Kathy, I have also found that if the birth was registered often more detailed locations of the birthplace of the parents are listed. My g/g/grandmother registered in 1857 her son, my g/grandfather 8 years after his birth in 1849 in NOLA and another son when she registered her newborn daughter. It gave all the German political subdivisions, down to the town, where both she and her husband came from. Check the birth index and if you can find him it would be worthwhile sending for the record(s). And Norm's the man for explaining [almost anything German] especially the political subdivision stuff, which can be quite tangled since it frequently changed prior to German unification. Good luck, Cate ;-} -----Original Message----- From: Kathy Cochran Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 1:37 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [LAORLEAN] My Great Grandfather was a Mason Norm, This was some great stuff you sent. I have exhausted most of the sources / suggestions you made..............but the last one you mentioned, that of finding CIVIL records of the birth children in NOLA might be fruitful. You mentioned that "especially the earlier ones" might give the area of Germany from which the immigrant came. My Born children were born in NOLA from 1855-1879. Is this per chance the time period that you were talking about as "earlier"? Thanks again ......Kathy -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Norm Hellmers Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 8:49 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [LAORLEAN] My Great Grandfather was a Mason Kathy, The soc.genealogy.german archives includes this FAQ: Subject: 10. How can I find out what village my ancestor came from? This is sometimes easy, sometimes quite difficult, and sometimes impossible. This is the general order of resources to be used in finding the German origin of German-American families: o Narratives from older relatives. o Previous family research, notes, etc., if available. o Family documents or mementos from the old country. o US census (1920 and earlier) - can learn immigration and/or naturalization year. o IGI, for uncommon names, if the birth or marriage date is known, or if two names in combination are known. o Passenger ship records, both arrival lists and embarkation lists, and indexes like _Germans to America_. o Naturalization records - usually held at the county level in the US. o Obituaries, especially in German-language newspapers. o American church records. o County histories/genealogies. o Local historical/genealogical societies. o Local fraternal and other ethnic or cultural organizations. o Tombstones or cemetery records. o German state emigration records and indexes, including citizenship release papers, passports, estate and debt settlement papers, property sales, departure taxes, expulsion papers, and records for transportation of minors. o US Social Security records, for individuals living after 1935. Note that the Social Security Death Index is only a start. o Probate records. o US Civil War pension or other military records, if appropriate. o Ahnenstammkartei (ASTAKA). o Individuals in Germany with the same name, but only if the name is very unusual or if you know approximately where your ancestor came from. o Neighbors in America, because sometimes unrelated families emigrated together. o Contemporary newspapers, which often printed passenger lists and emigrant correspondence. See also:http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/rg/guide/tracing_immigrant_origins.asp Do you have the civil birth records for all of Jacob’s children born in Orleans Parish? Some of mine, especially the earlier ones, give the area of Germany from which the immigrant came. That would be a start. Norm --- On Thu, 12/9/10, Kathy Cochran <[email protected]> wrote:.. . . > My great-grandfather Edward Augustus Born was born in> Orleans Parish, New> Orleans 7 Aug 1855. He lived his adult married life> in Corpus Christi,> Texas, but I am wondering if I could find out if his> father, my great-great> grandfather, Jacob Born, a partner in the Rice-Born> Hardware Store, Ltd.,> was also a Mason as well. And if so, maybe I could> eventually find out what> town in Germany he emigrated from. Does anyone have> any suggestions about> how to find this?.. . . -------------------------------To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message