This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/JaB.2ACE/2974.1.1.1 Message Board Post: I would guess that I am related to John Cover. However, his name makes it difficult to trace. It would be easier tracing him through his wife. I shall explain.... In 1730, Johannes Dieterich KOBER left Gemmingen, Baden (in what is now Germany), arriving with his wife in Philadelphia. They moved west to what is now Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. They had (off the top of my head, so this may not be totally accurate) 11 children, 7 boys and 4 girls. In some German communities, those days, it was traditional to give each son and daughter a "Saints" name as their first name, and a "calling" name as the second name. Dieterich, as Johannes Dieterich Kober was known, and his wife gave each son the first name John and each daughter the first name Anna. The children were usually known by their 2nd name. The spelling of family names, in those days, was not standardized as they are today, and each child had the option to change the spelling in whatever way they wished. In German, the letter "b" is pronounced as the letter "v" is in English. As today, the letter "k" and the letter "c" are frequently pronounced alike. So the German "Kober" became "KOVER", "COBER", and "COVER". "Cover" became the preferred spelling. But many of the 2nd and 3rd generation children were teased about the name, because in English, "Cover" has an actual meaning. Some, including my ancestors, added an additional "o" making the name "COOVER". Others stayed with "Cover". My ancestor was the 2nd son of Dieterich. His name became, eventually, John George Coover, and he was known as George. As an adult, he moved to Cumberland County, where he raised his family and gave his father, Dieterich, a place to live after retirement. Interestingly enough, Dieterich became known to his Grandchildren as "Grandpa John." It is probable that your John Cover is a descendant of Dieterich Kober and wife. However, there is a distinct possibility that your John Cover is not closely related to this family, but it is probable that his family name was, at one time Kober. Virtually all members of the Cover family I've corresponded with, if they knew much about their families history, told me that the name was originally Kober. Regarding your city's library - most libraries will take requests. I live in Orange County, California, and I requested the Orange County Library to find this book. They found it at the Seattle Library, borrowed it from them at no charge, and gave me a couple of weeks to explore it, before sending it back. I was able to find the birth of my Grandfather listed in the book, and was able to trace the family back to Dieterich Kober. Their are many John Covers listed in the book. So, as I said above, you'd have to find the one married to Elizabeth Null. I hope you are able to find your ancestors. My best to you.