It can't hurt to look. My Hessians were listed as Darmstadt and a state outside Hesse, but actually from Assenheim, Hesse-Darmstadt. They were Catholic in Hesse and German-Reformed in the USA. Then Catholic again. If you don't find them under one religion in the Old-Country, try the other(s). There's no simple way to predict what religion they would be under. They might have been Catholic or Reformed in Germany because it was the state religion. They may have changed religions in the US when they married. Brian On Sat, January 22, 2011 11:11 pm, Kathy Cochran wrote: > Okay I have a silly question. I found the naturalization document of my > great-great grandfather, Jacob Born, which said he came from > Hesse-Darmstadt > in 1836. Okay, that is a relatively large area. But then in the 1860 > Census in New Orleans, I found his mother Sophia Born (then either widowed > or deserted) living with his brother Adam Born, and both of them said that > they were born in "DARMSTADT." Does that indicate to anyone that that > MIGHT > be the town (city) where they came from - and that I don't have to > scrounge > around at every single little town in that state after all? AND, if so, > does anyone know if this info is online or have an address to write to? > (I > believe that they were Lutherans while in Darmstadt, but when they came to > New Orleans, they became Presbyterians. Does that make sense?) > > Here's hoping .............. > > > Kathy C >