Does anyone know the name(s) of any Nursing Schools in Passaic County which would have been in operation in the 1930's and 40's? I am trying to get a copy of my grandmother's nursing diploma. Does anyone have the address for the New Jersey Board of Nursing, or similar organization which could also provide me with information? Thanks, Vern Ferguson Roanoke, VA

There is a new mailing list for Beam/Beem/Boehm etc. to subscribe in the list mode mailto:[email protected] or for the digest mode mailto:[email protected] put one word in the message portion subscribe send a message to [email protected] or [email protected] put one word in the message portion: subscribe Diane Ward Sives Listowner

Looking for the following families: Thomas J. CAHILL b. 10/22/1816-1821 in Newfoundland. He married Annis Vreeland and had at least 3 daughters: 1] Mary Ellen, 2] Julia, 3] Lydia and possibly 4?], Emma. John Milton and Mary Ellen (Cahill) VREELAND who were married 3/22/1866 and had 1] Melissa m. Charles H. RHINESMITH; 2] Walter, m. Harriet Bernard; 3] Lottie m. Vernon RHINESMITH. Judy Fudala Clauss, please contact me. Kind regards, Myra Vreeland Lane

Hello group, Today in the mail I receive a copy of my great grandparents marriage certificate. My great grandfather, Vincent Birkhoff, lists his parents as Cornelius Birkhoff and Katie Roetman. I am looking for any information on the Roetman family, especially Katie. Vincent was married 06/19/1907 and was 27 (born 1880), so his parents would have been married about 1875-1879. Thanks, Vern Ferguson Roanoke, VA

I am pulling my hair out trying to find PFEIL's originating in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties, PA. My mother and father divorced when I was very young so I never had the opportunity to meet any of the PFEIL family. Here is what I know so far. One of my father's brothers, Milton PFEIL left the PA area and moved to Paterson, NJ area to work at Wright Aircraft I would guess that he came sometime mid 1930 to 1940. Milton was the only brother of my fathers that lived any length of time. I do not know if he had any children or not or if they may have lived somewhere else within the state of New Jersey. Trying to find anyone who know this family or can give me some tips to find them since census information is not available for those years. I had started this as a genealogical project but have since found out that there is a genetic study being done in regards to this line at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore as the mostly all the males have died with rectal cancer. Thanks for any assistance. You list members are great. Beverly Pfeil Paquet Tucson AZ George PFEIL b. circa 1854 living in Greensburg Westmoreland County 1880 married to Malinda b. circa 1854 They had the following children: 1.Cameron H. PFEIL b. circa 1870 2. John Sill PFEIL b. 10/6/1878 d. 7/3/1930 buried Verona Cemetery Oakmont Allegheny Co.,PA (My grandfather) 3. Washington PFEIL b. 7/1879 4. Kline PFEIL b. 2/33/1887 d. 5/19/1966 buried William Penn Cemetery, Churchill, Allegheny Co.,PA 1. Cameron H. married unknown and in 1900 he was living in Pitcairn, Allegheny Co., PA a. Wilbur PFEIL b. 1886 d. unknown 2. John Sill married Agnes Louise STOKER (My grandparents) a. Robert William PFEIL b. 1898/99 d.1921/22 He married Esther Unknown Robert PFEIL b. 1921 d. 1962 married Helen WEIR b. Russell PFEIL b. 1905 d. 11/26/1940 buried Verona Cemetery, Oakmont, Allegheny Co.PA c. Milton PFEIL b. 1911 (went to Paterson NJ to work at Wright Aircraft) Descendants unknown d. Raymond Lewis PFEIL b.9/17/1918 d. 6/3/83 married Sarah Catherine RAY Apr.1949,buried at FT. Lincoln Cemetery,Brentwood Prince Georges Co. Maryland (My parents) 3. Kline PFEIL married Ruth Asher a. Robert PFEIL b. 7/7/1942 d. 4/1975 (lived in Penn Hills, Allegheny Co. Pa married Marie Unknown. ( I do not know if there were any other children.) Sorry if you get duplicate postings if you are on more that one list. Beverly Pfeil Paquet Tucson, AZ

I am pulling my hair out trying to find PFEIL's originating in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties, PA. My mother and father divorced when I was very young so I never had the opportunity to meet any of the PFEIL family. Here is what I know so far. One of my father's brothers, Milton PFEIL left the PA area and moved to Paterson, NJ area to work at Wright Aircraft I would guess that he came sometime mid 1930 to 1940. Milton was the only brother of my fathers that lived any length of time. I do not know if he had any children or not. Trying to find anyone who know this family or can give me some tips to find them since census information is not available for those years. Beverly Pfeil Paquet Tucson AZ George PFEIL b. circa 1854 living in Greensburg Westmoreland County 1880 married to Malinda b. circa 1854 They had the following children: 1.Cameron H. PFEIL b. circa 1870 2. John Sill PFEIL b. 10/6/1878 d. 7/3/1930 buried Verona Cemetery Oakmont Allegheny Co.,PA (My grandfather) 3. Washington PFEIL b. 7/1879 4. Kline PFEIL b. 2/33/1887 d. 5/19/1966 buried William Penn Cemetery, Churchill, Allegheny Co.,PA 1. Cameron H. married unknown and in 1900 he was living in Pitcairn, Allegheny Co., PA a. Wilbur PFEIL b. 1886 d. unknown 2. John Sill married Agnes Louise STOKER (My grandparents) a. Robert William PFEIL b. 1898/99 d.1921/22 He married Esther Unknown Robert PFEIL b. 1921 d. 1962 married Helen WEIR b. Russell PFEIL b. 1905 d. 11/26/1940 buried Verona Cemetery, Oakmont, Allegheny Co.PA c. Milton PFEIL b. 1911 (went to Paterson NJ to work at Wright Aircraft) Descendants unknown d. Raymond Lewis PFEIL b.9/17/1918 d. 6/3/83 married Sarah Catherine RAY Apr.1949,buried at FT. Lincoln Cemetery,Brentwood Prince Georges Co. Maryland (My parents) 3. Kline PFEIL married Ruth Asher a. Robert PFEIL b. 7/7/1942 d. 4/1975 (lived in Penn Hills, Allegheny Co. Pa married Marie Unknown. ( I do not know if there were any other children.) Sorry if you get duplicate postings if you are on more that one list. Beverly Pfeil Paquet Tucson, AZ

Good morning Passaic Co. List, I am looking for information on the parents and/or siblings of my 2nd great- grandmother, Mary KINSEY POST (1815-1911). The only information I have about her parents is from her death record: She was born in New Jersey, her father was Moses KINSEY and her mother was Rachel GOULD. Both parents were born in New Jersey. Mary KINSEY POST was the wife of Jacob POST and she died in Newfoundland; her son, Moses POST was the informant on the death certificate. I am descended from another of her son's, Isaac POST (1848-1948). This family of POSTs lived in the Postville area between West Milford and Newfoundland in the 1800s. An excellent POST and other families from Newfoundland/West Milford researcher, Leslie Post, suggested I look for Rachel GOULD's parents in the Caldwell area of NJ. I am doing most of my research long-distance so I appreciate any and all information and guidance you may have on my latest mystery couple! Thank you very much, Regards to you, Marilyn Hough Stern

I am french. I have recently learned that I am Franco-American. My name is Claude Richard and I live in the southern part of France. The circumstances surrounding my birth were concealed from me until recently. My father is Richard Gray and this is what I know about him:        1. He was in Oran, Algeria, during few months until end November, 1943 .        2. He may well have been in the US Army. His provisional camp was not near the harbor or the airport.        3. He was almost 6 feet, with light brown hair, and blue eyes.        4. His military base was situated southeast of Oran, between the Choupot area and the Cuvelier area (near Cite Petit). A road separated the base from a big Algerian market hall.        5. His dress uniform was a khaki jacket made of silky cloth. He had a cap and wore high shoes and gaiters. 6. My father was an "MP" (military police).        7. His friends called him Dick and he had a friend called Mike.        8. He apparently came back to the States, it seems before the end of the war. 9. He was in Oran until around 15 November - beginning December 1943. He came back in Oran : he had a few days'leave at the end of December 1943. Last day I saw my uncle (my mother's brother) and he has remembered that, in Oran at that time, rolling stock (jeep, truck, motor-driven, etc..except tank or plane) were unloaded in Oran (Oran harbor or Mers El Kebir harbor) then conveyed to the camp where was my father in Oran. This rolling stock were conveyed (by boat) from US in separate pieces. In this camp, there was a very large shed (named Les Halles) where american soldiers and french men re-assembled rolling stock. In my uncle's opinion, they were around 4.000 - 5.000 soldiers in this camp. My father was MP in this camp. I have tried to find my father without success. The results of my research are condensed below. In the fall of 1943, an American soldier named Richard Gray, between 19 and 23, was based at Oran in Algeria. There he met a young woman, my mother Lucienne Martin, 17 years old. They became very fond of each other and planned to be married. Richard received wedding dress photos from his sister who lived in the U.S. At the end of 1943 (end november or beginning december) Richard Gray was transfered to another, unknown to me, place to continue the war. He should have been informed by mail of my birth, probably in September, 1944. This story might be common place, but some troubling, complicating events intervened in this love story. Richard wrote often to my mother during the war and after he returned to the US. He said that he wanted to marry her; he expressed it in his letters. Unfortunately, my grandmother intercepted and destroyed all of his letters. She did not want this marriage to take place - it would mean that her daughter and grandson would move to the USA. I recently learned in March, 1998, from my mother the circumstances surrounding my birth. During this 54 year period, my mother thought she had been deserted, in a cowardly manner, by her fiance . To be deserted pregnant at a tender age was very difficult. I made several inquiries in my family in 1998 and I began to learn several things from an aunt. Before her death in 1977, my grandmother confided to my aunt that she had destroyed all correspondence between them as well as a few papers belonging to my mother. While she never knew Richard Gray, the account of my aunt was a good one and all of her explanations were later verified. In September, 1998 I finally learned the truth to my mother (the destroying of letters). The burdening facts that she was a deserted woman and an unmarried mother were out and, at that time, she told me my father's name. The passing years and the efforts to forget have resulted in fading memories. I have created this site, attempting to look for my father. Here I have placed a photo of my mother at that time. I have written lot of emails to Gray Families who have adress email on the web. I continue to use all the opportunities of the internet in my search. The surname Gray is a very common one in the US. If Richard Gray can be located, if he wishes, he will be able to contact me. I only want to know if he is alive, any details of my American family, and if he has been informed of my search. It's VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW the name of his Army. Is there a veteran who was in Oran during the WWW II and would answer me ? Please excuse me for any improprieties. I would like very much to find him still living If you have no knowledge of my father, if you could forward this request to veterans , and ask them to do the same, Thank you very much for all your help. Yours sincerely, Mr. Claude Richard PAEZ Allee du Vent d'Est - Les Vautes N° 7 83320 - Carqueiranne - FRANCE phone : +33 4 94 58 75 09 My Story site : http://aa-ienet.com/RICHARD.htm e-mail : [email protected] ******************************************************* Thank you your help. WHAT I HAVE MADE I subscribe to lot of veterans web site, missing persons, forums, genealogics sites, all sites Army, news, shows, etc .. I or lot of people have inserted my letter to all sites. Without my father birth date, it's difficult to write from the all families who have an Richard Gray dead. I don't have more informations about my father. COULD YOU HELP ME ? Only : I ask you to forward my letter to people you know, and ask them to do the same, it is possible that this message will eventually reach some one with knowledge of my father I have tried all the solutions, it is the last attempt to find my father or my Gray family ***************************************************************

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --part0_918264057_boundary Content-ID: <[email protected]_out.mail.aol.com.1> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Though you might be interested in this post from the Hopper List. Ree Hopper --part0_918264057_boundary Content-ID: <[email protected]_out.mail.email.msn.com.2> Content-type: message/rfc822 Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Content-disposition: inline Return-Path: <[email protected]> Received: from rly-yc03.mx.aol.com (rly-yc03.mail.aol.com [172.18.149.35]) by air-yc03.mail.aol.com (v56.24) with SMTP; Thu, 04 Feb 1999 22:16:49 -0500 Received: from bl-14.rootsweb.com (bl-14.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.30]) by rly-yc03.mx.aol.com (8.8.8/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id UAA13670; Thu, 4 Feb 1999 20:17:46 -0500 (EST) Received: (from [email protected]) by bl-14.rootsweb.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA04079; Thu, 4 Feb 1999 17:05:29 -0800 (PST) Resent-Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 17:05:29 -0800 (PST) Message-ID: <[email protected]> From: "Barbara Beall" <[email protected]> Old-To: <[email protected]> Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 17:12:02 -0700 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.1 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Subject: [HOPPER-L] Hopper GenConnect Board Resent-Message-ID: <"cCud-B.A.k_.YPku2"@bl-14.rootsweb.com> To: [email protected] Resent-From: [email protected] X-Mailing-List: <[email protected]> archive/latest/491 X-Loop: [email protected] Precedence: list Resent-Sender: [email protected] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi, Some of you will recall that I wrote and published the "Hopper Happenings" several years ago. I have now set up a Hopper Gen-Connect Board on RootsWeb. To access those URLs, go to http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/hop/Hopper http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/hop/HopperBibl http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/hop/HopperBios http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/hop/HopperDeed http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/hop/HopperObits http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/hop/HopperPens http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/hop/HopperWill There are some things to remember concerning these boards: 1. No commercial advertising is allowed 2. Queries must be posted to the queries board, wills to the wills board, deeds to the deeds board, etc. 3. These are free. 4. If you have wills, deeds, pensions, biographies, etc., feel free to post them. 5. Please do not submit gedcoms; these boards were not intended for those. 6. Any problems, please contact me. 7. Have fun. Dr. Barbara Inman Beall [email protected] --part0_918264057_boundary--

I have been given some information that my uncle Milton PFEIL b. circa 1911 in Verona, Allegheny County, PA moved to Paterson, NJ and worked at Wright Aircraft. Would like to know if anyone has any city directories from about 1930-1940 to do a lookup or can give me any information about Wright Aircraft and where I might obtain information from them? Milton was the only sibling of my father who survived at all. All other siblings died at a very young age. I would love to find information about this PFEIL family and any descendants. I have never had the opportunity to meet or know any family members. Thank you for your help.

Hi all, I am interested in Mary (Marytje) LYDECKER b ca 1783 who m Garret Ackerman lived at Godwinville. They had a child Matilda B. ACKERMAN b ca 1806 and who d. 19 Mar 1869, at age 63. She lived at Black Oak Ridge (Wayne). This is taken from the Quackenbush Collection at Passaic County Historical Society and is also shown on page 140 of Lydecker Descendants written by Robert C. Lydecker in 1987. I also have a family group sheet and am wondering if she could be a daughter of Jan (John) LYDECKER b 26 Sep 1864 who m. Annetie TALLMAN b 21 Feb 1767 and m. 31 March 1785. The first child I show for this couple wasn't born until 1798. I also have not been able to tie Garret ACKERMAN into any group either although I am trying to see if I can prove he is the father of Abraham G. ACKERMAN b 6 Jan 1808 who m 25 Jan 1834 Ponds (now Oakland) NJ Mary QUACKENBUSH b 10 July 1814 dau of John QUACKENBUSH b 9 Jun 1777 and Mary VAN HOUTEN. Please do not attempt to look in Vol. II of the Ackerman Family as I am going to change it in this instance. Abraham G. ACKERMAN (now unidentified) and Mary QUACKENBUSH had the following children Maria ACKERMAN b 1 June 1835 Abraham A. ACKERMAN b 1 July 1837 and married Sarah Catherine SNYDER Ada Elizabeth ACKERMAN b 16 Jan 1839 who must have died young Ada Elizabeth ACKERMAN b ca 1851 is shown as age 9 in the 1850 census with her parents. I have proved this line to my satisfaction. Abraham A. ACKERMAN and Sarah Catherine SNYDER lived in Hohokus Twp, Bergen County in 1860, 1865 and 1870 Census. Children: Anna b 29 May 1859 NJ (in 1860 and 1865 Census) Willie (probably died young as he is not in the 1860 Census nor the 1865 or 1870 Census) George Lincoln b 9 Feb 1866 Ramsey NJ (in 1870 Census) Mary (Mamie) b 5 Mar 1868 NJ (in 1870 Census) Nellie b 21 July 1874 NJ If anyone has any proof of the parentage of Abraham G. ACKERMAN who married Mary QUACKENBUSH, I would love to be pointed in the correct direction. I have just proved Abraham A. ACKERMAN who married Sarah Catherine SNYDER. I know who Sarah Catherine SNYDER's parents and grandparents are. They are in the Blauvelt and Zabriskie Genealogies. Does anyone know if there is a Quackenbush genealogy? Anyone doing LYDECKER research? I looked for GenConnect boards for Lydecker and did not see any and also looked for a Lydecker Forum at GenForum and struck out there. Hence my message here. Diane Ward Sives -- Co-Membership Genealogist David Ackerman Descendants-1662 Listowner [email protected] http://ackerman-1662.rootsweb.com

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --part0_917664118_boundary Content-ID: <[email protected]_out.mail.aol.com.1> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII --part0_917664118_boundary Content-ID: <[email protected]_out.mail.vegas.infi.net.2> Content-type: message/rfc822 Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Content-disposition: inline Return-Path: <[email protected]> Received: from rly-ya02.mx.aol.com (rly-ya02.mail.aol.com [172.18.144.194]) by air-ya03.mx.aol.com (v56.24) with SMTP; Fri, 29 Jan 1999 18:42:07 -0500 Received: from bl-14.rootsweb.com (bl-14.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.30]) by rly-ya02.mx.aol.com (8.8.8/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id SAA06448; Fri, 29 Jan 1999 18:41:58 -0500 (EST) Received: (from [email protected]) by bl-14.rootsweb.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id PAA27137; Fri, 29 Jan 1999 15:26:54 -0800 (PST) Resent-Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 15:26:54 -0800 (PST) Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 18:37:42 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <[email protected][206.97.53.22]> Old-To: [email protected] From: Geraldine Kanner <[email protected]> Subject: [NYC] NEW SURNAME LIST & BOARDS Resent-Message-ID: <"spvGPB.A.LnG.9Oks2"@bl-14.rootsweb.com> To: [email protected] Resent-From: [email protected] X-Mailing-List: <[email protected]> archive/latest/12933 X-Loop: [email protected] Precedence: list Resent-Sender: [email protected] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit From: Geraldine RYERSON Kanner <[email protected]> Subject: NEW SURNAME AND BOARD LIST >Ryerson surname list > > > subscribe to your list in mail mode by sending a message >to [email protected] that contains the word > >subscribe > >and nothing else. If you prefer digest mode, you should should send the >command instead to [email protected] To unsubscribe, >you should send the command "unsubscribe" to [email protected] >(if in mail mode) or [email protected] (if in digest mode.) >To switch from one mode to the other, you should unsubscribe from one >and then subscribe to the other. There is no "no mail" mode -- if they >want messages to stop, they should simply unsubscribe. > >To post to both RYERSON-L and RYERSON-D, messages should be sent to >[email protected] Messages sent there will appear both places. http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/rye/Ryerson > http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/rye/RyersonBibl > http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/rye/RyersonBios > http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/rye/RyersonDeed > http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/rye/RyersonObits > http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/rye/RyersonPens http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/rye/RyersonWill ==== NYC-ROOTS Mailing List ==== ROOTSWEB - http://www.rootsweb.com/ --part0_917664118_boundary--

PASSAIC CO, PATERSON: Seeking any information on following surnames: Wildermann; Duddleston; Kimball; Post; Also if anyone can tell me where I can find WWI veterans military serial no.. I cannot receive the mil. records without this number. Any help appreciated. ____________________________________________________________________ More than just email--Get your FREE Netscape WebMail account today at http://home.netscape.com/netcenter/mail

My grandfather, Cornelius Francis Birkhoff was born in Passaic. His father Vincent V. Birkhoff, a Passaic Police Sergeant, was born in Paterson 2/11/1880 and lived in Passaic until 1953 when he was killed in an automobile accident in Illinois. I am searching for the three brothers and one sister of Vincent. As of September 28, 1953 they lived in the following locations: Frank Birkhoff in Passaic Adam Birkhoff in Passaic Henry Birkhoff in Wayne Frances (Fanny) Birkhoff married Charles Lembeck and lived in Clifton. Charles Lembeck was a Fire Lieutenant in Clifton. In 1956 the family moved to Virginia and all contact with the rest of the Birkhoff family was lost. I would like to find my family if possible. Any help would be appreciated. Vern Ferguson Roanoke, VA

I just posted the Newark, New Jersey City Directory listings for ALTHEN for 1905-1920 on my web site. Charles Althen married Martha R. Morrison. I can't find any "cousins" on this line. This is my direct line. All help greatly appreciated. The FTM Descendants file follows the City Directory listings. Included is the 1900 Census information. Sandy Hart, RootsWeb Donor http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/5372/

Re: Silk industry of Paterson,NJ Many of my family were from Paterson. My grandfather, Sidney Smith, (b3/16/1865 d4/15/1922) was active in the business after immigrating from Macclesfield,England) Tis information is from verbal family reports. How would I access the Paterson City Directories from the late 19th and early20th century in hopes of confirming this information? Can anyone help me? Wayne Smith ([email protected])

Greetings Researchers, My ancestors are also French Immigrants who ended up in Paterson in 1890 from Alsace Lorraine. One difference - my gggf, Joseph Bender, arrived first in 1888 Rhode Island and worked in the silk mills in Providence first. A large silk strike there brought many workers down the coast to Paterson two years later. Something to keep in mind if you can't find a NYC entry for your Paterson French. Happy Hunting, Cathy DiPietro

Philip Garnier wrote: <Is anyone familiar with the immigration from Lyon, France to Paterson as a result of problems with silk manufacturing in Lyon?> By the late 1800s, Paterson NJ was foremost producer of Silk products in America and was called the "Lyons of America." Its reputation was known across Europe and attracted silk workers from all the major European silk producing areas. Experienced weavers and dyers came from France, Germany, Switzerland,and England, followed by the Italians near the turn of the century. While I am not aware of any 'silk-worm famine,' the lure of riches seems to be the primary impetus for the massive immigration. The 'princely' wages referred to below contrasted with 'the poorly paid operatives of England and Continental Europe.' The following paragraph from a local newspaper of 1898 says most eloquently. "The silk business gained a reputation as a means of amassing sudden and colossal fortunes, and every provident weaver, after saving a few hundred dollars from the princely wages which he received, embarked in the business for himself, and was generally successful." Myra E. VREELAND Lane

Philip Garnier wrote: <Is anyone familiar with the immigration from Lyon, France to Paterson as a result of problems with silk manufacturing in Lyon?> By the late 1800s, Paterson NJ was foremost producer of Silk products in America and was called the "Lyons of America." Its reputation was known across Europe and attracted silk workers from all the major European silk producing areas. Experienced weavers and dyers came from France, Germany, Switzerland,and England, followed by the Italians near the turn of the century. While I am not aware of any 'silk-worm famine,' the lure of riches seems to be the primary impetus for the massive immigration. The 'princely' wages referred to below contrasted with 'the poorly paid operatives of England and Continental Europe.' The following paragraph from a local newspaper of 1898 says most eloquently. "The silk business gained a reputation as a means of amassing sudden and colossal fortunes, and every provident weaver, after saving a few hundred dollars from the princely wages which he received, embarked in the business for himself, and was generally successful." Myra E. VREELAND Lane

Thanks everyone for your information on obtaining naturalization records in Passaic Co. I called the Paterson courthouse and have put my request in writing as per their request. Now I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed!( I sure hope that they are a bit more responsive than the Hudson Co. courthouse. I've been waiting since Sept. for those records!) Sandy [email protected]