Dear Mary Lou, Your email address at AOL is bouncing back as "user unknown." I'm not sure which list you saw my original posting, so I'm putting my reply out here. Regarding FAHLFEDER, my great-grandfather came over from Germany in 1908. He was living in Wanne-Eickel near Gelsenkirchen when he left Germany. His family originally came from an area in East Prussia called Lotzen in German at that time and called Gizycko in the Mazury lake region of present day Poland. I have located relatives in Germany and correspond with them. All the male children retained the FAHLFEDER name, but that is not to say that a line earlier on did not drop the FEDER part. Do you know where your FAHL ancestors came from in Germany? Regarding HEIM, I have an Isaac and Mary HEIM (no dates) who were the parents of Sarah M. HEIM (1872-1931). Sarah HEIM married Thomas A. BLAKER (1868-1903). Thomas BLAKER was a younger brother of my gg-grandfather, Albert George BLAKER. Let me know if you see any connections. Harold -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, January 04, 1999 10:53 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: BALL - PA, Sullivan & Lycoming Counties/FAHLFEDER/HEIM Harold, There is no BALL is my family, but in looking through your list of surnames I see FAHLFEDER and HEIM. My Maiden name was FAHL, and am wondering if this could have been shortened in the process of Americanization. I can go back to Dieter FAHL b.1709 in Germany d.8-16-1768. Could this be a connection? My mother's maiden name was HEIM, her grandfather was Issac B. HEIM b.3-16-1857 d.1-4-1937. Does this compare with your HEIM? Mary Lou