I'm interested in corresponding with anyone connected to the RAFERT family. As far as I can tell anyone with the surname RAFERT is descended from one of two brothers, William and Henry Rafert. Henry (1800-c1891) came to the U.S and settled in Indianapolis in the 1840s. His older brother William (1797-1886) arrived with his family in 1852. The name in Germany was originally RÖWER, but was Americanized to RAFERT in this country. Other surnames intermarried with the RAFERTs include WILHARM, STEIERBERG, OSTERMEYER, BRANDT, CLAFFEY, QUACK, RUGENSTEIN, WALLIS, and many others. Please email me directly, visit www.rafert.org and/or join or mailing list by sending "subscribe" to rafert-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or rafert-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode). Most of my online information pertains to the William Rafert (1797-1886) line, but I'm very interested in learning more about the Henry Rafert (1800-c1891) line. I'm also interested in corresponding with others who's family came from the village of Meinsen, Schaumburg-Lippe. It appears that several families from that village and the surrounding area came to Indianapolis in the mid-1800s. Thanks! Joel www.rafert.org