This website suggests that "Biedenkopf" is a place name in Darmstadt. Perhaps start there? I know a family that went right to the place name of their ancestor and struck gold. http://www.rootsweb.com/~pacambri/books/Storey/v3/p146.html The worst that could happen is that you are down to every Protestant Church in Hessen minus one. There are no silly questions. How can we know everything about a past that has become buried through the generations? At least we are all trying to come to an understanding and appreciation of those who went before us. Dianne ----- Original Message ----- From: <DmRice@aol.com> To: <HESSE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 11:57 PM Subject: [HESSE] German Dialect - why I am clueless! > Thanks to all those who responded to my question about clues from language > dialects. > I regret that I did not supply complete data. I had asked about the family > names before and gotten no connections, so here I confined myself to seeking > some off-the (brick) -wall method of narrowing location. It appears I will > have to read every Protestant church record in Hessen looking for one containing > two names I need. (And my eyes are NOT what they once were.) > > I am looking for the hometown of William BIEDENKOPF and wife Eva MAYGOLD, > presumably from somewhere in Hessen Darmstadt (census) > They were in Maryland in the 1820s and worked their way across Ohio to Cinti > by 1850 and Spencer Co.IN by 1860 (cn) > Source: a centennial county history bio of a son ("mean uncle" -see below). > As yet I have not located any passenger or naturalization records in > Maryland, nor found any of the family in a census of MD, OH or IN prior to 1850. > (using all sorts of spelling variants.) > > Their daughter Katherine married Ludwig Adam (Louis ADAMS) in Cinti > (recovered marriage book). Three Adams children survived. Dora, the youngest was my > great grandmother who argued in German (In Indiana they termed it "Dutch"}. > Dora was orphaned at six, so her memories were few. Her sister was raised > by a BIEDENKOPF uncle, listed as a servant in his hotel (census), and married > another servant. She died before her children were grown - possibly in > Missouri. Edward, the oldest, ran off to Texas because his (another) uncle was so > "mean", and came back years later to sue for his inheritance and win. (That is > court documented.) Dora was raised by her Aunt Eva (Biedenkopf) Kramer, who > for the sake of this quiery, I am assuming raised Dora with her mother's > speech pattern. > > I have traced a number of family lines in Spencer County, so I am fairly > familiar with available records there. > I do not know where the family worshiped. > Dora's parents lived in Centerville in Spencer County - a bend in the road > which no longer exists. > I have found no record of where they were buried. My grandmother supposed > Centerville. > William Biedenkopf left a will, and Louis Adams has estate records (his > brothers-in-law all owed him money. Dora didnt get any of it, and didnt sue.) > None of this is helpful in tracing the family in Germany. > > I also corresponded with a cousin - descended from the mean uncle. She > helped me with cousins but had no better information on early generations. > > Between lack of official records and memories lost by untimely deaths, I > fear I have found all that I am likely to find on this side of the water. > > So that is why I asked a silly question. > > > Barbara Feigel Rice > > ======================== > also among others more remote- > RIMSTIDT (the husband who didnt understand) /Seveus / Lullman/Luerke > - Hannover near Bremen > > Bretz, Rothenberger, Griess, Decker, Bohland etc. > within hiking distance of Alzey - "Rhennish Hesse" > Feigel, Dietrich, Bolz ... - Belheim Pfalz > Elzer, Roth ... - Westheim Pfalz > Maier - Gruenwettersbach -Baden > Veigel, Johle/Uhlin ... Hessignheim, Wurtemburg > > ================================== > > > ==== HESSE Mailing List ==== > Don't overlook the Hesse mailing list taglines at the > bottom of each list E-Mail you receive. Valuable infor- > mation is presented there! >