I followed the recent exchanges on the German village of Alfhausen and was once again shown the value of this list. I have been working on the German side of our family for more than 10 years. A belief, but undocumented, has been that my gggrandfather came from the Alsace Lorraine area but with no town or village specified. I accepted that information but with great reservation because of marriage & births subsequently taking place in a distant area from Alsace Lorraine. Then through the wonderful resource available to us (Cincinnati Public Library) I found a 1900 German language obituary published in the Cincinnati Volksfreund in which it is stated that he, Jacob Sack, is a "native of Gesmold, Hannover". I have a FHC microfilm on order which covers the Civil Registration for Gesmold for the years 1808-1812. Unfortunately, my gggrandfather's birth date is 1814. But, I may pick up some family tracks from the film. I have seen that a number of German immigrants from this village and area settled in Cincinnati. If any of you have traveled this road that I'm about to go on and have a suggestion or clue for me, I will welcome it openly. Thanks for having the patience to read through this and for your response. Tom Murray