This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Gross Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/IWg.2ACIB/1140.1.1.1 Message Board Post: Hello, I am not sure if my great great grandfather was born in Germany or in U.S. But, ususally Germans in Cincinnati came first to Baltimore, Mariland. You should try looking for relatives in Pennsylvania. (German-Americans in Pennsylvania are called 'Pennsylvania Dutch.') A lot of the Germans in Pennsylvania came to through New York. Good luck! Laura