Nope... Rene' , A lotta names have nothing to do with placenames in Germany. There were a lot of folks who were "dreaming of" or "hoping for" the "promised land"... Hence they came up with names like GNADEN-thal; FREUDEN-thal; LIEBEN-thal etc.... GLUeCKS-thal*. Names that have more to do with hope and aspirations < religion? > than any existing place in their country of origin... Other placenames derived from a wish to flatter the ruling Tzars or to commemorate historical events... E.g. ALEXANDER-hilf/dorf ; SOPHIEN-thal Keep in mind that it was not the settlers who made the final decisions on what places were name Of course there are many names which do relate to places the settlers may have hailed from; e.g. KASSEL NEUBURG < never NeuBERG > Hope this helps, jm Btw. If U have specific names in mind, lemme know; and i will offer an opinion on its origin. * Any time U see "-thal" U may also write "-tal"... The form with "h" is an older style. ----- Original Message ----- From: <ENEA59@aol.com> To: <GermanRussian-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, July 02, 2004 1:44 PM Subject: [GERmanRUSsian] Is it safe to say that our ancestors > named a lot of the Russian villages after German villages? > > Rene'

GNADEN-thal; Gnaden = mercy FREUDEN-thal; Freude(n) = joy(s) *** LIEBEN-thal; Liebe(n) = love(s) HOFFNUNG-s-thal, HOFFNUNG-s-feld; Hoffnung = hope GLUeCK-s-thal; Glueck = happiness < also luck , but not in this context > "thal" or "tal" is valley, dale ; "feld" is field ----- Original Message ----- From: "JM_on_GR_G" <JM_on_GR_genealogy@telus.net> To: <GermanRussian-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 11:21 PM Subject: Re: [GERmanRUSsian] Is it safe to say that our ancestors > Nope... Rene' , > > A lotta names have nothing to do with placenames in Germany. > > There were a lot of folks who were "dreaming of" or "hoping for" the > "promised land"... > Hence they came up with names like > GNADEN-thal; FREUDEN-thal; LIEBEN-thal; GLUeCKS-thal*. Etc.... > > Names that have more to do with hope and aspirations < religion? > than any > existing place in their country of origin... > > Other placenames derived from a wish to flatter the ruling Tzars or to > commemorate historical events... > E.g. ALEXANDER-hilf/dorf ; SOPHIEN-thal > > Keep in mind that it was not the settlers who made the final decisions on > what places were name > > Of course there are many names which do relate to places the settlers may > have hailed from; e.g. > > KASSEL > NEUBURG < never NeuBERG > > > Hope this helps, > > jm > > > Btw. If U have specific names in mind, lemme know; and i will offer an > opinion on its origin. > > * Any time U see "-thal" U may also write "-tal"... The form with "h" is an > older style. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <ENEA59@aol.com> > To: <GermanRussian-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, July 02, 2004 1:44 PM > Subject: [GERmanRUSsian] Is it safe to say that our ancestors > > > > named a lot of the Russian villages after German villages? > > > > Rene'