Some years ago, seeking data in Germany and knowing only the state, I wrote to the Staatsarchiv Darmstadt. I not only gave the name and birthdate of my ancestor from Hessen but also the data for the girl whom he married in St. Louis, even though, because of her fairly common surname, I had no hope. I was fortunate: The archivist was familiar with my ancestor's family! But the miracle was that he was able also to identify the family of the girl my great-grandfather married in St. Louis! Bob Doerr in the beautiful Missouri Ozarks