Jerry, Heinrich definitely sounds German to me, but a German being born in the Netherlands wouldn't be unusual, seeing how Germans like to go to the Netherlands to enjoy the sailing and the beaches. But then, it looks like your data on the German birthplace is pretty clear. That still leaves you with a MEESTER line which I'm pretty sure could only be Dutch, since the German would be spelled MEISTER. However, that still doesn't necessarily limit that line to the Netherlands, since Flanders (Belgium) and Luxembourg also have many Dutch speaking folks (see "BeNeLux"). In case I didn't mention it or anyone out there doesn't yet know, Holland is actually only the name of two provinces of the Netherlands: Noord-Holland (North-Holland) and Zuid-Holland (South-Holland), which border the sea, facing the English channel. These two make up only about 1/6 of the country, but the name probably took on importance due to the fact that most of the seafaring trade passes through these two. Ken -----Original Message----- From: JPeters93@aol.com <JPeters93@aol.com> To: PETERS-L@rootsweb.com <PETERS-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2000 12:40 AM Subject: Re: [PETERS] Meester/Peters >Ken, >I was referring to Holland - the country, really The Netherlands. I also >meant to type Bernhard Peters. Thanks for your response. >I find it interesting that my ggrandfather John Henry Peters (born Johan >Heinrich) listed Holland as his place of birth on the 1880 census, but listed >Germany on the 1900 census. Anyone have an explanation for this. >I am new to this list so I will briefly list John Henry Peters' history. He >was born in Esserden near Rees, Germany, approximately 20 km northwest of >Wesel on November 29, 1833. He emigrated to St. Louis in 1855 to 1860. He >volunteered in the Civil War on May 10, 1861 and was mustered out on >September 9, 1862 in St. Louis. After living in St. Louis and St. Paul, MN, >he settled in Quincy, Adams County IL. He married Anna Mary Wilde on April >23, 1872 in Quincy, IL. He died in Adams County, IL on November 29, 1905. >His father, grandfather and ggrandfather all named Bernhard Peters and all >were born in Esserden or Speldrop near Rees. > Jerry Peters > > >==== PETERS Mailing List ==== >New subscribers are encourage to send your >PETERS line to our list at anytime you'd like. >Address message to: Peters-L@rootsweb.com > >============================== >The RootsWeb WorldConnect Project: >Tens of millions of individuals... and counting. >http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/ >