Sandra, I have seen the Vondervelden as either Netherland Dutch from Holland or as German, from Germany. Also, the surname is in Belgium. There are a few references of the Vondervelden name (from Germany) going to Canada, though much earlier than the dates you listed. If you have received no response to your inquiries to St. Boniface, I think it may serve well to go one step higher to contact the Diocese. The Diocese of Westminster (Main office) Vaughan House, 46 Francis Street, London SW1P 1QN enquiries@rcdow.org.uk & Westminster Diocesan Archives: Contact details: Fr Nicholas Schofield MA STB Telephone: 0207 938 3580 archivist@rcdow.org.uk The National Archives (England) may have information on your ancestral surname. It is easy to contact them as they have a form on-line to fill out. The National Archives Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8876 3444 Further contact information: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/contact/?source=ddmenu_about7 Here is the scope of their immigration / emigration records: Outwards Passenger Lists 1890-1960 Passenger lists of people leaving the United Kingdom by sea... -AND- 1878-1960 Passenger lists of people arriving in the United Kingdom by sea .... "The information given in these lists includes the age, occupation, address in the United Kingdom and the date of entering the country of passengers entering the United Kingdom by sea from ports outside Europe and the Mediterranean..." Currently, the archives in England are digitizing their passenger records to go on-line in future (target: Spring 2007) so all records may not be available. Another contact in London: CATHOLIC FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY http://www.catholic-history.org.uk/cfhs/index.htm catholicfhs@ntlworld.com -Also- Catholic Central Library St. Michael's Abbey Farnborough Road Farnborough, Hants GU14 7NQ United Kingdom E-mail: librarian@catholic-library.org.uk Information: "The Catholic Central Library currently houses MISSION REGISTERS which list baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths etc. dating back as early as 1694. These are typescripts and a few other printed books on loan from the Catholic Family History Society". And finally the German Embassy in London has a small bit of history regarding St. Boniface in London. The church was bombed during WWII. It was rebuilt in 1960. See: From: The German Embassy, London The German churches in London: http://www.london.diplo.de/Vertretung/london/en/02/An__Embassy__in__Belgrave__Square/Churches__in__London__Seite.html Someone else may have more direct information on your lineage, however these are some alternative resources you might try to contact. Best of luck in your further research! Kathleen ________________________________________ --- sandra@parkershouse.net wrote: Hello Listers, I wonder if anyone recognises this family name. There may be a chance that other members of the family travelled to the US or somewhere else, and therefore I might be able to narrow down his place of origin. The spelling of the name is not consistant, so I have used the spelling used most commonly by each individual. Gustave and Elisabeth's children were recorded with any/all of the name variations. They were my GGrandparents. Gustave Vondervelden was born in Nassau in 1846. His father is shown as Henry Vonderfelten on Gustave's marriage certificate. His marriage to Elisabeth Kirchei, took place at St Boniface German Catholic Church, Mile End Old Town, London, on 25th October 1868. Witnesses were Peter and Wilhemina Smith (also shown as Schmidt in UK censuses).Wilhemina was formerly a Vandervelden, but I do not know the relationship with Gustave. Elisabeth Kirchei was the daughter of Johannes Kirschei and Elisabeth Hommel. She was born in Neustadt, Nassau. Her father was born in Neustadt, Westerwald and her mother at Ailertchen. I have almost complete details of their descendants after 1868. I have tried contacting St Boniface Church, which is still run by German clergy, both email and snail mail, but have received no response at all. I am hoping that somewhere there may be a record of some Vondervelden from Nassau being on an immigration list and that may give me a clue in my quest for anyone of the Vandervelden, Vondervelden, Van den Delden family from Nassau? If anyone has come accross these names in the research, I would be very pleased to hear from them. Many thanks Sandra Parker Darwin Australia __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com