I'm leaving for Europe in a week and I would appreciate very much any last minute help that someone on the list might provide before I leave! I have already received substantial help from fellow listers elsewhere but still I am unable to determine exactly what town or village in the Hesse-Darmstadt area my g.g.grandfather's family are from. We are looking for the origins of the Henry Shober (b. ca. 1810) family of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany; his wife, Elizabeth ...?, is shown (1860 US Census, Lake County, Illinois) as born in Hesse-Kassel in about 1826. A Frank Shober (my g.g.grandfather?), that was cited by a fellow lister as "b. Germany - 1856", may be the right one (at least the approximate birth date is correct) as he is shown as age 4 in the 1880 census for Lake County, Illinois. But, perhaps the family immigrated several years earlier as the 1860 census has Frank and his two older brothers (George 8, John 6) shown as born in Illinois - not Germany. (Or, as has been suggested, maybe there's something wrong with our information!?). I hope that by some means I am able to determine exactly what town or village in Hesse the Shober family are from before we arrive in Germany. Is there a central archival directory in Germany for that general area, or? Failing that, I'm not at all sure where to start once we are in Germany. Any suggestions?? Thanks again for your help! Sincerely, Frank J.