Hello List, Normally when new to a list I lurk and get a feel for it. Today I'm going to jump right in because of the warm welcome from Wolf and the few, already helpful replies I've seen directed to other listers. I'm Susan, living in Seattle, Washington, and searching for my many German ancestors. I have some that have stumped me for years, some just recently. I'll begin with my long standing brickwalls... Ludwig GRIMM, born 1806 in Arnshain, Hesse Darmstadt. In 1849, as a widower, he came to the United States with his four children - Anna Catharina, age 17 in June of 1849; Catharina, age 15 in June 1849; Elizabetha, age 11 in June 1849; and Heinrich, age 9 in June 1849. The June 1849 date is from Ludwig's passport. I've never been able to locate their arrival in the United States, they settled in Baltimore, Maryland and were there for the 1850 census. I have all their birth records, so know these are his children. Passport was issued 6 June 1849, church records say they left from Bremen 17 June 1849. That was fast! I found what looks like them on Hessiches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt (HStAD) Auswanderer-Nachweise (R 21 B), but there's one thing that doesn't make sense in those records, namely that Ludwig was with three girls, no son Henry, and shows Katherine with her illigitimate daughter Elizabeth. No ages, but the names of the girls are all correct and only know they came from Hesse Darmstadt. As I said, I have the church's birth records for all his children, so think this has to be some weird coincidence? If a manifest were ever to be found, would one that early show a possible sponsor in this country? That brings me to my next brickwall, his possible sister who also came to Baltimore, although I have practically nothing on her. Ludwig's/Lewis' obit mentions a niece named Anna Matthaei. In looking though the censuses, I find her and her growing family, and always present is her mother, sometimes Anna, sometimes Katherine SNYDER. Searching for her arrival in this country, believe it was prior to Ludwig and perhaps the reason he chose Baltimore. His sister, Katharina, was born in 1803, which is consistent with the age of Anna/Catherine Snyder in every census. Looking for her arrival and husband's name, if he came with her, she's a widow in every census in the states. Next, looking for the arrival of Gottlieb WOLLNY, of Hanover, in 1910. His wife was Mary/Maria, hopefully nee ENGLER. I'm looking for some sort of marriage records for them, presumably in Hanover. I may be asking too much here, but any advice on where to find the information is most welcome as well as greatly appreciated. These people are tough to track! Thanks for your time in reading through this long saga! Susan