Cathy: I have a Swiss ancestor or two. Those Swiss people came from all over; in fact, of all the people who turned up in Pennsylvania they are perhaps most likely to have been running all over Europe in circles for centuries. Likely places for Pennsylvania Dutch from Switzerland to be from include Russia, Holland, and France. I have some part Negro people from the middle of Germany; Bavaria and Schwabia to be precise; more than likely they are descended from the many thousands of Jews and Moors who fled Spain for the Netherlands and were particularly likely to become Anabaptists and other radical Protestant groups. And if this line wasn't negro, they sure were Mediterranean! The part Negroes from Bavaria met up with the line from Switzerland, see. Yours, Dora --- Cathy Martin <martin.abba@juno.com> wrote: > Thank you very much, Joan. This has been a > mystery because I knew > Thalassemia has also been called Mediterranean > anemia but our family is > very Germanic. We have traced this blood > disorder back to my PA. Dutch > great grandfather who was German and Swiss. > More recently, though, I > learned that one of his PA Dutch lines was > French Huguenot. I guess the > French side is the most likely source of > Thalassemia, but I haven't seen > French ancestry mentioned in the information > I've read about Thalassemia > and I haven't found it among other LABARRE / > LABAR / LAWAR descendants. > Because French Huguenots fled to the Rhine area > of Germany and lived > there among Germans and Swiss and later lived > and worshipped among them > in PA, I've wondered if other PA Dutch > descendants had encountered > Thalassemia in their families. I've also > looked for Jewish ancestry in > our family, but have found none. > > Joan, is your neighbor Italian and not PA > Dutch? Thank you again for > your help. I hope you and your family are well > and greatly blessed. > > Cathy > > ________________________________________________________________ > YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! > Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! > Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE > software, visit: > http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com