed any light or if they are "vague" on placenames too. (_or_ give me > the same town names again!) > > I'm disappointed and a bit frustrated at the moment. Not on any of your > maps..... hmmmm ... What does this mean? The registers were read > incorrectly? I need to find more maps? I have to explore other types of > records? (will do this in any case) > > debbie in california Meanwhile I found Groß-Bützin in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (I remember You also did and it seems to be the only place of this name). It's a little village with some dozens inhabitants and today part of Neu Heinde, a not much bigger community 15 km northwest of Teterow. That means, it formerly belonged to the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. But no one knows Azelshof or Atzelshof. Near Groß-Bützin I only read the names Amalienhof, Annenhof and Axelshof. Tomorrow I will phone to anyone in Groß-Bützin or Neu Heinde. Perhaps they know there where or what Azelshof could be. Otherwise you should concentrate to Groß-Bützin first. If You have one or two names and the years of birth You may contact the local civil registrar's office. I would help You if You want. Dieter