Hi Paul, You face the problem that most of face who are researching their German ancestors. Before you can do research in Germany, you need to know the village/town/city they came from, the various ways their name was spelled, and their religion. The way you do this is to find them place of origin in American records. You need to start at the first place they entered the U.S. They would have registered there as an alien, attended church, and most-likely been part of a group who traveled together from Europe. If you can't find any records for them, then look for records of those how lived with or near them. I would first do the census work, and track them in every census. Make a list of everyone in their household, and their neighbors. Next, I'd get the county histories, find out which church the attended, and look for their applications for citizenship. Find him in the ship passenger lists, the Church where he married, and go to the County Court Houses. There is no easy way to do it, but with persistence, you may be able to determine the place of origin. Once you find their home town, you can find them in the church records. Church records are the main source before 1871 in Germany. Carol Elk Grove, CA -----Original Message----- From: Pm401kplan@aol.com [mailto:Pm401kplan@aol.com] Sent: Friday, February 25, 2005 12:52 PM To: HESSE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Henry (Heinrich) J. Lotz: Hesse>New York>Ohio Hello Everyone: I have hit the "brick wall" trying to find the name of the home town of my gggrandfather, Henry J. Lotz. The only info I have comes from American sources. His was born 8 June 1815 in Hesse and he died 18 October 1887 in Sandusky, OH. He married in New York City in October, 1846, "right off the boat" according to family info. His wife, Bridget Claven, was born in Ireland. If the family info is correct, they possibly met on the boat, which therefore must have sailed first to Ireland from Germany and they to NY. He brought with him a clavichord, a small keyboard instrument which was an ancestor of the piano. Perhaps the info about the route of the boat and the musical instrument might suggest additional leads for research, but I am at a complete loss to know how to proceed. I have already researched at the usual sources, e.g. LDS, censuses, marriage/death/cemetery records, newspapers, records for his children, etc. but no leads there. If anyone has any suggestions how I can use info about the ship route or the fact that he must have had a musical background in Germany as research leads, I would be very appreciative. He moved 1849/1850 to Sandusky, OH, where he owned a grocery business and did not follow a career in music. Thank you very much for any research suggestions at all. Paul C. Miller