RE: my grandfather, Henry Bernard Kerkmann, Stairbuilder, who came to America in 1889. Born October 16, 1861; married to Marie Fathauer (Vatthauer) November 19, 1891 in St. Louis, Missouri; Died March 29, 1917 in St. Louis, Missouri. I have searched every document I can think of in the St. Louis area with no success in finding my grandfather's town of origin in Germany. All the records simply say "Germany." I've been at this for over then years. After no response from the Civil Courts where the naturalization records were kept, I hired a professional researcher to go to the Courts Dept. to find his naturalization papers. Disappointedly, she discovered that in 1980, the person in charge at the Civil Courts Records Dept. decided they were in too much of a mess and destroyed them all and kept just the Declaration index cards! She did find his card which is dated 1895 and says "Germany." If anyone on the list has any book or source that he might be in, please check for me. I also haven't been able to access any German newspapers, so I would appreciate any help in that area....or any other ideas! Also important to know because it can be confusing - There is another Henry J. Kerkmann, married to a Margarethe Schnaus who lived in St. Louis at the about the same time. He is almost the same age as my grandfather (I did a search on him, too) and there doesn't seem to be any connection to my Kerkmanns. Also, my grandfather had a son named Henry, born in 1892. Thank you! Glodean Gates